Why “House of the Dragon” Could Be Better than “Game of Thrones”

The new prequel series has a chance to correct its predecessors mistakes, but it also has to avoid its own source material’s pitfalls.

Like many other people, I was pretty disappointed in how Game of Thrones ended. Yes, the characters largely ended up where we all thought they would — Dany turned into the Mad Queen, after all; Tyrion became the new Hand of the King (again); Bran ushered in a new era of monarchy; Sansa became Queen in the North. However, the way in which those characters got where they did was rushed, resulting in an eighth season that was, putting it as generously as possible, botched.

When it was announced that HBO had greenlit a prequel series focusing on the Targaryens and in particular on the devastating conflict known as the Dance of the Dragons, some of us raised a skeptical eyebrow. Was it possible that the network would manage to catch lightning in a bottle twice? For that matter, were we really going to be able to take show seriously when it featured Matt Smith in a blonde wig that made Emilia Clarke’s look natural, to say nothing of the other characters that would also have to wear them?

Well, now that the teaser trailer has dropped, I think it’s fair to say that House…