The creators of “Dragon House” faced a difficult task. Not just difficult, cumbersome, almost paradoxical. On the one hand, the series is a prequel to one of the most successful series in television history. On the other hand, the ending of “Game of Thrones” was so messed up that many viewers still feel betrayed by it. The failure of the last season was intensified even more because of the amount of attention she received – she did not die slowly but messed up hugely in front of everyone, a scripted car accident that everyone saw and hated.
So what do you do in such a situation, rely on success and risk the anti-automatic of the disappointed? Or are you quick to brand yourself as something completely different? As of the first episode, HBO decided to go all out in the direction of relying on the original. The atmosphere and tone are almost the same and the episode also includes a lot of Easter nods and tributes to the mother series – names of houses and areas that are casually mentioned, touches of the mythological opening in the soundtrack and also a bigger salute (and quite unnecessary) just before the end of the episode.
“Dragon House” (Photo: PR/HBO)
The most significant imagery is the apparent plot – another bloody succession struggle in which family members, friends and allies will freely betray each other in order to sit on the Iron Throne. The change is that this time we are supposed to witness this struggle years and maybe even decades ahead. If everything goes well, there is a chance that they are planning a plot that will last until the days of “Game of Thrones”, because the source of interest here is not only the acquaintance with the mysterious House Targaryen but its great fall after about 200 years of reign.
“Dragon House” (Photo: PR/HBO)
The first episode introduces us to the animations acting with a rather confusing agility, the kind that requires loyal fans to watch twice or at least go fill in some information on YouTube analyses. 172 years before Daenerys’ birth, House Targaryen has held the throne for a hundred years and has ten full grown dragons. The king is required to choose his successor after 60 years of calm and stable rule, and chooses his nephew Viserys (Paddy Considine) over his daughter Rainis (Yves Best) for reasons of “girls have lice”. Nine years later, King Viserys hopes to finally become a father to a male child, while his brother Damon (Matt Smith) hangs around the king’s court giving Scar vibes with a fae.
“Dragon House” (Photo: PR/HBO)
The political tangle waiting to happen in the king’s court includes lords with their own interests, an army of violent policemen led by the king’s brother, types from distant lands we have yet to meet, and two 15-year-old girls – Viserys’ eldest daughter, Rhaenyra, and her best friend Alicent, who is also the daughter of hand of the king The episode gives us hints for sequels, which according to tradition may all be proven false by sudden death or betrayal. It is quite clear that the series will deal with the status of women in this even-more-patriarchal society, but given the much larger number of men in key roles this will probably not be the main point. “The only thing that can bring down this dragon house is itself,” declares the narrator Rahainira at the beginning of the episode to make it clear that we are once again dealing with power and ego between nobles.
“Dragon House” (Photo: PR/HBO)
The opening of “Dragon House” tries so hard to remind us where it came from, that it’s hard not to see it as just another season of “Game of Thrones”. As such, this is not a bad episode, but also not particularly prominent or significant. The characters are nice, the plot is intriguing even if not very original and the actors do a good job, even if some of them got stuck with very problematic faces. The question is whether this is simply an attempt to continue “Game of Thrones” with new creators instead of those who messed up, or is there also an intention here to develop a separate series with its own unique character. For that we will have to wait for the next episodes or maybe even the next season.
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