As many critics and fans alike would agree, the original GOT seasons 1-6, and elements of 7 was some of the best television ever produced. Yet so far House of the Dragon is a mere shell of GOT's prior greatness.

It all starts with the casting. I myself am a person of color and I can't stress enough that forced diversity is ruining this show. Contrary to the popular narrative that the original GOT was devoid of diversity, people of color were cast in large numbers (no need to take my word for it, simply go back a rewatch any season). But more importantly in the original the best actor/actress fitting the character as written got cast. I mean how often do you watch a series where each character, whether they're good bad rich poor kind or insufferable, we found them all relatable. Now House of the dragon does have several characters that cast appropriately (Daemon/Matt Smith being one, I think he's doing a great job), but from a general sense the casting just feels off.

Outside of the casting, the style of story telling used here for House Of The Dragon is not that entertaining. Without the GOT labels behind this, it's merely a documentary of re-enacted medieval history at selected points in time. I'm ok with the time jumps and fewer battles as this series, so far, takes place during an era of general peace. But the original GOT constantly gave you detailed character arcs, multiple perspectives, both fast and slow paced drama, cleaver conversation, immersive scenery, charisma, empathy, and the all important musical score! Every GOT fan I've ever interacted with always commented on how great the score was throughout and how the different themes were used to perfection (Warrior of light, Son Of The Harpy, Mother of Dragons, The Rains Of Castamere!) With The House Of The Dragon we get very little and in the few moments where it's included in the scene, it's mostly dull and forgettable. That said I'm left wondering wonder why this doesn't get brought up more often.

Ultimately I'm going to hold out hope for this show. Great potential here and no doubt the Targaryen blood line and the complexities of this house is a big draw. Hope is that future episodes/season get back to their original brand of GOT story telling.