Season one of HBO hit show "House of the Dragon," is reaching its six-month release point in a matter of days, and remains relevant due to its large success as an entertaining and dramatic prequel to "Game of Thrones."
Within the first week of the series' release, the show was renewed for a second season. It's remained popular amongst online groups and forums in both matters of conversation and memes.
"House of the Dragon" has outstanding writers Ryan Condal and the renowned George R.R. Martin, writer of the "Fire and Blood" novel that the show takes its inspiration from. In the book and the television series, the audience gets to over a hundred years before the main "Game of Thrones" plot line. This adds audience-accessible lore to Westeros, the continent in which the show takes place.
Extraordinary writing is essential to any successful show, and "House of Dragon" is capable of keeping an audience engaged.
The show does a stellar job of re-establishing the familiar environment of Westeros. The world-building was not completely finished, even though the show takes place in the same geographical area as its original -- the "Dance of Dragons" has just started brewing at the start of the season. We, the audience, get to see places in Westeros that were destroyed in the original series and hear of houses that will be extinct by the time of "Game of Thrones." This immediately spikes the interest of audience members, both returning to Westeros and new to Westeros.
The characters are enthralling and each decision that is made feels important to driving the plot; it doesn't feel like any time is wasted -- no scenes are filler scenes. This creates a breathtaking experience that mesmerizes binge-watchers like myself; walking away from the TV to go to work and classes was possible, but difficult.
The technical work was great, too -- the set, lighting, makeup, camera angles, CGI, and the majority of the wigs for hair were aesthetically pleasing. A world of such conflict and violence was able to look beautiful and realistic, even when it was showing sickening gore.
The cast also has notable members. At first glance, I recognized Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Ty Tennant. I feel that casting was done exceptionally well and I don't believe I'd prefer to swap any acting member out for anyone else.
As a whole, "House of the Dragon" is worthy of its praise and I have no complaints. The work put into the show is visible and has already paid off. The character-driven story fits perfectly within the world and provides an immersive experience along with acting, technical work and writing.
I would rate the series a 10 out of 10 so far.
