Friendly (Dragon) Fire: HotD Fans Claim It’s Actually Worse Than GoT

Summary:

• House of the Dragon is a direct prequel to Game of Thrones and its successor as a TV show.
• HotD fans admit that they enjoy the series but wouldn’t call it better than GoT, at least not yet.
• Fans recognize the potential of HotD but point out that comparing one season to eight is irrational.

House of the Dragon, the Targaryen-centered prequel series to Game of Thrones, has already become a household name in its own right. It has a reputation separate from that of the original TV show, but apparently, despite HotD’s achievements, fans still don’t believe the odds of comparing it with GoT are in the former’s favor.

Why Do People Compare House of the Dragon to Game of Thrones?

The obvious answer would be that House of the Dragon is the direct successor of Game of Thrones in terms of expanding George Martin ’s world of Ice and Fire on small screens. But let’s do better than that, shall we? There are many more reasons, and we’ll focus on the two main ones: the accusations and the legacy, in this order.

First, the accusations. Game of Thrones did incredibly well as long as it was based on George Martin’s existing books. Many fans blame the showrunners, the notorious D&D power duo, for butchering the show after they ran out of the source material; House of the Dragon gives the perfect opportunity to put that statement to the test.

HotD is based on the already-written book called Fire & Blood so it has its grounds covered by default. Apart from that, it has different showrunners, too. If House of the Dragon doesn’t plummet to Seven Hells by the finale like Game of Thrones did, it would effectively support fans’ claims that it was D&D who ruined the original series.

Second, the legacy. Many franchises lose their footing after the original movie or TV series comes to a closure, and the consequent projects never get enough traction. House of the Dragon is as much a post-product of Game of Thrones as Fire & Blood is a post-product of A Song of Ice and Fire, so its run is a franchise potential test.

If HotD rises to at least similar heights, then George Martin’s universe will keep expanding on small screens; if not, further attempts will be considered futile. There’s little antagonism here as House of the Dragon, the first prequel series, has the benefit of the doubt, and its success would guarantee more Westeros-based stories.

Why Do House of the Dragon Fans Say It’s Worse Than Game of Thrones?

The discussion in the biggest House of the Dragon subreddit started, rather ironically, with someone’s statement that HotD was better than Game of Thrones. You’d generally expect a show’s fans to defend it at all costs, but almost no one agreed with the OP: most fans claim HotD is a long way away from GoT’s level.

Here’s what House of the Dragon fans say about the show’s current state.

“Not yet. I think most people view GoT from the lens of beginning to end (and rightfully so) but fail to realize that Seasons 1-4 were some of the best television ever created when they were airing. EVERYONE was talking about GoT,” Reddit user Brenkin pointed out.

Most other fans shared their opinion and claimed that at this point, comparing House of the Dragon to Game of Thrones is like comparing the first 10 minutes of one movie to the entirety of another. It’s too early to judge how well HotD will be by the finale even though the show undoubtedly has great potential and started strong.

Others ignored the technicalities and shared their feelings when watching the two shows: in this case, the comparison becomes less rational but more honest.

“I don't think HoTD is better than GoT quality and story-wise, but I do find it more enjoyable, weirdly,” androgynousmayflower admitted, and they weren’t alone on that.

One thing is clear: it’s truly too early to judge whether House of the Dragon is worse, equal, or better than Game of Thrones due to the amount of content we’ve seen. Game of Thrones is an eight-season finished TV show, and House of the Dragon is yet to release its second season, so no objective comparison can be made.

Still, it’s kind of heartwarming to learn that HotD has such a rational and level-headed fan base: while appreciating the new series greatly, they don’t rush to conclusions and are willing to give a solid and objective verdict later down the line.

Source: Reddit