Commentary: ‘House Of The Dragon’ Makes The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Ending Worse
by Frank Martin
There’s no denying it. The Game of Thrones ending was controversial amongst fans. It was almost predictable as the author of the original novel series still hasn’t finished the source material, leaving the showrunners to come up with their own ending. Nevertheless, the series was still a massive success, resulting in spin-offs. The big spin-off, House of the Dragon, is a prequel that takes place hundreds of years earlier. And now that it is in full swing and has developed its own lore, it’s clear that it is making the ending to Game of Thrones even worse.
The main premise behind House of the Dragon: King Viserys (Paddy Considine), lacking a male heir, names his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), as his successor. In doing so, he confides in her a secret passed down through the Targaryen bloodline. It’s a prophecy about a great threat to the North that will require the power of dragons to defeat. However, Viserys’s wife, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), believes he changed his mind and named her son with him as heir on his deathbed. This begins a bloody civil war Rhaenyra believes holds the fate of Westeros in the balance.
Of course, the Targaryens eventually lose their dragons and are overthrown as rulers of Westeros in the centuries to come. In Game of Thrones, this prophecy comes to pass and the White Walkers attack from the North. They are eventually defeated, but they aren’t portrayed as the show’s ultimate villain. They are defeated first before the heroes turn their attention to fighting for the Iron Throne. House of the Dragon makes it clear that this prophecy should have been the ultimate point of the original series, and it’s reminding fans that the White Walkers fell short of their ultimate potential as a threat.
House of the Dragon is now streaming on HBO Max.
