By Spandan Sahu

A friend recommended that I watch Game of Thrones towards the end of summer, which propelled me into a spiral of watching all 8 seasons of Game of Thrones (I’d have preferred only to watch the first 6 due to the horrific writing in seasons 7 and 8), and I recently completed my binge with House of the Dragon season 2. It was extremely refreshing to see an insight into the deeply incestuous and fiery Targaryen family – the House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon was great to watch due to the time jumps between episodes – we had a chance to view Viserys age and watch how Alicent Hightower ruled in his place during his final years, yet was subverted by the small council when she wanted to rule in place of her injured son Aemon after the Battle of Rook’s Rest due to deep-rooted misogyny in the medieval setting that the Game of Thrones universe is in. Yet all the characters are amazingly developed – watching Ser “Crispy” Criston Cole sourly fight against the Black factions due to his rejection by a 17-year-old Rhaenyra Targaryen is entertaining to say the least, especially when he is also sleeping with the mother of the arguably false king Aemon – at the same time, assassins hired by Daemon kill Aemon’s son Aemond in front of his simultaneously wife and sister. It is this chaos that is so pleasing to watch, as one needs to keep track of the family tree and their respective dragons after every episode.

Furthermore, the fractious relationship between Daemon Targaryen and his niece Rhaenyra, while Daemon struggles to get grips with his desire to rule as king and hallucinates due to the cursed Weirwood beds of Harrenhal, results in a slightly disappointing yet crucial plot point for the series. Rhaenyra’s lack of dragons to combat Vhagar, the largest dragon in the realm, is a pestering issue that is eventually solved towards the back end of Season 2 – when the Targaryen bastards Ulf and Hugh Hammer claim the dragons Vermithor and Silverwing, formidable opponents to Vhagar. Ulf and Hugh Hammer are refreshing characters to view because of their relatability – instead of being highborn nobles, they are outcasts who have never been able to claim their heritage due to their mothers either being disowned princesses or the product of a princely visit to a brothel. This results in Ulf being the classic comic relief who doesn’t know how to conduct himself in the court of Queen Rhaenyra.

House of the Dragon is a must-watch Game of Thrones spinoff: it loosely follows George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire and Blood, which is a history of House Targaryen. This book has been adapted by HBO to produce the gripping series that is loved by many. It would’ve been better to see Daemon contribute more to the buildup towards the actual dance (which has been inching closer and closer) – and now that the Highgarden army, with Daeron Targaryen and his dragon Tessarion shadowing the army.