House of Dragon First Episode Sees 10 Million Viewers
August 27, 2022
1,513 4 minutes read
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Most fans of the Game of Thrones series highly anticipate the release of the House of the Dragon. HBO Max and its linear platforms reported around 10 million viewers for the first episode. To put that into perspective, the popular House of Cards series and its first episode saw only 2.88 million viewers. The Heirs of the Dragon broke a record in HBO history with its viewership being the largest of any of its new original series.
House of the Dragon followed behind Heirs of the Dragon with nearly as good of numbers. In the last episode of the Game of Thrones titled “The Iron Throne,” over 19.3 million people tuned in to see the last episode in May 2019. In truth, House of the Dragon seeks to rekindle the popularity of the Game of Thrones series, which averaged HBO $88 million per episode. HBO made over $2.2 billion in total profit from Game of Thrones.
HBO merged with Warner Bros. Discovery in April 2022, and everyone, even the company behind the show, feels excited at its launch date. As streaming continues to grow in the entertainment landscape, HBO dreams of the House of the Dragon capturing an even larger audience. Unfortunately, they must overcome some soured viewers who hated the Game of Thrones series ending. Many reviewed it as uninspired and without a care for the actual storyline. That outlook isn’t too far off the mark. Most fans hated the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones since it lost its original style.
In House of the Dragon, the series rewinds us back 200 years before Game of Thrones. The new series will focus its attention on the Targaryen family, known as the House of the Dragon, a family that conquered all of Westeros with its dragons. For the time being, it appears as if HBO may have overcome the bitterness from the past series and its ending. Most who reviewed the House of the Dragon scored it an average of 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Brian Lowry, a media critic and columnist for CNN since 2016, spoke positively about House of the Dragon. However, he said it appeared to lack the depth of characters that made Game of Thrones one of HBO’s most popular series. Over time, we may see the popularity wane as it lacks the same elements that defined its predecessor.
Game of Thrones HBO TV series
Not everyone raved about House of the Dragon as a great new series to watch, but most gave it glowing reviews. Still, House of the Dragon will need to prove itself and stand in its own right. Game of Thrones and its controversial ending three years ago continues to rankle in the hearts of some distrusting fans.
Others who have read the series hate the fact that George RR Martin never finished the book series, and he let Game of Thrones and its TV series overtake his own books. One decade later, he continues to fidget his thumbs on the release of his next book “Winds of Winter.” This isn’t even, in fact, the last book, and it’s the second to last book of the Game of Thrones. The TV series bypassed him by far and ended the books for him.
What does the House of the Dragon show us in the world of Westeros? The show will highlight a civil war known as the Dance of Dragons. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen battles it out with her brother Aegon II Targaryen who seizes the crown at the passing of their father Viserys I. This fresh chapter in the world of Westeros will feed viewers new narratives about the family trees.
It would be wise if we were to brace ourselves for the inevitable tedious genealogy chatter that will occur around the famous houses like the Targaryens, Hightowers, Velaryons and Lannisters. Discussions over which series had more gore and blood will pop up as well.
The major houses in the House of the Dragon are different from the ones in Game of Thrones. Those in the Game of Thrones will play a smaller role in the new series. As the series progresses, you will see them more and more frequently. You will better understand how those houses arose to become the powerhouses later in the Game of Thrones, which some fans may appreciate.
While CNN’s Brian Lowry gave it raving reviews, Darren Franich, of Entertainment Weekly, wasn’t quite as enthusiastic. He described the opening of House of the Dragon as, “The blandest possible orientation, Epic Fantasy for Dummies.” He did say that the good news is that the opening is probably the worst part.
You had other critics who felt similar reservations about the House of the Dragon. They voiced concerns that it wouldn’t live up to Game of Thrones in the plotline, characters or overall quality. Even Brian Lowry, while he was positive overall about the show, said that he thought it was less addictive to watch.
Most critics hope that the show won’t fall back on cheap gimmicks like overdoing it with the dragons and special effects. Where does the show pull the House of the Dragon material from? The “Fire and Blood” novel provides the central material for the House of the Dragon. George RR Martin chose to write this book while neglecting his central series “A Song of Ice and Fire.” It’s one of the reasons that it has taken him over a decade to write is he keeps working on side projects either vaguely related or not related at all and forgetting the original books that made him famous. This could be another reason why some fans aren’t buying it.
The House of the Dragon will chronicle the rise and fall of the Targaryen dynasty. It will help us to better understand the state of the Targaryen family in the Game of Thrones. You will see more dragons in House of the Dragon than in Game of Thrones. King Viserys I names Rhaenyra as the successor to his crown in the first episode. However, King Viserys I marries a second wife and produces another heir, Aegon II Targaryen, also known as Aegon the Conqueror. The battle of a great civil war ensues, and 17 dragons die in the event that essentially causes the extinction of all dragons.
HBO plans to depict sexual violence more carefully than its predecessor Game of Thrones. They continued by saying that the series will still show plenty of blood and gore.
We can expect a few great actors and actresses in the show including Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy. Ryan Condal and George RR Martin will lead the series as co-creators. Since the story happens 200 years before Game of Thrones, we can expect a new story with new characters and houses.
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