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House Of The Dragon Is Already Avoiding Game Of Thrones’ Villain Problem
With its focus, House of the Dragon has shown already that it will not be repeating Game of Thrones' villain problem. Game of Thrones may have been one of the most successful television shows of all time, however, as the show progressed into its final few seasons it came under an intense level of scrutiny. One of the causes of that scrutiny was the show's main villain, the Night King, taking over the plot and washing out the stories of some of the show's more nuanced antagonists. With House of the Dragon season 1 now concluded, however, it seems it will instead lean into the more complex human antagonists.
The Night King was good for Game of Thrones in many ways. As the main villain of Game of Thrones, the Night King provided an endpoint for the series, one final villain for the fractured country of Westeros to unite against—something House of the Dragon seems to be staunchly avoiding. The Night King provided one overarching plot point for the entire series to spin around and culminate with. However, the Night King also hurt Game of Thrones because his importance overshadowed some of the show's famous political intrigue and human conflict. Many of the show's more interesting and nuanced antagonists, like Petyr Baelish, also known as Littlefinger, or Cersei Lannister, ended up with somewhat rushed and anticlimactic endings because the writers were left with too many loose ends. Cersei Lannister's death was certainly dramatic, but many felt that her story was concluded insufficiently. House of the Dragon is using a collection of complex characters as antagonists, none of whom are completely evil, meaning the series will be able to better develop those characters and avoid the rushed endings some Game of Thrones characters had.
House Of The Dragon Doesn't Have Villains, Just Deeply Flawed People
The antagonists in House of the Dragon are much more subjective and complex as characters. While Game of Thrones had many such characters as well, the end game was always the Night King. House of the Dragon is a much more personal story. It tells the story of a family and all the conflict within it. The father-daughter relationship between Viserys Targaryen and his heir, Rhaenyra, provides a perfect example of the complex interpersonal dynamics that drive the show. Rhaenyra Targaryen's relationship with Alicent Hightower is another outstanding example because of the drastic changes therein. There are no obvious villains, but rather a collection of flawed characters from which the audience must pick and choose who is worse than whom. House of the Dragon uses an excellent cast and writing team to create some of the most complex characters on television and drives the plot with personal conflicts that eventually boil over. This allows the show to avoid the duality of good vs. evil that is so common in fantasy series.
Why The Night King Wouldn't Work As A House Of The Dragon Villain
The Night King is an iconic villain, however, his presence would not work in House of the Dragon for several reasons. For starters, the existence of so many dragons, many of which are decades old and therefore quite large, makes the threat of the White Walkers much less intimidating. Sapphire blue-eyed Aemond Targaryen riding Vhagar and Daemon Targaryen on Caraxes makes the White Walkers seem much more beatable. Moreover, the danger posed by the Night King was made much more potent in Game of Thrones because of all the conflict that had already weakened and fractured the Westerosi forces. The Night King would not fit into House of the Dragon thematically or practically.
House of the Dragon seems to have learned from Game of Thrones's mistakes. It will not be using an overarching villain like the Night King, which will allow it to have a much more consistent and complete ending than Game of Thrones did. The decision to use a group of more morally complex antagonists will open it up to lean further into their character development and follow up on their arcs in a more satisfactory way than Game of Thrones.
