Skip to main content

House of the Dragon or Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power—Who Ya Got?

Image: Ollie Upton/HBO and Matt Grace/Prime Video

In a perfect world, no one would need to decide whether they should watch HBO’s smash hit Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon or Prime Video’s lavish Lord of the Rings prequel, The Rings of Power. However, it is not a perfect world, and there’s no doubt in my mind that only one of these series is going to dominate the virtual water cooler talk of mass audiences. But which one will it be?

On the one hand, you have House of the Dragon, which has already gotten excellent critical reviews and a massive audience despite the widespread disappointment with Game of Thrones’ final season. On the other, you have The Rings of Power, based on the Lord of the Rings novels, which have been beloved for nearly 70 years, and the three incredibly popular and Oscar-winning film adaptations of the ‘00s. And early reviews of the series make House of the Dragon visually look like garbage in comparison, thanks to the almost-criminally expensive budget.

It seems like a pretty fair fight, but I’m going to put my gold pieces on House of the Dragon. The fact that it came to TV first gives it a genuine advantage, because it’s already dominating the conversation. It’s essentially already sitting on the throne, which puts Rings of Power on the offensive. I also think Dragon has a better chance of capturing mass audiences because it’s a medieval fantasy instead of high fantasy—it’s easier for people who don’t traditionally care for fantasy entertainment to wrap their head around the political and characters drama of House of the Dragon than Elves and Dwarves and magic rings and dark gods and what I suspect will be an incredibly sprawling epic. And, in all honestly, I also think that mass audiences will prefer the show where people fuck.

But I could be wrong! Tell me why I am in the comments! Or tell me why I’m right! Or tell me I’m wrong about my reasons but right about my pick!

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel and Star Wars releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

14 of Rick and Morty's Most Excellent Season 4 Moments

In episode nine, “Childrick of Mort,” Rick fought a god when they both fell for the same woman. Er, planet. That moment doesn’t make our list, but it’s still a damn good one. Screenshot: Adult Swim It’s still hard to believe—after so many lengthy delays between previous seasons —that season five of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty is almost upon us. While we count down the moments until the Emmy-winning series returns on June 20, we thought we’d also look back on season four, highlighting 14 of our favorite and most memorable moments (in no particular order... though we do have one very top favorite, as you’ll see) involving mostly Rick and Morty—but also Summer, Beth, Jerry, and Rick and Morty ’s creatively deployed guest stars too. “Why can you talk?” Screenshot: Adult Swim The A-plot of episode four, “Claw and Hoarder: Special Ricktim’s Morty,” follows the adventures of Rick, Morty, and Summer as they attempt to rescue Morty’s “slut dragon,” Balthromaw, from an evil wizard. ...
1 comment
Read more

Loki: Chris Hemsworth Records New Lines for Throg Role

Chris Hemsworth is Thor Image: Marvel Believe it or not, Chris Hemsworth appears in the latest episode of Loki. Well, his voice does. The Kate Herron directed-episode titled Journey into Mystery , takes place in a location at the end of time created by the Time Variance Authority called The Void. It’s in this void that viewers see Throg (a version of Thor in Frog form from Earth-97161) trapped inside a bottle deep underground as he tries to break out to reach his Mjolnir. When Herron was on the ForAllNerds podcast last Friday, she revealed that Chris Hemsworth is the voice of Throg. You don’t hear the Frog say any dialogue, but the scream it lets out is by Hemsworth . Herron had him record new lines and sounds strictly for the show, and she kept it a well-hidden secret. “Throg, getting him in [was fun],” Herron said on the podcast. “We recorded Chris Hemsworth for that, by the way. I haven’t told anyone that yet, by the way, but we recorded him for that, so that’s a new record...
1 comment
Read more

Google launches a beta of Neighbourly, an app for crowdsourcing local questions

Google is taking another shot at social apps with the beta release of Neighbourly , a new, hyperlocal-focused app designed to answer your questions, via The Next Web . The company envisions Neighbourly as a sort of crowdsourced city guide. The residents who know your city best can use the app to share tips, tricks, shortcuts, and recommendations with less in-the-know residents. Users will be able to ask questions, submit answers, and follow other people’s questions if they’re interested to see the results through a simple stack of cards. According to The Next Web , Neighbourly is starting off with a limited beta. It’s only available on Android and only open to residents of Mumbai, with support for English and eight Indian languages. In... Continue reading…
Post a Comment
Read more