Game of Thrones is Officially Back
By: Andrew Ferguson
Let me correct myself in saying that House of the Dragon is my reason for this claim. We’re only 4 episodes into this current season, but let me tell you, we’re back baby! For anybody that watched GOT back in the day, it was the most talked about show on a week-to-week basis. Every episode left cliffhangers, shocking twists (that included killing popular characters. That’s why I always told new people to the show not to get attached), and uncomfortable moments that you could not turn away from. The writing was incredible… until it wasn’t.
Game of Thrones had 6 seasons that were a pure masterpiece in television. One episode would end, and people would go straight to Reddit connecting dots from the books trying to predict what would happen next. The theories and rumors were all over the place and so many blogs would be written in such a short amount of time, that nobody had any idea what would actually happen. The noise was loud and it was hard to truly find a spoiler. That’s why when someone’s head would get chopped off, or someone’s eyes gauged out of their head or a group of people being slain all at once, would leave you with your jaw dropped for 6 days waiting until next Sunday night. Or the worst, leave you with that feeling but waiting for an entire new season to start.
However, for any true fan that watched the show in its entirety, they try to erase what season 7 brought to their screens. So sit down to discuss why the House of the Dragon is finally worth the watch.
Season 7 of GOT left a lot of bad taste in people’s mouths as it was the series finale to the original show. People don’t think Cersei Lannister suffered enough. What was Bran’s point the entire series? Why was there such a buildup of the White Walkers if all it was going to take to defeat them was a little 9 year old girl jumping out of a bush to stab the king which destroyed the entire army. A little top heavy of a weakness if you ask me. Season 7 felt rushed, and it was. It wasn’t the ending people were hoping for in the slightest. A big reason was because George R.R. Martin had not written past season 5 in his actual books. Then season’s 6/7 (do the hand thing), were written by 2 doofy nobody’s named David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. You could immediately tell the difference in writing styles and the overall vision for the show. George R.R. Martin is one who takes his time and likes his Theon’s Missing Cocktails, so finishing the books or extending the story wasn’t a priority of his and he’ll finish on his own terms. If he’s still alive. Also, if you haven’t seen the 3 part South Park episodes relating GOT to PlayStation/Xbox wars and Black Friday, it’s the best trilogy they ever made and it’s absolutely hilarious. It’s a 10/10 must watch.
Game of Thrones ended in August of 2017. And to this day, people are still talking about how amazing the first 6 seasons were, then season 7 sucked. So nearly 9 years of the same conversation. But the show didn’t just die off completely, they left it open ended for other shows and spinoffs. It started with 2 seasons of the House of the Dragon and it didn’t really knock people’s socks off. It was a lot of build up and not a lot going on. There were some moments here and there but there was also a lot of time skipping in the series, which GOT had never done in the past. So the timeline was even more confusing than ever. Also, is there even a true protagonist in the House of the Dragon series? I don’t even know who to root for if I’m being honest. But after the first 2 seasons, the series had mixed reviews, despite its solid IMDB scores. And at this point, true GOT fans that waited 5 years for a spinoff, were let down, and it just wasn’t the same.
2026 has been a breath of fresh air and completely revived the universe for GOT as we’ve gotten some amazing product. To start, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms came out in January and everyone fell in love with Sir Duncan the Tall and Egg. It was a quick, 6 part mini series that was loveable, humorous and still packed GOT action and twists. The show finished with an average IMDB episode rating of 8.9 and it really surprised people. The episodes were a lot quicker and it was a nice way to get into what was to come for the franchise.
Only 4 episodes into the House of the Dragon and we’re off to one hell of a start. We’ve seen main characters brutally killed, insane battle scenes and the same amount of drama we’re used to back in the day. For a series that spent 2 seasons starting off slow and people losing interest, the first two episodes have been crazy and currently hold IMDB scores of 9.2 and 9.4. The buildup has been worth it, and if the show keeps up this pace, I’m looking forward to seeing more of this 200 year prequel to the main series. All of the true fans felt betrayed by the writers back in 2017. All it took was an army of dragons to bring us right back in though. But for the first time in a long time, I’m excited about where they are going with the spinoffs. If House of the Dragon keeps delivering episodes like these first few in season 3, and the "DON'T TEXT ME, I HAVEN'T WATCHED YET" messages and conversations start happening at the water cooler at work, we’re officially back to living the lore that we missed so much. So if you gave up on the franchise after the disaster of the original finale, consider this your invitation to come back. Just remember the one rule that has never changed in George R.R. Martin's world: Don't get attached. Seriously. They've started emotionally damaging us again, and honestly... it's good to have them back.
