Fantastic creatures, sex, violence, power struggles, betrayals, and a new Khaleesi. The best and most discussed of the successful “Game of Thrones” returns to television tonight with “House of Dragon”, the prequel to the famous saga, which tries to revive its success with the same formula and continue its legacy.
There have been many projects that have been considered as the first spin-off (or derived series) of the famous saga, but finally a plot about the Targaryen House is the one that will take over from the mythical series only three years after its controversial end. .
“House of Dragon” premieres next Monday worldwide on the HBO Max platform with ten episodes, the support of its creator, George RR Martin -screenwriter- and a protagonist who is a clear tribute to Daenerys Targaryen, the well-known Khalessi .
TWO CENTURIES BEFORE
“House of Dragon” is set two hundred years before the epic fantasy plot of “A Song of Ice and Fire” (the collection of novels that inspired the original series), and the universe in which it is set is completely recognizable to His Followers.
There are dragons (up to 17 creatures), fantastic creatures, love, hate, bloody battles and maneuvers of all kinds with a single goal: to reach the Iron Throne. The Targaryens hold the throne of the Seven Kingdoms and peace reigns, but tensions abound with other peoples that can lead to greater conflict.
Far away is the assassination of the Mad King (Aerys II) and the almost complete destruction of his lineage.
NEW PROTAGONISTS
Princess Rhaenyra (played by Milly Alcock -young- and Emma D’Arcy -older-) is one of the clear protagonists of “House of Dragon”. So are King Viserys I (Paddy Considine), Queen Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey and Olivia Cook), and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith, most famously Dr. Who), the king’s brother.
Viserys, stalked by enemies inside and outside the capital, faces the difficult decision of choosing a successor between his daughter -Rhaenyra- and his brother -Daemon-, violent, ambitious and a clear example of the dark side of the Targaryens.
Rhaenyra’s suitability to be heir to the Iron Throne as a woman is one of the keys to the story. “When I am queen, I will create a new order,” she says in one of the scenes. The princess slowly works her way to the throne.
Despite her more temperate character, Rhaenyra is a clear nod to the enigmatic Khalessi, the ‘Mother of Dragons’. In the first scenes, she flies over King’s Landing on the back of her dragon, Syrax, with clothing and a bun of her lush hair identical to those that she used to wear the mythical protagonist of “Game of Thrones”.
The plot advances -with numerous time jumps- marked by war, betrayals, marriages of convenience and an increasingly ill king, while little by little it becomes clear who are the best positioned candidates to rise to the long-awaited throne.
HBO Max maintains the formula with which it revolutionized television in 2011 and won millions of audience subscribers: an epic fantasy blockbuster, a convoluted plot, a lot of rhythm and made for all audiences.
The question is whether the dragons, the new Khaleesi and the new plot have the strength to aspire to sustain the legacy of “Game of Thrones” and continue it. EFE
