House of the Dragon co-showrunner Ryan Condal says that they’ve tried to honor the legacy of HBO’s most popular television series while also putting their own unique spin on the world of Westeros.
Condal, who co-wrote the new series with George R.R. Martin, the creator of this fantasy world and the author behind A Song of Ice and Fire, has revealed that House of the Dragon won’t be impacted by the bitter aftershock of the backlash to the final season of Game of Thrones.
Though from the way he explained things to Entertainment Weekly, the new man at the helm might not fully grasp the controversial fate that befell the original series.
“‘People are always going to have something to say about the way a beloved thing comes to an end,’ Condal said. ‘What they say doesn’t really affect the way we approach this. We have this huge legacy to carry forward. [And we want to] do that in the best way that honors what came before, but also doesn’t do the thing that I think a lot of sequels do: Here’s [what] you love wrapped up in different packaging.’”
The fact that House of the Dragon isn’t getting bogged down by Game of Thrones‘ disheartening legacy is a great sign, but undermining some of the well-rounded and justifiable criticisms of that show’s final season is not. Because that last Game of Thrones outing isn’t just divisive like a lot of other shows or movies, but simply a terrible conclusion to an otherwise brilliant story, even a masterpiece by some people’s reckoning.
In any event, let’s hope that lightning strikes twice when the upcoming prequel series premieres on Aug. 21 across the HBO platforms.
