Showrunners: Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal
Created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal
Starring: Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Graham McTavish, Matthew Needham, Jefferson Hall, Olivia Cooke, Harry Collett, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban
There was a time when the differentiation between “high fantasy” and “low fantasy” mattered little in the cinematic landscape, as most if not all fantasy had a sense of immaturity about it. Wizards, witches, magic spells, potions – it all felt like child’s play. Fantasy, in general, was an acquired taste catering to a specific niche audience. With film, it was hard to craft a fantasy world that felt genuine, important, and different from all the other imagined landscapes and alternate realities that the genre relies so heavily on. The same can arguably be said with literature. If you visit a used bookstore, you’ll find fantasy and science fiction aisles overflowing with countless novels, often part of a narrative series. These genres are not lacking in terms of quantity, but the quality is something that can be. Being able to distinguish the truly great works from the mediocre and mundane from such massive bookstacks can be difficult.
Accomplished fantasy authors like J. R. R. Tolkien, Brandon Sanderson, and George R. R. Martin know a thing or two about quality. Their books are often regarded as the best in the genre, and for good reason. More to the point, Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series is rooted in gritty realism, existentialism and violent political intrigue. It stands out because it feels more like a history lesson than it does a work of fiction. The novels in this ongoing series (five of the planned seven novels have been published since 1996) have been met with critical acclaim, as was its televised adaptation, Game of Thrones, which aired on HBO from 2011 to 2019. Sure, high fantasy appreciation on the screen didn’t begin with Game of Thrones, and it certainly won’t end with Game of Thrones (Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is testament enough to that). While its eighth and final season received mixed reactions (the series finale is often viewed as one of the worst in television history), the overall show changed television forever, as it further blurred the lines between cinema and television, making the two largely indistinguishable. Its popularity cannot be understated. In terms of a series airing on television (as opposed to streaming), it may have very well been the last show that the world watched together en masse.
When Game of Thrones ended three years ago, reports of various prequel series in development at HBO had some excited and others a little dismayed given the mixed reception of the final season. At least one of these prequel series saw a pilot episode produced starring Naomi Watts, but this series was not picked up by the network. One that was, however, was House of the Dragon, which chronicles the fall of House Targaryen nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon premiered on HBO on August 21 and recently concluded its 10-episode first season on October 23. How does the series fare in the gargantuan shadow of its predecessor? First and foremost, the story presented in House of the Dragon is certainly worth telling. There’s never a dull moment, even if it’s not quite as engaging as Game of Thrones was in its first season. However, comparing it to Game of Thrones feels a bit unfair. This is a different show altogether, even if they take place in the same fictional universe. From a narrative perspective, it draws the same level of interest and attention that Game of Thrones enjoyed, as well as the same level of attention required to grasp the story – perhaps even more so than Game of Thrones. Showrunners Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal clearly respect the source material – Martin’s book Fire and Blood – and Martin himself is also more involved with this series than he was with Game of Thrones, which may have something to do with its very deliberate pace. Sapochnik directed some of Game of Thrones‘ most critically acclaimed episodes, and while House of the Dragon never truly allows Sapochnik to show off his directing skills in the same fashion as that series, the episodes he does direct here are some of the most fully realized in this first season.
The performances from House of the Dragon‘s ensemble cast are exceptional. Paddy Considine and Matt Smith lead the series as brothers King Viserys Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen, respectively, and both are perhaps the highlights of this series. Considine’s acting in the later portion of the season is without a doubt Emmy-worthy. While the cast at large gives solid performances, it would be remiss not to mention a few that stand out above the rest: Emma D’Arcy does wonders as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, daughter to Viserys; Rhys Ifans is brilliant as the calm and collected but all too conniving Ser Otto Hightower; Matthew Needham is so unnerving as the gleefully creepy and generally unpleasant Larys Strong; and Olivia Cooke does quite well as Queen Alicent Hightower, daughter of Otto. Each actor in the main cast, though, has at the very least one or two moments to really shine, which they do, and their performances shouldn’t be overlooked.
It’s difficult to discuss House of the Dragon in depth without giving too much away. The story, at its roots, is one of a quiet power struggle and a “war” of sorts between ambition and tradition. There are a handful of truly jaw-dropping moments in this first season, and these complement the story so well. Unlike Game of Thrones‘ most shocking scenes, the moments in question are not flashy or earth-shattering but are instead delivered with such dramatic flair and narrative boldness that they propel the stakes higher and higher. Each consecutive episode only ups the tension, which serves as a welcome reminder of just how great it is to be back in Martin’s fantasy world, where anything goes and every single action can have ulterior motives behind it.
Grade: B+
Headline photo from HBO