'House Of The Dragon's Trailer Reminds Us How 'Game Of Thrones' Let Us Down

If you were concerned about prestige TV’s distinct lack of gratuitous frontal nudity and unconvincing blonde wigs, soon the world of Game of Thrones will back on the airwaves/internet connections with the prequel series House of the Dragon, starring Matt Smith as one of Daenerys Targaryen’s ancestors who, as seen in the newly dropped trailer, is predictably trying to take possession of Westeros’ least-comfortable chair.

But … does anyone actually want this? 

While other famous prequels like the upcoming Lord of the Rings series, Better Call Saul, or even Star Wars, ultimately paved the way for a story we all know and love, the Game of Thrones finale famously sucked. It’s hard to imagine anyone pumped to see a show in which the entire premise is building up to a thing we already know we don't like.

Sure, the perceived backlash to the ending of Game of Thrones may have been slightly overstated – but regardless, according to a poll conducted by The Hollywood Reporter, the show essentially alienated about a third of their viewership with the finale, and only 26% of those polled liked the finale “a lot.” If they have lost some fans (and it’s hard to imagine they haven’t) a smaller percentage of the original audience would still translate to a whole lot of people for the spin-off. But the problem is, HBO is spending way more per episode on House of the Dragon than they did on Game of Thrones.

Also, while it may feel like an eternity, Game of Thrones only ended just three years ago – Hell, the Olympics take a longer break. And in that time, the streaming drama field has become more crowded than ever, making House of the Dragon’s prospects of becoming anything other than the fantasy equivalent of NBC’s Joey, even less likely. Judging from the trailer, HBO is seemingly hoping to just distract everyone with the promise of yet more CGI dragons who sadly aren’t voiced by Sean Connery.

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Top Image: HBO