House of the Dragon Review: Game of Thrones Is Back — and It’s Great

House of the Dragon — premiering August 21 on HBO Max, and August 22 on Disney+ Hotstar — is in an odd place. Through no fault of its personal, a cloud hangs over the Game of Thrones prequel spin-off. The eighth and remaining season of Thrones left a foul style in almost everybody’s mouth, owing to a sequence of strange and rushed artistic choices. At the identical time, Thrones’ huge success over time — it was arguably the most important TV present of the 2010s — is the explanation House of the Dragon even exists. It would by no means get the possibility, and there would not be extra spin-offs within the works, if its massive brother did not pave the best way for epic fantasy sequence on tv. (In reality, Thrones can also be to thank for Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings TV present, that is due in 10 days or so.)

But past that raison d’être, House of the Dragon has nothing to do with Game of Thrones. It’s nonetheless set in Westeros, however it takes place roughly two centuries earlier. That means no Thrones characters are going to indicate up, although there are many household dynasties that you will recognise. While there is not any continuation in entrance of the display, people behind the scene do stick with it. Don’t fear, Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who had been rightly blamed for the season 8 mess, aren’t concerned.

Ramin Djawadi, the composer on Game of Thrones, returns in that capability on the prequel sequence, riffing off his personal themes. House of the Dragon earns your love and respect earlier than it rolls out a modified model of the GoT theme on the finish of the primary episode. (I have not seen the title sequence, so I can not say if that is equally epic.) More importantly, Miguel Sapochnik — who directed some memorable Thrones episodes, together with season 5’s “Hardhome”, and season 6’s “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter” — is co-showrunner alongside Ryan Condal (Colony).

All You Need to Know About House of the Dragon

And fortunately, they know what they’re doing. House of the Dragon is a factor of magnificence from the very first episode, because it delivers a gripping and interesting pilot that I wished to rewatch the second it ended. Of course, the Thrones prequel advantages from present world-building — Westeros, King’s Landing, and the Red Keep aren’t international to us now — however the writing, route, and performances elevate it additional. It nails scene building, narrative momentum, and the moment-to-moment movement. These would possibly appear to be small issues, however they will make or break a TV present. Additionally, there’s an elevated understanding of feminine characters that pays off immediately. Sure, Game of Thrones had a bunch of girls on the forefront, however its most frequent complaints additionally stemmed from their dealing with.

The Thrones prequel reveals itself to be extra mature in that regard from the get-go. Set in a Westeros that is much more patriarchal than the one we bear in mind — and one which has much more dragons — House of the Dragon begins with an excellent council convened by the ailing King Jaehaerys Targaryen to vote on a successor, as he has outlived each of his sons. (Why are the opposite highly effective homes of Westeros not vying for the throne? Because nobody clearly needs to go up in opposition to a household with dragons.) The decisions are his oldest son’s daughter Rhaenys (Eve Best), and her youthful cousin Viserys (Paddy Considine). Even although Rhaenys has the stronger declare, the council votes for Viserys. Simply as a result of he is a person, and there is not any priority for a lady on the Iron Throne.

Nineteen years later, King Viserys finds himself in the same pickle. With his spouse Aemma (Sian Brooke) unable to “provide” him with a male inheritor, Viserys should decide between his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock/ Emma D’Arcy), or his youthful brother Daemon (Matt Smith). Naturally, as a result of he is a person, Daemon is taken into account the inheritor presumptive. But Daemon can also be reckless and temperamental, warns Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King. Viserys makes the daring option to nominate Rhaenyra as his inheritor, which upsets many at King’s Landing because it goes in opposition to custom. Otto, who despises Daemon, begins placing his personal plans into place, manoeuvring his daughter Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey/ Olivia Cooke) into locations of energy.

Inside House of the Dragon, the Fiery Game of Thrones Prequel Spin-Off

A main focus for House of the Dragon is the friendship between Rhaenyra and Alicent. Or relatively, how the friendship crumbles owing to patriarchy, what they need, and what’s anticipated of them. It’s why there are two actresses enjoying them, as in contrast to Game of Thrones, the prequel deploys time jumps to depict its story. While Alcock and Carey play them as youngsters, D’Arcy and Cooke take over because the season progresses. The time bounce brings us to the precipice of the famed Targaryen struggle of succession, the Dance of the Dragons — which was talked about in Game of Thrones — although it is unclear how lengthy Condal and Sapochnik plan to stretch it out. (Sapochnik has hinted at an anthology format, for what it is value, which might imply much more time jumps.)

While House of the Dragon undoubtedly has a slender focus, as its title makes clear, that was additionally Game of Thrones in its begin to be truthful. The first season revolved largely across the Starks and Lannisters, with different characters launched in bits and components. House of the Dragon does give us a couple of non-Targaryen characters, although they’re all linked to the dragonriders in a technique or one other. There’s the King’s council, which incorporates Otto, Daemon, and well-known seafarer Lord Corlys “Sea Snake” Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), who’s additionally husband to Rhaenys, The Queen Who Never Was. Dornish swordsman Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) can also be a part of the principle forged, as is dancer Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) who turns into near Daemon because the present goes on.

As you would possibly anticipate from a TV present that cost under $20 million (about Rs. 159 crore) per episode, House of the Dragon is effectively shot, appropriately epic, and boasts terrific manufacturing values. That’s greater than what HBO spent on Game of Thrones’ remaining season ($15 million per episode). While Thrones needed to show itself earlier than it acquired the massive budgets — the primary season was made at $6 million (about Rs. 48 crore) per episode — HBO is snug giving some huge cash to a fantasy present from the beginning, as a result of it belongs to a confirmed universe. (Also, there are large dragons from minute one right here, and I hear these are inclined to value quite a bit to create.) Though I think about it will have to carry out spectacularly as effectively, for HBO to justify these investments into House of the Dragon.

She-Hulk, House of the Dragon, and More on Disney+ Hotstar in August

Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon
Photo Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

While Game of Thrones may need led to ash and flames, throughout its heyday, there was no present prefer it. It was not solely fascinating with its twists and violence, however it additionally delivered storylines that would solely be completed on TV. Characters you despised early on went on to redeem themselves years later, whereas people who you idealised or revered paid a heavy value for his or her values. Thrones was additionally very (darkly) humorous, a trait that many are inclined to overlook — particularly those that attempt to emulate it. And Benioff and Weiss had been nice once they had George R.R. Martin’s books to fall again on.

Condal and Sapochnik haven’t got them in any respect. Yes, technically talking, House of the Dragon is predicated on (one part of) Martin’s 2018 guide “Fire & Blood”. But it isn’t a novel like those that had been tailored into Thrones. It’s at greatest an encyclopaedia, a dry historical past of the Targaryen years from Aegon I’s conquest of Westeros to the reign of Aegon III. In true GRRM style, Fire & Blood is the primary of two deliberate volumes, and the second lacks a date similar to “The Winds of Winter”. This reality may be alarming for some viewers, given the way it all ended with Thrones.

But House of the Dragon reveals that we’re in secure arms. In reality, there are flashes right here that counsel we would get one of the best of Game of Thrones again, paving over our collective horrible recollections of season 8. By dragons, can we deserve it.

House of the Dragon premieres Sunday, August 21 at 9pm ET on HBO Max wherever out there. It premieres Monday, August 22 at 6:30am IST on Disney+ Hotstar in India.