The House of the Dragon Is Cruel, Cluttered, and Entertaining

The opening credits of Game of Thrones

The political intrigue was the nicest part of Game of Thrones, and HBO’s new series encompasses it.

The opening credits of Game of Thrones famously take viewers on a vibrant bird’s-eye tour of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy land. The pattern serves as a practical guide to a vast universe. However, it also serves a thematic function, reminding viewers of the show’s scope: This is a city-hopping series that includes aristocratic aristocracies as well as lowly soldiers, expelled hitmen, and far-flung sorcerers. 

House of the Dragon

HBO’s much-anticipated prequel series, made its debut with its own opening sequence this week with its second installment. The rousing theme music continues to remain, but the setting is restricted, with rivers of blood surging through the wall surfaces of Old Valyria, the Targaryen family’s original home.

The main characters treat incestuous intermarriage

The Targaryens, who have been mainly annihilated by the time of Game of Thrones, are the primary theme of House of the Dragon, which may have limited attraction to some viewers. My colleague Sophie Gilbert wisely pointed out the difficult task of making an investment in a TV show in which the major protagonists accept incest interbreeding as the norm. 

Unlike Game of Thrones

Which highlights a strong cast of eccentric characters from which spectators can choose their favourites, the majority of House of the Dragon leads are silver-haired, dragon-riding royal family vying for a place on a throne that audience members know their family will ultimately (almost 200 years later) lose to rebellion. So why am I so moved?

Martin’s world

Because the plot in the palace was always my favourite element of Martin’s globe. Yes, there are warrior dragons, a 700-foot-tall ice wall built to keep zombies out, and witches who can resurrect the dead in Game of Thrones. 

In the second season

But one of my favourite plots in the show’s history occurs in its second season, when the devious Tyrion Lannister (played by Peter Dinklage) assumes the role of Hand of the King in the equity of King’s Landing and launches a covert operations campaign against his sister, using rumours of sham marriage plotlines to root out her unionists. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which I have all read and reread, are as much inspired by fantasy epics as they are by science fiction.

Ammaji