Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon offers up a rollicking plotline with lots of action

SPOILER ALERT: For anyone worried Game of Thrones has gone ‘woke’ by ditching the graphic sex scenes and violence in their much-anticipated sequel, here’s a review by one of the few people in the world to view episode one.

No, you don’t have to be a fan of Game Of Thrones to dive head first into prequel House Of The Dragon.

And, no, anyone worried it has gone fully ‘woke’ by ditching the graphic sex scenes and violence that equally horrified and titillated viewers through the eight original seasons of GOT can rest assured there is plenty of both this time round.

These are the two questions I’ve been asked consistently since being one of the first people on the planet to view the first episode of the hotly-anticipated new show.

I predict fans and newcomers alike will be blown away by HOTD, which packs a monumental punch in that first instalment alone.

While it retains many of the GOT hallmarks – including a few Easter egg references that will excite fans right from the start – it is very much its own story.

A scene from the very first episode of House Of The Dragon. Picture: HBO/BINGE/FOXTEL

Where GOT was a sprawling look at the fictional world of Westeros, with all its houses and feuding leaders, HOTD instantly hones in on one family, the Targaryens. That’s the blond-haired alpha mob with an affinity for dragons, whose power and passion we came to know and, er, love from Emilia Clarke’s portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in the original.

House Of The Dragon is set 200 years earlier than Game of Thrones. Picture: HBO/BINGE/FOXTEL

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood, the new series is set some 200 years earlier when House Targaryen reigned supreme.

It’s a rollicking plotline centred around a power struggle, with liberal splashes of action (on the battlefield and, yes, in bedroom. Also in the skies, as the leathery beasts of the title are a vital presence).

It is also very much a study of gender, with a narrative about the roles expected of, and played by, men and women that will most definitely resonate with the real world of 2022. However that is not laboured – it fits into the story – which is why ill-informed claims that Thrones has gone woke are just ridiculous.

The drama kicks in straightaway with a decision from the elderly King Jaehaerys on his succession. He chooses Viserys Targaryen (actor Paddy Considine) to lead the realm over the arguably better-qualified Princess Rhaenys Velaryon (Eve Best) in a move that will set the tone for the episodes to come: the message being, women can’t rule.

As we will see, not everyone agrees – and that’s where things get hairy. Or should we say, scaly.

Actors and producers have stated widely HOTD is a story of two fathers and their daughters. We meet all of them at the start: Viserys, and his aide, Ser Otto Hightower (played by Rhys Ifans) and their daughters who are best friends in childhood: Princess Rhaenyra and Lady Alicent Hightower. Young Rhaenyra is played by Australia’s Milly Alcock then portrayed as an older woman by Emma D’Arcy, while Alicent is brought to life by Emily Carey and Olivia Cooke respectively.

The girls’ innocent bond is shown almost immediately. But in Westeros, innocence rarely lasts long, and that is shown clearly when the manoevering Hightower orders his daughter to “comfort the king in his chambers” in a manner that is at very best revoltingly creepy. Smart girl: she goes armed with a history book.

Then there’s the show-stealing Prince Daemon Targaryen, played by Matt Smith, who is entirely unlovable yet utterly compelling as he revels in violence and scheming. Even having sex, he appears cold-blooded to the point of brutality.

So thank goodness for Fabian Frankel’s Ser Criston Cole, who is set up as the love interest of the season in the same way Kit Harrington was as GOT’s Jon Snow. When Daemon and Criston duel in Episode One, which will you be rooting for?

So, sex and violence aplenty. Yet HOTD is different – and perhaps its fitting that the most disturbing and confronting of moments in the first episode involves neither battles nor brothels. It is set in a birthing chamber: yet I wager this scene will be remembered just as the Red Wedding is today.

House Of The Dragon premieres on BINGE and Foxtel from 11am AEST on August 22.

Originally published as Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon offers up a rollicking plotline with lots of action