Assholes and Dragons and Politics, Oh My! Why I Quit Watching 'House of the Dragon' in its First Season

I recently re-wrote my thoughts on the first episode of The Rings of Power because I was so appalled (and a little impressed) by how horrible it was. Since they were released around the same time, it was frequently compared to the House of the Dragon, with the latter considered to be the superior show. Of course, in many ways it is, I won’t deny that. The storytelling and characterization were stronger, the acting was worlds better, and it follows George R.R. Martin’s source with far more dedication.

However, I watched the entire first season of The Rings of Power with the same bemusement that let me enjoy The Room, while I was forced to quit watching House of the Dragon after six episodes.

Why?

Because we couldn’t stop asking, “So what? Why do we care?”

So let’s get into why I thought House of the Dragon was a huge disappointment.

DISCLAIMER: HotD season 1 spoilers abound from here on out!

“Why Should I Care?” Why Indeed…

A while back, my partner and I were watching Andor on Disney+. For the first few episodes, we had the same “why do I care?” feeling looming over us. Star Wars lore has gotten increasingly oversaturated since the franchise became one of corporate Disney’s new cash cows, so a full series about the guy from Rogue One felt like a pretty far reach. And yet... we kept watching.

Why?

Because the characters were actually relatable and had interesting personalities. Because the political intrigue was engaging and tied in nicely to existing Star Wars media. Because the story ended up being nothing like my expectations. In the end, while we never figured out why we cared… we found ourselves caring anyway.

With House of the Dragon, after six long-ass episodes, I neither had an answer to why I should care, nor did any desire blossom in me to keep spending my precious evenings on a half-baked spinoff of a series that completely failed to live up to its hype.

Maybe part of the reason I didn’t want to stick it out is because I’m sick of real-world politics and don’t appreciate them invading my escapism with their exhausting, depressing bullshit anymore. Or maybe because the entire cast is comprised of unlikeable villains. Or maybe it’s just because power is the most generic villain motive and without adding anything fresh, it’s just tedious.

Even when Game of Thrones played with these themes, there was at least some variety: Ned Stark and Danaerys Targaryen had good intentions but needed to compromise, Tywin Lannister and Littlefinger were manipulative and compelling, while the outsiders trying to change the system like Arya Stark were exciting. House of the Dragon, conversely, has so far given me nobody to root for.

Game of Thrones Already Did it Better

You don’t hear much praise for the way Game of Thrones ended, but it did have its moments early on. By comparison, House of the Dragon isn’t even telling us a new story, it’s just reinforcing why there’s so much generational trauma in Westeros, as portrayed by irredeemably awful people.

The most stark (pun certainly intended) example of this is in the portrayal of lineage: In GoT, the Baratheon bastards were investigated. Secretly! It took actual spymastery and subterfuge to uncover this deep, dark secret.

In HotD, Rhaenyra’s kids don’t look remotely Velaryon, and yet no one notices. I love that the Velaryons were cast as people of color to add some diversity, but when the kids were pretty visibly white? How is lineage even a debate? This is just a worse version of a major plotline from Game of Thrones. And this is not the only half-baked rehash from its predecessor, it’s just the most glaringly lazy one.

Endless Time Jumps Create Rifts in Character Arcs

Another big issue for me was that the pacing of the show was atrocious.

Between every episode, the show jumps ahead by years or even a full decade. This makes it completely impossible to get to know and thus become attached to the characters. Just when we’re getting a feel for them, time skips forward, they continue developing offscreen, and we’re suddenly expected to understand and care about their new motivations…

Take, for example, the way Rhaenyra and Alicent start the series as close friends. At one point, they even have a heart-to-heart that shows their mutual sympathy for each other’s struggles. Then, suddenly, they’re… enemies? Alicent just stops seeing Rhaenyra as a person, let alone a friend? There’s no transition here, just a time skip followed by an assumption that we’ll accept all the changes at face value.

My favorite example though is Ser Criston Cole, aka one of my least favorite characters in a show of unlikeable people. He starts as a devout religious-type knight, but then Rhaenyra seduces him, which gives him an existential crisis. Then, legitimately out of nowhere, he publicly murders someone for the heinous crime of suggesting they be allies. And instead of facing consequences for this, Queen Alicent promotes him to her personal guard!? The …ehm… “punishment” here does not seem to suit the crime.

After all this, we face the aforementioned 10-year time jump and this guy is still muttering insults and calling Rhaenyra a cunt like she was personally responsible for the deaths of everyone he ever loved. My guy, it’s been a decade—touch grass.

The show never gives us enough time or space to understand the characters and why they do or care about things before escalating their actions. There are no slow-burn rivalries or organic relationship shifts, just blunt-force trauma to the story beats.

Hollywood’s Annoying Residue

The way television shows and movies still brush past things is wild to me in this day and age of everyone calling everything out. Like, Rhaenyra giving birth and then immediately getting up and walking around, or Laena Velaryon wandering off to be eaten by her dragon when she was incapable of giving birth. The show clearly has no writers who have ever given birth on staff, and I say that as someone who also lacks that personal experience.

However, the biggest issue was that those aforementioned time jumps happened with such a high frequency that the first season required an actor change midway. Don’t get me wrong, I actually liked both Milly Alcock Emma D’Arcy in the role, but they have completely different facial structures. Meanwhile, Alicent and Laenor were replaced without issue… so it was indeed possible. For a show that had this much money to blow on sick dragon CGI, you’d think they might have been able to allocate a little for that de-aging tech that’s been floating around if they couldn’t find a visual match?

Also, one last thought on this note: did the writers do even a cursory bit of research into leprosy? King Viserys is supposedly dying from having cut himself on the iron throne so many times, but… that’s not how leprosy works. It’s a very slow-progressing bacterial infection that happens to also be extremely contagious. If the king actually had leprosy, they’d be treating him like the leper he was (it’s literally a turn of phrase about avoiding people), not joining him for dinner while he’s desiccating onto his plate.

This Show Deserves a Pitch Meeting

Have you seen that comedic YouTube series where Ryan George pretends to be a writer pitching a show to an executive in a way that is generally pretty batshit crazy? I feel like that guy missed an opportunity by skipping this show, because it sure as hell felt like the literal pitch meeting went something like this…

“Alright folks, we need to bring back Game of Thrones. What did viewers like best about it?”
“Gratuitous sex!”
“Gratuitous violence!”
“Gratuitous incest!”
“Great! Let’s do only that, but with more dragons.”

Daemon butchering people in the street? Check. Daemon trying to fuck his niece? Check. Daemon successfully fucking his niece? …Wait, if Game of Thrones already blunted us to the shock value of incest, politics, and cruelty, what is this show actually offering?

Why I Quit After Six Episodes

It took me over five hours of watching power-hungry assholes being exactly that for me to realize that I was getting absolutely nothing out of this show. If I want to see corruption and political manipulation, I’ll read the news. If I want to see power-hungry sociopaths, I’ll just explore real-world politics. When I’m indulging myself in some escapism, though? I need some substance.

At least The Rings of Power was so bad that it was entertaining—I’ll take a trainwreck over a hollow rehash any day. Unfortunately, it seems I’ll be waiting for another day.

Watch another fun take on Honest Trailers