House of Dragon: An Epic Tale of Fire & Blood
The Targaryen family’s story is full of power. The HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s book on the history of the Targaryen dynasty.
Star Cast: Milly Alcock, Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans
House of Dragon which is currently the talk of the town was released in August and since then the show did not leave a single moment to impress the audience. The Game of Thrones prequel is called House of the Dragon starting with the Targaryen family and consisting of power under their perch with more than 15 Dragons. The series however shows a slow fall. It is mainly based on Martin’s 2018 companion book Fire & Blood.
What is the Plot of the series?
Talking about the plot of the series is based on Fire & Blood, which makes the first of George R.R. Martin’s two volumes leaping into the extended Targaryen history. Now, the prequel is set hundreds of years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones. The era is when Aegon the Conqueror, the first of three centuries of Targaryen rulers, united six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros.
However, the series focused on the first Targaryen civil war, a.k.a. “The Dance of the Dragons.” It’s during this “dance,” more than a century after Aegon’s rule, that dragons went extinct. The official trailer for House of the Dragon gave a quick brief of how quickly a cold war can turn hot!
Especially evolved around Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), and non-aggressive efforts to protect his kingdom, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) tries to defend herself despite being female, Prince Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) unhappiness. Unfortunately, she was defeated for the throne. Rhaenyra’s best friend and Otto Hightower’s daughter, Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) acceptance of becoming a pawn in complex, ever-shifting power dynamics circulating the Iron Throne.
The series which shows the era before the prequel in Game of Thrones on the other hand was a direct portrayal of heroics. But this one has got to incline to go much deeper and focus on shades that bring out character traits that are far more realistic.
Jumping to the second episode of the series, Considine and Smith ace their roles making the women at the centre’s presence strong. The episode focuses on women empowerment which is more vital to the battle for the throne.
Episode three shows the time flying to three years since the events of ‘The Rogue Prince’. The third episode of House of the Dragon pitchforks into its first crucial battle set-piece. There shows a war against the Crabfeeder’s Triarchy in the Stepstones.
However, the episode also introduces some faces, Lannisters (Jefferson Hall), Larys Strong aka “The Clubfoot” (Matthew Needham) and Aemond Velaryon (Will Johnson) shore up the affair further.
Finally, House of the Dragon episode 4 which revolves around King of the Narrow Sea prioritizes sexual politics and its effect on the rivals for the throne. Rhaenyra goes on a spontaneous night-out with her uncle and brings into play controversial socio-cultural issues like age, consent issues, power dynamics, and incest. Though the episode individually does not showcase enough plot the camerawork is precisely dark and rather confused here. There’s a fair bit of intensity and the sexual by-play is rather appalling. There also happens social issues to the led after Rhaenyra’s newfound sexual awakening alongside Alicent’s coerced marriage-bed experience.
Summing up a review of Episode 4 of House of Dragon, it hints at what is going to be there in the upcoming two episodes as the former episodes were undoubtedly shocking, thrilling, serious, and amusing.
