“House of the Dragon”
Bumpy start for the “GoT” offshoot?
The first episode of “House of the Dragon” can be seen in Germany on the night of August 22nd.
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“House of the Dragon” starts on Monday night. But can the “Game of Thrones” offshoot convince?
The wait will be over in a few days, even if the much-awaited “Game of Thrones” prequel “House of the Dragon” will finally be released in Germany on the night of August 22nd. Expectations are high, as the HBO series based on the works of George RR Martin (73) has been an absolute phenomenon in recent years – at least until the finale, which was disappointing for many fans. In the first reviews, however, the critics are not unanimous as to whether “House of the Dragon” is a good or a bad offshoot.
“A new, captivating chapter”
Of the British “Guardian” referred to the spin-off as a success. Everything is like the “heyday” of “Game of Thrones”, what after the “bizarrely bad finale […] a relief”. Also the Wall Street Journal believesthat fans will “certainly be happier” with what’s on offer than with the end of “Game of Thrones”. Noisy “Los Angeles Times” could “House of the Dragon” once again captures the power and grandeur of the original. With the first episode, the spin-off manages to “stoke a fire for a new, compelling chapter in HBO’s epic.”
Meanwhile “Entertainment Weekly” has mixed feelings. Although the fantasy series got off to a rocky start and the dragon didn’t take to the skies immediately, after all, no house was built in just one day. Even if the series is called “House of the Dragon”, it doesn’t have “the fire” of “Game of Thrones”, means “Rolling Stone”. The characters are almost “consistently dull” and none have the energy or esprit of a Tyrion (Peter Dinklage, 53) or a Cersei (Lena Headey, 48) from the predecessor.
A loud voice that has yet to find itself
For the industry magazine “Variety” is “this successor series louder”. She is “more direct in what she wants to say” and in how viewers should react. The production makes the audience excited about what will happen next, but is more like “a blunt object and not a finely ground sword”. “The Hollywood Reporter” sees “much impressive” in the first six of a total of ten episodes of the series. At the same time, “House of the Dragon” had to “find its own voice”.
Meanwhile, many praised the performances of Milly Alcock (22) as Princess Rhaenyra and Matt Smith (39) as Daemon Targaryen. Alongside them are Paddy Considine (48), Olivia Cooke (28), Rhys Ifans (55) and Emma D’Arcy (30), among others.
This is what “House of the Dragon” is about
The offshoot takes place around 200 years before the events of Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow and Arya Stark. In the new series, a bloody war for the Iron Throne erupts in the House of Targaryen, among Daenerys’ ancestors. Two factions form, fighting for power and the crown.
In Germany, “House of the Dragon” can be seen exclusively on Sky. On the night of August 22, the premiere episode will be available on Sky Q and the Wow streaming service. On the same day, the episode then runs in the evening from 8:15 p.m. in the linear program of the channel Sky Atlantic.