I remember thinking House of the Dragon would be a great show. I'm not a massive fan of the source material, Fire & Blood, but I reckoned the TV writers could breathe life into the bloody history of House Targaryen.
For the first season, this was more or less true. I recall enjoying every episode and didn't mind the lack of gratuitous sex, which The Game of Thrones TV series certainly has. There were some fine performances, especially Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen, even if none lived up to Peter Dinklage's portrayal of Tyrian Lannister. I got a kick out of former Doctor Who, Mattt Smith, playing the ever-unpredictable Daemon Targaryen.
After watching the first season I looked forward to the second—I really did. But the second season was, well…meh. There were too many characters…too many characters I didn't like or give a damn about. None were particularly sympathetic or likable. Some have potential, such as the commoners raised to dragon riders, but don't get enough screen time for the viewer to formulate an opinion of them. Daemon's exploits remain interesting, and I find Rhaenyra likable and sympathetic as she weighs burning the kingdom to the ground versus accepting defeat and death. But their stories weren't enough to carry the season.
On top of an overall forgettable cast of characters, season two brought us plenty of anticipation of action while providing practically no actual action at all. Okay, there was one dragon fight, but even that felt blah. It looks like season three will bring action aplenty, but will that be enough to hold my interest when I don't care about any of the characters and I've already read the book? Hmmmmm…the magic eight ball says: unlikely.
I will watch season three of House of the Dragon, but right now, I am definitely more interested in the tales of Ser Duncan the Tall coming to the screen. In all honesty, I'm pining for Winds of Winter more than any TV adaptation of George RR Martin's work.
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