REVIEW: ‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 1 — “The Heirs of the Dragon”

I am probably one of the few people who didn’t let one bad season ruin my love of Game of Thrones—mind you, it is still one of the worst ending in television history. That said, I was excited to be pulled into the world of George R.R. Martin again, one where a new ending can be formed, and hopefully right the ship. House of the Dragon is the prequel to Game of Thrones, based on Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, which is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen. The series comes from showrunners Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik and begins with House of the Dragon Episode 1, “The Heirs of the Dragon.”

In this episode, Viserys hosts a tournament to celebrate the birth of his second child. Rhaenyra welcomes her uncle Daemon back to the Red Keep, only to be thrust into the center of power, poised with the world against her. While I could talk about the dragons (which are gorgeous), the knights’ tournament with jousting and armor that showcases the series costuming budget, or even all of the threads that immediately connect to Game of Thrones, I don’t want to. I want to talk about birth.

To patriarchal systems, women are only as good as their ability to birth. While I’m not unwaveringly sure that Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are the people to tell the very clear story of women toppling a system meant to break them, the way that birthing is shown in House of the Dragon Episode 1 is something that hit me to my core. You see, birthing is a reality that I see as the scariest thing I could put my body through. Because of my own health problems, my family history, and the maternal mortality rates of brown women in my state. I am terrified of my body changing to create a child and then being ripped open to deliver it, either naturally or through a cesarean section. And this fear comes from me in 2022, let alone the even higher chance of mortality for women before modern medicine.

The brutal and traumatic c-section is meant to alarm and to also show how women, even the most powerful are reduced to what they can produce for the men around them. Taken a step further when the male child in her womb is valued more than her life. Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) tells Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) the “birthing bed is our battlefield” and as someone who has lived with the looming fear of giving birth over her head it hit me in my chest in a way that I didn’t expect it to. Which the showrunners talk about at length in the featurette following the episode.

While the stage is set for the obstacles that Rhaenyra will have to overcome as the only female heir, I’m hoping that the series manages to get out from the specter that the series it is based in casts. Game of Thrones has some of the strongest women, but often lost them in the storytelling. That said, this is a trepidation I hold that didn’t materialize in this House of the Dragon Episode 1, which has me excited for Episode 2.

What gives me hope? No matter what storyline is being shown, no matter who is on screen, Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) or Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), all roads lead back to Rhaenyra Targaryen. The “birthing bed is our battlefield” sets up the series, and in one line and the subsequent trauma showcases how attentive the showrunners are to the world that Rhaenyra Targaryen is in, and how it sees her.

But the one thing that House of the Dragon Episode 1 does hold over from Game of Thrones, is too much exposition. In fact, it’s so heavy-handed that you would assume that viewers had never heard of this world before. And while this may be some viewer’s entrance into the franchise, even then, the heavy-handedness makes the intro to the series extremely dull. Thankfully, the episode finds its footing.

For better or worse, House of the Dragon Episode 1 is more Game of Thrones. But for me, I can see a glimpse about what gripped me with the first series and that comes in the episode’s final moment. This is Rhaenyra Targaryen‘s story, and the power the girl shows in one sequence has pulled me in. The stage is set, and now Condal and Sapochnik have to keep their focus.

House of the Dragon airs on HBO and HBO Max Sundays at 8 pm CT/9 pm ET.