House of the Dragon vs Game of Thrones: Which had the better series premiere?
Action
House of the Dragon: “The Heirs of the Dragon” balances its cloak-and-dagger political plots with wild, orchestrated action, especially in the testosterone-driven Heir’s Tournament, which is the centerpiece of the episode, along with Queen Arryn’s plight. With master of chaos Miguel Sapochnik directing, the spectacular and bloody test of knightly prowess is intercut with the torturous breech-birth disaster of the Queen.
Along with the extended sequence of Daemon’s city watch slaughtering the usual suspects of King’s Landing, viewers also get a cloud-scudding dragon ride-along with Rhaenyra after the curtains rise post-teaser.
In typical Game of Thrones style, the violent House of the Dragon sequences are linked to character development and plot advancement, especially amidst the Heir’s Tournament, where Viserys’ world is destroyed while Daemon proves his nastiness and Criston Cole proves his skill.
Game of Thrones: In revisiting “Winter is Coming,” it is surprising to find only a bare minimum of action scenes and bloodletting; in fact, the episode delivers only the opening White Walker chase, a quick, drunken Dothraki swordfight and one beheading, if that last one counts.
Instead, the writers concentrate on establishing characters, settings and situations and use the aspects of fear, foreboding and betrayal as their dramatic weapons. There’s not much action because the episode doesn’t need it.
The avoidance of extended physical action in “Winter is Coming” may well be due to the dense narrative complexity and geographical sprawl of George R.R. Martin’s novels. With so many different characters in different places with separate plotlines, the writers needed all the time they could get to introduce us to this world and the people living in it.
Which episode has the best Action?
In terms of pure action, these premieres could not be more different. Other than the chase in the teaser, “Winter is Coming” avoids action almost entirely, so it isn’t any match for the flying dragons and huge tournament set piece in “The Heirs of the Dragon.” Score two points for House of the Dragon.