‘House of the Dragon’ vs ‘The Rings of Power’: see the comparison between the two fantasy series

Which one has the most beautiful swords? The best dragons? The most formidable heroine?

THE NEW YORK TIMES – Comparisons between House of the Dragon from HBO And The Lord of the Rings: The rings of power from Amazon – both new epic fantasies, both series prequel, both with huge budgets and ready-made fan bases, were probably inevitable. And indeed, the internet has already been more than happy to please you.

But do we have to compare them? Maybe not.

the author of thrones, Giorgio RR Martin – whose work was heavily influenced by the original author of rings, JRR Tolkien – he just wants peace in the kingdom. “It’s not a deadly fight or anything,” he told al The Hollywood reporter. “We don’t have to be in parentheses.”

Yet few seem able to resist the urge. And what are we made of, Valyrian stone?

However, rather than comparing industry stats – rankings, budgets, and so on – let’s take a look at where the two programs overlap. Which has the most beautiful swords? The best dragons? The most formidable heroine? It is true that the first observations are based only on the first episodes (three so far for Dragon; two for rings). But we have seen enough to start the discussion.

(some spoilers will follow)

authentic pop culture

It is not entirely fair to make a comparison Tolkien The martino, which is often called “the American Tolkien”. The two authors are not in competition. Martin draws inspiration from much of what Tolkien did, especially in the areas of magic and world-building; but he also expanded Tolkien’s results. Tolkien has sold more books than Martin (both have sold tens of millions), but Tolkien’s has been around much longer.

A better comparison might be the previous adaptations of his work: game of Thronesfrom HBOwhose, whose Dragon is a prequel, compared to the film versions of Peter Jackson in Lord of the Rings And The Hobbit.

It can be said that the first seasons of game of Thrones were in some ways comparable to Jackson’s first three (and much-loved) films, while the mocked subsequent seasons of thrones more like movies Hobbit polarizers. Each series got off to a great start, but each one tested the patience of the viewers. Tolkien fans are already finding things to complain about with the new series, but they’ve had a lot more time to get past Tolkien’s films. Hobbit. If the ratings of the monsters seen so far Dragon are an indication, fans of thrones he seems ready to forgive (if not forget) for the time being. But it is still early, the reaction of the fans at the end of the season thrones it was really bitter and the franchise still has a lot of ground to catch up.

On the lead: The rings of power

heroes

like prequels, Power rings it has another advantage because some of its characters are immortal. The trick, of course, is that new actors have to live up to those playing previous incarnations, some of whom were much loved. Morfydd Clarkas a young adventurer Galadriel in Rings (played by Cate Blanchett in the movies) does it very well.

Dragon it could have followed a similar path if the showrunners had been willing to revisit long-lasting characters thrones such as Melisandre (Carice van Houten) or the children of the forest. But that would require putting these characters into the story in places they didn’t really fit in.

Instead, Dragon implicitly asks viewers to identify Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and thus uphold his claim to the throne. As for the causes, this is not as noble as Galadriel’s quest to extinguish the ultimate evil, or even Dany’s initial struggle with oppression. Rhaenyra only wants her birthright; and maybe there’s something heroic about fighting patriarchy to get it, but so far it’s not Galadriel, even if the blonde wigs make the Targaryens look like elves.

On the lead: The rings of power

swords

The sword is said to make the man – or the woman, or the elf. And sometimes a legendary sword can do more to feed fear and awe than the individual holding it.

In The rings of power, presumably we will see some of these historical blades, for example the sword of Isildur (Maxim Baldry), which is known as Narsil and carries the weight of fate. In the meantime, what about the broken black dagger that Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) secretly guards? It is a weapon that seems capable of reforging itself and drinking blood. It looks like the Anglachel sword, also called Gurthang, and that’s not a good thing.

In House of the Dragon, we are in a golden age of the legendary weapons of Valyria. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) wields the mighty sword of kings, Blackfyre, when he wants to exercise authority, and wields a familiar dagger when he wants to convey prophecies. (Given the special properties of the Valyrian steel of that dagger, there is also destiny written all over it.) Daemon (Matt Smith), meanwhile, uses the best Dark Sister to pave his way to glory.

