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Just three years have been enough for dragons, family betrayals and the iron throne to return to television: HBO this week premieres House of the Dragon, the prequel to the most successful series in history and the first title in what is expected to be a long-running franchise.
Eager to squeeze the TV phenomenon after the farewell of Game of Thrones in 2019, the channel found in Fire and Blood (a short novel in which writer George R.R. Martin complemented his fantasy universe) the perfect plot to become the first in the list of spin-off fictions it has promised to premiere.
“It’s not a novel. It’s a fake history book. And it’s not written in a usual narrative structure, so it was very interesting to adapt it to the scripted format,” Ryan Condal, creator of the series along with Miguel Sapochnik, explained to EFE News during a presentation.
Unlike the original fiction, House of the Dragon does not narrate the fierce struggle of ambitious kingdoms and families for power, its plot tells of the breakup of a single dynasty, the Targaryen, for the election of the new heir to the throne.
Set 200 years before the events narrated in “A Song of Ice and Fire” (the collection of novels that inspired the original series), the new story features Viserys (Paddy Considine), a king aware of his physical deterioration and desperate to find his successor.
In that search, eyes will turn to Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), the king’s violent and rebellious younger brother, and Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy and Milly Alcock), whose possible ascension to the Iron Throne is viewed with suspicion by those wary of the idea of a woman in power.
A prequel with elements of the original series
The creators of the series have tried to completely forget about Game of Thrones. None of its characters, dragons or settings (beyond the mythical iron throne) are repeated in the sequel, which, however, will be familiar to many fans of the saga.
The protagonist dynasty, the Targaryens are the ancestors of Daenerys, the enigmatic “Khaleesi” or the “Mother of Dragons” of the first series. She shares with them her recognizable physical attributes – blonde hair and a deep gaze coming from her light-colored eyes – as well as an absolute mastery of dragon flight.
And in “House of the Dragon,” as in all the world created by R.R. Martin, whoever controls the dragons, dominates the world. As many as 17 creatures will appear in the first season of the series.
“Everything has to do with dragons,” Sapochnik acknowledged, the script’s other writing hand.
In addition to the dragons, infighting and family tragedies of the “mother” series, the incredible settings of Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom are also in there, modified using computers to set the fantasy world thanks to an impressive technical bill for which HBO has paid between 150 and 200 million dollars for its first 10 episodes.
