Comparing HBO’s “House of the Dragon” to Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” both new epic fantasy, both prequel series, huge budgets and ready-made fans It was probably unavoidable since it has a base. In fact, the Internet is already willing to oblige.
However should do it do you compare them? Probably not.
“Thrones” author George RR Martin, heavily influenced by the original “Rings” author JRR Tolkien, only wants peace in this realm. “No deathmatch or anything,” he said hollywood reporter“You don’t have to bind them together.”
Still, few seem to be able to resist the urge. What are we made of, Stone of Valyria?
But instead of comparing industry stats (ratings, budgets, etc.), let’s look at where the two shows overlap. Which sword is the coolest? The strongest dragons? The strongest heroine? Admittedly, our initial observations are based only on the first few episodes (three so far for “Dragon” and two for “Ring,” which premiered Thursday). But I found enough to start a discussion. (There are some spoilers.)
pop culture credibility
It’s not entirely fair to compare JRR Tolkien to George RR Martin, who is often called “American Tolkien”. The two authors are not in conflict. Martin draws inspiration from much of what Tolkien did, especially in the fields of magic and worldbuilding. But he also magnifies Tolkien’s achievements. Tolkien has sold more books than his Martin (both have sold tens of millions of copies), but Tolkien has been around much longer.
A better comparison might be between HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, Dragon, and Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
The early seasons of “Game of Thrones” were in some respects comparable to the first three (and much-loved) Jackson films, but the derided late “Thrones” You could say the season resembled a polarizing “Hobbit” movie. Each series got off to a great start, but tested the patience of each viewer.Tolkien fans have already found to do complain But they’ve spent more time getting over the “Hobbit” movies. If Dragon’s monster rating so far is any indicator, Thrones fans seem ready to forgive for now (not to forget). But it’s still early days, fan reaction to the end of ‘Thrones’ has been really bitter, and the franchise still has a lot to make up for.
corner: “Ring of Power”
heroes
As the prequels go, Rings of Power has another advantage. This is because some characters are immortal. The trick, of course, is that the new actor has to match the actors who played the previous incarnations. Some of them were widely loved. Morphid Clark manages this very well as the adventurous young Galadriel in “The Ring” (played by Cate Blanchett in the film).
If showrunners were willing to revisit long-lived “Throne” characters like Melisandre (Carice Van Houten) and the Children of the Forest, “Dragon” might have taken a similar route. That required pushing those characters into the story where they didn’t really fit.
Instead, “Dragon” tacitly asks the viewer to identify Laenira (Millie Alcock) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and support her claim to the throne. As the cause goes, it’s not as noble as Galadriel’s quest to erase ultimate evil, or even Dany’s early battle against oppression: Rhaenyra only wants her birthright. And perhaps there’s something heroic about fighting the patriarchy and getting it, but so far, she’s a Galadriel, even if her blonde wig makes the Targaryens look like elves. not.
corner: “Ring of Power”
sword
It is said that swords make men, women and elves. And sometimes a legendary sword can inspire more fear and awe than the individual who wields it.
In “The Rings of Power,” you’ll probably see some of these storied blades. For example, the sword of Isildur (Maxim Baldry), known as Narsil, weighted by fate. Meanwhile, what about Theo’s (Tyroh Muhafiddin) secretly kept broken black handle? A weapon that seems to reforge itself and even drink blood. It resembles the sword Angrachel, also called Gurtan, but that’s not a good thing.
In “House of the Dragon” you are in the golden age of legendary Valyrian weapons. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) wields the king’s mighty sword, Blackfire, when he wants to exercise authority, and the familiar dagger when he wants to deliver prophecies. (Given the special properties of its dagger’s Valyrian steel, it also has a destiny written into it.) Meanwhile, Daemon (Matt Smith) uses the slimmer Dark Sister to pave his way to glory.
Then there’s the Iron Throne, which is made up of countless swords and can easily overthrow a king with a well-placed nickname. How to do it.
Mithril is similar to Valyrian steel in Tolkien’s universe. Mithril is a rare precious metal found only in Khazad he Dum and Numenor. Both places were visited in the “Ring of Power”. Mithril is said to be stronger than steel, but it’s also lightweight — which raises the obvious question: Why didn’t anyone think of making a mithril sword?
corner: “Dragon House”
magic tree
Initially, at least in “The Rings of Power,” two Valinor trees grew side by side in a mixed glow until Dark Lord Morgoth poisoned them. To make matters worse, Morgoth stole the Silmarillion. The Silmarils are his three jewels, including the untainted light of the two trees that are now gone. We also found that deep underground in Khazad-dûm, the gifted saplings continued to bloom. How? love? magic? (Is there a difference?) There are other important trees, some of which symbolize interspecies friendship. (If you go to Numenor’s capital, look for one of these he.)
So far, House of the Dragon’s white Weirwood is just a backdrop, a source of calming shade for Godwood. However, it seems likely that these trees are being utilized by someone as a Westerosi surveillance system of sorts. you probably won’t learn much about it.
corner: “Ring of Power”
dragon
Dragons are the ultimate weapons of war. In the prologue of “The Rings of Power”, we see the evil Morgoth pioneering the use of winged beasts in combat.
One of his mounts looks like a black ancalagon. This is the obvious model for another familiar behemoth of his, Valerion the Black Terror. The preserved skull of Balerion the Black Fear is worshiped in the House of Dragons. Tolkien’s dragons are not pets. It is not recommended to take them out on joyrides. And once the dwarves have power-her jewelry, they take on a more serious role in the story.
But which dragon is better at solving the core problem between the two franchises? Dragons can be seen as perceptive and thoughtful. One-on-one, they have serious intellectual assets. But as a group, their meager numbers in this second age Middle-earth are no match for the fire-breathing hordes of House of the Dragons.
Rhaenyra’s Syrax and Daemon’s Caraxes are just the first beasts introduced in the show. There’s a whole dragon pit we haven’t seen yet.
corner: “Dragon House”
invented language
Given that Tolkien was the actual linguist who created his own Elvish language (Quenya, as it is called), in this category, “The Rings of Power” is clearly more evocative than “House of the Dragon”. Excellent.
Martin (the book) and language creator David J. Peterson (“Dragon”) made a valiant effort to achieve something close to what Tolkien did. If we were to judge each show solely on the artistry of its language, Tolkien’s Quenya would surely win.
But “Rings of Power,” at least in the first two episodes, squanders that advantage by barely using Quenya when the elves talk to each other, or Khuzdul among the dwarves. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) can be heard muttering a few Elvish words as he writes something, but switches to Common after a few seconds.
In contrast, “House of the Dragons” uses High Valyrian to establish a relationship between a Targaryen uncle and niece.
corner: “Dragon House”
language, era
Both shows build on existing material. About “House of the Dragon” is Martin’s fictional history, the book “Fire and Blood”. As for “The Rings of Power”, it is primarily an appendix to “The Lord of the Rings”, essentially a story outline.
Both shows have had to invent quite a bit to fill the narrative gaps, but here “House of the Dragon” is Martin’s direct line as one of the show’s creators. benefits from public involvement. Also, the ‘House of the Dragon’ writers seem far more aware of how to use dialogue and scenes to stir up chilled debate and reinvigorate the old ‘Thrones’ meme factory. Rhaenyra’s “I never jest about cake” was a little tense, but people are still talking about the caesarean murder in Episode 1.
So far I haven’t included “The Rings of Power” Meat is back on the menu, boy — and it’s useless second breakfast, Also. But I know Daemon Targaryen will always give me GIFs.
corner: “Dragon House”