A couple of episodes in, I'm struggling to remain interested. It's a lot like Game of Thrones S6/S7; it's a competent production, but it lacks a lot of the intrigue, wit and humor of the first four seasons of that series.

It's also increasingly clear that Martin has a few tropes he comes back to again and again, and House of the Dragon feels like a rehash with fewer stakes, a smaller variety of characters, and less interesting personal stories. He doesn't seem to have much to say, no big idea that shines through in the narrative, and he thus seems stuck in describing one cycle of violence after another. This series has made it quite obvious why he is unable to finish his books, and why he left HBO to fend for itself in wrapping up Game of Thrones. His shtick was fun the first time, but it's not particularly thoughtful or interesting and thus makes for a pretty mediocre second showing.

One notable miss on the production side is the music. It's such a big step back that it was surprising to learn Ramin Djawadi is also behind this series' score. It's nowhere near as compelling or interesting as his music for GoT, where it was a big part of the presentation and was rightly recognized as such with various awards.

The actors can't be blamed for their characters, and they all seemed to do fine. Paddy Considine as Viserys makes for a compelling cautious king, and every scene with Eve Best as Rhaenys is better for having her in it.

All in all, House of the Dragon doesn't come close to the first four seasons of Game of Thrones. But neither did the second half of that series, so I suppose it's not a huge surprise. Given the struggles of similar competing American fantasy series like Wheel of Time, The Witcher, and Rings of Power it might be a while yet before we get a truly next generation big fantasy series.