What To Expect From ‘House Of The Dragon’ And What Expectations ‘Fans’ Have From ‘Game Of Thrones’ – HuffPost

More than three years have passed since Game of Thrones left its fans in shock – and not exactly in a good way – with the end of the series. Despite the controversy of the last season, the expectation is maximum before the premiere this Monday on HBO Max of The House of the Dragon, the story of the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen. The series is based on the novel Fire and Blood by George RR Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire saga, and the writer has been involved in the entire process of creating this prequel. The story that covers the ten episodes of the first season of the series is located 200 years before what was narrated in Game of Thrones. Specifically, the plot revolves around the succession of King Viserys I. “The creators have already warned that it is a completely different series from Game of Thrones,” says Elena Neira, professor at the UOC and author of Streaming Wars, who believes that this is one of the great releases of the year. “That HBO was going to continue building products on the Game of Thrones universe was taken for granted. The house of the dragon was one of the spearheads of the launch of HBO Max along with the reunion of Friends”, explains the expert. The premiere of the prequel comes in the midst of a storm for the platform, after it was revealed that the merger between Warner and Discovery will directly affect the production of new HBO Max original series. “The new director has a more pragmatic and less innovative style and they are considering betting on safe projects, and titles like The House of the Dragon would come in here. Because also here they have a fandom already built to which, and that Prime has tried to counterprogram with The Lord of the Rings”, says Neira, who believes that “they are going to try to monopolize all the possible conversation”. The House of the Dragon is not the only project in the Game of Thrones universe that HBO has, which is developing other series such as a possible Jon Snow spin-off. “If it goes well, they will renew the series and develop some of the side projects that are being considered, because Game of Thrones is, together with DC and Harry Potter, the most valuable intellectual property that Warner has,” says Neira. “If it goes well, they will renew the series and develop some of the parallel projects that are being considered, because ‘Game of Thrones’ is, together with DC and Harry Potter, the most valuable intellectual property they have”- Elena Neira, UOC professor and author of ‘Streaming Wars’. What viewers will find and the opinion of George RR Martin Ryan Condal, one of the creators of the series, declared in a meeting that viewers can expect something like a “Succession with dragons” in this prequel . In fact, the producer has revealed that the references when writing the scripts and shaping the episodes have been precisely Succession and The Crown. In that same meeting Condal also explained that, while in Game of Thrones several dynasties faced each other, in The House of the Dragon “a civil war within a single family” is narrated, the Targaryens. In addition to King Viserys I, his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, and her brother, Prince Daemon, take center stage in the series. Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon. That the production focuses on the battle within a single family is one of the differences between the prequel and the original series, but fans will find elements of the A Song of Ice and Fire universe that were already very present in the historical series. Of course, there will be dragons, but here they are not an exception, but the daily bread. Nor will the sex and violence scenes be missing, which are already present in the first chapter. As for the former, Miguel Sapochnik, creator and director of some episodes, has insisted on several occasions that there will be less sex and nudity than in Game of Thrones and that all the intimate scenes are important for the development of the plot. “We didn’t sit down and say, ‘Okay, how many sex scenes can we put in?’ Obviously, we didn’t do it that way. Any of the scenes where there is sex are relevant to the story,” he told Business Insider. Matt Smith, who plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, the king’s little brother, does not seem to agree with these statements. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the actor confessed that he thinks “there are a little too many.” “You find yourself wondering, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’ And they say: ‘Yes, we are going to do it,’” he reflected in the magazine. Despite the fact that Daenerys Targaryen does not appear anywhere since the action takes place several decades before her birth, parallels can be seen with one of the characters in the struggle to take seriously a woman who wants to rule and reach the top. can. And what does George RR Martin think of the prequel? The writer has been involved in the process, has had creative control and has put conditions on the creators, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. After seeing a preliminary version of the first episode, the author was satisfied with what he saw on the screen, “I have seen a preliminary version of the first episode and loved it. It’s dark, powerful, visceral…just the way I like an epic fantasy.” In recent days he has gone further and has set his teeth long to the viewers confessing that in the first chapter there is a scene as shocking as The Red Wedding -the tragedy of the Stark family that marked a turning point in Game of thrones- for its “viscerality”. Fans, expectant before the premiere George RR Martin was also involved in the first seasons of Game of Thrones and, as he recently recalled, he was barely aware of the plot in seasons five and six and was “on the sidelines” in the last two. That the author is involved in The House of the Dragon and that he has a positive opinion of the project is reassuring, but “up to a certain point”. This is what Miky Torres, founder and coordinator of the Westeros Club fan community, expresses. “GRRM has a bias for being the cocky writer for HBO. However, in the past, when he has not liked something previously done, he has expressed it, although not as soon as now. Anyway, he has been very close to production and has raised several conditions and this must add to the quality of House of the Dragon, ”he tells The HuffPost. “Anyone who has seen ‘Game of Thrones,’ whether they liked its ending or not, will see the prequel. The question is whether it will do it for the entire season”- Miky Torres, founder and coordinator of Westeros Club. Torres is clear that the Game of Thrones fandom will see the premiere of the series despite the fact that, he explains, when the prequel was announced the reception was a bit cold, something that has been changing with the first images and teasers. “Anyone who has seen Game of Thrones, whether they liked its ending or not, will see the prequel. The question is if he will do it for the whole season, ”he sentences. Elena Neira agrees with this information and believes that “all the people who were fans are going to approach the series”, although “with many reservations”. Regarding his expectations, Torres is not shy: “That it be as good or better than Game of Thrones. Is it too much to ask? Yes, definitely”. ”Beyond the controversial ending it had, it was a milestone as a television series on all levels. Its presence in popular culture —just look at the new Stradivarius collection on the occasion of the launch of the prequel—, the awards it has won and the high audience ratings are evidence of this. Game of Thrones leaves the bar very high for everything that HBO produces at the level of fantastic series”, he reflects on the legacy of the original series. The Westeros Club coordinator is especially keen to discover “the level and quality” of the writers and producers, and what they manage to do with the Fire and Blood material. “This book is more like a summary of situations and events, it doesn’t have the detail of A Song of Ice and Fire. That could be a disadvantage. But no, the producers and screenwriters behind The House of the Dragon have the backing of having produced entire chapters of Game of Thrones without being based on the books,” defends Torres. Specifically, he cites three episodes: Aguas Negras, Austera House and Battle of the Bastards. For Torres, it is also interesting to know how the conditions that George RR Martin set for the prequel to take place are applied. “They have to do with portraying the Targaryen family in all its glory, the aesthetic finish of the dragons and the emphasis on heraldry,” he explains. The fan hopes that House of the Dragon will be successful so that new projects like Tales of Dunk and Egg can be developed. He has to wait for the ten episodes of the series to be released to find out if fans and viewers in general give their approval to this first prequel. The dragons are coming. YOU MAY ALSO LIKE