House of the Dragon could be argued to be the most anticipated show of the year. Following on from the heavily criticised ending to Game of Thrones, many have questioned whether any of the supposed spin-offs would be any good. For a while, it didn’t look good. Even though Bloodmoon has both Naomi Watts and John Simm involved, HBO decided not to move forward. Instead, the first spin-off series from Game of Thrones is House of the Dragon. Clearly, it will be Targaryen-focused. But will it be any good?

Luckily any doubts that this prequel won’t be any good are soon put to rest. It has a gripping storyline, horrifying scenes, and backstabbing pretty much from the get-go. In comparison to the pilot episode of Game of Thrones, there’s one particular scene that places House of the Dragon even higher than that. Based on the pilot episode alone, House of the Dragon seems like it may be deadlier, bloodier, and more horrifying than its predecessor ever was.

What fans will love is the triple layers of the characters. Olivia Cooke, for example, does a great job within the first two episodes of making us question her character’s every facial expression. Furthermore, as was the case with Game of Thrones, it appears that there’ll be plenty of scheming, treachery, and betrayals in House of the Dragon. Whether there’ll be any brutal battles remains unknown right now. But I wouldn’t worry too much, chances are that we’ll have a bloody battle before the first season finishes.

Overall, this series is Game of Thrones when it was at its best. And in one massive area of improvement, the prequel looks and feels more diverse. Whilst the story is easy to get into, the characters are somewhat harder to invest in. However, chances are that the more we see of House of the Dragon, the stronger the character development will be.