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'Lived up to the hype': Fans praise 'masterful' premiere of HBO's 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon'

Fans gave their opinions on the premiere episode of 'House of the Dragon' and didn't shy away from giving it a huge thumbs up

HBO’s highly anticipated fantasy series ‘House of the Dragon’ is finally here and after seeing the first episode, we can definitely say that it was everything that everyone hoped it to be. Set 172 years before the death of the Mad King and the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, the ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series explores the Targaryen dynasty and how they used to rule Westeros. Although everything is about sitting on the Iron Throne, the show magnificently covers the internal politics of a kingdom that is considered to be the most powerful.

The premiere does an exceptional job of establishing characters and making viewers a part of their journey. King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) and Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) are about to have a child and Viserys believes that it is a BOY. They already have one daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock). However, to continue the Targaryen reign, they need to have a son because patriarchy was still the most disgusting aspect of that era. But every dream comes crashing down when maesters announce that they can only save one of them. The King takes the difficult decision of saving the child. Aemma dies during the C-section and while the King was mourning the loss of his wife, he received disastrous news that their child has also died.

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Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) believes that he will now be announced the heir to the throne because he is King’s brother, but Viserys decides to name his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, his heir to the throne. Tensions are pretty high at King’s Landing because everyone is now scheming and thinking of how they can take advantage of this situation. Be it Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) or Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), every major character is trying to make their way closer to the throne.

The episode laid a strong foundation for the series and fans think the same. Social media went berserk after the premiere of ‘HOTD’ ended and called it a “masterful” episode that lived up to the hype. One of the fans wrote, “What a f****** masterful episode!! Wow!! wow!! The end of the episode was kinda bittersweet knowing where we end up in GOT. But, I loved it!” Another fan shared, “Hell of a series premiere, imma run it back.” Another fan wrote, “Such a good episode. Totally lived up to the hype.”

“First episode of #HouseOfTheDragon was fantastic. Matt Smith is exceptional in the role of Daemon Targaryen. Already can’t wait until next Sunday,” said another fan. “What made early seasons of GOT great was unpredictability and boy do we have it in #HouseOfTheDragon,” one wrote. “Bro I love this damn show,” tweeted another user.

The first episode ended on a high as King Viserys announced Princess Rhaenyra as his new heir. During their conversation, he also told her about the dream that King Aegon had about the end of the world of the men. He said that it will all begin with a “terrible winter” gusting out of the distant north. He also revealed that Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. The conversation concluded with Viserys telling Rhaenyra that if “the world of men is to survive then a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne”.

Viserys was talking about the White Walkers that wreaked havoc throughout ‘Game of Thrones’. Let’s see if the series continues to mention the Army of the Dead in the upcoming episodes.

‘House of the Dragon’ currently holds an 8.9 rating on IMDb and an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.