Battle of the Prequels: Why HBO’s House of the Dragon Will Best Amazon’s Rings of Power
With two major fantasy shows debuting in less than a month, comparisons are bound to happen. House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the first season of HBO’s juggernaut series Game of Thrones. Rings of Power takes place during the Second Age of Middle Earth, thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.
Fans seem to anticipate watching the GoT prequel more. According to data provided from The Wrap “House of the Dragon” boasts nearly 20% more followers on the app leading up to its debut than “Rings of Power”. What makes fans more excited for House of the Dragon? There are plenty of reasons, but one sticks out above all the rest.
Interpreting canon.
One of these shows is a direct adaptation of the author’s work and one is not. Rings of Power takes loose inspiration from Tolkien’s Appendices while House of the Dragon is based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire and Blood. This gives HBO’s show an advantage from a canonical perspective as well as having a living author to advise showrunners on the vision for his story.
George R. R. Martin is a co-creator of House of the Dragon along with showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. George worked closely with them and also praised the writers on the show. It’s safe to say that the author gave the show his blessing and encouraged fans that they will like the finished product.
Unfortunately, J. R. R. Tolkien is not around to offer similar insights into his vision for Middle Earth. Fans remained hopeful that Amazon would stay faithful to Tolkien’s writings until it leaked that the show’s resident Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey was no longer involved in the project. Rumors circulated that he was fired for warning showrunners not to deviate from the lore, though both parties declined to say exactly what happened. Further rumors that the show deviates from the source material (like adding Harfoots when Hobbits didn’t accomplish any great deeds until the Third Age) increased fans' worries.
As both release dates rapidly approach, fans will have to wait and see which fantasy prequel holds up the best. Many already believe House of the Dragon to be the superior show because of George’s involvement. Respecting the canon is a huge deal for fans of both works and whichever show succeeds in this will achieve ‘victory’’ in their eyes.
May the best show win.
