House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season (DVD)

"House of the Dragon" is an original American fantasy drama television series co-created by author George R. R. Martin and showrunner Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to the 2011~2019 "Game of Thrones," it is the second television series in Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" franchise. Based loosely on Martin's 2018 "Fire & Blood" novel, the series begins about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest, nearly 200 years before the events of "Game of Thrones," and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Featuring a cast of notable actors, the show portrays the events leading up to the decline of House Targaryen, a devastating war of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons." An original series by HBO (Home Box Office, Inc.), shown over two seasons, the first season ran 10 episodes and premiered on August 21, 2022, and the second season ran 8 episodes and premiered on June 16, 2024, with each episode running approximately 54 to 70 minutes.The series focuses on the "Dance of the Dragons," a civil war caused by the rivalry between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower, drawing from Martin's "Fire & Blood," a fictional history book about the Targaryen kings of Westeros. Unlike the "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels, which are told from the perspective of characters, "Fire & Blood" is a history book written from the perspective of the dynasty archivist librarian Archmaester Gyldayn that details the 300-year reign of House Targaryen in Westeros, written by George R.R. Martin as a supplement, which gives an account of the Targaryen dynasty that provides the foundation for the story while making notable alterations to certain events, character motivations, and timelines.George R.R. Martin himself has acknowledged some deviations from the book and has been open about his concerns over the show, criticizing changes to the story, such as the elimination of Maelor and the use of a four-legged dragon instead of the correct two-legged dragon, and that he was disappointed with the season finale. For the future, Martin has said that he wants to fight for a faithful adaptation of his story, but he also wrestles with the idea of giving up on participating in writing for the show to focus on enlarging his "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of novels. Having completed the last of five novels in 2011, he announced that he plans to release a second volume of "Fire & Blood," titled "Blood & Fire," after he finishes writing "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring," but there is no news on where he stands in completing these.It is disappointing when eminent authors sell film and television rights to their notable writings for a dollar, a metaphor for compromising their creative genius and control in exchange for wealth and fame. George R. R. Martin's writings and collaborations, particularly "A Song of Ice and Fire" and "Fire & Blood," are brilliantly imagined and created, original and highly acclaimed. They spawned the television series "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragons." However, these original, masterfully marvelous, creative writings are poorly represented in their adaptation to television series. The screenplays for these series are not adaptations from their literary beginnings; they are rather new stories, innovative narratives, faithlessly built on the foundations laid before them. The screenplays are intertextually woven from the same cloth but not with the same thread. The new narratives are disjointed in their continuity, even conflicted and sometimes incoherent in their divergence from the source. The problem is not with the production values, casting, or direction, but with the flawed screenplays. The changes in characterizations, arcs, and plots are so counterintuitive that they belie their source; the changes make no contextual sense in their attempt to improve the original concepts. We are left wondering why as we watch the rivalries play out.For example, in the "House of the Dragons," Rhaenyra and Alicent are portrayed as friends who became enemies; whereas in the novel, they are ages apart. So, why make them friends; to intensify their rivalry? Balderdash! There are many such introspective subplots forming the altered narrative in the screenplay that diverges from the source.It is pointless to compare the film to novel, for the adaptations are paradoxical. They are incomparable. The series should stand on its own merits, and this it does. But it is not Martin's "Fire & Ice." It is a 'wannabe,' an aspirational imitation, as if the screenwriters could emulate Martin's creative genius. It would have been better if they had literally adapted the novel to avoid the schisms from omissions in complexities. The same mistakes were made in "Game of Thrones," to great shame. Let us hope that "House of the Dragon" does not face the same disappointment in its end.The series is nonetheless intriguing, suspenseful, and exciting. The characterizations are charismatic and captivating. And the scenes and dragons are tantalizing, although the dragons should have been as characteristic and ferocious as those in "Game of Thrones." There is more to come in this series. We are told a third season for "House of the Dragon" should premiere sometime in April 2026, and it has been confirmed that there will be a fourth season to reach the end of its Targaryen saga, which we should see sometime in 2028. We will need to rewatch the initial seasons lest we forget what has happened with so much time between seasons. Buying the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc sets is convenient and provides a near-cinematic viewing experience from the codec H.265 Native 4K (2160p) resolution in Dolby Vision original aspect ratio of 2.00:1 and Dolby Atmos audio.

House of the Dragon is a worthy prequel to an epic franchise!Truly, I cannot get enough of the Game of Thrones franchise.House of the Dragon is fresh with a new cast of characters.The plot revolves around the captivating Tagaryen dynasty and how they ruled long before the Game of Thrones events. I am already in love with some of the actors! Can't wait for upcoming seasons.

Loved it.

Outstanding Product!

not as good as game of thrones

Mi esposo ama esto ,

Honestly when I First started watching this it was on max. While watching it, it seemed foggy at times but I still enjoyed it!!! I loved this series so much I had to buy it on 4K UHD and let me just say………..IM NOT DISAPPOINTED!! I watched some of my Favorite Scenes and BY THE GODS!!! They look beautiful!!!! One of my favs was when Daemon Comes to the Step Stones to weed out The Crab Feeder And burns a portion of his men with one of my favorite dragons Caraxes!! There is Details I didn’t see before when I had first streamed it on Max but NOW with this there is Noticeable things like again when Daemon Arrives at the step stones on his mount Caraxes, in a scene when Caraxes comes into the frame I was able to see him fly in but when I Streamed it on max I couldn’t even see his wings!! Unless he was breathing fire! But here I can see things CLEARLY!! Where as before I couldn’t! So don’t second Guess this! GET THIS!!! Here in the pictures you can see somewhat of what I’m talking abou! In the first pic is 4k UHD on the discs I bought. the second pic is it on Max supposedly in the same format but there is a difference I'm telling you!!! Not that I’m beating up on you Max!! I love you guys for making HoTD but you guys did do us right be releasing this on 4K UHD, BlueRay, Digital Copy!

...I'm doing the same with season 2. Gone are the days of me waiting week to week for ANY series. Apparently I'm not the only one. I have a half dozen friends who were RABID Game of Thrones fans, but due to the lackluster last episode of same, they, like myself, are not as enthused this time around. House of The Dragon, while good in and of itself, pales in comparison to GOT. That said, if I can't binge it, I refuse to watch it until I can. Hopefully MY RULES vis a vis watching doesn't throw off your numbers, which I'm betting would be far better than they are if all episodes were posted at once. Of course my opinion won't mean squat and you'll do what you do...so will I. And as Baretta used to say "That's the name of that tune."