House Of The Dragon Vs The Rings Of Power Comparison: Here Which Series Liked More! And Why
House Of The Dragon Vs The Rings Of Power Comparison: They had warned us, Winter would come, and so no kings and queens of fantasy for three long years. Three years of a power vacuum. Three years in which a Witcher tried to win the hearts of fans, failing miserably. Three years of nothing and then, suddenly, the duel for the scepter. House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power they decide to come out on the same days for the sadistic joy of love and the wars between fandoms. The two series coexist, elbow and battle in the lands of fantasy. On the one hand a bloodstained family saga, on the other an epic and ambitious return to Middle-Earth, where miracles were performed over twenty years ago. Arm wrestling reached the halfway point, with both series reaching the middle of their first season. Partial result? Monday in King’s Landing is preferred over Friday in Numenor. Viewers prefer to set sail for House of the Dragon because The Rings of Power isn’t as thrilling as the intrigues of House Targaryen. Let’s try to understand why.
House Of The Dragon Vs The Rings Of Power: The Inheritance
Dragons and trolls with a nice weight on their backs. This is how we imagine House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power, both grappling with a heavy legacy. Two very different legacies to handle. Uncomfortable to manage the post Game of Thrones for Rhaenyra and Alicent, with the audience burned by that clumsy “Dracarys” that (according to many) was the disappointing ending of the most loved and hated fantasy series ever. The Throne of Swords left a memory of anger and ingratitude and returning to the scene was not pleasant. But was it difficult to inflame spirits after that icy goodbye? Maybe not. Maybe returning to Westeros was less painless than expected, because the House of the Dragon did not want to overdo it and won everyone back by thinking small, with humility, in small steps. She did it with an intimate show, less epic and choral than the mother series, but no less exciting. A show capable of evoking the atmosphere of the first Game of Thrones. And then, coming after that big disappointment paved the way for House of the Dragon. With all due respect to the detractors. After all, mending a wound is easier than holding up to a great love.
Galadriel, a warrior who led the great return to Middle-earth, knows it well. That Middle-earth was idolized and elevated to an untouchable myth by the Peter Jackson trilogy. An uncomfortable precedent, which creates an inevitable and, in some ways, merciless confrontation. Because the cinematic Lord of the Rings is unattainable and everything that tries even to approach or touch the myth deserves the end of Icarus. As a kind of original sin impossible to avoid. This has been thought by many fans, net of the controversy about the color of the skin of dwarfs and elves. Well, perhaps it did not help the ambition with which The Rings of Power presented itself with great fanfare, in stark contrast to the humility with the lights off House of the Dragon.
In The Name Of The Father
There are two different footprints in this series. House of the Dragon exudes George Martin from every pore, as it marked the great homecoming of Game of Thrones father. Ousted from the last, controversial seasons of Game of Thrones, of which he was only an outside consultant, Martin has returned to Westeros putting our body and soul in the shoes of the show’s creator, curator and executive producer. A return to the ancient is noticeable since House of the Dragon is proving to be a faithful transposition of the novel Fire & Blood. Stylistic coherence, attention to detail, and respect for a complex fantasy imaginary. Stuff that only a father can do with his son. All elements are healing the wound between fans and the world of Game of Thrones.
If the shadow of the creative father looms over Westeros, the sky is clear on Middle-Earth. Few traces of Professor Tolkien between Lindon, Numenor and Khazad-dûm, as The Rings of Power is daring to imagine new things. New and distant from the supreme creator of Middle-Earth. Pure blasphemy for many people. Here, this departure from Tolkien and this (alleged) betrayal of The Rings of Power has angered many fans, ready to point the finger in indignation, ready not to forgive anything at the Amazon show. All without appreciating the effort of a series that is attempting the feat: of transplanting Tolkien’s spirit into new bodies and new stories. How is done with the myth to pass on the myth? Things are possible only by really knowing the matter. And if the net of some forcing and some fall in style, you never feel something purely Tolkien even in The Rings of Power, there are two options. Either we are in bad faith, or we have seen two different TV series.
Sparks and Flames
On the one hand flashes of possible storms, on the other a flame that ignites immediately and flares up. One of the reasons for House of the Dragon’s victory over The Rings of Power is the very different nature of the two shows. The HBO series jumped right into its court intrigues, has charismatic characters that inspire empathy or repulsion, and an enveloping storyline. And it’s no coincidence that the Game of Thrones spin-off will hit the third season at most to complete its dance of the dragons.
On the contrary, this first season of The Rings of Power is very (too?) Introductory, the result of long-term programming that includes five seasons. A setting that made the Amazon series a great taste, a story full of little bites that never really satiated. The constant jumps from one character to another are not exciting and consequently, Galadriel and Nori do not capture the way Rhaenyra and Daemon do. The Rings of Power is paying the price for a choral narrative that thinks more of describing a world than of portraying strong characters. A choice, perhaps, necessary.
The Fantasy We Deserve
A choice that responds to the mythical and legendary dimension of Middle-Earth. Another place where peoples, archetypes, ancient ideals and characters who embody their meaning move. A dimension that is perhaps too metaphorical and abstract for today’s public. An audience let’s not forget, that over the past decade has been forged by the much more realistic and mundane fantasy of Game of Thrones. A series that has imposed a canon, shaped an imagination and created a taste.
And that’s why House of the Dragon feels so familiar, accessible and engaging. Because it makes us reflect on the characters in the age in which without projections of ourselves, we just can’t live. Because it speaks of the family in the years in which we have all locked up in the family (inevitably). Because Martin’s writing is back to hurting as it once was, as gripping and pungent as in the golden days when winters were coming. On the other hand, in Middle-Earth, there is talk of boredom, long and dilated times, and of the absence of emotional hooks. Is this perhaps the fate of mythical narratives, which live on evocative images and patient tales? Maybe yes. We no longer have the time and desire to wait. Hell has arrived, so it’s better to ride the dragons than to wait for the Balrog.
