While it is probably not the Eve Best car I longed for, Series 1 of House of the Dragon continues to be fairly darn implausible
“I wish to know who my allies are before I send them to war”
Well that turned out good didn’t it. I’m unsure the universe was crying out for a televisual return to the world of Game of Thrones, particularly after its divisive finish, however the pen of George R R Martin flows freely (if not within the case of The Winds of Winter) and so there’s a lot materials to work with. House of the Dragon is freely tailored from the novel Fire & Blood, which is ready some 200 years earlier than the occasions of Thrones, telling the story of the autumn of House Targaryen as their rule over the Seven Kingdoms devolves into civil struggle.
Once you realise what the present is doing, in basically setting the scene for this almighty battle – which has its personal title, the Dance of the Dragons – you may actually respect the work that’s being put in. The storytelling whips by way of the years, protecting 30 or 40 years or so, which does take some getting used to. And to facillitate it, some characters get recast mid-series to cowl the a number of multi-year jumps that occur, and although it’s wanted as key characters transfer from childhood to maturity (and parenthood), you may cock an eyebrow at how little among the male characters are made to age at a concurrent price (Criston Cole, Daemon…).
So after a controversial accession to the throne, King Viserys has named his daughter Princess Rhaenyra as his inheritor however upon the dying of his spouse Aemma and his marriage to Rhaenyra’s bestie Alicent, the arrival of recent kids throws the query of succession up within the air. Friendships and household ties are examined to the restrict as the 2 factions manoeuvre their items into place with Viserys’ well being in terminal decline. It is all very properly written, tightly plotted and grippingly finished, recognising that reveals don’t all the time should go all-out to have main influence.
Paddy Considine’s Viserys is a splendidly tragic determine however it’s Milly Alcock’s Rhaenyra and Emily Carey’s Alicent who steal the early episodes, ageing into Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke in a while, who keep a splendidly fractious vitality that bubbles with rigidity all through. Matt Smith’s Daemon, brother of Viserys and eventual spouse of Rhaenyra is one other cracking antagonist stuffed with unpredictabality, with the likes of Rhys Ifans and Matthew Needham impressing as venomous advisers dripping poison and lighting fires in all the suitable locations.
The great Eve Best is nice because the “Queen Who Never Was, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen whose extra direct declare to succession over Viserys was missed attributable to her gender, and although you need to say she is underused, the reality is, she is a supporting character relatively than the lead we’d need her to be alongside Steve Toussaint as her husband Lord Corlys Velaryon. No spoilers however she does get a titanic second late on…
The most important weak spot for me was solely actually the quick turnover of actors for the quite a few kids. It’s as a lot to do with my focus nevertheless it does take rather a lot to recollect who belongs to who and what significance they’ve within the bigger scheme of issues. Even within the remaining episode, I used to be struggling to recollect who was the precise inheritor on each side. But the elevated finances means there’s quite a few, superbly realised dragons and if some scenes are a bit darkish, I can’t say it actually bothered me tbh, I used to be simply completely gripped by how every part was unfolding.