A Game of Thrones prequel that remembers the formula

When Game of Thrones debuted in April 2011, viewers were blown away. It promised a grim fairy tale of undead, wolves, politics, violence, and sex. And most people seemed to come back week after week for those very priorities (albeit in reversed order). Along the way, dragons joined the mix, a favorite anytime they were on screen.

By the time Game of Thrones ended in 2019, it had somewhat lost its way. Or, frankly, known where it needed to get by the end of the final season and cut every corner to make sure it got there.

Then, in 2022, House of the Dragon came along, turning back the clock nearly 200 years and focusing on House Targaryen. Well, specifically on Rhaenyra Targaryen, but not exclusively.

You see, whereas Game of Thrones was notorious for its scope and bloat of characters, House of the Dragon goes in depth on the Targaryens and their immediate concerns. There are no white walkers in this series. There are no continent-spanning wars or threats of invasion from across the sea.

And while there is plenty of adult content in House of the Dragon, it isn’t as wantonly, crassly sexual as its predecessor got at times. Although there is an all new form of dread of the “no… you two are related, stop looking at each other like that” variety.

So, what do we have, backfilling the runtime if we’ve got less sex and politics? Dragons. It’s right in the title, and they make good on the promise. If you like CGI dragons doing CGI dragon things, this is the series for you.

Also, there’s a coming-of-age tale going on, the likes of which Game of Thrones contains but rarely pauses the grinding overall narrative to show.

But… DRAGONS!

This is a family saga wrapped in layers of fantasy drama, all packaged inside a box with scales and fangs and fiery breath. If you find yourself lost in the whirl of similar sounding names and firehose info dumps at times, just remember two things:

Rhaenyra is your main character, and you’re here for the dragons.