“House of the Dragon” has large shoes to fill as the prequel to HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones.” After a disappointing final season, “Game of Thrones” viewers who planned to tune in to the prequel series were most definitely hesitant. However, within its first three episodes, “House of the Dragon” has engaged and impressed audiences, proving that the “Game of Thrones” hype did not completely die off with the original show’s conclusion.

The show follows the House  of Targaryen 172 years prior to Danaerys Targaryen’s birth. King Viserys I longs for a male heir, but after an unfortunate event is left to pick between his teenage daughter Rhaenyra and his impulsive brother Daemon. What follows is a battle for succession and power for both Rhaenyra and Daemon, along with other characters looking for a way into the crown. 

Unlike its predecessor, “House of the Dragon” utilizes time jumps to tell the story of the Targaryens. Each episode places the audience into a different point in the character’s lives, where major changes have occurred offscreen. Though this could potentially get confusing, the writers do an adept job at navigating this technique; they ensure that the audience gets context for all of the relevant events that have taken place during the in-between, and the viewer does not feel like they missed any crucial moments in the story. However, this bold choice to sequence the story comes with a risk: because of the large jumps in time, four of the principal characters will be recast mid-season. This decision means that there is potential for the portrayal of certain characters (like Rhaenyra, a fan favorite) to fall flat if the new actors do not deliver. The comparison of Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy is inevitable, and one hopes that their performances mesh well.

The most compelling characters in the show are definitely Rhaenyra and Daemon, who are both struggling to find their place in a society that does not want them. Rhaenyra struggles with being a young woman fighting to prove her rightful place as heir to a room of men who seek to replace her. Alcock is an impressive Rhaenyra, conveying her grief, strength and even her naivete without making her seem unworthy of her status. Rhaenyra knows she deserves the throne, and when she learns that people intend to take it from her, she begins to prove her worth. 

Daemon’s struggles are derived from him always feeling second-rate to his brother, the king. Daemon wants to be respected and to have power, but is constantly belittled and spoken down to by the King’s Council. When Daemon is exiled by his brother after Rhaenyra is named heir, he begins a series of behaviors that seek to take power for himself and to spite his brother. These behaviors come off as a bit unhinged, but as the episodes progress, the audience can see potential in Daemon. Specifically in the last minutes of the third episode, Daemon successfully leads a charge against the pirates antagonizing the ports of Westeros; whether he means to or not, he loses importance by the end. Daemon does this to spite his brother, who after years of fighting finally decided to send aid. Daemon’s immediate impulse is to win the war before Viserys’ troops arrive, and in doing so he earns an impressive victory. One cannot help but admire his determination, even if his intentions are a bit misplaced.

All in all, the first three episodes of “House of the Dragon” are quite promising, having built an intriguing plot with dimensional characters who audiences are getting invested in. The overall success of the season boils down to how the cast change alters the show, but so far the show is off to a good start.