'House of the Dragon' Season 2: 5 stark differences between prequel and 'Game of Thrones'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 is streaming on HBO on June 16, 2024, and as the second season approaches, the series' viewers and fanatic fanbase are itching to see what's in store for their favorite characters.
The kind of excitement 'House of the Dragon' has been able to generate was matched or even topped only by its predecessor 'Game of Thrones'. Based on George R.R. Martin's epic novel, 'A Song of Ice and Fire' enthralled its fans with supernatural storytelling told in a relatable tone.
'House of the Dragon' is based on 'Fire & Blood' by George R R Martin, and the events in this prequel series take place about two centuries before 'Game of Thrones'. The first season of 'House of the Dragon' was met with great acclaim for taking the viewers back to their favorite Westeros world.
Although the two series are based in the same world, they are two very different plots and require a different approach to their execution. Here are five ways in which the treatment of 'House of the Dragon' is different from that of 'Game of Thrones'.
'House of the Dragon' takes less time to set up
Unlike 'Game of Thrones' which took a lot of time to build up and introduce its audiences to its characters and the Westeros Map, 'House of the Dragon' benefits from viewers' familiarity with the world and how life happens in this world.
Using this familiarity, the makers of 'House of the Dragon' are comfortable in using instances and jargon that viewers won't be confused about. The writing is more mature with fewer exposition bits about the world and more focused on character building.
Overall storytelling is done at a faster pace too with the show taking multiple leaps in its first season itself. It might be a sign of things to come for the coming seasons of the series. It does seem that the makers want to tell a story that spans over a longer time than 'Game of Thrones', so the way they pace it will continue to be significantly different.
'House of the Dragon' has more character depth
Even though they are just one season old, the characters in 'House of the Dragon' have already gone through significant journies in their character arcs. Their interpersonal relationships have also changed significantly already.
For instance, the relationship between Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) has already gone from being best friends as children to sworn enemies as adults fighting for the throne. All of this in just one season.
Comparing this with Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) in 'Game of Thrones', we see that it took Daenerys around four to five seasons to become who she was as a character.
'House of the Dragon' is centered around House Targaryen
While the story of 'Game of Thrones' was told in multiple timelines from the perspective of different houses, perhaps the biggest difference in storytelling here is the fact that 'House of the Dragon' is centered around the events in only one house.
Although most of the prominent Houses from 'Game of Thrones' make an appearance in the prequel, we only follow the events happening around the Targaryen family, specifically, the war that's going on between them.
'House of the Dragon' has significantly more dragons
As the name suggests, dragons are significantly more important in 'House of the Dragon', than they were in 'Game of Thrones'. The series centers around the Targaryen house which is known to be the home of the dragon, so dragons are characters in this show and have deeper character traits in 'House of the Dragon'
'Game of Thrones' had three dragons who were also important to the series but 'House of the Dragon' has 17 dragons and with the infighting going on between the members of the house, we could be in for some fire-breathing dragons fighting against each other.
'House of the Dragon' characters have more shades of grey
'Game of Thrones' had characters who would go to any extent to stake their claim on the throne but you could still see shades of good and bad in them. Characters like Jon Snow (Kit Harington) were quintessentially good characters who were righteous and would keep a moral high ground.
'House of the Dragon' has characters who exhibit shades of both good and bad and it is impossible for a viewer to predict their next move. While it does have a protagonist in Rhaenyra, you could question some of her actions and their morality.
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Trailer
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 is streaming on HBO on June 16, 2024