'House of the Dragon' premieres with tribute to Daenerys Targaryen
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the series premiere of House of the Dragon.
Sunday was a big night for Game of Thrones fans, as the highly anticipated spinoff House of the Dragon finally premiered. In fact, so many people tuned in to watch the series premiere that HBO Max crashed for some subscribers!
The prequel, based on George R.R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood, is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen, including the events leading up to the Targaryen war of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons."
Following the opening scene, a prologue explained that the events of this series takes place "172 years before the death of the mad king, Aerys, and the birth of his daughter, Princess Daenerys Targaryen," with the words ultimately fading out to only read "172 years before Daenerys Targaryen." Fans absolutely loved the subtle tribute to the beloved character from the original series, and took to Twitter with comments like:
The fact that the opening scene stated the events of the show are BEFORE Daenerys and not AFTER Aegon is just everything. Daenerys is a legend! #DaenerysTargaryen#HOTD #HouseoftheDragon #HBOMax #HBO #GOT pic.twitter.com/jVfsAaRcRd
— JayLis ???? (@Jay_Lis) August 22, 2022
Homage paid to Daenerys Targaryen. A small subtle way the creators put her on the same pedestal of time that Aegon the Conqueror himself is upon while acknowledging her impact on House Targaryen’s adoration. #HouseoftheDragon #HOTD pic.twitter.com/WW0Uyya2Zy
— out of context house of the dragon (@oochotd) August 22, 2022
As for the rest of the series premiere, House of the Dragon delivered all the violence GoT was notorious for and even killed off a key character two-thirds of the way into the first episode. Again, typical GoT.
However, some viewers weren't loving a couple plot points, like the fact that King Viserys Targaryen chose to let his wife, Queen Aemma Targaryen, die in labor to save his male heir as they thought it hit a little too close to home when it comes to real-life politics.
This is why men shouldn’t decide what women should do with their bodies, stupid! #HOTD #HouseoftheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonHBO #hbo
— Kay (@KayLissette) August 22, 2022
Now do we still wonder why women should make our own choices about giving birth. That was a strong statement for women’s right #HOTD
— mahalia.wright (@Mahalian) August 22, 2022
In another scene, Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, sends his 14-year-old daughter Alicent to King Viserys's chambers to comfort him by sleeping with him. And while the series is set in 112 AC, and is also, well, a fictional television show, some just thought the idea was a little too unacceptable.
Sending your teen daughter to sleep with the king aka her best friends dad that just lost his wife… in her own dead moms dress? Yea we getting FILTHY! #HOTD
— Yardie B (@ShenaeCurry) August 22, 2022
But overall, most people, and even the ones still bitter about the Game of Thrones series finale, are glad to be back in Westeros.
me after being disappointed by the final season of game of thrones: “i guess i’ll give house of the dragon a try”
me to HBO after watching the first episode: #HouseoftheDragon #HOTD pic.twitter.com/VPpeMHAhyb— kathleen (@kathleen_hanley) August 22, 2022
I accept #HOTD 's offering to restore balance and order after what Game of Thrones finale did to help trigger the pandemic. Yay Dragons.
— Val Solor (they/them) (@ValarijSolor) August 22, 2022
as someone who was all the way out on THRONES by the series finale… the #HOTD premiere has me all the way back in pic.twitter.com/lUkkKEy7N3
— Jake John (@jacobjaboyle) August 22, 2022
House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.
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