HOUSE OF THE DRAGON will always be compared to its predecessor, GAME OF THRONES, for better or for worse. The showrunners know this, and there’s an amount of self-awareness that ultimately benefits HOTD. From the (technically different, yet) functionally identical theme song to the themes of the series itself to the fact that the highest compliment I can give the show is that it lives up to GOT. And this week’s episode absolutely does.
RHAENYRA THE CRUEL fleshes out the motivations and urges of its core characters in a highly necessary way; in the timeline of the show, we’re only weeks (if not days) into the so-called Dance of the Dragons, the war between Team Green and Team Black. In this episode, we dive deep into the psyches of our major players; and there’s so much depth to be explored. From the weak-minded to the stubborn to the war-mongering to the power-hungry, even the most unlikeable characters are hard to hate.
This character study comes to a head in the final few minutes of this episode, in one of the most interesting combat scenes I’ve seen on screen. It felt intentionally hard to follow; I felt as if I were in the room where it happened, ending in a truly visceral experience.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON is now available to stream on Max.
