House of the Dragon's Premiere Wins Me Over on the Targaryen Saga

My honest reaction after watching the first episode of House of the Dragon is simple: I really enjoyed it. I did not know what to expect going in, and I want to be upfront that I came to this as more of a series watcher than a book reader, so I was not sure I would have characters worth investing in this far removed from the original show.

The story is set roughly one to two hundred years before the original series, which raised the question of whether I would care enough about the Targaryen reign to stay engaged. My answer, in my own words, was that "the answer is a resounding yes." The politics of how the premiere sets everything up, along with the prologue, pulled me in from the start.

Matt Smith, Paddy Considine and Milly Alcock Stand Out as the Episode's Strongest Elements

The performances are what I keep coming back to. Matt Smith, Paddy Considine and Milly Alcock are the standouts of this particular episode for me. The show also carries over the tone I liked about Game of Thrones, what I called "that spice," while giving me small tie-ins here and there to the original series that make this feel like real history I had already heard referenced in the earlier show or read about afterward.

The Family Drama Avoids a Simple Good Versus Evil Setup

What stood out most is that this is not just another story about an evil king. I am sure there will be people who turn out to be pretty evil as the series goes on, but so far it is not a black and white thing. There are people who might be a little more vicious or violent, and they can still have a real affinity for their family alongside whatever else is happening in the realm.

I liked the chess pieces of the plot, the house drama and the internal family struggle, and there was not one point where I was thinking it was time to move on. Familiar names from the original series popped up too, which added to the sense that this is building toward history I already partly know. I am looking forward to seeing how the rest of the series plays out, and I am back for next week for sure. I have a full spoiler review of this episode following separately.

Did the premiere's approach to the Targaryen family win you over the way it won me over?