August 19, 2022
Updated 8 hours ago
Credit, HBO
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Emma D’Arcy plays Rhaenyra Targaryen, along with Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen
house of the dragona series that premieres this Sunday (08/21) in Brazil on HBO Max and is part of the universe of the famous game of Thronesdoes it live up to the original?
That’s the question critics are trying to answer and there’s no consensus in the reviews of those who’ve seen it.
Some, like Britain’s The Guardian newspaper, are calling it “a resounding success” and “as big as the previous series at its peak”.
Others are not at the same level of enthusiasm. The Telegraph, also from the UK, said it had underperformed, while American site The Wrap went further, declaring that it “doesn’t even shadow Game of Thrones”.
House of the Dragon costs almost $20 million per episode and will be available on streaming platform HBO Max in the United States and Brazil starting Sunday.
It is based on parts of author George RR Martin’s 2018 bestselling book Fire and Blood, set almost 200 years before the start of Game of Thrones.
Credit, HBO
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Milly Alcock as the younger Rhaenyra alongside actress Emily Carey in the role of Alicent Hightower
The Guardian’s Lucy Mangan said the series was “a relief” after the criticized ending of the original journey.
“In short, everything is like GoT’s heyday,” she wrote. “Fun, busy, great result.”
In its fivestar review, The Times described the new series as “visually gorgeous, well acted (for the most part), sharply written and clever in concept”.
It’s “accessible to anyone who hasn’t seen Game of Thrones, but pretty familiar to those who’ve seen it all,” according to Ben Dowell.
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The Los Angeles Times warns that violent scenes take courage
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times agrees that House of the Dragon “recaptures the power, the grandeur of the original.”
The new series “instantly immerses viewers in the familiar sights and sounds of the Game of Thrones universe,” wrote reviewer Lorraine Ali.
strong scenes
“Returning to Westeros still requires a strong stomach [o continente fictício onde se passa GoT]. Beware of rampant beheadings, carts full of dismembered body parts and worse.”
Ali also noted that the first few scenes, showing the birth and fights between knights, “are powerful enough to make the first episode a resounding success and show House of the Dragon’s deep understanding of its female… characters that took GoT years to find.” .
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Depending on the critic, the main characters are “engaging” or “too serious”.
The Washington Post’s Inkoo Kang said the program is taking effect, “but not immediately.” It’s “jerky at first” and “the first three episodes are particularly generic and fastpaced in their plot,” she wrote.
She says the show’s creators “put all the pieces on the board” in the six episodes that were made available to critics (in total, the first season has 10 chapters).
female characters
“But once the game is finally allowed to begin, things are quickly starting to look promising. The prickly relationship between former friends Rhaenyra and Alicent becomes particularly intriguing, with the themes of the simmering and potentially deadly competition between the two, heightened by motherhood.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, House of the Dragon is primarily the story of Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy into adulthood, and Olivia Cooke’s Alicent, “who walks the path to power in a world dominated by men and by men being raised who have no idea how to raise them while [o ator] Matt Smith rides dragons and destroys sets.”
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One critic said Matt Smith was a little too reminiscent of the role of Prince Philip he played on The Crown.
The former Doctor Who star plays the fascinating Prince Daemon Targaryen. Critic Daniel Fienberg said he was “too theatrical but always in a funny way; he does his best on the side acts”.
Another British star in the series is Paddy Considine as Viserys Targaryen, and the storyline focuses on his dynasty and who will succeed him as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
“You have to find your own voice”
“We spend most of our time at King’s Landing [a capital dos Sete Reinos de GoT]rather than the original series’ approach,” said Fienberg. “It’s a lot of Targaryens and a lot of incest.”
There’s also “a lot of impressive stuff in the first six episodes,” he wrote. But he adds, “The show needs to find its own voice, but if that voice gets too Targaryenesque, winter could come.”
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British actor Paddy Considine plays King Viserys Targaryen
The show is “pretty intelligent and well put together” and “firmly focused on palace intrigue,” said New York Times journalist Mike Hale.
“It’s a bit like HBO’s current blockbuster Succession, with kites instead of helicopters.”
“The characters are not remarkable”
Hale adds, “But the seriousness of the proposal doesn’t translate into compelling drama. There is a lot of table talk about kingdom issues, something that would be good in moderation.”
“The characters aren’t outstanding, they seem straight out of a George RR Martin production line of medieval fantasy types. And when the show moves into battles or romance, the direction also feels mechanical, but without the exciting level of effects Game of Thrones offers.”
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Steve Toussaint plays Lord Corly’s Velaryon or Sea Snake in House of the Dragon
Rolling Stone magazine criticized House of the Dragon for having “all the palatial intrigue of its original series without any wit or energy”.
The characters are “almost uniformly monotonous,” while the scenes are occupied by “a gang of very grumpy Targareyns who give the whole project the feel of a Star Wars spinoff series,” said Alan Sepinwall.
“While Matt Smith remains brilliant in front of the camera, his earlier performance as Prince Philip on The Crown is a little too embodied in his current role. He plays Daemon more like a stubborn, oversized kid than the nearmythical warrior the series wants him to be.”
“Surprisingly Lifeless”
Sums up Sepinwall: “No matter how many special effects dragons the series has to offer, the new journey will not rekindle the fire in the hearts of viewers who loved Game of Thrones for the characters.”
The Wrap’s Thelma Adams was also unconvinced, writing that for all the bloodshed and lives taken in the scenes, “the Targaryen clan looks surprisingly lifeless (and humorless) in a loose script that ends the episodes without the shocking cliffhangers . [finais empolgantes] from before”.
She adds that the storyline “never takes off”: “Rhaenyra isn’t Daenerys. The joke that was always there to concoct even the most difficult of moments? Path. the sex? Boring, with less excitement and no adventures with dragons”.
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