House of the Dragon Reviews Arrive, What Critics Are Saying About the Game of Thrones Prequel

Ollie Upton/HBO

House of the Dragon, the much-anticipated follow-up to HBO's Game of Thrones is nearly here, and reviews have landed.

House of the Dragon was reviewed by several critics, who naturally compared the prequel, which premieres on HBO Sunday, to its iconic predecessor. While the opinions of the fantasy epic are mostly positive, not every element of the show is garnering praise.

Read on to see what critics are saying, ahead of the show's official release on Sunday on HBO.

Ollie Upton/HBO

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Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter said, "HBO has ended up with a show that feels reverse-engineered to give devoted Game of Thrones fans a facsimile of what they liked about the original series, while casual Game of Thrones fans get … ummm … lots and lots of dragons. I mean, it's right there in the title, House of the Dragon, which I can only assume supplanted the original Game of Thrones: Oops, All Targaryens!"

In summarizing the plot, Fienberg wrote, "House of the Dragon is primarily the story of two young women — Rhaenyra (not to be confused with Rhaenys) and Alicent — navigating paths to power in a male-dominated world, being raised by fathers who don't have a clue how to raise them, while Matt Smith rides dragons and chews scenery."

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The Los Angeles Times review was more positive, and said, "While honoring the legacy and look of the original series, the spinoff wisely adopts subtle changes in tone and approach while introducing a fresh world of characters and storylines."

Critic Lorraine Ali particularly enjoyed the first episode. "The exchange between mother and daughter, and the artful contrast of dueling knights and dutiful midwives, are powerful enough on their own to render the first episode a smashing success and show that House of the Dragon has a depth of understanding of its female characters that GoT took years to find."

The Verge was largely underwhelmed by the available six episodes that critics viewed in advance of the release, particularly calling out its treatment of race.

"In contrast to the Targaryen family, whose members House of the Dragon does a better job of fleshing out as people just by giving them more screen time, most of the show's prominent characters of color — the Velaryons especially — are background players presented like an overdue apologia for Game of Thrones' overwhelming whiteness," Charles Pulliam-Moore wrote.

"It is…nice to see Black people who aren't enslaved being made a more significant part of this world. But between House of the Dragon's seeming lack of a quality wig budget and the way the Velaryons factor into this story, it also occasionally feels as if the show's creative team did not think through some of its iffy-er optics."

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Alan Sepinwall at Rolling Stone's unfavorable review said "House of the Dragon, unfortunately, is filled with characters and conflicts that would struggle to hold the audience's interest if they were just one small element among the many of its parent series."

He continued by saying the struggle of Rhaenyra "is the series' one semi-compelling arc," and said, "nearly everyone around the princess is boring, meanwhile."

Entertainment Weekly gave the show a "B" rating, saying it is "the blandest possible orientation, Epic Fantasy for Dummies."

Critic Darren Franich said, "Dragon has more of a clear mission than its bi-continental predecessor and a much-stated central theme. 'Were I born a man, I could bed whoever I wanted!' declares Rhaenyra, when a whole episode revolves around Red Keep [gossip] about who's boning who.

"Rhaenyra and Alicent both get imprisoned by cultural expectation, pimped out by dads for high-status matches. We're a long way from adoring crowds cheering for Khaleesi. Instead, there's a constant argument that the country will rebel against any matriarch out of pure dick-ishness. (Since Dragon has a more diverse cast, this makes Westeros a paradoxical neverland that is openly sexist and completely un-racist.)"

Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO

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Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes shows House of the Dragon at 85 percent. The audience score will start rolling in after the Sunday premiere.

The series takes place 172 years before the birth of Danerys Targaryen, and tells the story of her ancestors. Based on George R. R. Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood, it will explore the blood-soaked history of House Targaryen, including the house's civil war dubbed the "Dance of the Dragons."

The show stars Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Paddy Considine, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Milly Alcock and Emily Carey.

Sunday's premiere is titled "The Heirs of the Dragon." The episode is helmed by Emmy-winning Game of Thrones veteran Miguel Sapochnik, who directed the HBO series' masterpiece episode "Battle of the Bastards." House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan J. Condal penned the initial script.

The first season of House of the Dragon will consist of 10 episodes and premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.