'House of The Dragon' on HBO: Did failure of 'Game of Thrones' Season 8 influence prequel?
HBO is set to take viewers on an enthralling ride to Westeros with their upcoming epic fantasy series ‘House of the Dragon’, a prequel to the blockbuster show ‘Game of Thrones’. The series takes place 200 years before the events of ‘GOT’ and sees the Targaryens ruling Westeros. King Viserys I Targaryen has announced Princess Rhaenyra as the new leader of the house and she’ll lead the kingdom once he is gone. However, the house divides in two when Viserys conceives a son later in life and a civil war begins, which turns out to be the beginning of the end. The show has some big shoes to fill, especially after the underwhelming final season of ‘Game of Thrones’.
There’s no doubt that ‘Game of Thrones’ changed the landscape of television when it arrived on HBO and gave everyone a masterclass on how to tell a story. The first six seasons turned out to be massively successful and earned numerous accolades. Apart from that, the HBO series garnered acclaim from across the globe and became the biggest show on the planet. So, it’s not surprising that viewers expected a bombastic finale from the HBO show. The eighth and final season was really sub-par, making viewers really annoyed. Was the failure of ‘GOT’ Season 8 forced HBO to come out with the upcoming spin-off series? A lot of people believe that, but ‘HOTD’ showrunner Miguel Sapochnik has his own opinion on this issue.
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Sapochnik, who has now taken a more prominent role as one of the prequel’s showrunners alongside Ryan Condal, opened up about the backlash that the final season of the HBO series received and pointed out the backlash didn’t influence the prequel series. In a recent interview, Sapochnik made it clear that there won’t be “easy ending” and fans should be ready for seeing something that they have never seen before.
While speaking to Empire Magazine, Sapochnik said, “Life doesn’t end the way you want it to! I think we very much wanted to pay attention to not that. It doesn’t really factor in at all. I think the minute you as a creator start playing defense, you’re just taking the ground from beneath your feet.”
The showrunner also opined that they are lucky to have such an amazing fanbase that will talk about their show without any filters. He added, “Should we be so lucky to have such a large and passionate fanbase that will debate our show! I think that in itself is a sign of success.”
Although fans are really excited about the upcoming series, they are also pretty nervous. HBO has a big responsibility of giving fans a show that doesn’t only satisfy them but also tells a story that is filled with riveting plotlines and menacing characters. If ‘House of the Dragon’ manages to do that, there’s a lot of chance that the series will turn out to be as iconic as the earlier seasons of ‘GOT’. With House Targaryen being the primary focus, viewers can expect a lot of twists, violence, betrayals, and Dragons.
The series sees Emma D’Arcy playing the role of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen in the show, while Matt Smith portrays Prince Daemon Targaryen. Other actors to feature in the show include Paddy Considine (King Viserys I Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Lady Alicent Hightower), Steve Toussaint (Lord Corlys Velaryon), Eve Best (Princess Rhaenys Velaryon), and Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria).
The series is scheduled to premiere on August 21, 2022, on HBO, and its first season will consist of ten episodes.
