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‘House of the Dragon’: George RR Martin reveals how 'Shakespearean' prequel differs from 'Game of Thrones’

‘House of the Dragon is much more like a Shakespearean tragedy,’ said novelist George RR Martin in a recent podcast interview

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The first episode of highly awaited prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ released on August 21, 2022 on HBO and HBO Max. The series is based on novelist George RR Martin’s book ‘Fire & Blood.’ It is a poignant tale that focuses on destruction of strongest dynasty, House Targaryen which had ruled on Westeros for about three hundred years. In an interview with ‘The Official Game of Thrones’ podcast, Martin opened up on some of unique ideas in the prequel that are totally not similar when compared to ‘GoT’.

In the interview, novelist George RR Martin revealed the key differences between prequel and iconic ‘Game of Thrones’. Shedding some light on same, Martin said, “House of the Dragon is much more like a Shakespearean tragedy. House of the Dragon is different from Game of Thrones in some significant ways. Although yes, both shows involve issues of power and who will have the Iron Throne. But House of the Dragon is much more like a Shakespearean tragedy. It’s full of great characters who you can love or you can hate. And guys who seem to be really, sons of bitches and bad guys will do heroic things, characters who seem to be good will do awful things. Kind of like human beings.”

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'House of the Dragon' stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans, Sonoya Mizuno and several others. The show is a prequel to 'Game of Thrones' and follows the story of House Targaryen. Other differences in prequel and iconic series have been noted by audiences and fans as well who watched first episode. For instance, ‘Game of Thrones’ was about the journey of multiple kingdoms who wanted to rule on Iron Throne, but prequel is about the top to bottom journey of House Targaryen, which ultimately is razed to ashes after the bloody civil war in the ‘Dance of the Dragons’ in which all the Targaryens are pitted against each other. The prequel focuses more on the politics in King's Landing during the reign of House Targaryen and doesn’t focus on the other kingdoms at all. Whilst ‘GoT’ had a lot of blood-shed, gore, violence and sexual scenes, these elements are decidedly toned down in the prequel by its makers.

Instead, 'House of the Dragon' explores themes of patriarchy, misogyny and power rooted deep within Westeros and the entire civil war that erupts because of ruling King Viserys I decision of naming his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) as his successor which angers the traditional high factionist society that includes the king’s second wife, Alicent Hightower, who wants their son Aegon II to become next ruler. Deep down, the queen wants to cut off Rhaenyra’s chances at succession because she knows, deep down, that if Rhaenyra becomes the queen, she’ll create a new legacy and nothing will be the same again. At the core, the prequel is a journey of Rhaenyra who fights against the traditional Westeros society to become her father's real and true heir by gaining the Iron Throne and becoming the next ruler of Westeros.