All about 'House of the Dragon,' the spectacular 'Game of Thrones' prequel

After a much-anticipated lead-up, 'House of the Dragon' has begun its series about the rule of the House Targaryen - 200 years before 'Game of Thrones' takes place.

Photo: HBO

Earlier this year, IMDB released a list of their most anticipated series to watch in 2022. It contained Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' series, Disney's 'Obi-Wan Kenobi,' Marvel's show about 'Ms Marvel,' and Hulu's 'Pam & Tommy.' At the top of the list, however, stood 'House of the Dragon' - the prequel to 'Game of Thrones.'

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The core director of the series was responsible for some of the best 'Game of Thrones' episodes, including 'Hardhome,' 'The Long Night' and the Emmy-winning episode featuring the battle between Snow and Bolton.

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The footage of the dragons, as they sweep through King's Landing (and hatch from eerie dragon eggs), proved to audiences that HBO has pulled out all the stops.

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In fact, according to Variety, each episode is said to have cost near to a staggering $20 million. Yes, per episode. And there are ten.

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The cost of the show is actually surprisingly 'cheap' in the world of production these days. GOT episodes cost around $15 million by the final season and 'House of the Dragon' will be boasting a lot more CGI. To put costing into perspective, Netflix's new 'Stranger Things 4' has cost production companies around $30 million per episode.

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But the last episode of 'Game of Thrones' was aired in 2019. Yes, that's three years ago; and a lot has changed since then: mainly the fact that HBO have been churning out huge CGI productions such as 'Westworld' and 'His Dark Materials', making them masters at producing fantasy quicker and cheaper than ever before.

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According to @houseofthedragontvhbo, George R R Martin (author of 'Game of Thrones' who has also worked on the storyline and script for 'House of the Dragon') has revealed there are 17 dragons in this new series.

Photo: Instagram/@houseofthedragontvhbo

Like 'Game of Thrones,' the series has blood, beatings, violence, passion and some pretty nice scenery. The way they have incorporated new tech to reproduce landscapes in the 'House of the Dragon' series is breath-taking.

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The real-life setting is as magical as the CGI-produced ones. The cast stroll along England’s beaches and cliffs, like Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Corlys Veralyon.

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'House of the Dragon' has a strong cast, such as Milly Alcock (pictured), who plays the young princess, Rhaenyra Targaryen. Platinum blonde hair will rule the screen this year.

The series has ‘Ice and Fire’ author George RR Martin on board to help with the production. Set in Westeros, it builds towards the Civil War that was known as Dance of the Dragons.

The author wrote this spring: "Those of you who like complex, conflicted, grey characters (as I do) will like this series, I think. There will be plenty of dragons and battles, to be sure, but the spine of the story is the human conflicts, the love and the hate, character drama rather than action/adventure."

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As Martin promised, we get a glimpse into the intricate world, run by the 'wheel' of power. The Targaryen family receives oaths of fealty from the Houses Stark, Baratheon and Lannister; but then have to fight to maintain their control as plots against the blonde-haired bunch thicken. Not to mention the rivalry coming from within the family itself.

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The younger brother of Viserys, Daemon (Matt Smith) gives up his ruling of the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea to take his place at his brother’s side - only to be next in line to the throne when Viserys fathers no sons. Daemon finally marries Rhaenyra, his niece, and proclaims her as Queen - leading to one of the biggest controversies seen in Westeros.

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Rhaenyra is the firstborn child of Viserys I Targaryen and is officially made his heir after the death of her brothers at a young age. This would be Westeros’ first Queen. This is the Green (Aegon) vs Black (Rhaenyra) Dance of the Dragons Civil War.

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Alicent Hightower is the second wife of Viserys and the daughter of his Hand and closest advisor, Otto. Viserys chose her as his new bride, despite the small council advising him not to do so. The rivalry between Alicent and Rhaenyra is strong as both women fight for the Iron Throne; even more so when Alicent’s sons are cast aside for the firstborn ‘girl’.

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Alicent's father, Otto Hightower, is Hand of the King but got on the wrong side of King Viserys when he continued to push for his daughter’s son to be made heir instead of Rhaenyra. When he returns to his post, he declares Aegon as the new King and drives the lead up to the Dance of the Dragons.

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Everybody knows Viserys’ dragon - the great Balerion the Dread whose skull is kept in the crypts of the Red Keep (as seen in GOT). It is known that Viserys was the last dragon rider of this incredible dragon, so expect to see some super CGI effects in this series and a glimpse of this mighty beast.

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When you think of 'House of the Dragon', you don't necessarily think of the Tamagotchi - the little 90s tech pet that drove teachers and parents up the wall. Well, the trend has come back, and this time as an app. With Dragons - of course.

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Adding to the already-sky-rocketing hype that is the new 'Game of Thrones' prequel, 'House of the Dragon' is letting us look after our very own dragon. We wonder what they will think of next.

Photo: Twitter / @HouseofDragon