According to author George R.R. Martin, fans won’t be falling for central characters in House of the Dragon as they did in Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon takes us back two centuries from where GoT began and will dive into the conflicting history of silver-haired members of the House Targaryen. The show will feature a rivalry that rose during the reign of King Viserys I. In the series, a cunning personal and political battle arises between King Viserys’s daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen and Lady Alicent Hightower, forcing Viserys’s brother and heir presumptive of the kingdom, Daemon, to take his stand between them. The hatred that this rivalry instills and the greed for power over Westeros led to a civil war that later became known as the Dance of the Dragons. The first season will feature the beginning of those events that started years-long internal dispute among House Targaryen members.
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When such greed for power arises, hardly anyone can be trusted with honor. And that’s what House of the Dragon characters would be like. Recently, while talking to The Hollywood Reporter (via ScreenRant), author George R.R. Martin revealed that the characters of the GoT spin-off will share negative traits and that fans won’t likely fall for them as they did for characters like Arya. He said:
It’s powerful, it’s visceral, it’s dark, it’s like a Shakespearean tragedy. There’s no Arya — a character everybody’s going to love. They’re all flawed. They’re all human. They do good things. They do bad things. They’re driven by lust for power, jealousy, old wounds — just like human beings. Just like I wrote them.
The series trailer has already hinted at a dark plot where the characters will try to fulfill their personal agendas or seek vendetta. From vicious plotters to backstabbers, House of the Dragon will be an epic tale of corruption. Just with an added flair of adventure, magic, and, most importantly, dragons.
Martin further lauded the show’s writing, where the characters remain faithful to the material he wrote for the novel Fire & Blood. It could be a relief for the writer, whose characters from A Song of Ice and Fire underwent severe transformations in the show Game of Thrones, swaying away from his vision.
There’s No Arya in House of the Dragons, Says Martin
The author singled out Arya in his statement, comparing her in contrast to the cunning characters of House of the Dragon. Arya was one of the most beloved characters in the show. The audience witnessed her suffering loss after loss before she built herself up as a valiant fighter and fearless person. Arya’s journey, from her pain and suffering to her quest for vengeance, drew support from fans, making her a cynosure of the show. Another character was Jon Snow, who fought his entire life for righteous deeds to the point where he was murdered. The audience aggressively vouched for Jon to get his due credit, and indeed, several fans were not happy with his final fate after GoT ended.
However, as per Martin, no character from the new show would share such traits. They are at an all-out war against each other in House of the Dragon. Not that Game of Thrones lacked any of it; featured murderers, rapists, betrayers, undead, and whatnot. However, House of the Dragon would probably make finding someone to vouch for troublesome. Whatever happens, fans eagerly await this new intrigue from the creator of one of the most acclaimed television shows of all time.
House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO Max on August 21.
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