The Heirs of the Dragon
| "The Heirs of the Dragon" | |
|---|---|
| House of the Dragon episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Miguel Sapochnik |
| Written by | Ryan Condal |
| Featured music | Ramin Djawadi |
| Cinematography by | Fabian Wagner |
| Editing by | Tim Porter |
| Original air date | August 21, 2022 |
| Running time | 66 minutes |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Heirs of the Dragon" is the series premiere of the HBO fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon. The first episode of the first season was written by series co-creator Ryan Condal, in an adaptation of the second half of George R. R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood. The episode was directed by Miguel Sapochnik.
As the first episode of the series, it introduces the setting and the main characters of the show.
Plot
Prologue, At Harrenhal
In 101 AC, King Jaehaerys Targaryen (Michael Carter) convenes a Great Council to avoid civil war. While Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine), his oldest grandson, is named heir, several lords still support Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), his oldest grandchild.
In King's Landing
Eleven years later, Viserys's wife, Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke), is pregnant with what he is sure will be a son. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King, insists Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), Commander of the City Watch, return to his wife, but Viserys refuses.
At a tournament, Viserys's daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), and Otto's daughter, Lady Alicent (Emily Carey), are intrigued by Ser Criston Cole, a lowborn knight who beats Daemon. Meanwhile, Aemma dies after Viserys makes her have a Caesarean section due to troubled labor, but her child, Baelon, also dies soon after.
Otto informs the Small Council that, while at a brothel, Daemon toasted Baelon, styling him as "The Heir for a Day." Viserys removes Daemon from the line of succession and, after naming Rhaenyra his heir, tells her Aegon the Conqueror dreamed of a threat Westeros can only defeat if a Targaryen sits on the Iron Throne.
As the lords of Westeros swear fealty to Rhaenyra, Daemon and his lover Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) leave atop his dragon.
Cast
Main
- Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen[1]
- Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen[1]
- Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen[1]
- Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower[1]
Co-starring
- Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon[1]
- Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen[1]
- Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria[1]
- Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole[1]
- Emily Carey as young Lady Alicent Hightower[1]
- Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling[1]
Reception
Ratings
"The Heirs of the Dragon" had 9.99 million viewers.[2] The size of the audience caused HBO Max to crash for some users.[3] Downdetector reported 3700 instances of the application not responding.[3] HBO said the viewership represented the largest single-day viewership for a series debut in HBO Max's history.[4] This claim has not been verified by a third party such as Nielsen, which only tabulates viewership for HBO's linear channel.
Critical reception
The episode received highly positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode received an approval rating of 85% based on 121 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's critical consensus said, "Bearing the weight of a hallowed TV lineage, "The Heirs of the Dragon" won't fully fire viewers up for another game of thrones, but solidly sets the board with plenty of blood."[5]
Writing for IGN, Helen O'Hara gave the premiere episode a rating of 8 out of 10 and said, "House of the Dragon's premiere marks a strong, well-cast start to the Game of Thrones spin-off. This feels very close to its predecessor in tone and content, but immediately establishes a struggle for power around an amiable, weak-willed king, and vivid new characters to fight those battles."[6] Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek gave it a four out of five stars and deemed it as "in many ways better [than 'Winter Is Coming'] as it's a far more focused experience," and further praised the acting (particularly Smith's) and the jousting scenes.[7] Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian, in her review for the first six episodes, called the first episode "spectacular" and that "it rattles through everything that made its predecessor, Game of Thrones, such a titan of the small screen."[8] Grading the episode with a "B", Jenna Scherer of The A.V. Club described it as "If this first episode is anything to go on, House of the Dragon will be a more staid affair than Game of Thrones, for better or worse." However, she criticized the production design, particularly "the outfits, technology and jargon", for being "identical to the ones in Game of Thrones" despite taking place two centuries earlier.[9]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cast & Characters". HBO. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ^ Hailu, Selome (August 22, 2022). "'House of the Dragon' Premiere Draws Nearly 10 Million Viewers, Biggest HBO Series Premiere Ever". Variety. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ a b Lukpat, Alyssa (August 22, 2022). "HBO Max Crashes for Thousands in the Minutes After 'House of the Dragon' Premieres". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 22, 2022.
- ^ Hailu, Selome (August 22, 2022). "'House of the Dragon' Premiere Draws Nearly 10 Million Viewers, Biggest HBO Series Premiere Ever". Variety. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ "House of the Dragon: Season 1, Episode 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ O'Hara, Helen (August 19, 2022). "House of the Dragon: Series Premiere Review". IGN. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
- ^ Bojalad, Alec (August 21, 2022). "House of the Dragon Episode 1 Review: The Heirs of the Dragon". Den of Geek. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Nicholson, Rebecca (August 22, 2022). "House of the Dragon review – this Game of Thrones prequel is gorgeous, opulent television". The Guardian. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
- ^ Scherer, Jenna (August 21, 2022). "House Of The Dragon kicks off with a bloody, brutal premiere". The A.V. Club. Retrieved August 21, 2022.