House of the Dragon is a prequel to the record-breaking series, Game of Thrones. The first season ended October 23, and many fans are eager to see what will happen next. 

The series is based 172 years before the Mad King died, which occurs just in the beginning of Game of Thrones. It follows the Targaryens, a troublesome, deranged family. Within Game of Thrones, viewers learn bits and pieces of the past through stories characters might tell, or books they may read. House of the Dragon shows how things really played out, not just learning by stories or words on paper.

Immediately as the first episode begins, we see a dragon soaring over King’s Landing, showing that dragons are common in this land. Within this first episode you meet the characters you’ll be working with for the remainder of this season. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s daughter, a stubborn girl who wants to do things her own way, not to be ordered around. Also shown in this episode, we get our first glimpse of the terrorizing and gore Game of Thrones always had, leaving people a little freaked, but attracted to the drama.

Within this series, time passes extremely quickly. A few months may pass between each episode, or even a year. About half way through the first season, some of the main characters change. Young Rhaenyra is played by Milly Alcock, and older Rheanyra by Emma D’Arcy. Alicent Hightower, Rhaenyra’s best friend, goes from Emily Carey to Olivia Cooke. The actors and actresses playing their descendants also change due to the drastic time skips within this series. This makes it more puzzling, but fun for the watchers to experience everyone growing up.

While the characters get older, they start to have more and more responsibilities they must face. Some may have to rule, while others learn how to serve, some even being constantly rejected and put down.

Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based on The Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin. The two series can be watched on HBO/HBO MAX and are a perfect TV show to immerse yourself in during winter, with a nice warm fire in the background, and some popcorn, of course. Winter is coming, and you must be prepared to binge Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon! 

CONTENT WARNINGS: This show contains gratuitous violence, gore, sexual assault, rape, and incest, and may not be appropriate for younger viewers.