At the onset of the 2010s, HBO hit it big when Game of Thrones's first season became a success. Since then, the show would go on for years until it ended last 2019. The thing is, it didn't really live up to expectations as various plotholes plagued the finale. Nevertheless, the company can still capture lightning in a bottle twice when House of the Dragon comes out in a couple of months.
But for it to succeed and exceed Thrones, HBO's first foray in expanding George Martin's lore on the small screen should do something new. We take a deep dive into the bold moves House of the Dragon needs to make to step out of GOT's shadow.
House of the Dragon needs more of House Targaryen
It can't be denied that during the course of GOT, Daenerys Targaryen was among the few characters that captured the hearts and minds of viewers. Thanks to her status as an underdog who overcame great odds to become who she is, the Mother of Dragons is, indeed, the quintessential Targaryen.
What House of the Dragon needs to capitalize on is giving more attention to House Targaryen. During Game of Thrones, fans only got to know two members of this famed family – Daenerys, and her brother Viserys. While the former lasted eight seasons, the latter was only seen for the first one. This gives HBO the opportunity to flesh out both good and bad, of the said House as represented by the two during GOT, in this upcoming series.
THE SUCCESSOR OF GAME OF THRONES IS COMING! house of the dragon has its premiere date announced, fire will reign! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Cs2DrVZ1eq
— best of game of thrones (@bestthrone) March 30, 2022
And what a chance it is because based on Martin's source material, Fire and Blood, there'll be a lot of House Targaryen to see as members of this family will go toe-to-toe with each other. At this point in time, Westeros will be embroiled in a civil war called Dance of the Dragons, which pits House Targaryen against itself with the Iron Throne as the prize they're fighting for.
Unlike Thrones, the focus will be more on the Targaryens and less on other houses, like the Starks and Lannisters. If HBO pulls this off, we'll get the classic feel of GOT but with House Targaryen in the spotlight. The end result, hopefully, is a compelling story that will be a lot better than the one they get in Game of Thrones.
Show a lot of dragons
In some ways, the dragons shown on Game of Thrones never really lived up to fans' expectations. Sure, Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal got to scorch people and the undead but the finale really killed any hype left for them and House Targaryen itself. The thing is, there's a chance that won't be the case with House of the Dragon.
As mentioned earlier, the seeds of civil war would be planted at the start of the series. At this point in time, House Targaryen was at its mightiest and dragons weren't extinct yet. The show would progress to become a full-blown conflict, with these dragons as the weapon of choice for both sides.
Well, the best thing about season 8 of game of thrones was the 2 minute dragon fight. I need more dragon fights. I want to see a dragon fight on the big screen whence this covid shit is done. Make it be so. pic.twitter.com/bqN9MZsotH
— RustBelt Rebel (@RustBeltRebel) January 19, 2021
This gives HBO a good chance to go bonkers on those dragons in a way that's never been seen before. Whether it's one scorching endless fields of soldiers, raining down destruction on towns, or a massive battle between these winged terrors, the show's creators would have to go past the horizon and come up with something that will truly live on.
If HBO goes above and beyond with these dragons, there'll be no reason for House of the Dragon to succeed.
Massive battles
Speaking of dragons and soldiers being burned to a crisp, there has to be an insane amount of battles by the time House of the Dragon is done.
Game of Thrones: Battle of the Bastards. that's. that's the tweet. pic.twitter.com/qNWhHimKS9
— fran multi 💫🕷️🕸️ (@hpspideywayne) April 5, 2022
One of the many gripes about Game of Thrones was the lack of awesome battle scenes between various houses in Westeros. Sure, the Battle of the Bastards was awesome and to a degree, the final fight against the undead didn't skip a beat either. The thing is, one can count on the number of great battles during the entire run of GOT and it's not even a lot.
What House of the Dragon needs to do is up the ante and go wild on those battles. Just imagine the whole host of House Targaryen and their respective allies going at each other in more scenes than those found in Game of Thrones.
Pair that with the usual GOT scheming and drama and you've got a series that can surpass all expectations for years to come. With these three moves, HBO can clearly set House of the Dragon apart from Thrones and pave its way toward success.
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