Random TV Season Review - House of the Dragon (Season 1)

 

Not quite a Christmas sort of thing, but they always complain about winter, so let's get to it. So, as many people who watched the main show will know, Game of Thrones ended pretty badly for a lot of fans. Many of which were hoping that Daenerys Targaryen would keep her cool during the liberation of King's Landing, but ultimately she burned it to the ground with no intention of stopping after that. In fact, it wasn't just fans who were upset at that, but also Emilia Clarke herself who could not bear to do that kind of acting herself (at least at first anyway). So all that aside and with the ending being what it is, we now have the first of a few planned shows set in the same universe, with this one serving as a prequel of sorts to the main show. Let's go before winter takes us all:

Based on the novel Fire and Blood by creator George R.R. Martin and set 200 years before the main show, we begin with King Jaehaerys I Targaryen (played by Paddy Considine) convening the Great Council to help choose his next heir to the throne following the demise of his two sons. The council choose Prince Viserys (played by Harry Lloyd) as the heir over Princess Rhaenys (played by Emma D'Arcy). This then leads into a battle of sorts that pits every family member of House Targaryen against each other as the Dance of Dragons takes place, leading up to a brutal civil war with Jaehaerys I right in the middle of it.

While the themes of the main show can be heard nearly throughout this prequel, it manages to stand on its own with its characters, themes and story. In a way, most fans may actually forgive the people behind the main show's final season for this pretty darn good prequel, which hopefully will continue. Unless it's a one-off thing, in which case, a good start to the first of a few shows tied to the main show. 9/10