Tkings years of waiting and the prequel to Game Of Thrones, whose last episode was broadcast on May 19, is finally served to us this evening by HBO (it will be necessary to wait around 3 am to be able to follow the first episode in France on OCS and MyCanal). Three years of waiting all the more feverish as the end of the parent series had left some bitter fans. There is therefore no question of being disappointed again by House of the Dragon who has the foresight to rely again on the stories of the prolific George RR Martin. The challenge is daunting for this first derived series which plunges us into the clan of the Targaryens two centuries before the arrival of winter.
We take the ancestors and start over. No bad surprise, in House of the Dragon which adapts “The Dance of the Dragons”, a part of “Fire and Blood” by George RR Martin. The viewer almost arrives in a conquered country. Because nothing has really changed in this pre-GOT era, except that the action is therefore 200 years earlier (172 years before the birth of Daenerys to be precise).
Change of scenery not guaranteed
Even the names of the characters are familiar to us. We find around the iron throne occupied by the Targaryens who reign supreme over Westeros, the Hightower families (seen in season 6 of GOT) and Baratheon, hungry for power and ready for all the horrors to test the precious metal. No change of scenery either on the tourist level since the main intrigues take place mainly in Port-Real (the decoration of the throne room is almost identical). Finally, the ears of the faithful will not feel betrayed by the thundering soundtrack (little shivers of pleasure guaranteed) since Ramin Djawadi is still at the helm.
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For the rest, we can not say that the showrunner Ryan Condal took reckless risks; to believe that the specifications weighed as heavy as the famous throne. The recipe therefore remains the same, only the characters have changed. So forget Cersei, Daenerys and other Jon Snow, their ancestors have taken their place and, overall, they turn out to be just as devious. When the series begins, war rages within the Targaryens themselves. Who the good King Viserys Ier (excellent Paddy Considine) will he appoint as successor, he who has had no son? The young and ambitious Rhaenyra, his daughter? The brutal Daemon, his brother, to whom he entrusted the army of bloodthirsty “golden coats”? His heart is swaying and his advisers, hand of the king at the head, are all trying to advance their pawns, for more or less avowed reasons.
The rule has therefore not changed. In the game of massacre around the accession to the throne, no one seems immune. And sudden deaths are legion in the region. HOD, determined not to fail in its reputation, easily competes with GOT, by scrupulously ticking all the boxes from the first episode: acts of violence and torture do you want some, sex scenes, orgies included, little gore shots as a bonus… And it works! What’s more, the (many) characters are rather well drawn and understanding the issues for each other does not require the effort required by GOT when launched.
In this imaginary Middle Ages, women do not play the figureheads and are just as clever, even vicious, as their male counterparts when it comes to getting what they want. The patriarchy is clearly in the sights of the scenario and the message is even more heavily hammered, in a somewhat Manichean intrigue which gladly underlines the injustice done to women to whom access to the throne is arbitrarily forbidden.
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The casting is also largely up to the task, led by Matt Smith (who we knew without a crown in The Crown, in the costume of Prince Philip), Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy who play Rhaenyra as a teenager and an adult or even Paddy Considine as a king a bit overwhelmed by his good feelings.
Soap fantasy
So what’s up ? In reality, not much. The product, which cost the trifle of 200 million dollars for ten episodes, is licked, polished to excess and our friends the dragons lack neither charisma nor scope. You don’t need to be a fan of heroic fantasy either to revel in these new adventures where the ingredients of the soap go from pink to blood red. However House of the Dragon does not have the charm of novelty as may have been Game Of Thrones when she landed in 2010 by revolutionizing the world of series. Moreover, alas, more than once, we are surprised to draw comparisons between the two soap operas even if the new version tries to change a few rules, by allowing ourselves, in particular, an ellipse in time.
A highly anticipated series which, unsurprisingly, will not disappoint fans of this universe. It remains to be seen whether it will be able to seduce new spectators, especially since the latter will be forced to devote themselves to a little remedial work to assimilate all the subtleties of the scenario. In a few days, Amazon will draw The Rings of Power, the series derived from Lord of the Rings, with which the assiduous will not fail to establish comparisons. Tolkien versus George RR Martin. HBO versus Amazon. The war is on. Who, in the hearts of often uncompromising fans, will ascend the throne.