House of the Dragon: Viewers all saying the same thing about 'exceptional' first episode

Virgin Radio

23 Aug 2022, 10:44

The first episode of the highly anticipated House of the Dragon debuted in the UK last night and became one of the biggest shows to premiere on Sky and HBO to date.

Warner Bros Discovery reported the show recorded approximately 9.9 million views on Sunday night when it premiered in the US, breaking records for HBO.

Viewers had been eager for more from the Westeros universe after Game of Thrones ended in 2019 with its very controversial eighth season and the wait was finally over for fans in the UK last night (22nd August) when the first episode of House of the Dragon aired on Sky Atlantic.

After what a lot of fans dubbed a “disappointing” end to the original series, there was a lot riding on this spin off, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and it seems like fans were satisfied.

Taking to Twitter to share their thoughts about the new series, a lot of viewers were saying the same thing about returning to Westeros and the Game of Thrones universe.

One person wrote: “House of the Dragon sucked me back in so fast it’s embarrassing, but we are back in Westeros babes.”

Another said: “House of the Dragon was a solid reminder that Game of Thrones was great at its peak. The performances are top notch, and the thing looks like a million dollars. Loved Matt Smith in this.”

A third commented: “House of the Dragon had big shoes to fill and they absolutely nailed it, thank god.”

While a fourth said: “Finished the first Episode of House of the Dragon I'm someone who was severely disappointed with the final season of Game of Thrones. And this was exceptional. Sharp writing, strong acting, incredible production values. If the rest of the Season keeps this level of quality, wow.”

Others also praised leading star Milly Alcock for her portrayal of Rhaenyra Targaryen, who will later be played by Emma D’Arcy.

One person wrote: “There’s one thing and one thing only that everyone has to agree about house of the dragon… milly alcock absolutely carried as rhaenyra targaryen. like she’s the moment from the show.”

Another said: “milly alcock as rhaenyra targaryen is already carrying house of the dragon”.

A third tweeted: “Milly Alcock was the heart and soul of that episode of House of the Dragon and it's gonna suck to lose her in a time jump.”

We also managed to catch up with some members of the cast before the big premiere to chat all things House of the Dragon.

Eve Best, who plays Princess Rhaenys Velaryon in the debut episode, spoke about the beautiful costumes and incredible blonde hair that all Targaryens have.

During an exclusive chat with virginradio.co.uk, Eve revealed just how long it took to put the wig together, and why it didn’t take just hours, but days!

She explained: “It was three days! That’s an exaggeration, but it was a two-day process because I had [really long] hair. So I used to come in the day before to have it all braided into plaits, flat on my head and then have to come back in the following day.

“It started off as three hours, we whittled it down to two hours pre-call with skull cap, bald cap, painting, tied it all down, replaited…Then the actual wig got on itself. I mean, it just went on forever.”

Her onscreen husband, Steve Toussaint, also expressed hopes that the new series would bring in new fans.

When asked if viewers will be satisfied with House of the Dragon, Steve explained: “I hope so. Hopefully this gives them the same world but a different story, a different take.

“I’ve only seen one [episode], and I found it compelling…We'd love for new people to come along to because you don't have to have seen Game of Thrones to appreciate this, because this takes place 200 years before.”

House of the Dragon continues Sundays on Sky Atlantic at 9pm.