Game of Thrones is one of the best and most popular TV shows ever made, and given the vast world author George R.R. Martin has created with his book series, a spinoff show was inevitable. Though there had been several reports and rumors regarding which story of Westeros would be explored first, it was announced in 2019 that a prequel titled House of the Dragon was officially in the works.
The spinoff is based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which explores the history of House Targaryen — from their rise with Aegon’s conquest to their fall with the death of the dragons. As you’ll remember, Game of Thrones begins after Aerys II Targaryen, a.k.a. the Mad King, is killed by Jaime Lannister and usurped by Robert Baratheon. He’s the final Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne, and Fire & Blood shows us the years leading up to those events when the family is at their peak of power.
House of the Dragon doesn’t start from the beginning of Fire & Blood, however, and instead it focuses on a civil war called the Dance of the Dragons.
The prequel series debuted in Aug. 2022 and was an instant hit, unsurprisingly, breaking viewership records for HBO and even winning Best Drama at the Golden Globes. It’s a fantastic show, one that proves people still care about Game of Thrones. That said, not every single episode in its first season run is perfect. Most of them are great, but there are definitely things to criticize.
We’re breaking down each episode of House of the Dragon season 1 here while we wait for the second season to premiere next year. Flip the page to see which episode we think is the worst of them all.