For some people, they may have skipped the premiere of House of the Dragon, but HBO put it on YouTube (seen below). Between the Warner Bros. Discovery shakeup, the expenses of paying for another streaming service, and the sour taste of the final season of Game of Thrones may put people off from watching the prequel series. Whatever your reason is, you can watch it without having to invest any money to see if it will be worth hopping on the train.
There is no specific reason for putting the House of the Dragon premiere for free. It has its competition today (September 2) with the Rings of Power two-episode start on Amazon Prime Video. Still, another fantasy epic did not stop HOTD from gaining over 20 million viewers to return to Westeros. Whether you like the genre or not, prepare to either engage with or hear plenty of chatter about it as the two shows overlap for the next seven weeks.
HBO releases the House of the Dragon premiere for free on YouTube
The premiere of House of the Dragon sets the stage as it is hundreds of years before the original series. Loosely based on the novels by George R.R. Martin and more focused on the lore, we see the days in which the Targaryens ruled and held plenty of dragons to ignite their enemies. The first episode sets up the characters, their dynamics, and the struggle King Viserys (Paddy Considine) faces of not having a proper heir to take over his spot on the throne. Through its violence, power dynamics, high production value, and complex characters, it should scratch that Game of Thrones itch for fans.
The success of the House of the Dragon premiere and its second episode got HBO eager for more as it renewed it for a second season. Although, it won’t see Miguel Sapochnik as co-showrunner as he exited the series to focus on other projects.