Spoilers can be an awful thing. Finding out something that happens in the show you’re watching, book you’re reading, or game you’re playing can all but ruin your enthusiasm for it. Unless you’ve read Fire & Blood, watched the Game of Thrones DVD extras, or paid particular attention to Shireen Baratheon, chances are you don’t know who ends up on the Iron Throne at the end of the bloody civil war between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother, Aegon. However, you are very likely to know what happens 200-years in the future.
When talking about House of the Dragon spoilers, it’s impossible not to discuss the ending of Game of Thrones and its incredibly divisive eighth season. That’s because, in many ways, it does spoil (or, at least, detract from) House of the Dragon.
On the surface, Game of Thrones Season 8 has nothing to do with the Dance of the Dragons. Yet, I constantly find myself thinking back to the events of that final season while watching House of the Dragon.
It’s important to remember that HotD is a prequel to Game of Thrones – and it’s a prequel that has never shied away from alluding to the future. In the show’s very first episode, King Viserys tells Rhaenyra about the Song of Ice and Fire, Aegon the Conqueror’s dream. Of course, that dream is central to Game of Thrones. These two characters don’t know exactly what it means, but we, the viewers, do. We’ve seen it play out.
Unfortunately for most us, it wasn’t quite the epic battle we had in mind. The Night King was offed with a single sneak attack. The terror that was lurking beyond the Wall dispatched in an instant. And the Prince that was Promised reduced to nothing more than a lustful servant at his aunt’s side.
The problem here is that knowing all these things significantly reduces the weight of Viserys’ words. We know Arya Stark sends the Night King packing without the help of the Queen at King’s Landing. So, what does it really matter who sits on the Iron Throne?
Of course, we also know who ultimately rules the Seven (well, Six) Kingdoms: Bran f***ing Stark, probably the entire franchise’s most boring and universally disliked character. To make matters worse, the Iron Throne – the very thing the two warring Targaryen factions are slaughtering each other over – is melted down at the conclusion of Game of Thrones. It makes it difficult to care about something when you know that, in the end, it’s reduced to nothing.
I’m not saying House of the Dragon should, consequently, be ignored. Of course it shouldn’t. It’s great to see such an integral party of Westerosi history play out on screen. But it’s impossible to deny that the poor ending to Game of Thrones detracts from the story that’s being told.
If anything, it’s incredibly impressive that House of the Dragon has been able to rise above that ending. It’s a credit to everyone involved that they’ve reinvigorated the franchise as they have after David Benioff and D.B. Weiss seemingly did their best to kill all enthusiasm for it, just as Daenerys inexplicably murdered all the small folk in King’s Landing.
Many prequels struggle to work around the established future. Frustratingly, House of the Dragon is battling against the fact that the future is, if nothing else, underwhelming. Thankfully, its own tale is strong enough to stand on its own. It doesn’t require the knowledge of what is to come to make it special. And thank god. Because the ending of Game of Thrones means that it has its work cut out.
What did you think to the end of Game of Thrones? Do you think it takes away from House of the Dragon? Let us know in the comment section below…
