Nearly two hundred years before Game of Thrones the King Viserys of the House of Targaryen is the undisputed ruler of Westeros and surrounding lands. However, when he names his daughter Rhaenyra as his successor he sets in motion a series of events that many years in the future will lead to a bitter feud over who should sit on the Iron Throne.

I largely enjoyed Game of Thrones but thought it was overrated. While some of the storylines were interesting, the overall plot lacked focus at times due to the producers wanting to draw out the series for as long as possible to maximise revenue. The show should have been about two seasons shorter. Then when it did wrap up we had the disaster that was Season 8.

It was thus with some scepticism that I watched House of the Dragon. To my surprise it was initially very interesting and engaging. The characters were supportable and even the (apparent) villain had some redeeming qualities, making me think it would be as much character-driven as plot-driven.

Initially House of the Dragon was brilliant and better than Game of Thrones. Unlike GoT, House of the Dragon didn't have the irritation of having to follow heaps of characters, many of whom I didn't care about, and their independent sub-plots: it was just a small group of characters involved in one storyline. There weren't many great action scenes - a minor negative - but there was this great sense that something big and eventful would happen at any moment. This tension made for a wonderful atmosphere.

Sadly, this spell of un-GoT-like brilliance only lasted for five episodes. Everything changes in Episode 6: the timeline gets propelled forward ten years, heaps of new characters are added, some characters are played by different actors. Previously likeable characters are suddenly dislikeable to the point that there's only maybe one or two characters worth supporting and maybe not even them.

Moreover, the tone becomes like GoT: plot is more important than character engagement and the storyline becomes more Machiavellian.

Some of the plot developments in the next few episodes were interesting but there were also those that made no sense, thrown in for drama sake and nothing else (the ending to Episode 9 takes the cake here).

I tried to remain attentive and regain some of the engagement of the earlier episodes but it was an impossible task, such was the dearth of anything or anybody to keep my attention. Watching became a chore more than anything else and reminded me of the long passages of play in GoT, especially in Seasons 3 and 4, where I was just watching to keep up to date rather than for enjoyment.

Overall, it's entertaining enough but there's heaps of other TV shows I'd rather be watching. I won't be back for Season 2.