On 22 August 2022, The Guardian’s reviewer Rebecca Nicholson wrote in her review that ‘House of the Dragon’ was gorgeous, opulent television.
Cut to 31 August 2022. The same reviewer had this to say about the other big prequel of the fortnight, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’: “It is so cinematic and grand that it makes ‘House of Dragon’ seem like it has been cobbled together on Minecraft.”
The show which runs into eight episodes is based on JRR Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ universe. It has been made on a budget of close to US$ 500 million if PriceRunner.com is to be believed. Our own News18 says this is Amazon Prime’s biggest investment yet, made at a budget of a billion dollars! Suffices to say that the scale is massive, irrespective of the actual number.
It might help to be familiar with the universe before watching this show on Amazon Prime, according to more than one person familiar with the space. But the show does attempt to address the newcomers with a bit of a preamble where needed, say some.
The Indian Express has Sampada Sharma signing off after watching two episodes made available to her for review, saying, “This is enormously enjoyable TV, a cinematic feast.”
Most reviewers have made a point about the slow pace at which this show moves at times. But none of them leave us in any doubt about the net verdict: Watch it. Indulge.
