This is without a doubt the series appointment for this end of summer: the broadcast of house of the dragonthe expected spin-off of game of Thrones. Three years after the conclusion of the original series, completed after almost a decade of worldwide success, her little sister has just presented her first episode this Monday on the American channel HBO, and in France on OCS.
The plot of this new vintage takes place some 200 years before that of game of Thrones, in the same feudal society. It focuses on House Targaryen, then living its golden age at the head of the imaginary continent of Westeros. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) worries about his succession: his brother Daemon (Matt Smith) is violent, impulsive and unfit for the throne, but his only child is a girl, the young princess Rhaenyra. (Milly Alcock). To solve the problem, it would be enough for his pregnant wife to give him a child. So many considerations that distract the sovereign from the mysterious military threat that he rumbles at the gates of the kingdom.
“The series is about the Targaryens and how their family is falling apart. And with her, the rest of the kingdom”, summarizes Milly Alcock for BFMTV.com on Monday, the day after the broadcast of the first episode. “It’s about succession, family, love, lust, loss, dragons, fire, blood.”
“It’s frightening”
But the threat of fire and blood is nothing compared to the immense challenge house of the dragon– Supports the phenomenal success of the original series and manages to convince. To fill the void left by a show whose seasons have been the subject of feverish anticipation by fans around the world, whose episodes have been watched by millions of viewers in the United States alone, and which have launched the careers of stars like Emilia . Clarke or Kit Harington.
“It’s terrifying,” admits the actress, used to much more confidential projects. “Especially because I’m not as well known as Matt Smith or Rhys Ifans (two of his playmates, editor’s note), this is the first time I’ve been thrust into such a large universe.”
Especially since fans of the franchise aren’t known for their indulgence. Unhappy with the conclusion of their favorite series, in 2019 nearly 2 million signed an online petition demanding that season 8 be completely remade, “with competent writers”. Three years later, Milly Alcock jokes:
“We haven’t gotten any hate mail yet, which is great.”
The bet is also financial. If the exact budget has not been communicated, the specialized American media evoke an envelope “less than 20 million dollars per episode”. Season 1 counting ten, the calculation is done quickly… For comparison, the first season of game of Thrones he was profiting from 6 million per episode, and the last one had upped the ante to 15.
Same universe, different series
house of the dragon is adapted from fire and bloodnovel by George RR Martin (also author of the literary saga the iron thronewhose game of Thrones He was taken). The American author, who worked as a consultant on the first series, this time becomes co-creator with Ryan Condal. They use the recipe that made the success of got: a plot that mixes political, military, family intrigues, a good dose of rivalries and power games, romance and fantasy, all covered in crude sex scenes and gory images to cover the eyes. What, without a doubt, will delight fans of the first hour.
But we feel, among the actors, the desire to differentiate house of the dragon of her unforgettable older sister. Of course, the second does not exist without the first. But she intends to say something else:
“It’s a much more contained story,” says Fabien Frankel, the actor who lends his features to Sir Criston Cole. “‘Game of Thrones’ started in Winterfell before we explored all these other worlds: the Targaryen world, the Dorne region… In our series, we start in a place, where all the characters are gathered and facing a theme, the succession of the Targaryen family. The sentiment is very different, (…) it focuses a lot on the relationships between these people. It’s a more intimate story.”
Top secret
Intimacy, the actors also suffered on the set: for months, while shooting the scenes of the series that will undoubtedly make them stars, they were forced not to reveal anything to their loved ones. Like the actors in the previous series, who at the time displayed treasure troves of ingenuity in the face of the untold number of hacks and leaks he experienced.
“I told myself that if I were a spy, my daily life would be like this,” jokes Milly Alcock as she recalls the shooting. The Australian left everything for the series: “In the midst of a global pandemic, I said: ‘I’m going to live in London’. Everyone told me: ‘How are you going to live in London? What are you going to do? and I was like, ‘I can’t tell.’ We became really good liars.”
So much so that we end up forgetting that the series shot in the greatest secrecy will end up on screens around the world: “Seeing the series finally come out is quite surreal,” says Fabien Frankel. “When you’re filming, you forget that anyone will be able to see it. And Milly and I have played on much smaller projects. When someone sees something we do, we usually don’t see it. Don’t believe it. This is an unprecedented level of expectation for U.S”.
time will tell if house of the dragon he will know the success of his illustrious elder. On the critical side, the media is divided between astonishment and disappointment. But the audience figures are promising: the show signed the best audience in the history of HBO for a first episode, with almost 10 million viewers.
Source: BFM TV
