The House of Dragon: Let Me Tell You Why You Should Watch It
Pavani Mantripragada
February 4, 2023. 4 minute Read
My obsession with dragons began with Toothless from How To Train Your Dragon. It had a great outlet with the entry of Drogon in The Game of Thrones. It is natural to say that I had become enamored with Daenerys Stormborn, the Mother of Dragons.
In case you have watched the Game of Thrones, you know the events were mostly around the war of succession between various houses such as Baratheons, Starks, Lannistors, and Tyrells. But the only Targaryens we saw were Viserys and Daenerys in the series. But the House of Dragons which started 190 years before The Game of Thrones and It looks through the family of Targaryens and their inter-family fight for the throne. To be specific, the war is here for the Iron Throne. All of the Targaryens are Dragonriders, unlike in Game of Thrones, where it was specific to Daenerys.
The Plot of the Series
House of Dragons has an intricate plot line. One thing we should warn you about is that Targaryens have a reputation for marrying their own siblings. So, you will see a lot of it within the story. But don’t just make up your mind yet, the main plotline is quite interesting.
Here, the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, sets up two Successors before him. Both of them are his grandchildren known as Viserys Targaryen and Rhaenys Targaryen. Both were brilliant choices for them, but unable to accept a woman as a Queen, so they chose Viserys.
Viserys has a daughter from his first wife, Aemma, Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra is named as his heir and the next Queen of Westeros. When Viserys remarries Alicent after Aemma’s death, the story takes off. Alicent gives birth to three sons and a daughter. Aegon II, Halaena, Aemond, and Daeron. Alicent wishes for her son Aegon to be the heir. Hence, the whole story is split into Blacks and Greens. Black is the symbolic color of Targaryens, and thus Rhaenyra chooses the color Black. Those siding with Aegon picks Green.
Overall, the story of House of Dragon is about the struggle to take over the throne between Rhaenyra and Aegon which is woven to perfection. The plotlines will crave you to see more of it.
The Dragons
The Game of Thrones made me want to see more and more of these dragons from the House of Dragon, know about their personalities, and how they are trained by the Targaryens.
Caraxes, the dragon the male protagonist Daemon Targaryen rides, loves to start causing trouble. Almost like the little schoolboy bully.
Now in the series, you will see each dragon in the series has a personality. We see them making all the difference. Daemon tells Rhaenyra that even having dragons on their side will factor in the victory. He also talks about wild dragons that do not have riders.
There are scenes of dragon riding, dragon eggs being stolen, people stealing other people’s dragons. A whole lot of drama revolving around dragons. This is one of the most fascinating aspects in the series.
Actors Who Made The Difference
Needless to say, the series’ hero is Emma D’Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra. The way she shows the complexity of the character is just fantastic. She even won a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Rhaenyra.
Then again, I have been a sucker for Matt Smith since seeing him as the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who and Prince Philip in the Crown series.
Eve Best makes Princess Rhaenys Targaryen look like a real Queen. She is an x-factor even when on the dragon, Meleys.
Besides that, Tom Glynn Carney, who plays our Antagonist Aegon Targaryen, is an excellent character who reminds me of Joeffrey from the Game of Thrones. His acting convinces me to hate Aegon a lot in the whole series along with that of Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond Targaryen, the brother of Aegon.
The great thing about the actors who can act is that they make the character quickly love or hate. Just like any other show, there are going to be times when you will find your favorite character a bit annoying.
Final Thoughts
I am still very obsessed with the House of Dragons. The plot is just overly consuming, and the actors are brilliant in it. Not to mention, I just love their struggle for the throne. It reminds me of Daenerys and her journey to power.
