How will House of the Dragon Seek to Continue from the Legacy of Game of Thrones?

Of all the shows to be released within the next year, among the most anticipated ones to be released is House of the Dragon, the prequel series to Game of Thrones set 200 years before the events of the hit television show, and based upon the second half of the book Fire and Blood, following the history of the Targaryan’s fall from the Iron Throne, and the war of succession resulting from it known as the “Dance of the Dragons’.

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Of course, while there will be many similarities to the show which came before it, such as the emphasis on politics, bloodlines, and many of the more mature themes and ideas that gave Game of Thrones it’s distinct, often shocking moments; House of the Dragon has already shown off how it will craft it’s own identity.  There is indeed an emphasis on politics and bloodlines, however, this time the focus is put upon one noble house, perhaps the most important house in the history of Westeros, with the main conflict stemming from civil strife within the house over who shall succeed the throne; Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen, brother to current ruller King Viserys I(Paddy Considine), and Emma D’Arcy’s Princess Rhaenyra, firstborn child of Rhaenyra.  While Game of Thrones treated the existence of dragons at that time period as something of great importance, during this time period, they are commonplace.  Of course, the existence of the White Walkers is not known at this point, thus it’s unlikely much time will be spent to the far north.

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In this regard, the show seems to focus primarily on what made Game of Thrones such a huge phenomenon when it was first released.  While the plotlines involving the White Walkers and the north were fascinating in their own rights, what most people love involved the complex politics at play between the many houses, and the harsh nature of these people; some being sympathetic while doing horrible things, while others absolutely deplorable.  It were these plotlines which led to some of the most iconic moments in the show; from Joffrey’s ascension to the throne, the tragic and shocking Red Wedding, the equally as shocking, yet more satisfying Purple Wedding, and one of the best battle sequences in the series with Battle of the Bastards.

All of these plotlines and character arcs had a lot of time dedicated to them throughout the first few seasons of the shows, largely thanks to the first five books of A Song of Ice and Fire having been released by the shows release.  It was after Season 5’s conclusion that a problem presented itself, namely that there was no more source material to go off of, resulting in showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss utilizing a basic outline author George R.R. Martin provided them to reach the show’s conclusion.  While Season 6 definitely had a different feel to it compared to the previous seasons, the final two episodes stand out as Game of Throne’s finest, paying off many storylines that had been setup and setting up new ones for the next seasons to follow.  However, Season 7 would go on to receive somewhat more mixed reception, with some arguing the show seemed to be rushing to get to the end.  Still, there was a large amount of hype going into the final season.

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Following its release though, to say critics and fans expressed disappointment in the show’s ending would be an understatement.  While fans expressed disappointment in choices made in regards to the conclusions of certain characters(among the most controversial being Cersei, Jaime, Bran, and Danerys in particular), both critics and fans felt the show lost the carefully thought out nature that made the shows best moments work, in favor of finishing the series as quickly as possible.

This is perhaps an advantage that House of the Dragon finds itself having.  On top of being an overall smaller, albeit important narrative, there is a distinct end point to reach given the nature of it being a prequel.  As a result, more effort can be made to carefully connect the dots and put the emphasis on the characters and politics, making feel more like they are driving the narrative forward, rather than being put into place because the plot demands that these moments happen, regardless of whether or not it fits where the characters are in their respective arcs.  In addition, Martin also has more direct involvement in the production of the show, as opposed to the final few seasons of Game of Thrones where Martin was more of a supportive role.

Of course, while not everyone was disappointed by the overall narrative told by Game of Thrones end, House of the Dragon looks to have more potential of being an overall more satisfying narrative with an ending that will leave more fans and critics satisfied, given more effort can be focused on fleshing out the world, characters, and politics, something which the original show so well-loved from the start.