HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S1 E1
READ REVIEWS, QUOTES AND MORE FROM HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S1 E1
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON S1 E1 AIRED ON AUGUST 19, 2022. The pilot episode had 10 million viewers around the world. That number broke HBO’s viewership record for any series.
Read to see my initial thoughts, a spoiler-free summary, quotes, characters, and a review. Plus, check out other Game of Thrones articles.
INITIAL THOUGHTS
Similar to the premise of Game of Thrones, the royals are fighting about who will take the seat and rule the kingdom. Family members, both close and distant, fight with words, lies, and secrets to get what they want – more power. Instead of several families throughout the world fighting for the Iron Throne, the same family, the Targaryens, are fighting among themselves. This family has the same physical appearance as Daenerys in Game of Thrones – incredibly white skin, white hair, and light eyes. They all look the same because of… well… the inbreeding.
I did appreciate that, starting from the intro song all the way to the end, it was clear that this was not Game of Thrones, but a spinoff. The intro song is similar, but not the exact same. The style of blood and violence is similar. If anything, it is less gory. Where Game of Thrones shows intense and downright gross death scenes that look realistic, the first episode of House of the Dragon takes care to cut away from the parts that push the boundary of what real death and gore look like. And of course, there are plenty of sex scenes. This is HBO, after all, and NOT recommended for young viewers.
SUMMARY
This is a spoiler-free summary!
The episode begins with a snippet of recent history. The king of the Iron Throne, who has ruled over a peaceful kingdom for several decades, is old and dying, and he must name a successor. The choice is between his eldest granddaughter, or a second oldest grandchild, who is a man. The King makes the socially acceptable choice and chooses a make heir over his daughter.
Following the bit of historical context, we jump right into why we love this series – the DRAGONS! Although they are shown in this episode, there are no major moments staring them. The dragons are essentially background characters in this episode.
CHARACTERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
We immediately know who the main characters are – Princess Rhaenyra, Prince Daemon, King Viserys, and Queen Ammea. The next group of characters to watch out for include: Otto, Alicent, and Lord Corlys. Other, more minor characters who may get more of a spotlight in later episodes include Grand Maester Mellos, Lord Lyonel Strong, and Mysaria.
Besides the internal family power struggle, there is also a potential threat gathering not far away. It is mentioned once during a council meeting and it will most likely be talked about more in the following episodes.
The main point of this episode is to set up who King Viserys will name as his successor. He has a brother, who is the current heir, but no one likes him. King Viserys has a pregnant wife, and they are expecting a son. There is also Princess Rhaenyra, who isn’t even considered as an option for most of the episode. This is NOT a spoiler, but I will tell you that she is VERY important regarding the succession of the throne.
Keep in mind, this is a PILOT episode, so don’t expect a ton of crazy secrets to be revealed, or wild action sequences. Even the first episode of Game of Thrones unfolded slowly. So be patient and enjoy the ride through court politics and character introductions.
CHARACTERS
KING VISERYS
CURRENT KING OF THE IRON THRONE, OLDER BROTHER TO PRINCE DAEMON, FATHER TO PRINCESS RHAENYRA, HUSBAND TO QUEEN AMMEA.
QUEEN AMMEA
MOTHER TO RHAENYRA AND WIFE TO KING VISERYS. SHE IS PREGNANT WITH THE NEXT POTENTIAL HEIR TO THE IRON THRONE.
PRINCESS RHAENYRA
DAUGHTER, AND ONLY CHILD, TO KING VISERYS
PRINCE DAEMON
YOUNGER BROTHER TO KING VISERYS, COMMANDER OF THE CITY WATCH, AND UNCLE TO RHAENYRA.
OTTO HIGHWATER
HAND OF THE KING
PRINCESS RHAENYS
ELDEST GRANDDAUGHTER OF THE FOURTH KING, JAEHAERYS. THE “QUEEN WHO NEVER WAS”. WIFE TO LORD CORLYS.
ALICENT HIGHWATER
DAUGHTER TO OTTO HIGHWATER AND BEST FRIEND TO PRINCESS RHAENYRA
Lord Corlys Velaryon
KNOWN AS THE “SEA SNAKE”, HE IS THE MASTER OF SHIPS. HE SITS ON THE KINGS COUNCIL. HUSBAND TO RHAENYS.
Jaehaerys I
THE FOURTH KING OF HOUSE TARGARYEN
QUOTES
IF THE WORLD OF MEN IS TO SURVIVE, A TARGARYEN MUST BE SEATED ON THE IRON THRONE. A KING OR QUEEN. STRONG ENOUGH TO UNITE THE REALM AGAINST THE COLD AND THE DARK.
KING VISERYS
THE GODS HAVE YET TO MAKE A MAN WHO LACKS THE PATIENCE FOR ABSOLUTE POWER.
OTTO HIGHWATER
WE HAVE ROYAL WOMBS, YOU AND I. THE CHILD BED IS OUR BATTLEFIELD.
AEMMA ARRYN
I WANT TO FLY WITH YOU ON DRAGON BACK, SEE THE GREAT WONDERS ACROSS THE NARROW SEA, AND EAT ONLY CAKE.
PRINCESS RHAENYRA
THE IDEA THAT WE CAN CONTROL THE DRAGONS IS AN ILLUSION. THEY’RE A POWER MAN SHOULD NEVER HAVE TRIFLED WITH. ONE THAT BROUGHT VALYRIA ITS DOOM. IF WE DON’T MIND OUR OWN HISTORIES, IT WILL DO THE SAME TO US.
KING VISERYS
REVIEW
Does House of the Dragon live up to the hype? Will this new prequel disappoint viewers as much as the last season of Game of Thrones did?
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Another favorite element is the lightness throughout the entire episode. And I literally mean LIGHT. You can actually see the characters and locations. There are no scenes that are filmed in such a dark setting that you can’t even tell what is going on, which did happen in GOT on multiple occasions.
WORLD BUILDING
The world-building aspect was stepped up a notch when Daemon and Rhaenyra had multiple conversations in another language. That happened in GOT, but not right from the start. Other languages were introduced slowly, but House of the Dragon did not hold back!
I enjoyed this episode, perhaps more than even Game of Thrones. My biggest issue with the first episode of GOT was that I was SO CONFUSED. There were so many characters, and families, and political fighting that it was impossible to follow along, let alone actually enjoy the story. This first episode of House of the Dragon is much more viewer friendly. You really don’t even need to know GOT to be able to understand and appreciate the world-building in this prequel.
All-in-all, I am happy with this pilot episode and am looking forward to the next one. Hopefully, we will see more between Daemon and Rhaenyra and their new family dynamic. There will most certainly be more conflict from outside threats as well as political games within the court. What I really want to see more of is the dragons. How are they trained? Where are all of the others? How do their dynamics work? Where do they come from?
I’m here for the dragons!