After deciding to watch episode 1 of House of the Dragon (or HOTD as everyone is calling it) simply out of a morbid curiosity, only one reaction came to mind. That of the meme where Al Pacino goes, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”. That’s the best way I can go about describing my whole experience watching season 1 of House of the Dragon. Going into the show I had pretty much the exact same level of baggage and expectations as anyone else who had watched the original Game of Thrones. An incredibly well written, acted, and produced show. Possibly one of the very best of all time that went on to crash and burn in its final 2-3 seasons. When HOTD was first announced I was thinking, “Fool me once, shame on you. But fool me twice, shame on me.” And just like Cersei, I didn’t want any shame.
With that being said then, how was House of the Dragon? Well, pretty damn good. It has a couple of things going for it providing it a healthy advantage compared to the original series such as telling a story on a smaller scale since we’re really only focused on one main family. The creative team of D.B Weiss and David Benioff are nowhere to be seen here having been chased off by HBO and every other production studio after their GOT debacle. And finally, HOTD has one thing that GOT never had, which is being based off of source material where the story already has a written conclusion. Combine all this with everything we take for granted with an HBO show (production value, performances, writing, etc) and it has the making of another juggernaut for the service.
Honestly this review might end up being pretty short all things considered. If I get right down to it I have to say that they’ve done it. We’re back in Westeros and it feels like we never left. The court intrigue, the fascinating locations, the scheming and well realized characters, and of course, Dragons. The show is great for newcomers and old fans alike since it has a smaller scope so it’s easier to onboard viewers without drowning them in a deluge of characters and names and world building lore while giving fans of the franchise that drip feed of new material to devour. The story is methodically paced and everything is just really well done. Directing is sharp and plainly lays the story out for the audience without confusing us, the story and dialogue is written in a way where we feel like we’re getting to put the pieces together ourselves without being overly complicated, and there isn’t a single weak link within the entire ensemble cast.
The technical aspects are also understandably not lacking in the slightest either. With the experience of producing GOT and the knowledge that HOTD will be their premiere offering for the foreseeable future, HBO knew they had to push all the chips in for this one and they did. It rivals pretty much any other show on streaming or TV (save for Rings of Power because competing against $750 million is kinda impossible). Set design is also impeccable and it’s awesome to see some of the locations from GOT back here again and in some cases (Dragonstone for example) in their prime which we never got to see before. Costume design is another key category that normally gets overlooked and here they’re consistently aces as well, grounding the story in its time and setting.
It’s not all perfect although the issues I had with season one pale in comparison to the tail end of GOT. One of the main storytelling mechanics they use throughout the season are time jumps. From the beginning of episode one till the end of the season I believe we skip across about 16 years of time. The main problem I have with this is that so much of GOT’s drama is based off of characters continuously scheming and backstabbing one another. So it’s jarring and pulls me out of the show when I’m told that 10 years have passed after an incredibly turbulent event and that all the drama between characters was effectively on pause. It just doesn’t make sense and I feel like they should have explained these moments better since most of these characters are vindictive schemers by nature, so it just isn’t believable that they’d sit on their laurels for a decade without lifting a finger. From what I understand this may be unique to season 1 since it seems to act like a prequel to the prequel that is HOTD and gets all the major players into position for the bulk of the story that’s to come but it still didn’t feel right.
Most of my other quibbles are related to the time jump issues such as having to reconnect with the new set of actors that are brought in midway through the season to play the major characters who have aged up or some actors who are completely miscast in their roles (like a guy who looks like he’s in his mid-30’s playing a character who’s supposed to be younger than someone who’s 25). Another related issue is the fact that the two major actors in the beginning of the season, both women, are recast as their characters age up but other male actors are kept around even though their characters age the same amount. This makes the time jumps that much less believable. Matt Smith, I say this as a compliment, but you can’t play a character who’s supposed to be like 50 years old. You ain’t there yet.
A quick last minute addition to the pros of the show is that there does seem to be a concerted effort made on the DEI front with way more POC actors being cast. While the core cast is still mainly white, we are introduced to more key players in the story who are played by actors of color.
The main thing I want to get across because all us GOT fans have been burned before is that I’m only speaking to the quality of Season 1 when I say that I do actually think it’s worth watching for those of us who thought we’d never give it the time of day. This show could very well shit the bed in forthcoming seasons, although for reasons I outlined above I’m hoping that doesn’t actually happen. But for the way this introductory season plays out, even in this crowded TV landscape, I do still think it’s worth your time.
And for newcomers? Honestly, this might be the perfect way to onboard yourself to the Game of Thrones franchise. Since it’s a prequel to the original show you don’t need any prior historical lore knowledge and because it’s on a much smaller scale, it’s an easier introduction to the world without getting overwhelmed which is like to happen with the original series. It’s a return to form for the maligned franchise and I’m glad for it.
9/10
Sources:
TV Insider: https://www.tvinsider.com/show/house-of-the-dragon/
NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/10/28/1131922270/house-of-the-dragon-season-2
Hollywood Reporter: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/house-of-the-dragon-paddy-considine-king-viserys-episode-8-1235236272/
Neon TV: https://www.neontv.co.nz/series/house-of-the-dragon
From the Tales of Wars and Rings 