‘House of the Dragon’ set in 112 AC came out on August 21, 2022, 3 years after the overwhelmingly negative reaction to the disappointing ending of ‘Game of Thrones’. A show so massively beloved and iconic was always under the threat of wrapping up poorly simply due to its large amount of characters and different storylines; but the conclusion, in my opinion, was not appropriate for the characters’ development and storylines that were developed leading up to that moment the whole season. Most agreed with this sentiment and believed that the ending was sloppy in terms of writing and storylines; for which the show has previously been acclaimed for in the past.

The passing years gave fans enough time to process and put behind the ending in order to come in with a blank slate for this new spinoff show. The dragons and heroic story of Daenarys Targaryen was greatly received and loved among fans; so there is no better show to create than featuring both of those things but with new characters and storylines that explain the history of ‘Game of Thrones’ and the fall of the Targaryen family in power based off the book by the creator of the original series, “Fire and Blood” by George R.R. Martin. 10 million tuned in to watch the pilot, proving that the show’s popularity has not slowed down even years after. It opens with a choice between a girl and a boy for king or queen and although the girl has the stronger claim, the man, Viserys is chosen due to his gender. However, not long after, Viserys must choose his heir. Since he only has one daughter and no sons, he chooses Rhaneyra as his successor and eventually, her best friend, Alicient, as his queen when he must remarry as he doesn’t have many other choices.

Although Alicient and Rhaneyra start off close, this soon fades with the progression of the king and Alicient’s relationship. As Alicient produces more and more kids, the oldest being a boy, she pushes for him to be named heir instead of Rhaneyra, and tensions between them, and eventually their children, increasingly grow more hostile and less bearable. This kick-starts the central conflict of the show which is basically the Targeryans being divided as to not only who should rule on the throne, but also generally just against each other which is the main reason why their house cannot sustain the throne. Even with the power and advantage of dragons, which is how they conquered in the first place, they still struggle to unite, making the greatest threat to the Targaryens themselves.

The characters, such as Rhaneyra, even recognize this as she says to her uncle after they have both lost their partners to fire, “Fire is such strange power. Everything that House Targaryen possesses is owed to it. Yet it has cost us both what we loved”. Although fire is seemingly what makes them strong and powerful, it also makes them weak in the sense that without it, they are seemingly defenseless, and when used too often, can harm the ones they love or even themselves.

Similar to ‘Game of Thrones’, although these characters may only exist in a fictional, fantasy world; the writing, development, and thought process behind each of the characters make them more human and relatable than most shows set in the present time. The depth and motivations of the characters are understood by the audience whether you like them or not; which is rare for a show of today’s age with most of them focusing now on shock value rather than developing the plot in a natural way. There is no clean-cut villain or hero similar to real life, they are real people with positive attributes but also flaws that challenge how far an audience member is willing to support this character in spite of everything they’ve done.

Not only have the characters and writing exceeded the expectations of fans (and me) in many ways, but it also has incredible attention to detail. From the sets being representative of each character and their taste and background, to the outfits being symbolic of each character’s feelings or allegiances to one another, to the artistic shots that often represent characters’ relationships by showing how they stand in relation to each other; the show pays great homage to
each aspect of the complex lore which causes each of the items, settings, and frames to tell a story in themselves without even having to say a word.

For example, the lighting progressively gets darker and more cool-toned in the castle as compared to the beginning’s vibrant and warm colors; with each episode leading up to the eruption of the conflict, slowly creating an uneasy feeling in the viewer without even having to explicitly say that something bad is bound to happen. Overall, the ‘Game of Thrones’ legacy successfully redeemed itself and in some ways, even improved and is superior to the earlier ‘Game of Thrones’ seasons that did not execute this level of detail and thought; which is ultimately why the show has gained such notoriety and acclaim, although most going into it were initially unsure of what to expect or how committed they would eventually become to it.