Kai Colaco brings you House of the Dragon in all its gruesome glory!
The Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, focuses closely on the events of George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which tells the story of House Targaryen and the civil war that took place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Key figures in the spin-off include King Viserys Targaryen, played by Paddy Considine, and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (a.k.a. King Viserys’ chosen heir), played by Emma D’Arcy.
The show starts 172 years before the death of “The Mad King” Aerys Targaryen and the birth of Daenerys. Chronicling the peak and ensuing fall of the Targaryen Dynasty, House of the Dragon is based on Fire & Blood, a volume of fictional history George R.R. Martin wrote on the Targaryens.
It’s about everything that happened in the House of Targaryen during its reign, leading to its decline. The faster pace of House of the Dragon helps it feel different from Game of Thrones, which is helpful for viewers with shorter attention spans.
The spirit of the Targaryen women that we see later in Daenerys does really shine through Princess Rhaenys. Her desire to prevent bloodshed and rule with wisdom; knowing that she’s more than a child-bearer, will leave you awe-inspired! Having said that, we also see the streak of the Targaryen men being hot-headed and for lack of a better term, crazy with the rash decision-making of Prince Daemon.
While there were a lot of fans who turned skeptical of the show after the subpar series finale of Game of Thrones back in 2019; their loyalty (and curiosity) came through strong to watch a spin-off of the iconic show that captured hearts and minds, and they were not disappointed!
House of The Dragon is beyond what you can expect (possibly because of our low expectations, but we’re not complaining!). It has guts, gore, dragons, fire, love, death, and some fantastic screenplay. (No, we weren’t doomed in the darkness of the screen like with the finale of GoT!) George RR Martin, writer of the books, revealed that he’s already seen nine of House of the Dragon’s 10 episodes and attested that he is in fact very happy!
The show has just started to air, so it’s really the best time to hop onto the boat and sail to Westeros! The various time jumps in episodes, makes a lot of space for new cast members (as the old ones are too young to play their characters following the time jump) who are doing fantastic jobs of portraying rebellion, betrayal, love, strategy, tough decisions, and other emotions through mellow, strategic acting.
House of the Dragon is sure to make your belly churn and blow your mind. Get set for a whole lot of fire and blood!!
