What the critics say about House of the Dragon (no spoilers!)

With so much anticipation and hype surrounding the GOT prequel, could it live up to expectations? The only real way to decide is to watch it yourself. But here are what some of the critics have written about the highly anticipated show, 'House of the Dragon'...

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Vanity Fair said it was 'Bloody' and 'brutal,' but 'not quite brilliant,' adding "It’s just hard to shake the air of cosplay that haunts this series."

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'The scope is impressive, even when the details are shaky … ‘Dragon’ doesn’t soar immediately, but no ‘House’ was built in a day.' Very punny.

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'My own lingering dismay from the Game of Thrones ending was all but wiped from memory, and I predict the new series will make Sunday night on HBO necessary viewing again.'

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The Independent also sees great promise, "Bigger, bolder, bloodier. And it’s immediately clear that, even in the just over 11 years since Thrones first aired, the scale of the world on display has increased."

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'House of the Dragon’s yet another hyper-violent tale of swords and sorcery that you’ve undoubtedly heard before.' Not good news for those who were tired of 'Game of Thrones' then.

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CNET said that the show was 'terrific' while claiming 'The faster pace of House of the Dragon helps it feel different from Game of Thrones.'

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'Better than the original and a “magical miracle' adding 'and puts its female characters front and center like never before.'

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'House of the Dragon doesn’t break the wheel but it gets more right than wrong.' Definitely increases our intrigue...

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'Aside from having questionable wigs, House of the Dragon is well done for what it is: a pulpy political fantasy that makes you want to keep watching.' We think that's a positive thing?

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'Game of Thrones had a rueful sense of humor to go along with its violence and mind games, and highly quotable characters like Tyrion and Cersei. None of that wit or energy is present here.'

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'Recaptures the power, grandeur of the original' while adding that “House of the Dragon has a depth of understanding of its female characters that GoT took years to find."

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"...with quality direction and cinematography, strong writing that combines political intrigue, family melodramatics and some impressively nasty twists and turns." We certainly hope to see the unpredictable writing style that GoT got so right.

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"There’s a lot that’s impressive in the first six episodes, but it’s as safe as a show with inc*st, gore and horrifying depictions of childbirth could possibly be." Pretty much what most people are hoping for.

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The BBC said that 'from the outset, this is a darker, more solemn, more sophisticated piece' adding, "It’s pure Games of Thrones – just not in the way you remember."

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"...is a success dramatically, as captivating as any season of Game of Thrones." Director Miguel Sapochnik is the award-winning director who we have to thank for the most incredible GoT episode ever, 'Battle of the B***ards'.

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The Guardian named it a complete success and also added that it is 'designed to reward diehard fantasy fans in full measure without alienating the masses that will propel it to the top of the ratings.' A TV show fit for all.

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