House of The Dragon

House of The Dragon

House of The Dragon: Three years after the shocking conclusion of Game of Thrones with an episode (and a season) that has infuriated fans all over the world, on August 22 it debuts simultaneously with the United States on Sky and NOW, House of the Dragon, a prequel and spin-off of the original series, based on the novel "Fire and Blood" by George RR Martin, author of the leading literary saga. 

Story set hundreds of years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is an insight into the Targaryen dynasty when "dragons still reigned over Westeros". We had the opportunity to preview the first six episodes of the series thanks to Sky Italia and Warner Bros. Discovery and below we report our opinion strictly no spoilers!

Two hundred years before the events recounted in Game of Thrones, the Targaryen family reigned over Westeros as one of the most powerful dynasties in history. Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) after being chosen by the Council of Lords to ascend the throne and succeed his grandfather, becomes the fifth king of the Seven Kingdoms. 

House of The Dragon/HBO Max

Her daughter, the eldest Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock / Emma D'Arcy), a dragon rider, expects to become the first queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but everything is challenged by the unborn Aegon II Targaryen, the younger half-brother, and by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), presumed heir to the throne and younger brother of Viserys.

Anyone who has a minimum of familiarity with Game of Thrones, with its countless families and its hundreds of characters and mythologies behind the story, knows that it would be practically impossible to go deeper into a plot that would result in a single list of names and events. If the original series had accustomed its readers before, and its viewers later to this sea of ​​events and episodes, House of the Dragon lays the foundations for a great return to the very atmosphere that made Game of Thrones one of the series. 

most acclaimed TV in history before the disastrous finale. We would like to reassure you immediately, that the new series created by Ryan G. Condal under the supervision (fortunately) of Geroge RR Martin could be the excellent remedy that will finally make you heal from that annoying acidity that has lasted for three years now.

House of the Dragon is a bit like what Game of Thrones was in its early days, an epic and mythical tale that makes family and political intrigues it's core. Being a prequel set hundreds of years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen and then before the events of a Song of Ice and Fire, House of the Dragon is the classic spin-off that must be seen after concluding the main series as the references, the quotes and the narrative structure itself is completely based on the parent series and starting from here would be disheartening for all those who do not understand the world of George Martin. 

House of The Dragon

Based on the episodic novel "Fire and Blood" published in Italy by Mondadori, the series, a bit like the book from which it is taken, is a succession of episodic events with continuous temporal leaps that traces the history of the Targaryen family from its dawn to its inexorable defeat.

Composed of 10 episodes lasting about an hour each, the series perfectly mixes visual action and dynamism even in those scenes where dialogue is the protagonist, avoiding unnecessary didacticism and focusing on the "here and now" from the narrative. At first glance it might seem difficult to navigate the various temporal leaps from one episode to another, at least as long as part of the cast remains unchanged, but as the minutes pass and the first episodes pass everything becomes easily usable, even the result of writing. accessible and decidedly less difficult and intricate than the first seasons of Game of Thrones.

To an excellent script, there is also the excellent visual system that makes House of the Dragon from the very first minutes a product with a high level of entertainment in which mighty dragons hover in the air and just hearing the famous "Dracarys" destroy with their fiery breath. There is no shortage of particularly crude, gory and graphically explicit scenes, a feature borrowed from the original series, famous for this type of sequence. 

The first episode "The Heirs of the Dragon" is directed by a veteran of the historical series: Miguel Sapochnik who has perfectly managed to recreate those sensations and emotions that have fascinated the spectators of Game of Thrones for almost ten years, focusing a lot on that nostalgia effect of the "homecoming", places and names echo in the minds of fans who will not seem to have passed a moment since the last time they said goodbye to Westeros.

House of The Dragon/HBO Max

Honorable mention also at the chosen casting where the chameleon Matt Smith excels in the fearsome and insane strategist Daemon Targaryen role. Despite the various hard jumps from one episode to another, the most obvious is certainly the one that affects the sixth episode in which a casting change is made in part. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen initially played by the ethereal Milly Alcock is replaced by the more adult Emma D’Arcy, as for the character of Alicent Hightower initially played by Emily Carey, later replaced by Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel).

House of the Dragon is the perfect return to Westeros we were hoping for. History of the Targaryen, one of the families most loved by fans and by George RR Martin, manages to mix dynamism and visual spectacularity even in those scenes where the dialogues are the protagonists. With an exceptional cast and a quality technical sector, we are sure that this series will be the excellent remedy that will finally make you heal from that annoying acidity that has lasted since the disappointing finale of Game of Thrones.