Warning: this article contains spoilers.
I am going, to be honest..I have never seen Games of Thrones. I have tried to watch it, but I have never made it past season one. However, my family is a huge fan of the series. So, you’re probably thinking to yourself “Why are you writing a review on the prequel of GOT?” Well, it is partially because I was peer-pressured into seeing this series with my Mom. After I had gone on a tangent about my favorite fantasy book series “A Court Of Thorns And Roses,” my mom thought that I would enjoy the House of the Dragon series. She knew my dislike for Game of Thrones, but all she had to tell me was that Matt Smith was in it and I was immediately on board with giving House of Dragons a chance, and I now love the series.
I am biased on my enjoyment of House of the Dragon since I have always enjoyed fantasy stories like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson but even if you are not a huge fantasy fan, it is worth giving this series a chance. As I said, the show is the prequel to Game of Thrones. It tells the story of “The Dance of the Dragons,” which is a war caused by a dispute over who would take over the throne and rule over all seven kingdoms. The word “lore” is funny, but this show has great lore in my opinion, better than some of the lore of G.O.T. There is always something going on in House of Dragons, even though the show sometimes feels slow. The slow pace allows for the big surprise scenes to feel like a HUGE point in the “lore.” You realize how calculated every movement is like you have finally been let in on a 100-year-old family secret that, yes, could get you on a hit list. Each of the characters has a unique complexity that aids in making a scene even more shocking through dramatic or non-dramatic reactions. This leads to the second-best thing in this series, the complex characters.
Let’s start with the whole reason I gave this show a chance: Matt Smith or his character in House of the Dragon, Daemon. Just his character alone is enough to want to keep you watching in my opinion. His character is cunning and calculative, yet incredibly disruptive. He doesn’t wait around to give people time to think or rethink a combative move. Daemon plots his plan and goes right to finishing it. I scream at his character the least since I normally agree with most of his plans. I would be him if I was placed in the series. There’s no time to be waiting around when you have a target on your back so get on the dragon and go fight. What I most enjoy about his character is his loyalty. Despite always wanting to be king of the seven kingdoms, he was loyal to his brother who did have the throne at the beginning of the series. When his brother died and the “Dance of the Dragons” war began, he remained loyal to his counterpart who many believe is the rightful heir to the throne. He’s kinda a softy? (Not really.)
His counterpart, Rhaenyra is the second-best character in this series. Rhaenyra is essentially the whole point of the story. She is what keeps the “lore” moving in this series. Unlike Daemon, I don’t think she would be considered a fan favorite. She is calculative but a lot more logical than Daemon, which makes her a part of the reason why people feel the show is slow-paced. She is, however, an extremely powerful character. I have personally enjoyed all the funny aura jokes made about her because she quite literally has a strong aura. Most of the characters in the show fear her, including Damon. She just walks around knowing that she is a powerful person, and I love a good powerful female character. My favorite part of her character is her love for dragons, which is also a huge reason why people love this show.
Personally, after watching season one and part of season two I wish I could ride a dragon. The dragons are what make the battle scenes in the show super entertaining. Even though I didn’t like G.O.T. I have to say that the battle shots were always filmed with such care and detail. You can tell that there is so much camera work and technique that goes into making every battle scene as real as possible. When researching how the battle scenes are shot I learned that they even used the horses on set to create the illusion of a collision. House of the Dragon has that same “wow” factor in their battle scenes, with the added plus of the dragons. If you decide to watch House of Dragons, once you finish it don’t make the same mistake I did, and watch how they make the dragons look so real. It ruins it for me because I want to continue believing that they are real.
I think I did good in explaining some of the main themes and characters of the show, but if my description was too long, here is a quick summary. Essentially, a bunch of Legolas-looking people use dragons to fight people all for some throne. People drink a lot, marry their cousins, and then die in some type of battle—the end.
Sophomore Paola Pardo is a Staff Writer. Her email is ppardo@fandm.edu.