“It's great to return to the treacherous Westeros”: what film critics say about the series “House of the Dragon”

On Sunday, August 21, the House of the Dragon series, the prequel to the cult project Game of Thrones, will premiere on HBO and the HBO Max streaming platform (in Russia, the show will be released on August 22).

The plot of the tape takes place approximately 200 years before the events shown in the original project.

Viewers will see the history of the Targaryen family and the civil war, called the "Dragon Dance".

On the throne is Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine).

The king's only heir is his stubborn daughter Reynira (Emma D'Arcy).

It is she who subsequently sits on the iron throne, which causes dissatisfaction with the patriarchal society and the Targaryen family.

The fact is that before Rainier, not a single woman was on the throne.

A strong queen has enemies, and political confrontation leads to war.

Many film critics who managed to watch the series believe that after the disastrous ending of the Game of Thrones, the prequel will delight fans with its similarity to the first seasons of the series with its detailed bloody scenes and conflicts.

Critic Daniel D'Addario of Variety noted the visuals and opined that fans would be pleased with the large number of dragons.

“The visuals here are definitely grander than Game of Thrones in the early seasons.

Anyone who was impressed by Daenerys Targaryen's trio of dragons will have something to enjoy in the new series, ”writes D'Addario.

He also appreciated the performance of the actors, especially the performers of the roles of Reinier and Alicente in different periods of their lives.

"All four actresses playing the roles of Rainier and Alicent are, without exception, great, in particular in how they play out the nuances and evolution of relationships over time, even when the script does not convey all the subtleties," the author clarifies.

The expert believes that the idea of ​​hostility between members of the same family gives the prequel the opportunity to exist not in the shadow of the "Game of Thrones".

His colleague, Daniel Finger of The Hollywood Reporter, also notes the exclusivity of the visuals.

The critic praises the work of the artist Jim Clay, the musical score of Ramin Djawadi and the costumes of Jani Temime, calling them amazing.

However, he believes that there are too many Targaryens in the series.

In his opinion, the "Game of Thrones" was interesting for its variety of heroes, royal houses, each of which had its own peculiarity, its own character.

“Part of the pleasure of Game of Thrones was seeing how geographic location and varying degrees of incest shaped each house to its own worldview, influencing their views on everything from architecture to sex and power,” writes the critic.

Finger clarifies that this is not the fault of the Targaryen family or the creators of the project, and that a similar feeling would have been after watching a separate series about the House of Lannister.

In his opinion, it is not so interesting to look at one family, since there is no mentioned diversity.

In addition, the critic said that there are heroes who do not like a white wig at all.

Another detail that confused Finger was the presence of scenes of sometimes violent incest (in order to avoid mixing blood, the Targaryens married members of their family over the years).

“There is a lot of impressiveness in the first six episodes, but (in general. -

) the spectacle is as restrained as it can be in a series with incest, violence and horrific images of childbirth,” the critic concludes.

Numerous sex scenes between relatives are also mentioned by IGN portal expert Helen O'Hara.

“If you thought Jaime and Cersei Lannister were too much, wait until you find out how closely related most of the main characters of the new series are,” she writes.

In turn, Collider film critic Teresa Lakson warns that viewers will not like the show if they are squeamish about such scenes.

In addition, Lakson was disappointed that six episodes cover events as much as ten years, and sometimes time jumps from one episode to another make the viewer wonder what could have been missed during this period of the characters' lives.

Also, criticism strained that the cast changes during the course of the project, as the young characters grow up, and another artist takes the place of one artist, who conveys the character of the hero in a completely different way.

Lakson explained that in the case of Rainier, the two actresses play their character differently: "It could be written off as a ten-year time jump, but it's still striking."

Nevertheless, both experts believe that the series turned out to be worthy and will definitely interest fans.

According to O'Hara, the premiere of "House of the Dragon" marks a strong start to the "Game of Thrones" spin-off with a well-chosen cast.

"It's great to be back in treacherous Westeros," concludes the critic.

Lakson also notes that the interest of the viewer will be attracted by numerous intrigues.

“Palace intrigue and changing dynamics are enough to keep you hooked.

I found myself craving new episodes and wanting to know the fate of these characters,” she writes.

• Shot from the series "House of the Dragon"

• © HBO

The Guardian critic Lucy Mangan calls The House of the Dragon a political game of seven-dimensional chess and informs the reader that in the first hour of the tape, viewers will see death, beatings, blood, “horrible wigs”, naked women in brothels, countless political and domestic scandals that are brewing , as well as traitors, Valyrian dialogue, hints of incest and, of course, dragons.

By the second hour of viewing, the author adds even more dragons, beheadings, blood and more, noting that the project was a success.

“It’s just like it was during the heyday of Game of Thrones.

The series is exciting, dynamic, with an excellent picture and tolerable sound.

And this is a real relief after the strangely weak ending of the once resounding success of the original series, ”explains Mangan.

The scenery, costumes and video are also highlighted by editor Mason Downey, whose review was published on the GameSpot portal.

He believes that the gore scenes look good and that the show will find its audience.

Rolling Stone film critic Alan Sepinwall expressed a different opinion.

He believes that the prequel was not as good as expected.

The expert believes that "House of the Dragon" is full of characters and conflicts, but they cannot keep the viewer's interest.

He notes that building the story around palace intrigue, legitimacy, and succession to the throne gives the series a Star Wars prequel vibe, in which the showrunners expanded the roles of the Jedi, leaving no room for humor and humanity.

“No matter how many computer dragons there are in the new series, it will not ignite the flame in the hearts of viewers who once fell in love with the Game of Thrones not for the world depicted there, but for the people in it,” concludes Sepinwall.

Many film critics agree that Matt Smith is great as Damon Targaryen, the arrogant but charming prince.

One of the experts called it the "surprise of the season."

It is known that while working on the series, showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik tried to stick to the source as much as possible - George Martin's epic fantasy "Fire and Blood".

They also promised that they would keep the Game of Thrones atmosphere in the prequel, even though the events unfold long before the history of the original series.

At the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, one of the writers and producers of the tape, Ryan Kondal, said that in the "House of the Dragon" viewers will see a new world of Westeros - Driftmark, an island in Blackwater Bay, located near Dragonstone.

In addition, it became known that more than 15 dragons will appear in the prequel, work on which began even before the filming of the series.

Each fire-breathing creature will have its own characteristic feature.