For many viewers, the problem with House of the Dragon began with the opening credits of the first episode.
The decision to repurpose the iconic Game of Thrones theme song for an entirely new series was a strange one, and perhaps unprecedented in the history of high-profile spinoffs.
After all, it’s not as if Frasier opened the movie with shots of Cafe Nervosa over lyrics about a place where everyone knows your name.
The decision to use Ramin Djawadi’s orchestral score was fairly simple, but some critics assumed it was indicative of HBO’s confusion over how to pitch and market this show.
There was a time when Game of Thrones was the biggest show on television by a wide margin, and naturally, executives wanted to capitalize on that popularity.
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But the final season of the series was a dismal failure, and producers Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin (who wrote the books on which both series are based) may have wanted to distance themselves a little from the conflict between the Starks and the Lannisters.
And they should have been able to do this easily, as HoD focuses on a different Succession War, set roughly two centuries before the main event of Game of Thrones.
Unfortunately, by changing events and cutting ties with GoT showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss, the series may have lost the magic that made its original show a surprise hit.
Burning bright, from flaming?
Maybe you’re a die-hard fan of the series or a viewer who was lukewarm about the first season but decided to give this show a second chance.
Either way, you’ve probably encountered the usual complaints:
The pace of House of the Dragon is much slower than that of Game of Thrones.
There are too many grouchy blonde characters with confusingly similar names.
The first season devoted so much time to backstory and setting that it felt laborious at times.
You can dispute the validity of these complaints, but there’s no denying that they’re all too common across the social media landscape.
With Season 2, the show faced an additional challenge: a 22-month hiatus.
This is nearly 4,000 years in this era, the era of TikTok’s attention span, and there were concerns that HoD would never be able to attract its core audience again, let alone attract new viewers.
Did Sunday night’s House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere allay those concerns?
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Well, it depends who you ask.
lukewarm reaction
After some expository scenes that probably baffled anyone who didn’t bother to refresh their memory before listening (or at least pay close attention during the recap), the episode quickly gained momentum.
In fact, it seems like the writers were fully aware of the criticism that the first season was a bit slow at times.
Viewers familiar with the source material may have experienced a mixture of dread and excitement when they realized that this was the episode in which characters nicknamed “Blood” and “Cheese” brutally dispatch Aegon II’s son Jaehaerys.
The murder was done in cold blood, and was carried out by a strange pair of hired killers, possibly on Damon’s orders.
The sounds were terrifying, and the mother’s grief was palpable, so why did so many viewers feel the entire scene was such a disappointment?
Has the story of “Blood and Cheese” become wrinkled?
Echoing the sentiments of many viewers on X, a Vulture critic wrote that the scene “should have been more vile and barbaric.”
For all the flaws of its later seasons, Game of Thrones has never been shy about “going there.”
HoD featured some memorable villain scenes in its first season.
Some of them were enough to make your skin crawl, like a crab slithering down the late villain’s body. So why did the show play it safe this time?
Now, we don’t think anyone is saying they wanted the camera to linger on the sight of a child being brutally slaughtered.
But Jaehaerys’ murder has been compared to the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones – the moment when the tide was completely turned by a shocking and brutal act of violence.
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There are ways House of the Dragon could have made a similar impact without the graphic depiction of Jaehaerys’ death.
However, based on the response on social media, they failed to do so.
Yes, “Blood and Cheese” was popular Sunday night and Monday morning, but most of the responses were complaints that the scene wasn’t as disturbing as it could have been.
It’s just one scene, of course, but the reaction sums up a lot of the criticism of the entire series.
Did the Dragon House fail to fly?
Jaehaerys’ murder didn’t hit home the way it should have, mainly because the show spent too little time developing his character.
HoD often seems so focused on lore and worldbuilding that it forgets to make us care about the people at the heart of this story.
Say what you will about Weiss and Benioff, but for all the ways they fumbled at the line, these two knew when to slow things down to focus on character development.
They realize that if it weren’t for the charisma of Tyrion Lannister or the tender moments between Arya and the Hound, the show might seem like an endless repository of information.
GoT’s crude humor and sexually charged storylines may have tested some viewers’ patience, but those moments kept the series from feeling like a Wikipedia page about the War of the Roses (with dragons).
Obviously, it’s perfectly fine for House of the Dragon to experiment with a different pace and tone.
It would be exhausting if the show didn’t give us more than just microwaved Game of Thrones leftovers.
Related: When it goes off the rails, it’s excellent TV
But if the writers can’t figure out a way to generate more heat of their own, we might have to ask them to give up the rights to that iconic song!
What do you think, TV fans? Is House of the Dragon still flying high, or is this show in danger of catching fire?
Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts!
Tyler Johnson He is a contributing editor for TV Fanatic and other Mediavine O&O sites. In his free time, he enjoys reading, cooking, and of course watching TV. You can follow him on X and email him here on TV Fanatic.
