A little over three years after the controversial conclusion of HBO’s world wide phenomenon Game of Thrones, the producers at HBO have given fans a spinoff series called House of the Dragon. 

This new series takes place in the same universe as Game of Thrones but takes place 200 years prior to the events of Game of Thrones. This series, however, is based on a prequel book called Fire and Blood written by George R.R. Martin, who wrote the book series A Song of Ice and Fire, which the Game of Thrones show is based on. Martin had  input into the writing of the show, which has developed captivating characters that Game of Thrones fans are used to. 

Fans were eager to see the first episode of the show, with 9.986 million viewers tuning into the premier of the show on August 21. “I was super excited for the show and watched the first episode the day it came out,” senior Parker Leibowitz said. 

 The first episode of the series introduces us to the main characters that we will be following throughout the show. Similarly to Thrones, the show follows a handful of characters around the world of Westeros and their own storylines. The first of these characters we meet is King Viserys Targarean, who, unlike the kings from Thrones, is weak and easily influenced. He also has no male heir to the throne, which creates some trouble for his credibility in court. 

Next we meet Rhaenyra Targarean, the daughter and heir of Viserys. Rhaenyra is the main character of the show and shares qualities of fan favorite characters from Thrones like Arya’s rebelliousness and Sansa’s charisma. Finally, we meet Viserys’ brother Daemon Targarean, who is power hungry and jealous that his brother named Rhaenyra heir to the throne. Over the course of the first five episodes this thirst for power has led Daemon to make many unethical decisions that have turned him into one of the most interesting and deep characters in the show. “One of my favorite parts about the show is the excellent development of characters,” senior Abraham Labban said. 

The pacing of House of the Dragon is also much quicker than the slow and drawn out episodes of its counterpart. Each episode takes place in a span of only a day or two but between the episods months and even years can pass, which speeds up plot development. This creates complex plots in every episode and gives weight to the decisions made in each episode. Also, we now get to see more of Westeros due to the quicker traveling of characters, and even without the slow and meticulous traveling episodes as its predecessor, it still has the same character depth and development. 

House of the Dragon was one of the most hyped up shows of 2022, and for most fans it has certainly lived up to the hype. “House of the Dragon is my favorite show that has come out this year,” junior Lily Judelsohn said.