The world premiere of House of the Dragon, the prequel to the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones, has arrived! And immediately broke several records for views. It’s premature to draw conclusions about the series from one episode, but you can get a general sense of the atmosphere and style of storytelling – and thus adjust your expectations. In this article I will tell you what the creators have done, what possible problems the series has, whether the fans will be happy. And also about what chances the “House of the Dragon” has in a clash with its main rival – “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” (The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power).
What were we waiting for
We have already done detailed material about the plot. Fans don’t have to worry, the book is fully written, the overall story probably won’t change much. However, the devil is in the details. We all remember the sad ending of Game of Thrones, when the series turned from the main show of our time into a gaping action, and each new episode was more exhausting than surprising. At the same time, the author of the books, George RR Martin (George RR Martin), claimed that the ending was completely in line with his idea.
One could only hope that the makers learned from the failure and understood their mistakes. Indeed, the outrageous writers most blamed for the failure of Game of Thrones were removed, which is already “a serious reason to smile”.
David Benioff and DB Weiss, Game of Thrones writersThe second exciting moment was the agenda. Right now, The Lord of the Rings fans are getting pissed off after every new promo or trailer for The Rings of Power. African elves, a beardless dwarf princess and, according to rumors, non-binary Sauron – these are just a small part of what Amazon decided to “surprise”.
Concerns were similar with the HBO series. In one of the first videos, we got to see Corlis Velaryon, who in the book was not much different from the pale, white-haired Targaryens, and in the edit he suddenly turned into an “African with dreadlocks”. Thankfully, nothing more shocking happened in the following trailers, but that doesn’t mean HBO didn’t have “permissive surprises” in store.
Corlis VelarionAlthough it is still too early to judge, a lot has become clear after the first series.
What have we got?
There will be ten episodes in the season: the show promises to be big, revealing the history of the Targaryens in depth and detail. Events are developing fast, so it seems like it could do without filler episodes. This gives an idea of what to expect from the plot.
Already in the first series they showed the oath of the Lords of Rainier, the conflict of Viserys with Damon, Kristen Kohl and no less than two dragons.
We know from the trailers that Season 1 will feature an adult Rhaenyra, the “close” relationship with Uncle Damon alluded to in Episode 1, and even one of Queen Alycent’s adult sons, the one-eyed Aymond Targaryen. It is strange that there is not a single frame of Aegon himself – Rhaenyra’s main rival. However, the canon is unlikely to have been altered in any way – the prince certainly will.
According to the first impressions, the series has become much less unnecessary dialogue, this allows you to focus on the main characters. You will almost immediately remember the names and get the first information about the motives of each character. Definitely, the entry barrier has become much lower: this should attract those viewers who found the Game of Thrones boring and uninteresting for the first few hours.
Still friends – Alicente and ReyniraThe same atmosphere is back. The show no longer looks like a farce with a series of unexpected twists. Anyone who liked the early seasons of Game of Thrones is more likely to be pleased. An opening scene of a dragon flying over the rooftops of King’s Landing stands head and shoulders above the entire eighth season of the original series.
Spot and famous cruelty. Cleaning the streets before the tournament looks brutal and real. Cut off genitals close up – in place. The tournament itself, where Damon and the as-yet-unknown Kristen Kohl met, is pleasing with a well-choreographed fight. The weight is felt in armor and swords, and the heavy blows of weary knights are felt, pardon me, within reach. We can draw an unequivocal conclusion that you do not have to worry about the action. There will be a lot more of it than in the previous series, and it’s made even better.
It’s hard to imagine this man being the clumsy Doctor Who.Unfortunately, the beginning of problems appeared in the first series. Perhaps this is a wrong opinion – time will tell. It’s all about the infamous agenda. Yes, except for the unfortunate Korlis Velaryon, no one else changed the color of his skin. But the series also emphasizes the unenviable position of women, whose role is reduced only to childbearing at the expense of their own health and lives.
The show can turn into a demonstration of the power of the weaker sex, where an ambitious princess girl tries to defeat another queen. And thus reduce the multifaceted history of the big house to the usual medieval feminism. I hope this doesn’t happen.
The characters deserve a few words. They have yet to reveal themselves, but even after the first series there is something to discuss. Viserys turned out great. Paddy Considine (Patrick George “Paddy” Considine) managed to show more emotions in an hour than Jon Snow in the entire series. The king is truly canonical and combines the pragmatism of the monarch and humanity towards family and friends.
Unfortunately, attempts to increase the inequality of women completely lost the storyline, in which the king had been preparing Rhaenyra as his successor for some time. In the series, the girl pours wine only at meetings of the small council, and Viserys’ choice in favor of her daughter seems hasty and forced, although in the book this was not the case.
The origin of the conflict between the King and Prince Damon is excellently depicted. Viserys often defended his brother in front of the councilors, but the prince’s act trumps everything and becomes the basis for many years of enmity. Overall, Matt Smith is great as Damon. A skilled fighter, he doesn’t contain his emotions well, but he’s smart and cunning enough to mock the King’s Hand multiple times at once in a tournament. Before us is one of the best characters of the upcoming epic, the development of which will be interesting to watch.
Finally, the little princess herself – Reynira looks very organic. In the book, the girl is about eight years old, while the actress is already 21. But in the frame, the difference is almost imperceptible. Once upon a time, the “Game of Thrones” significantly aged the main characters. Jon Snow and Daenerys didn’t look like 13-15 year olds. Now this problem has been resolved.
The rest of the characters played no significant role in the first series, but there is no doubt that they will surprise in the future. This time, most of the characters are in the same location – in King’s Landing, so the plot won’t jump across the continent. All the more interesting are the individual lines of heroes that develop in parallel, but influence each other almost immediately.
Dragon by Damon TargaryenThe music for “House of the Dragon” was written by Ramin Djawadi, already known from the “Game of Thrones”. So far, only the rethinking of old compositions has sounded, but the maestro is famous for his original songs, so we can expect many memorable musical themes in the future.
It was disappointing that there was no opening melody on the screensaver, as in Game of Thrones – and the introductory video itself as a whole. Targaryen’s coat of arms looks cool at first, but with modern screensavers for a whole minute, or even several minutes, it can’t compete. It is hoped that the makers have saved spectacular opening credits for subsequent episodes.
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Dragon House is the perfect return to George Martin’s beloved universe. The first series showed that the writers handle the canon with care and love, cutting off everything superfluous to keep the story moving. The actors are beautiful in their images, the scenery and graphics are impressive, and the music gives you familiar goosebumps. It remains to be hoped that the bar will remain high throughout the season and wish the “Rings of Power” nothing but good luck. The HBO Dragon is ready for battle like never before.
What do you think of the first episode of “House of the Dragon”?
Source: VG Times