“House of Dragons” is set almost 200 years before the death of The Mad King and the birth of Daenerys. The one that started it all, long-form television at least, is back with a prequel. House of the Dragon, set about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tips many hats to its hectically successful heir, starting with drawing a line between the unfolding events and the lovely Princess Daenerys Targaryen.
Unlike the original “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” does not have showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Instead, the prequel series was created by author George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal and is based on Martin’s book “Fire & Blood.” The novel spans several generations and tells the long history of House Targaryen; a second volume of the novels is set to be released at some point .
The story of the Dance of Dragons, which is the war of succession within House Targaryen, is told in “House of the Dragon.” Because it was extensively covered in “Fire & Blood,” the entire story is available to read, so HBO series viewers should be wary of spoilers for upcoming storylines.
“House of the Dragon,” like the original series, immediately introduces viewers to a diverse cast of characters. Everyone has a variety of complex political, familial, and romantic (and sometimes all three!) relationships.
Because it’s the first episode, The Heirs of the Dragons, is all about establishing the various players in the House Targaryen, there is less action and, sadly, less dragon.
Viserys, played by Paddy Considine, is the current king of Westeros, the father of Rhaenyra, and Daemon’s older brother. He is concerned about not having a son to succeed to the Iron Throne. Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), the firstborn, is accomplished, the delight of the realm, and would have been the ideal heir if it hadn’t been for her gender. Daemon (a glorious teeth-gnashing Matt Smith) is Viserys’ younger brother who is battle-hardened and ambitious. He is the presumed heir, but has the coin landed on the wrong side?
The Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), is vehemently opposed to Daemon. Apart from being the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms, Otto’s daughter, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), is good friend to Rhaenyra. Rhaenys, the Queen Who Wasn’t (she was passed over for Viserys), and her husband, Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint), the head of House Velaryon, appear to be passing their time.
The Heirs of the Dragon begins with Viserys convincing his councilors that the child his queen, Aemma (Sian Brooke), is carrying is a boy. Aemma tells her daughter, Rhaenyra, who prefers to fight battles on her dragon Syrax, that the battlefield for women is the childbed. Given the difficult birth, her words are prophetic.
The Heirs of the Dragon is peppered with tragedy, dashed ambitions, a surprise announcement, and a banishment, along with the obligatory jousting, couplings, nudity, decapitations, profanity, and soaring dragons. The costumes are stunning, and the music (Ramin Djawadi returns) walks a fine line between callback and new, as well as CGI-acceptable.
One of the issues with House of the Dragon, as with Obi-Wan Kenobi, is that we already know how it ends. Just as we know Darth Vader killed Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, we also know the House Targaryen’s fortunes end with ad King Aerys being killed by Jaime Lannister during the rebellion led by Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, and Jon Arryn.
When Game of Thrones debuted in 2011, it blazed a new path for fantasy. House of the Dragon follows suit. Only time and the nine subsequent episodes will tell whether it will be able to carve a separate identity for itself, away from the looming shadow of Game of Thrones, to become its own beastie.
“House of the Dragon” is now available on HBO and HBO Max, and will be available on Disney Hotstar on August 22, 2022.
