Game of Thrones vet Kristian Nairn likes House of the Dragon, but thinks season 2 was "different"

Game of Thrones wrapped up around five years ago, but HBO has kept the torch burning with spinoff shows like House of the Dragon, set over a century before the events of the original series. The first season went over very well with fans, who loved meeting a new set of power players in an age when dragons were still everywhere in Westeros. The second season was received less enthusiastically, although it still went over more or less well, especially episodes like "The Red Dragon and the Gold," which featured the best dragon-vs-dragon battle we've ever seen onscreen.

And it's not just us feeling like this. Game of Thrones alum Kristian Nairn, who played the gentle giant Hodor for five seasons, also noted a difference between the first and second seasons of House of the Dragon, although he was quick to confirm that he's not hating on the prequel series. "Of course I do [compare them]," he told Screen Rant. "It's like a different semester or term in college or school, we're like the older generation. I was at a convention recently with Tom [Glynn-Carney, who plays Aegon on House of the Dragon] and I was just interested to watch him go do all the PR stuff and, yeah, I'm proud of them. They don't need me to be proud of them obviously, but season 1 I think was off the charts. I think it was almost as good as Game of Thrones. I think it felt almost like a continuation, although it's in the past, I felt like it was just the next episode or something."

"I don't think the same about season 2, but I can say that without being negative. I don't think it's bad. I do really like it, but to me it's something different. I don't know if I'm wrong about this, but I've spoke to a few people about it and I don't think I'm too far off the mark. It just feels different. There's a vibe, there's a heavy Game of Thrones vibe throughout the show. And to me it's just different. But I'm still going to keep watching. I think it just feels a bit different to me. That's all. I'm sure that could be twisted into the fact that I fu**ing hate it, but I don't. I really like it. I love fantasy in all forms and I'm loving the dragons in this one. That's incredible."

George R.R. Martin — the author of the books upon which both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based — has been much more openly critical of House of the Dragon, which changed his source material in ways that Game of Thrones never came close to. I tend to agree more with Martin on this one, but I'm also with Nairn that House of the Dragon is still worth watching. But for me, calling season 2 "different" from season 1 is a polite way of saying "not quite as good."

But there's always time to turn things around. A third season of House of the Dragon is in the works and on tap for 2026. Meanwhile, another Game of Thrones spinoff called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is coming out in 2025.

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