Three years ago, Game of Thrones ended, where for months the final season dominated social media.

It ended poorly, where millions if not tens of millions rushed to bash the ending, burning the fan base down.

Game of Thrones went from a franchise, where every bar during Halloween in Manhattan had multiple girls dressed as Daenerys and guys dressed as Khal Drogo, to just no one talking about it.

The prequel series came out tonight, where it didn’t get the same attention.

I’ve not seen anyone talk about it and if it wasn’t for an ad, I’d have not remembered it was on tonight.

That is sad to see, but after watching this premiere, I don’t think this show will have any trouble rebuilding the fan base.

This was one of the best premieres I think ever made, which if it declines, I’d be shocked.

Starting off, Matt Smith playing Daemon Targaryen was extremely good, to the point I’d compare him to Peter Dinklage in the original. I’ve never watched him in Doctor Who and thought he was okay in the Crown. Here, I understand the hype to this guy. I almost feel bad for the other actors when he’s on screen, he’s that good.

Next up, Milly Alcock, who originally I thought her character would be a complete ripoff of Emilia Clarke, based on the trailer. My gut feeling is she goes through a similar story to Dany, but the personality is very different, where she has a confidence easy to see, which Dany didn’t have in the first season.

Final thing is the story being setup itself.

One issue with Game of Thrones was what made it so amazing.

The series had several stories going at once, where multiple major characters would never meet or interact. This made it really hard for the final seasons, when they’d do something like put Kit Harrington and Emilia Clarke on screen for the first time together. People waited for that for over half a decade and the needed relationship between them and other characters took more time over a season or two.

House of the Dragon has a much more focused plot, where it feels like succession will be the primary focus, which can evolve. This is a lot simpler to follow and not taking too many unneeded risks, which would anger fans of the original.

Also, for the style of the show, I was worried they’d tone down the violence and graphic content the original series was known for. They didn’t do that… House of the Dragon has a great acting and story, but is just as graphic as the original, in a cool way. It also without spoilers has one of the most brutal scenes to watch ever in the second half.

For nitpicks, I actually couldn’t really think of one.

Only mistake is they introduce a few characters so quickly and don’t give them a real intro, I don’t remember the names. That might get messy, but I’m sure it’ll be fixed later on.

The strength of Game of Thrones was the supporting cast, where characters such as Sam, Varys, Little Finger and more became iconic, while never being the main focus. I didn’t see any actors in the side character category standout much here, but that may change.

Anyway, good pilot!