WITH more sex, scandal and gore than you can shake a sword at, the biggest show on TV is back. House Of The Dragon, the £160million Game Of Thrones spin-off series, hits screens next week and fans of Westeros can’t wait to see if it will live up to the award-winning original.
Here, Mike Ridley reveals everything you need to know about the long-awaited prequel, which has been two years in the making.
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- House Of The Dragon starts on Sky Atlantic a week today – Monday, August 22.
What’s it about?
THE ten-part series is set around 200 years before the tales of power and bloodshed in Game Of Thrones, which captivated telly audiences worldwide for eight years.
House Of The Dragon’s co-creator, Ryan Condal, says it is like the backstabbing hit TV drama Succession but with dragons.
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It tells of Daenerys Targaryen’s brutal ancestors, who ruled Westeros for 300 years.
They held on to power thanks to no fewer than 17 dragons, each with the destructive ability of a nuclear bomb.
But the Targaryen family is ripped apart by a blood-soaked civil war, known as the Dance Of The Dragons.
House Of The Dragon is set 172 years before Daenerys, the ruthless blonde “Mad Queen” in Game Of Thrones, and the dashing hero Jon Snow were even born.
Back then, their ancestor – the kind-hearted but ineffectual King Viserys, played by Paddy Considine – is the man sitting on the Iron Throne of Westeros. But he is ill and losing grip on power.
The king’s choice of successor sparks the bloody Dance Of The Dragons, which drags in other Westeros houses, including the Starks and Lannisters.
Like Game Of Thrones, this series is also based on a book by author George R R Martin.
But even if you have read the novel, Fire & Blood, you won’t know exactly what is going to happen in the series, because House Of The Dragon’s writers have created some original scenes and dialogue.
Condal, who turned to Succession and Netflix’s The Crown for inspiration, believes this prequel – or “predecessor”, as he likes to call it – is more engrossing and tragic than Game Of Thrones.
He says: “You see people who are blood relatives turning against each other in a civil war within a family.”
Any iconic scenes?
HOUSE Of The Dragon has a “birth scene” that the show’s creators predict will rival the infamously bloody Red Wedding in Game Of Thrones.
Director Miguel Sapochnik says: “Viewers will find it too much to take. Terrible things happen, whether you want to look at them is up to you.
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“You don’t have to watch but it’s important to show the graphic nature of these things in the right context . . . sometimes.”
Sapochnik directed some of the most memorable GoT episodes, including Battle Of The Bastards and The Bells, and has brought back its signature blood and gore for the prequel.
George R R Martin, the genius behind Game Of Thrones, has watched nine of the ten episodes and has given House Of The Dragon his seal of approval.
Who’s in it?
JOURNEYMAN and Dead Man’s Shoes star Paddy Considine stars as King Viserys Targaryen, whose controversial decision to break with tradition and install his daughter, Rhaenyra, as his heir has devastating consequences
Matt Smith, from Doctor Who and The Crown, is Prince Daemon Targaryen, the King’s younger brother. He is a fearless warrior who wields Dark Sister, the Valyrian steel sword.
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Milly Alcock plays young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the first-born child of King Viserys, who is named as his heir, causing the bloody conflict.
Emma D’Arcy takes over as the story moves on ten years.
Eve Best, from The King’s Speech, is Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, known as the “Queen Who Never Was” because the Great Council favoured her cousin, Viserys, to rule after the death of her grandfather, King Jaehaerys, due to her being a woman.
Notting Hill’s Ryhs Ifans is Ser Otto Hightower, faithful servant of Viserys and Daemon’s deadly rival.
Olivia Cooke, from Bates Motel, is Otto’s daughter, Lady Alicent Hightower.
She marries King Viserys and vows to put their son, Aegon II, on the throne, instead of Rhaenyra.
Has it gone woke?
OUR world has changed since Game Of Thrones first aired in 2011 – and Westeros has had to adapt too.
Scenes depicting sexual violence against women have rightly been banned in House Of The Dragon.
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But there have also been claims that Westeros has gone full woke, to keep the Generation Z audience happy.
The king’s daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, played as an adult by Emma D’Arcy, left, is a non-binary character who uses the pronouns they/them.
Is there any sex?
YES, yes, yes! There is a lot of sex to keep viewers happy.
The first episode begins with an unfortunate chap having his manhood cut off and features orgies.
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Daemon actor Matt Smith has even moaned about the sheer number of sex scenes in House Of The Dragon.
He said: “You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’. And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do’.
“I guess you have to ask yourself, ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books or are you diluting the books to represent the time we’re living in?’.
“I think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”
One scene involving Matt’s character is more like a modern-day X-rated movie than a frumpy medieval romp.
He added: “I didn’t love that scene. I didn’t love the shape of it. I didn’t love the way they were having sex . . . That was the way they wanted it to be set up.
“I felt there was a sort of slightly deeper, more interesting way of telling that physical story. But it wasn’t to be.”
But makers have promised that, unlike Game Of Thrones, there is no sexual violence in this show. Intimacy co-ordinators helped choreograph love scenes.
What about the dragons?
GAME Of Thrones had just three dragons.
This prequel features an incredible 17, all of them more powerful and destructive than anything fans have seen before.
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They are like living nuclear bombs and have the potential to destroy the world.
Designers have created three different types of dragon.
Some look like T-Rex dinosaurs, others have wolfish features and the rest resemble horses.
Princess Rhaenyra rides a powerful yellow beast called Syrax.
Her uncle’s, Prince Daemon Targaryen, is named Caraxes.
And Princess Rhaenys Velaryon rides firebreather Meleys, also known as the “Red Queen”.
But the biggest and oldest dragon is Vhagar.
Director Miguel Sapochnik says: “She’s like a cantankerous old lady. Bits of her are falling off and getting her in the air is a nightmare.
“When she’s up and running, she’s like a B52 bomber. And landing her is a nightmare.”
In Fire & Blood, author George R R Martin describes how a dragon egg is placed in the cradle of newborn Targaryens, so rider and dragon grow up together.
Is it like Game of Thrones?
VIEWERS will return to King’s Landing, the capital of Westeros, and the Red Keep, which Daenerys incinerated in Game Of Thrones.
While much of GoT was shot in Northern Ireland, House Of The Dragon was filmed in Derbyshire and Cornwall.
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St Michael’s Mount, near Penzance, becomes Driftmark, ancestral home of House Velaryon whose master is played by Steve Toussaint while nearby Kynance Cove was used as a battle camp.
Promotional pictures of a blond-haired Matt Smith as Prince Daemon were shot at Holywell Bay beach, near Newquay.
Composer Ramin Djawadi, who created Game Of Thrones’ signature tune, returned to write the score.
Back to best of GoT
GAME Of Thrones was the best show on TV . . . with the worst ending of all time.
Frankly, the thought of producers cashing in with a prequel didn’t excite me, it enraged me further.
But perhaps there’s hope for GoT fans in need of some serious TV therapy.
House Of The Dragon, like Game Of Thrones at its best, is turning to writer George R R Martin’s ginormous imagination for inspiration.
The writers appear to be doubling down on what fans loved the most.
The dragons are bigger and badder than ever, the backstabbing is rampant and danger lurks around every corner.
And, of course, there still seems to be enough of those infamously racy sex scenes to make for some awkward viewing with the family.
Let’s just hope this time that there’s a happy ending for the fans.
Our guide to House of the Dragon – from orgies to dragons & controversial Game of Thrones scenes that are banned & Latest News Update
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