“Game of Thrones”: the verdict of the critics on “The house of the dragon”, the prequel to the successful series

TV critics are wondering if “House of the Dragon” will be as impactful as its predecessor, HBO’s hit fantasy series “Game of Thrones.”

For now, the answer is not conclusive.

Some British newspaper columnists Guardian have indicated that it will bea great success“, and even predict that it will be “as big as its predecessor in its heyday”.

Others have been more lukewarm. the english newspaper The Telegraph has said that it falls “a little short”, while the American media TheWrap has indicated that it “pales in comparison” to “Game of Thrones.”

Each episode of “House of the Dragon” has cost almost $20 millionand will premiere in the United States this Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.

The story is partially based on the 2018 bestseller “Fire and Blood” by author George RR Martin, set almost 200 years before the beginning of “Game of Thrones”.

Lucy Mangan, television critic at the newspaper GuardianHe said it was “a relief” and that “a good time is coming.”

“In summary, everything is like in the heyday of GoTshe wrote. “Funny, looks great and sounds okay.”

In his five star review, The Times he described the new series as “visually sumptuous, well-acted (for the most part), sharply written and cleverly toned”.

Will be “accessible to anyone who hasn’t seen a second ‘Game of Thrones,’ but reassuringly familiar to those who have seen it all,” according to critic Ben Dowell.

In the meantime, Los Angeles Times agreed that “‘The house of the dragon’ recovers the power, the greatness of the original (series)“.

The prequel “immediately thrusts viewers into the familiar sights and sounds of the ‘Game of Thrones’ universe,” said US television critic Lorraine Ali.

“It still takes a strong stomach returning to Westeros (beware of senseless beheadings, carts full of dismembered body parts, and worse), although previous fanaticism is not a requirement to invest in ‘House of the Dragon,'” Ali wrote.

The journalist added that the opening scenes showing childbirth and jousting “are powerful enough on their own to make the first episode a resounding success and show that ‘House of the Dragon’ has a deep understanding of its female characters.” that Game of Thrones took years to find.

Inkoo Kang, television critic for the Washington Postsaid the show is “initially shaky” and “the first three installments are particularly generic in their plots and bombastic in pace,” he wrote.

The six episodes that were available to reviewers (the first season consists of ten) are needed for the creators to “finish putting all the pieces on the chessboard,” he said.

“Once the game is finally set, things quickly get auspicious. the acrimonious relationship between old friends Rhaenyra and Alicent becomes particularly riveting, the stakes in their potentially deadly competition compounded by motherhood.”

According to The Hollywood Reporter“House of the Dragon” is primarily the story of Rhaenyra, played as an adult by Emma D’Arcy, and Olivia Cooke’s Alicent, “navigating paths to power in a male-dominated world, being raised by fathers who don’t They have no idea how to do it.”

The former Doctor Who star plays the scheming Prince Daemon Targaryen. The critic Daniel Fienberg said that “he is overreacted, but always in an entertaining way. Give the best of supporting performances.”

British actor Paddy Considine plays the character of Viserys Targaryen, whose story centers on his dynasty and who will succeed him as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.

“We spent most of our time in King’s Landing, rather than the realm-flip approach of the original series,” Fienberg said. “It’s a lot of Targaryens and a lot of incest“.

He assured that many things are impressive “in the first six episodes,” he wrote. However, she warned: “You need to find your own voice.”

The show is “reasonably smart and well-organized” and is “tightly focused on palace intrigue,” said the reviewer of the New York Times Mike Hall.

“It’s a bit like HBO’s current smash hit, Succession, with dragons instead of helicopters“.

“However, that seriousness of purpose doesn’t translate into compelling drama. There’s a lot of sitting around tables and talking about the problems of the kingdom, which would be fine in moderation,” he added.

“The characters are flat, created on the production line of types of medieval fantasy of Martin. And when the show ventures into the arena of battle or romance, the filming also feels routine, but without the overlay of energetic special effects that ‘Game of Thrones’ offered.”

The characters are “almost uniformly dull“, while filling the show with “a gang of mostly dour Targareyns, gives the whole project the air of the Star Wars prequels”, opined reviewer Alan Sepinwall.

“While Smith remains a striking subject on camera, too much of his performance as Prince Philip from The Crown seeps through here. He plays Daemon more like a smug kid than the quasi-mythical warrior the show wants to portray.”

Sepinwall concluded: “No matter how many dragons they have to offer, the new series will not rekindle the fire in the hearts of viewers who loved ‘Game of Thrones’ at a given moment, not for the world, but for the people who inhabited it”.

Thelma Adams, columnist for TheWrapShe is not convinced either. She noted that despite all the scenes of violence, “the Targaryen clan seems surprisingly bloodless (and lacking in humor) in a loose script that doesn’t end each episode with the shocking cliffhangers from earlier.”

He added that the plot “never takes flight.” “Rhaenyra is not Daenerys. The wit that she was always there to lift even the most searing moments? She’s gone. The sex? Dry. They’re mostly nasty people doing nasty things to each other, with less stress, less risk, and no dragon adventures.”

the american magazine rolling stone he gave it a thumbs up, saying “House of the Dragon” contains “all the palace intrigue of its parent series, without the wit or energy.”

Remember that you can receive notifications from BBC News Mundo. Download the latest version of our app and activate it so you don’t miss out on our best content.