‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1 Redeemed ‘Game of Thrones’

House of the Dragon Season 1 did the seemingly impossible of making up for its predecessor’s final season.

House of the Dragon Season 1 is a wrap. The show had a crazy hard task in following up after the much-maligned Game of Thrones season 8.  Over the course of 10 episodes, the show delivered almost all of what it promised. In the end, it was a major success, winning over both old fans that had turned away from the show and new fans.

***BEWARE, HERE BE SPOILERS***

That Bad Season

via Warner Bros.

I don’t think I really need to go into a whole ton of details on this. Game of Thrones Season 8 was pretty widely considered to be a total disaster. Many people would argue that the show had gone downhill for several seasons, with the last few being actively bad. There is some debate here. There really isn’t much about Season 8 however. It was bad. Having moved long past Martin’s published books, the show got big and flashy and lost what people liked about it. Nonsensical choices piled up and brought the whole thing down. It was bad enough that many considered the legacy of GoT to be tainted.

What had started out as one of the best fantasy shows of all time, died with a whimper. The fallout was big. Not only was GoT affected but so were a slew of spin-offs. Towards the end of GoT‘s run, a whole slew of potential spin-offs was pitched and announced. After the debacle of Season 8 however, a lot of these fell off the radar. Some got canceled, and others went quietly. Many people just lost interest in the franchise. Then came House of the Dragon Season 1.

House of the Dragon Season 1 Was a Focused Story

One of GoT‘s issues was how much it sprawled out. The show became more about big flashy fights then a central core. Right from its start, House of the Dragon Season 1 stayed more focused. In this, it followed the early GoT seasons. HotD stayed with a much smaller cast of characters. Outside of the Targaryen, Velaryon, and Hightower families, there are only a few other characters. In addition, the show stayed focused on just a few locations. Almost the entire season takes place either in Kings Landing or on Driftmark and Dragonstone. There are some shorts jaunts to maybe half a dozen other locations, but that’s it.

via HBO

This allowed the show to really develop a number of characters. Letting viewers get to know these people well paid off a lot, and allowed them to form attachments. As the show continues, it will really have to draw these season one attachments to keep viewers invested.

Strong Performances

via HBO

House of the Dragon Season 1 benefitted from some really amazing performances. Paddy Considine Viserys Targaryen was in many ways the standout start of the show. He was able to do a rare thing: elevate a character in an adaptation way above the source material. He wasn’t alone in delivering a strong performance. Almost every actor did a bang-up job. The younger versions of several characters, in particular, Milly Alcock and Emily Carey were surprises. By using a focused approach and building on very strong performances, House of the Dragon Season 1 was able to redeem the GoT franchise.

Looking Past House of the Dragon Season 1

House of the Dragon Season 1 was good, but it had some issues. It seemed like almost every episode had at least one major flaw that brought it down. The episodes also often felt disconnected. It wasn’t just the time jumps, though that was an issue, but also simply that a lot of characterization and motives seem to change from episode to episode. I think both of these should worry people for Season 2, but are also fairly easy to fix. Without any time jumps to worry about the show should be OK there.

Courtesy of HBO

The bigger issue is likely that season 2 is going to focus on the war. It would be easy for the show to fall into a GoT Season 8 trap, going for large CGI battles and forgoing the interpersonal byplay that’s been so good in the show. On the bright side, the success of Season 1 will likely make HBO more confident going forward. House of the Dragon Season 1 was almost certainly held back by worry that Season 8 of GoT had ruined the franchise. The CGI suffered at times no doubt, due to budget. Likewise, the show would have been stronger with more episodes. Martin himself wished it could be 13, and I could argue for a full two seasons here. The show might get a lot more going forward. I guess we will have to wait a bit to see, however.

 

Let us know what you thought about House of the Dragon Season 1, down in the comments!

Advertisement

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.