Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

House of the Dragon review: Fiery Thrones prequel saves the best for last

Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) Targaryen in House Of The Dragon
Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) Targaryen in House Of The Dragon

To successfully tell a story you need rich characters in a compelling setting who are in conflict with each other. Sounds incredibly easy, doesn’t it? Wrong, you arrogant fool!

It’s actually very difficult, especially for TV writers who often make stories without any of these ingredients. Trust me, I have to watch them.

In a bid to resurrect Game Of Thrones, the series that went from beloved to be-hated, TV writers created House Of The Dragon, which concluded its first series on Monday.

Are there rich characters? There’s the reluctant queen who is torn between duty and family and who also is attracted to her own uncle.

Is the setting compelling? Only if you think a dimly lit palace full of scheming, grasping courtiers ruling over shifting fiefdoms is compelling, sure.

Is there conflict? Well, the childhood friends who vie for the crown and whose children all want to murder each other as they grow are in a bit of conflict, I suppose.

In short, House Of The Dragon, starring Matt Smith, Milly Alcock, Olivia Cooke and Paddy Considine, tells a successful story.

The best episode was saved for last, of course, setting up even further conflict, in the form of a bloody and bitter civil war, for next year.

Are you going to catch up with House Of The Dragon if you haven’t seen it? Yes. Yes you are.


House Of The Dragon, Sky Atlantic