Stream It Or Skip It: ‘House of the Dragon’ on HBO Max, The ‘GoT’ Prequel That The World Has Been Waiting For With Baited Dragon’s Breath

Are you ready to return to Westeros? House of the Dragon, HBO‘s much-anticipated Game of Thrones prequel, pushes the action from the fantastical continent hundreds of years into the past, when the blonde-locked Targaryens were in complete control of the realm thanks to their fire-breathing labor source. But all is not well with the royal line of succession, as we soon discover. House of the Dragon features former Doctor Who Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, and what should be star-making performances from Emma D’Arcy and Milly Alcock.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: “As the first century of the Targaryen Dynasty came to a close, the health of the old king was failing. In those days, House Targaryen stood at the height of its strength, with ten adult dragons under its yoke.” It’s the voice of an adult Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) we’re hearing, as the ceremony to announce the successor to King Jaehaerys I plays out at Harrenhal castle.

The Gist: The successor chosen was Viserys (Paddy Considine), Rhaenyra’s father, who beat out his cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) for the honor and whose ascendancy to king proved the Seven Kingdoms were not ready for their first queen. (Rhaenys would become known as “The Queen Who Never Was.”) House of the Dragon takes place nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and like GoT is based on a book by George R. R. Martin; this time around, it’s portions of Fire & Blood being adapted, but there are similarities of name and lineage – Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the dragonrider, havoc bringer, and Iron Throne grabber of later Game of Thrones seasons, was a descendant of these same Targaryens.

In House of the Dragon, the Westerosi city of King’s Landing is for now at peace. King Viserys has announced a great tournament of jousts and other revels in celebration of queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) and her impending labors. Viserys knows in his heart, in his dreams even, that the queen consort will bear a son, thereby ensuring his line of succession. And Princess Rhaenyra (played as a young woman by Milly Alcock) wants a boy to be born, too, if it’ll just make her father happy. Rhaenyra, proud and intelligent, spends a lot of time cruising the skies above King’s Landing on her mount, the golden dragon Syrax, and flouting her studies alongside BFF Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey). She also listens intently as she refills wine goblets at meetings of the king’s council. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Lady Alicent’s father and Hand of the King, is in open opposition to Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), the king’s brother and presumed heir to the throne, while master of the seas Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) – he’s also married to Princess Rhaenys – warns of a pirate revolt and Grand Maester Mellos (David Horovitch) says his moon charts are no good for predicting the sex of a baby.

At the tourney, the hot headed Prince Daemon shows off his skills by blowing through a few jousting opponents as the king announces that his wife is in labor. But to his seething disgust, Daemon meets his match in Ser Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel), a commoner and skilled fighter from the independent land of Dorne. Then, tragedy strikes. The birth does NOT go well. And suddenly, succession is not the somewhat foregone conclusion it so recently was. As Prince Daemon’s anger and legitimacy complex consume him, Viserys approaches his daughter Rhaenyra with his decision. To rule as a Targaryen over the Seven Kingdoms, one must always remember that dragons and the power they represent is something to be respected. And there’s also the little matter of a prophecy, the song of ice and fire, a dream passed down through generations of rulers that predicts a terrible winter to come, and the end of the world of men.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Game of Thrones put up some of HBO’s biggest-ever viewership numbers, and became a part of the cultural conversation, so there’s no question that the network would wish to continue the hitmaking with its prequel, House of the Dragon. But it’s difficult to catch lightning in a bottle twice, even with dragon flame on your side, and besides, there’s some stiff competition. The J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, set to premiere in September on Prime Video, is said to be former Amazon honcho Jeff Bezos’ answer to the success and scope of Game of Thrones, with the large ensemble cast and vast budget to face HBO head on.

Our Take: The amount of detail in House of the Dragon is deep, and appreciated. From the expanded role of those titular beasts – we see where their quarters are, and begin to understand the staffing and logistics of maintaining a large dragon fleet – to the terrific costuming and even the sound editing, this Dragon has clearly done the work to dig deep into George R.R. Martin’s writing, which is almost certainly because the author is directly involved with the production. And it’s that kind of detail that makes a show of this scale rewarding – there’s always something to observe or listen for, even as its tendency to drift into “people in tunics arguing around a table and revealing strings of complicated names and places” mode, a place GoT went often. Performance-wise, Matt Smith gets the nod early, since Daemon is such a self-righteous prick and unabashedly bloodthirsty. Those are widescreen traits, and Smith leans into villain mode. But he also dwells on the brooding insecurities that quake inside the prince. And Milly Alcock is doing fine work here, too, essentially becoming the face of the franchise as she plays the younger version of Princess Rhaenyra with poise, pride, and a sure hand that suggests she’s a breakout star. Later, the role of Rhaenyra will be taken over by Emma D’Arcy, in one of those awkward shifts that a show on this scale requires. But the casting is terrific across the board, and House of the Dragon should keep us guessing about its succession squabbles and survivability ratings as all of these characters face the violence that’s about to plague Westeros.

Sex and Skin: Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), a sex slave in King’s Island and Daemon’s eventual confidante and spy, is introduced midst of coitus with the prince. And later, during a drunken rager at the brothel, the prince is surrounded by men and women in various states of undress as he stews over the question of succession.

Parting Shot: All the lords of the great houses have gathered in the great hall at Harrenhal, where King Viserys sits before them. “I do hereby name Rhaenyra Targaryen, Princess of Dragonstone, and heir to the Iron Throne.” Everyone bows their heads, Rhaenyra takes a sharp breath – no pressure, right? – and the first episode of House of the Dragon closes out with the harsh whisper-scream of an unseen dragon.

Sleeper Star: It’s gotta be the dragons. The soaring, fire-breathing magical creatures were a big part of Game of Thrones, of course. But with House of the Dragon, you can imagine a writer’s room with a white board that started with the winged beasts and built its way outward. We meet two of them in the first episode alone, Rhaenyra’s mount Syrax and Prince Daemon’s Caraxes, the enormous red dragon also known as Blood Wyrm, and dragons and their fearsome abilities are sure to inform events going forward as war and struggle rule the realm.

Most Pilot-y Line: “My heir will soon put all of this damnable handwringing to rest himself!” King Viserys is confident to the point of assuming too much about the gender of his unborn child, and that includes his refusal to heed the warnings from Queen Aemma Arryn regarding her history of difficult pregnancies.

Our Call: STREAM IT. House of the Dragon proves to be a worthy follow-up to Game of Thrones, with heaps of courtly intrigue, detailed fantasy world building, and a deep bench of characters that will no doubt remain compelling as the battles start and blood is spilled.

Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges