House of the Dragon: Against All Odds
Another Sunday without House of the Dragon has come and gone. While there is certainly no shortage of content, there is a definite void. House of the Dragon hit differently. It is a throwback to a simpler time in television, one of communal watching, appointment viewing and watercooler talk. A series that needs its week away for processing and reflection. A series worthy of its remarkable budget and lofty expectations. To be significantly more simple, House of the Dragon is great, in about every possible way one could define greatness in this era. The ratings were jaw-dropping, the social media interaction was consistent and high. It has been memed and gif’d to death, and there is no doubt that when awards season rolls around House of the Dragon will be well represented. Even with all this evidence, simply calling House of the Dragon “great” feels reductive, regardless of how obvious.
While hyperbole is easy, and common, it’s hard to be hyperbolic about this season. House of the Dragon is quite the accomplishment. What House of the Dragon aims to accomplish is lofty, and its execution is exquisite. Following the controversial ending of Game of Thrones (a show and final season I still contend is much better than we give credit to) is a difficult task. Setting this story not just as a prequel but a story that we already know the outcome of, is foolhardy in the wrong hands. And the complicated presentation of the story, with continuous time jumps and midseason actor changes is quite rare. Ultimately, House of the Dragon attempts the impossible. And at full risk of sounding hyperbolic, it is the most impressive first season of television I’ve ever seen.
With it only being a few short years since the end of Game of Thrones, it’s easy to remember the uneasy state Thrones fans were in after the series finale. Many left wondering if revisiting Westeros was a good idea. This is the first of many impressive hurdles House of the Dragon clears this season. The clever writing, very good direction and incredible performances suck fans right back into everything that is great about this world. The plots, schemes, politics, drama and conflict is mouthwateringly intriguing. We may be far from landing this plane, which may draw out some concerns, but through this one season we all can just bask in the brutal beauty that is this world.
The choice to revisit Westeros long before the events of the story we know, is an interesting one. Prequels have (if I’m being generous) a checkered history in cinema. A more critical opinion is that they typically don’t work. This is for plenty of different reasons, but in the case of House of the Dragon we not only know this story, we know how it ends. The choice to set the next Westeros story at this time only makes things more complicated. Here is where the writing team, in particular, excels this first season. The pacing of this season draws out the details most necessary and intriguing. They uncover a rich tapestry of political maneuvering that is far more intriguing than what we know of this story.
More importantly, House of the Dragon is able to do something thematically that Thrones could not. House of the Dragon centers its story around the women at the top of this political maneuvering. While the men are still better positioned in this world, and are certainly playing their part in the jockeying. It’s the women driving this story. Alicient and Rhaenyra are the main conflict, and the main relationship. This is a unique position to be in because it is much different from Thrones. Narrowing the focus of the show to just two main families, is a jarring change from the more sprawling Game of Thrones, but it allows for a hyper focus on these women and their respective families. A strength of this first season is that we get to see Westerosi politics through the eyes of the women who are at the top of the food chain. It changes the dynamics and feel of the show, for the better. Ultimately, it makes the whole world more interesting and engaging.
Adding to the impressiveness of this first season, are the hurdles the creative team behind House of the Dragon created for themselves. Biggest of which are the jumps in time. Game of Thrones always moved with a unique, and quite particular, style through time. However, it was mostly consistent. House of the Dragon, throws that playbook out and decides to operate by its own rules. Those rules being that there are no rules, at least in reference to how time works. Making time jumps of years between episodes, there is much that happens off screen. Each episode has a fair amount of exposition to maneuver, and risks losing its audience because character connections and plot is harder to grasp.
In the face of all these difficulties, House of the Dragon succeeds. The jumps in time allow for the story to progress at a breakneck pace. We move through so much in each episode, which adds a little extra excitement. The understanding, by both the directors and writers, of what makes this world so interesting keeps everything familiar. It’s moving at a pace faster than this world usually moves. That is in direct opposition to the slow, drawn out, political scheming of Thrones. House of the Dragon maintains its intrigue. It’s the best of both worlds. It’s a drawn out, wonderfully paced drama, jumping through nearly an entire lifetime in the first season.
Alongside these time jumps is another choice that seems foolhardy but ends up being brilliant. Changing actors midseason is a wild idea. I don’t know too many series that are willing to change actors between seasons because of what it’ll do to chemistry, continuity and audience engagement. House of the Dragon does this halfway through the season, and only with a small number of characters. It’s a great risk to possibly overcomplicate something that is already complicated. Not to mention, the first five episodes birthed bonafide stars in Milly Alcock and Emily Carey. A change in those actors could be a real let down.
Instead, it added a dramatic weight and functions as a clever (and clear) illustration of the passage of time. Bringing in new actors for those roles only makes the series better and provides the opposite feeling than what you’d expect. You feel more connected to those characters because they are a stronger reflection of the passage of time than almost any other character. Also, Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke absolutely kill the final five episodes. So a decision that first had even the most open minded fans a bit apprehensive, becomes a unique quality of this series. It’s also another impressive notch on the belt of this incredible first season.
The further we get from the finale episode, and the more I think of the season, the more remarkable House of the Dragon becomes. Beyond the obvious things one finds impressive in a series of this scale, House of the Dragon is truly astonishing. Drawing the highest of praise and comparisons, and doing so without a major battle or war sequence is a feat in and of itself. But so is the consistency from week to week. It’s a series that is beautiful to look at, with marvelous acting and clever direction. It’s entertaining, engaging, indulging and smart. You can think about its themes for weeks and see a dope dragon fight. Regardless of where you would rank it or how you would compare it to its predecessor, Game of Thrones, what is undeniable is that it is impressive and truly deserving of all the flowers.
