After two seasons wey people nearly forget, House of the Dragon don finally wake up! The Game of Thrones prequel don come back with the most epic dragon fight wey you fit ever imagine. Fans wey dey worry fit breathe now.
E be true say the first two seasons no really help di show. Di first season kill off di best characters too quick, or change actors for time jumps wey confuse person. Di second season just dey build and build, but no reach anywhere. So when season three start, many people no get high hope. But make una rest assured: dis show don find im focus.
Di opening of season three na fine epic. E balance big battle with sharp two-person scenes where power dey shift and hidden character flaws come out. Add new faces and some comic relief, and you get proper Thrones wey we sabi.
For di story, power vacuum don open for George RR Martin fantasy realm of Westeros. Different rulers, royals, and military commanders dey try to fill am. But almost all of dem dey make deadly mistake. Di first reckoning na di Battle of the Gullet, a naval smackdown wey suppose be season two finale. Di sea battle full of CGI carnage, but e get small stories inside wey give di spectacle strong bones.
Will Corlys Velaryon, wey dem call Sea Snake, wey Steve Toussaint play, wey dey think before e act and dey distracted by guilt about im pikin, be overwhelmed by di reckless Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn), wey no know fear or danger? After plenty arrows, fire, sword fights for deck, underwater punch-ups, and dragon intervention, we get answer.
Di jury still dey out on weda dragons make di show better or worse. You fit read dem as metaphor for weapons of mass destruction wey leaders dey use carelessly, but e hard to balance dia awesomeness with di humans wey dey chop and hack each other.
Anyway, Thorn wonderful brash performance bring one of three important women wey refuse to hear advice. Dis go either make dem or break dem. Also dey gamble for di sea battle, though from far, na thwarted queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). Meanwhile, Rhaenyra friend/foe/stepmother Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) dey scheme to survive. Her added problem na say she be mother of Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), di one wey get eye patch, jawline like blade, and eternal vengeance of bullied little brother.
D’Arcy and Cooke ready to take over di show. D’Arcy bring wounded ferocity of person wey dem always overlook, while Cooke dey artfully unreadable. Di aftermath of di first two episodes bloodshed na rewardingly textured game, more sophisticated as drama than di show don be before. Some characters dey crave power, while others dey lament say dem no careful for wetin dem wish for.
Matt Smith dey cut through di middle as Daemon Targaryen, unstoppable warrior and Rhaenyra uncle/husband. At least 100 characters no learn di lesson say running at Daemon with sword go make am lance you through di Adam’s apple. But Smith dey more impressive when swords dey sheathed. Coming at Daemon with sharp words na foolish too. Di smirk wey dey flicker around im mouth dey tell us to relax and enjoy di crimson chaos.
House of the Dragon no be flippant show like Game of Thrones, and e no rely on sex and nudity to hold our attention. Instead, e get moments of offbeat cuteness, like dragon wey abandon im rider for mountain top, only to reappear with two sheep, one wey e flame-grill. Or di all-out comedy of Tom Bennett, once of PhoneShop, as di endlessly unlucky dragon rider Ulf.
Season three get one more weapon: James Norton get early scene as new main player Lord Ormund Hightower. Di joke of snooty nobleman wey receive letter from messenger wey reek of faeces no be new. But Norton make am funny. Then e vanish again, kept in reserve by show wey get confidence say im edge never sharper.
