If you’re any kind of Game of Thrones fan like I am, these past few years may have seemed…empty. Whether you agree with the majority that the last season was a disappointment, or you are in the quieter last season defender minority like myself, there’s definitely been something missing in our lives since the series’s wrap-up. Many of us have found some decent ways to fill that fantasy craving void, such as the excellent Witcher series, the ok-ish Wheel of Time adaptation, or the wonderful, yet tragically canceled after one season Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance. These have all given me a great deal of fantasy nerd serotonin to be sure, but not quite the same way of watching a new episode of GoT, with a giant glass of wine in hand and a box of tissues on the ready. Sure, HBO had teased us with a number of spin off series set in the world of Westeros, and when one finally got greenlit, I allowed myself a tiny allowance of cautious excitement. Not too much excitement, though, as I’m sure nothing could beat out the original for me.
***Minor Spoilers Ahead***
Well, the first season of House of the Dragon is finally over. And with it, I can finally say, that empty void left in me is finally filled once more. Taking place about 186 years before the events of Game of Thrones, this series focuses on the Targaryen royal family during their golden age of rule and dragons were still numerous in the world. When peaceful King Veserys (Paddy Considine) loses his wife and son to childbirth, he makes the difficult decision to name his beloved only daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock and later Emma D’Arcy) as heir to the throne. Problem is, Westeros isn’t woke enough to accept a woman ruler just yet. Things start getting complicated when Rhaenyra’s bestie Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey and later Olivia Cooke) marries Veserys and starts having male offspring with him. Adding to the drama, Rhaenyra’s growing sexual tension with her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) springs her to do some less than trustworthy actions that further alienate her from he subjects. This is just the start, as this season spans over the course of a couple of decades, culminating into the beginning of one of Westeros’ bloodiest wars: The Dance of Dragons
Where do I start in describing how happy watching this has made me? I guess it would be easier to get the tiny criticisms out of the way before I delve into the goodness. For those of you who felt thrown off at the pretty fast pacing of seasons 7 and 8 of Game of Thrones, I got bad news for you. Season 1 of House of the Dragon goes so much faster. Don’t get overly attached to any particular character in this one, because some of them will die off way faster than you expect. I know I know, that goes without saying with anyone in this universe. Still, I’ll admit I was a bit disappointed with characters I was just learning their names and liking to unceremoniously be killed off a couple of episodes later. I get it. This season, from what I understand, is mostly elaborated backstory to a much bigger one. It was an attempt to show a lot of key events that resulted in the war to come, so it had to be done at breakneck speed. At the same time, they wanted to give us much context behind these character’s motivations as possible. So yes, a lot of characters that are set up to be “important” are killed off rather quickly as that is what happens to their book counterparts. This is a small price to pay to have well fleshed out characters overall.
Speaking of characters, once again the casting department has outdone itself. This is one of the most talented series cast I’ve seen since…well, Game of Thrones, I guess. There were some naysayers initially doubting the casting of Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen. I could tell within his first scene that he was going to be a fan darling of this series. Daemon didn’t have the most lines out of anyone, but his physical acting alone told us everything we needed to know. I know I should be picking between “Team Green” or “Team Black”, but in reality, I could never pick between how much I love Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra or Olivia Cooke’s Alicent. The fact that such playful, charming actors (with now meme worthy chemistry with each other behind the scenes), can transform into such nuanced characters on film.
Most of all, I am absolutely blown away by Paddy Constadine’s performance as King Veserys. If I could sign a petition just so this series is eligible to win Oscars (even though it’s very much not in the movie category) I would. Constadine’s performance wasn’t just Emmy worthy. It’s Oscar worthy. While we are on the subject, his best performance came from my (and I’m sure many other’s) favorite episode of the season, Episode 8: “The Lord of The Tides”. This one may beat out even some of my top favorites for GoT. Episode 8 really highlights what this show does better than GoT, the character’s relationships with each other. In its core, this series is about a family and the families they married into. Episode 8 may be the most tragic of all because it shows so much of what might have been had egos not been too big, feelings not stayed hurt, or misunderstandings smoothed over. It shows that the war to come will be completely unnecessary.
While I greatly anticipated this series as my replacement Game of Thrones fix, I have already grown to love House of the Dragon in its own right. At times, it does feel a bit like a soap opera set in a medieval fantasy backdrop (nothing wrong with that!) Yet, there’s something about it that seems more down to Earth, more human than its predecessor. Ironic as the main cast are platinum haired royalty who ride on dragons. I have a feeling the action is going to be much more intense in the seasons to come, so buckle up your dragon saddle friends, we’re in for a bumpy ride!
