Can the Upcoming ‘House of the Dragon’ prequel recapture the magic Game of Thrones once had?
Game of Thrones seems to be expanding with the upcoming House of the Dragon spin-off series which will serve as a prequel. Game of Thrones felt like it had the whole world in a choke hold every Sunday, especially the last couple seasons with everyone tuning in waiting to see how it would all end.
The ending unfortunately was met with a ton of criticism and left many fans unfulfilled. After a couple of years went by, this House of the Dragon spin-off series started to roll out information and teasers. But fans were still sharing their displeasure with the ending of GOT. It seems like people will indeed watch the new show but with a level of caution and without expectations.
The House of the Dragon series releases on August 21st, 2022, and will focus on the Targaryen legacy and will take place hundreds of years before the original series.
The Targaryen family live by “fire and blood” and the story will be an adaptation of the Fire and Blood book by George RR Martin. In this series, we can expect to see the Targaryens feuding and divided by the thirst for being in power. This will lead to a huge civil war amongst the family known as ‘The Dance of Dragons’.
This series will most likely be filled with references to the original GOT series. We will possibly see different origin stories with the houses and how things came to be for what we’ve already seen. According to HBO’s Casey Bloys
“The Game of Thrones universe is so rich with stories. We look forward to exploring the origins of the House Targaryen and the earlier days of Westeros…”
Casey Bloys
George Martin also chimed in on the upcoming series last December stating
“It’s dark, it’s powerful, it’s visceral… just the way I like my epic fantasy. Ryan and Miguel have done an amazing job, and the cast… just as with Game of Thrones, most viewers will only have heard of a few of the actors, but I think you are going to fall in love with a lot of them.”
George Martin
As far as what to expect, similar to the original GOT series we can expect our fair share of bloodshed, backstabbing (both figuratively and literally), heartbreak with characters they make us fall in love with and then take away from us, and DRAGONS. This is back during a time when dragons weren’t just seen as a myth, it’s in the title for a reason, we should expect dragons to be a heavy part of this series.
Let’s meet some of the cast
Emma D’Arcy stars as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
The king’s first-born child, she is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.
HBO
Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen
The younger brother to King Viserys and hear to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon. But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air
HBO
Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen
Viserys was chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King at the Great Council at Harrenhal. A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy, but as we’ve learned from Game of Thrones, good men do not necessarily make for great kings.
HBO
Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower
The hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the King’s brother Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.
HBO
Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower
She’s the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised by the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both courtly grace and keen political acumen.
HBO
Steve Toussant as Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Sea Snake”
The Lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As “The Sea Snake,” the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.
HBO
To see and learn more about the cast click here
It will certainly be interesting to see how the fans will react to this new series. One major difference between this spin-off and the original is the competition. The original GOT series rose to the top and was in competition with itself, House of the Dragon will come out during a time where there’s so much streaming and so many shows people are already excited for and tuned into.
It will be tough for this series to grab everybody as it did before because of that reason alone. Other widely anticipated shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power begin streaming on September 2nd and Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law albeit on a different day, starts steaming the same week as House of the Dragon but on August 17th. That is some fierce competition this series will be facing.
Nevertheless, there’s a lot to look forward to with House of the Dragon and with the Game of Thrones universe in general as it was recently reported a few spin-off series’ are in development.
Can this show recapture the magic its predecessor once had? Here’s what the show-runners recently had to say:
Will you be tuning in every Sunday night when House of the Dragon airs?
Author
