Fans Give Verdict, Plus Premiere Crashes HBO Max

Many fans of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire were let down by the season finale of Game of Thrones in 2019, and so the feeling was one of apprehension going into HBO Max‘s new spin-off, House of the Dragon.

However, the verdict from fans following the season premiere on Sunday, August 21, was mostly positive. Viewers took to social media on Sunday night to share their thoughts on the new series, which is set nearly 200 years before the events in Game of Thrones and chronicles the beginning of the end of House Targaryen and the civil war that ripped apart Westeros.

“House of the dragon episode 1 was absolutely fantastic,” tweeted one viewer. “GOT seasons 1-6 is one of my favorite things ever and HOD absolutely captured the same feeling/quality that does seasons did. Those last minutes had me tearing up, I can not wait for this series. It’s going to be special.”

Another long-time fan of the fantasy franchise added, “The House of the Dragon exceeded my expectations. Packing all the great elements that Game of Thrones once had. It does great fan service for a viewer like me who has followed the franchise vigorously for several years.”

“House of the Dragon sucked me back into got so fast im honestly embarassed (sic) for myself,” wrote another commenter.

House of the dragon episode 1 was absolutely fantastic, GOT seasons 1-6 is one of my favorite things ever and HOD absolutely captured the same feeling/quality that does seasons did. Those last minutes had me tearing up, I can not wait for this series.

It’s going to be special pic.twitter.com/4RYuAnPTzp

— Raven☀️ (@DireRavennn) August 22, 2022

The House of the Dragon exceeded my expectations. Packing all the great elements that Game of Thrones once had. It does great fan service for a viewer like me who has followed the franchise vigorously for several years.#HouseoftheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonHBO pic.twitter.com/0LFfWZpARK

— Azeem Abbas (@azeem___abbas) August 21, 2022

house of the dragon sucked me back into got so fast im honestly embarassed for myself pic.twitter.com/uy6zFLTDPM

— i hate it here (@kencov_) August 22, 2022

It wasn’t all positive, though, particularly when it came to the show’s wig department. “Someone looked at Matt Smith and said, yeah, I think that long blonde targaryen wig is gonna look fine on him and that level of detachment from reality is almost inspiring,” wrote Vulture critic Kathryn VanArendonk.

“Disappointed to see House of the Dragon continue the GOT habit of using really bad wigs,” added another. “I don’t get it. All this production money and they’re still slapping Spirit Halloween fairy princess wigs on the Targaryens.”

house of the dragon review:
someone looked at Matt Smith and said, yeah, I think that long blonde targaryen wig is gonna look fine on him

and that level of detachment from reality is almost inspiring

— Kathryn VanArendonk (@kvanaren) August 19, 2022

Disappointed to see House of the Dragon continue the GOT habit of using really bad wigs. I don’t get it. All this production money and they’re still slapping Spirit Halloween fairy princess wigs on the Targaryens.

— Stephanie Edd – Writer, etc. (@stephaniejedd) August 21, 2022

Despite some wig fatigue, however, the overall vibe was one of excitement for the rest of the series. “Came into House of the Dragon with heavy skepticism after the last season of Thrones, but…so far the wigs are awful but I’m cautiously intrigued by the rest?” wrote one viewer.

Came into House of the Dragon with heavy skepticism after the last season of Thrones, but…so far the wigs are awful but I’m cautiously intrigued by the rest?

— Jessica Derschowitz (@jessicasara) August 22, 2022

Proof of that excitement came during the season premiere when the HBO Max app crashed for several viewers. Whether this was due to viewer overload or another technical issue isn’t quite clear. A spokesperson for HBO told The Hollywood Reporter that the problem only seemed to affect those connecting via Amazon’s devices.

your app is crashing! and stop telling people to uninstall and reinstall apps, you know it’s crashing because you can’t handle the amount of views and bandwidth

— Thedas Wolves (@ThedasWolves) August 22, 2022

“House of the Dragon is being successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers this evening,” HBO said. “We’re aware of a small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices that are having issues and are in the process of resolving for those impacted users.”

Check out more reaction to the House of the Dragon premiere below.

i quite liked house of the dragon ngl pic.twitter.com/vxUc3HrNjX

— iana murray (@ianamurray) August 22, 2022

i’m genuinely in tears house of the dragon was so good it not only reminded me how much i love daenerys and game of thrones lore but how much we’ve been in need of real REAL television again pic.twitter.com/pFO5YnxLTN

— harold (@theharoIdsonggg) August 22, 2022

Me after that first House of the Dragon episode: pic.twitter.com/I6vQNOFcYJ

— Vatsal (@VatsalSP7) August 22, 2022

House of the Dragon characters after putting on their wigs pic.twitter.com/zBLPPaIe4u

— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) August 22, 2022

I liked the first episode of House of the Dragon but there’s this one dude that has like the WORST wig it’s highkey distracting

— Nia (@pinkniapolitan) August 22, 2022

me after being disappointed by the final season of game of thrones: “i guess i’ll give house of the dragon a try”

me to HBO after watching the first episode: #HouseoftheDragon #HOTD pic.twitter.com/VPpeMHAhyb

— kathleen (@kathleen_hanley) August 22, 2022

After watching the first episode of House of the Dragon, I can confidently say that it has great potential to even surpass GOT. What a start… 💪💪💪

— Only Allan (@allangodfre) August 22, 2022

House of the dragon: Seems a bit faster than GOT when screenplay is concerned, but might be cuz its the pilot. the style is very much consistent with GOT. hope the writers don’t mess up.

— YLP (@yagneshlp) August 22, 2022

Matt Smith’s Deliciously Unhinged portrayal of ‘Daemon Targaryen’ in ‘House of the Dragon’ was just Pure Perfection.
🔥🔥🔥🔥#MattSmith #DaemonTargaryen #HouseoftheDragon #Hotd pic.twitter.com/dBXHYyWwl2

— MATT SMITH NEWS PAGE (@Matt_SmithNews) August 22, 2022

House of the Dragon, Sundays, 9/8c, HBO