HBO's House of the Dragon has been one of the most talked about upcoming series. While fans around the world are excited to see what the Game of Thrones prequel show has to offer, there is a lingering sense of nervousness as well. Many details have been released about House of the Dragon, and the trailer has certainly helped to hype fans, but fans have certain expectations about the prequel series.
As such, fans have voiced what they want to see from the prequel and have been even more insistent on what they don't want to see. For House of the Dragon to stand a chance, it needs to do better than what's come before it. Potential viewers have made their expectations crystal clear.
9 House Of The Dragon Shouldn't Rely On The Success Of Its Predecessor
Naturally, House of the Dragon will always be compared to the original series. Similarities are to be expected, and these parallels will likely be welcome additions that can serve to connect the franchise. That said, House of the Dragon should feel like its own show.
The prequel should take advantage of the fact it takes place hundreds of years before Game of Thrones. One thing fans don't want to see is a rehash of the series they've already watched. House of the Dragon should not replicate the same story beats or characters as fans don't want to see the prequel series ride on the coattails of Game of Thrones' success.
8 The Time Jumps Might Make The Storytelling Confusing
House of the Dragon has already made it clear that the script will be dealing with some time jumps to help audiences get a better understanding of the new characters. Time jumps can be a powerful storytelling tool to help flesh-out characters' backstories and give purpose to their current motivations, but they can also be confusing.
Depending on how the flashbacks are utilized and how often they jump around, viewers can easily get lost in what they're supposed to be witnessing. At the same time, writers can often lose track of the plot thread if they spend too much time in the past. Game of Thrones always handled its flashbacks fairly well, so fans don't want to see House of the Dragon fumble this with inconsistent storytelling.
7 Relying Too Heavily On A Big Budget
It's no secret that one of the appeals of House of the Dragon is the dragons. Taking place in the middle of the Targaryen reign over Westeros, audiences should expect to see plenty of the fire-breathing creatures. Considering the huge budget that each episode of Game of Thrones' final few seasons received, HBO's generosity with House of the Dragon should come as no surprise.
That said, it's become somewhat commonplace to cover up bad storytelling with fancy special effects. Fans will notice if they're being dazzled with epic dragon fights because the story is lacking, so the prequel series shouldn't rely too heavily on its big budget.
6 Taking A More Family-Friendly Approach Than Game Of Thrones Did
Many fans of the original series voiced their worries about the prequel taking on a more family-friendly format. Dealing with political battles, war, murder, torture, sex, and many more mature topics, Game of Thrones was never a show intended for a young audience. For the people who enjoyed the series, this was one of the highlights. It never held anything back in terms of the intense brutality of Westeros.
Considering House of the Dragon will focus specifically on the Targaryens, it would be truly disappointing if the show scaled back on the horror of their reign. As such, fans hope that the same mature themes will be present in the prequel.
5 Characters Who Feel Too Similar To Characters Fans Already Know
Game of Thrones is known for some of the most well-developed characters in modern television. While no one in the cast was safe from being killed off, even those who didn't make it to the end were memorable. This provides a good model for House of the Dragon. The creators know what works and what doesn't, so they can learn from their predecessor's mistakes.
That said, there are quite a few characters in the prequel series who are very similar to characters fans already know and love. Olivia Cooke has compared her character, Alicent Hightower, to Cersei Lannister. Parallels are expected and even encouraged because they can be powerful storytelling tools. However, there is fear that these characters will read as too similar.
4 A Carbon-Copy Westeros
Fans don't want a Westeros that feels exactly the same as what they've seen before. Granted, it is the same place, but a few hundred years separate the familiar Westeros of Game of Thrones and the Targaryen-led Westeros of House of the Dragon. Long-term audiences know that the more recent state of the continent is a very different place than it was when dragons were a common occurrence.
Even potential new fans will know not to expect the exact same atmosphere. Hopefully, fans are presented with something fresh that feels somewhat separate from Game of Thrones' Westeros.
3 House Of The Dragon Shouldn't Rush The Mad King's Descent Into Villainy
One of the biggest fears to surface since the announcement of the new spin-off show is that House of the Dragon will follow the same path its predecessor's final seasons did. While highly anticipated, the new series still runs the risk of handling its pacing poorly, especially with facts fans already know. Everyone knows Aerys II (aka The Mad King) becomes so corrupted that he loses control of Westeros to Robert Baratheon.
What made the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones so successful was that it took time to flesh out characters and the world's rich lore. House of the Dragon needs to take that same care with the history that will eventually lead to the fall of the Targaryen House.
2 Don't Make The Targaryens Heroes
Obviously, the biggest players in a show titled House of the Dragon will be the Targaryens. Fans are excited to see them at the height of their rule over Westeros, but some viewers have voiced their concerns that it will be too contradictory to the already established canon. The Targaryens are known for not being good people or fair rulers.
It's difficult to center an entire series around characters who are considered villainous or antagonistic, but viewers don't want a sugarcoated view of the Targaryens. The story should be a true representation of who they were and how they got the reputation they did.
1 Too Much Focus On Setting Up Other Spin-Offs
House of the Dragon isn't the only spin-off that's been discussed in the Game of Thrones universe. There is a chance that some foreshadowing within the series might be setting up future shows, and while there's nothing inherently wrong with that, it can also be very distracting from the actual story.
The Mandalorian on Disney+ was guilty of this by constantly introducing characters and ideas that would later get their own shows, like Ahsoka and Boba Fett. Although these aren't bad inclusions, they felt forced and took away time from the main characters. House of the Dragon should focus on telling its own story.