The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 5, "We Light the Way," which debuted Sunday, Sept. 11 on HBO.
One should not be surprised that House of the Dragon focuses almost exclusively on the members of House Targaryen. Back in the early days of Game of Thrones, every fan thought the Targaryen family could support a series all on their own. Now that the theory is being put to the test, it's clear that House of the Dragon should look beyond the Targaryens in Season 2.
Even though the show is larger in almost every way, House of the Dragon feels smaller than Game of Thrones. From the simple mysteries of the White Walkers and Jon Arryn's murder to the multiple point of view characters, the original series just seemed bigger. The hyper-focus House of the Dragon keeps on the Targaryens runs the risk that audience will tire of seeing them. On Game of Thrones fans eagerly awaited the snippets of their favorite characters' stories. It's no accident that Daemon Targaryen is the standout on House of the Dragon, though some credit for that should be given to Matt Smith's acclaimed performance. Even with the upcoming time jump, audiences may find themselves more curious about other characters and their families.
In just the second episode of Game of Thrones, viewers were following Tyrion Lannister's story, Jon Snow's story, Winterfell's story, the Starks on the road to King's Landing and Dany and Viserys with the Dothraki. While House of the Dragon doesn't lack for characters, all of them are so closely related that their plots don't feel like separate stories at all. There are only a handful of scenes in which there are no Targaryens present -- and in those scenes, the subject is the Targaryens. Instead of a royal epic about family, betrayal and war, the series feels like a soap opera with the most expensive set dressing on television.
Even before the massive series debut, a Season 2 renewal from HBO was a foregone conclusion. It appears that the war dubbed "The Dance of Dragons" will kick off in Season 1, but may not be fully realized until the next. Ironically, if the producers wish to keep the younger cast around, they may introduce flashbacks next season. If so, they can incorporate those flashbacks into the stories of other, non-Targaryen characters to bolster the central story. Track the Starks of Winterfell or whoever is in charge of the Vale back through the years, showing what they were up to during the time of Season 1. All the series needs is a scene here and there to reflect the characters' motivations in the present. Those will help broaden the scope of the show beyond just one family.
Part of being a fan -- and particularly a genre fan -- is dreaming up what the next version of a favorite story or universe will be. Because fans write the stories in their heads that they like, any actual show or movie may not live up to that headcanon. There is a fine line between being critical of a show for what it is and being unfair to a show for what it is not. House of the Dragon is supposed to be a story about the Targaryens, and that's what the storytellers are giving viewers.
Yet just like He-Man in the first half of Masters of the Universe: Revelation, a story can be about a character even if that character is absent. In Season 2, viewers can be treated to an expanded Westeros, meeting characters and families whose connection to House Targaryen are simply the words of an oath. When other people are asked to spill their blood for a Targaryen family squabble, viewers should know why they choose to do it, and that happens through telling their stories.
New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on HBO and stream on HBO Max.