Readers of George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, were cautiously optimistic when HBO announced that they had commissioned a new television series on the back of it. Fans worldwide know Martin’s books as Game of Thrones (the title of the first volume in his written series) and there is no doubt that it was an unbridled success, quickly hooking millions of avid viewers in multiple countries around the globe.
The TV show went on to run for eight seasons, with 73 epic episodes broadcast in total, and although the final series did draw plenty of criticism from fans and critics alike over the creative decisions taken as it was brought to a conclusion, there continue to be many in the entertainment industry who feel it remains as one of the best television shows of all time, despite the more controversial finale.
With millions around the world now well introduced to the Iron Throne, the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros and the continent of Essos, not least what the future holds for House Stark, the Lannister’s, the controversial Targaryen’s and many of the other key families featured, there was undoubted fervour amongst a still very loyal fan base when it was confirmed that Game of Thrones would be subject to a prequel that delved into, and explained, why we had originally met the family clans in the positions they occupied at the start of series one, and equally provided – at least some – reasons for the varying dynamics at plan.
US sportsbooks online tested by BetStation are bound to have options for House of the Dragon to be an equally huge success given it continues to be inspired by the A Song of Ice and Fire series. House of the Dragon however, takes us back to about 200 years before the events that gripped us all, and around about 172 years prior to the birth of Daenerys Targaryen and this new series takes most of its inspiration from the novel Fire & Blood.
Fans around the globe are only three episodes in to the new vision, but we already know it will initially focus on the beginning of the end of House Targaryen and will take us into the Dance of the Dragons – the Targaryen war of succession and whilst it will ultimately bring us up to date and tie into what everyone saw in Game of Thrones, many again expect that the television series will make its own creative decisions again as time (and no doubt future and further series progress themselves), so chances are high indeed that true fanatics of Martin’s original plot lines will again face some disappointment.
For non-readers who only know the story as it has been broadcast, three episodes in it again has that air of being as equally as epic as we had come to expect, and in fairness we are really still only being introduced to the characters, their quirks, possible future motives and motivations and very little has actually happened so far – but I cannot be the only one watching wishing that the first series could be gloriously binge watched so I know what happens next.
With such a stellar cast, we can only guess right now who will suffer the same unexpected fate of Ned Stark, but we all know that will not be the only twist that can be expected – and that is exactly why we will all remain tuned in to see what happens, although reportedly Jon Snow continues to ‘know nothing’ and we are again in that exact same position.