There are certain inevitabilities in this lifetime: death, taxes, and the England men's football team disappointing at a major tournament. Add to that list Sky's blockbuster series House of the Dragon being compared unfavourably to its acclaimed progenitor, Game of Thrones. With the prequel back for a third season, that comparison once again looms large over a show that, critics argue, has never fully understood its own appeal.
Set during the Targaryen civil war, season three pits the 'blacks' – supporters of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and her ruthless husband-uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) – against the 'greens', representing the Hightower branch. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and her sons Jacaerys (Harry Collett) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) struggle for power as Rhaenyra finally seizes the Iron Throne. The season opens with a dazzling skirmish involving dragon riders and the fleet of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), showing a technical grace that matches the mythical creatures. Yet even with this virtuosity, the battles feel lopsided – the side with bigger dragons holds a major advantage – and lacking in humanity.
The show's makers are squandering the affection viewers have for George RR Martin's books, according to early reviews. The stakes feel both very low, given how hard it is to care about the ultimate victor, and very high, as multiple major characters are killed off within the first two episodes. Slower, personal sequences consist largely of portentous conversations in dimly lit chambers. 'You've come so far,' Daemon tells his queen. 'And yet you still don't know who you are.' These ominous whisperings lack the earthy wisdom, wit and discursive pleasure that defined Game of Thrones.
The cast attempt to make the most of the material, though they increasingly play against composited reptilians. D'Arcy and Smith remain the show's best performers, capturing the mercurial ambition of House Targaryen. But the show struggles to evolve Rhaenyra beyond a one-note, vengeful mother. 'I may appear to have the weak and feeble body of a woman,' she says at one point, bizarrely channelling Elizabeth I, 'but I possess the heart and spirit of a king.' This unflattering writing also fails to help Cooke, who is distractingly badly cast for a role that requires her to convincingly convey a matriarch's desperation. The result is a spectacular but disappointingly shallow season.
House of the Dragon season three is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK. It has not yet received BAFTA or Emmy recognition, though its predecessor won multiple awards. The series is expected to conclude with a fourth season.
Source: Original review analysis based on critical reception