To successfully tell a story you need rich characters in a compelling setting who are in conflict with each other. Sounds incredibly easy, doesn’t it? Wrong, you arrogant fool!
It’s actually very difficult, especially for TV writers who often make stories without any of these ingredients. Trust me, I have to watch them.
In a bid to resurrect Game Of Thrones, the series that went from beloved to be-hated, TV writers created House Of The Dragon, which concluded its first series on Monday.
Are there rich characters? There’s the reluctant queen who is torn between duty and family and who also is attracted to her own uncle.
Is the setting compelling? Only if you think a dimly lit palace full of scheming, grasping courtiers ruling over shifting fiefdoms is compelling, sure.
Is there conflict? Well, the childhood friends who vie for the crown and whose children all want to murder each other as they grow are in a bit of conflict, I suppose.
In short, House Of The Dragon, starring Matt Smith, Milly Alcock, Olivia Cooke and Paddy Considine, tells a successful story.
The best episode was saved for last, of course, setting up even further conflict, in the form of a bloody and bitter civil war, for next year.
Are you going to catch up with House Of The Dragon if you haven’t seen it? Yes. Yes you are.
House Of The Dragon, Sky Atlantic
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