Then there is the Game of Thrones, which is made up of countless swords and can easily overthrow a king with a well-placed blow. Legend has it that this is how the throne “rejects” those who are not worthy to rule.

A parallel to Valyrian steel in Tolkien’s world is mithril, the rare and precious metal found only in Khazad-dum and Númenor – both places visited in the Rings of Power. “Mithril is said to be stronger than steel, but also lighter – which raises the obvious question: why hasn’t anyone thought of making a mithril sword?

On the lead: dragon house

magical trees

In the beginning – inside The rings of powerAt least … there were the Two Trees of Valinor, growing side by side in a mixed glow, until the Dark Lord Morgoth poisoned them. Then, to make matters worse, Morgoth stole the Silmarils, three jewels containing the pristine light of those two now vanished trees. We also learn that a gift seedling continues to bloom even in the subterranean depths of Khazad-dum. How? Love? Magic? (Is there any difference?) There are other significant trees as well, some of which symbolize friendship between different species. (Look for one if we go to the capital Númenor.)

So far, white weirwood inside House of the Dragon they are little more than a background, a source of soothing shade in the sacred grove. But it seems likely that these trees are being used by someone as some sort of Westerosi surveillance system. (We know there were a number of three-eyed crows and seers standing guard.) We probably won’t learn much about that this season.

On the lead: The rings of power

dragons

Dragons are the weapons of war par excellence. in the prologue of The rings of powerwe see the evil Morgoth making pioneering use of winged beasts in battle.

One of his mounts appears to be Ancalagon the Black, an obvious model for another familiar giant, Balerion the Black Terror, whose preserved skull is the object of veneration in House of the Dragon. Tolkien’s dragons are not pets; taking them for a walk would be inadvisable. And they will play a more serious role in the story once the dwarves get their power gems.

But to settle the central question between the two franchises, which dragons are better? We know this from the talkative Smaug, in the 2013 film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, that Tolkien’s dragons are conscientious and caring. One by one, they have serious intellectual assets; but, as a group, their meager numbers in Middle-earth during this Second Age are no match for the fire-breathing horde in House of the Dragon.

Rhaenyra’s Syrax and Daemon’s Caraxes are just the first of these beasts to be introduced on the show – there’s a whole dragon pit we haven’t seen yet.

On the lead: dragon house,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao_y5CiVbSE

invented languages

Since Tolkien was in fact a linguist, who created his own elven language (quenya, it is called), The rings of power it starts with a distinct advantage over House of the Dragon in this category.

Martin (for books) and language creator David J. Peterson (for Dragon) have made bold efforts to achieve something similar to what Tolkien did, particularly with High Valyrian, the native language of the Targaryen rulers. If we were to judge each show solely by the mastery of their languages, Tolkien’s Quenya would surely win.

But The rings of power wastes this advantage by barely using Quenya when the Elves talk to each other, or Khuzdul among the Dwarves, at least in the first two episodes. We hear Elrond (Robert Aramayo) mutter a few words in Elvish to himself as he writes something, but seconds later he switches to the common language.

On the other hand, House of the Dragon uses High Valyrian to establish a relationship between an uncle and Targaryen niece, and the actors speak so fluently that the bond feels real.

On the lead: dragon house

Language, period

Both series are based on pre-existing material. For House of the Dragonis Martin’s fictional story, the book Fire & Blood. For The rings of powerthey are mainly appendages of Lord of the Ringswhich are essentially sketches of history.

Both shows had to come up with a lot to fill in the narrative gaps, and here House of the Dragon benefits from Martin’s direct involvement as one of the show’s creators. Furthermore, the authors of House of the Dragon they seem much more aware of how to use jokes and cutscenes to spark the coldest discussion and ignite the old meme factory thrones still. Rhaenyra’s “I Never Play With Cake” was a little tense, but people keep talking about the first episode’s C-section murder.

The rings of power, so far, he’s not putting meat back on the menu, guys – and no second breakfast is needed either. But we know that Daemon Targaryen will always give us GIFs.

On the lead: dragon house

Source: Terra

Emily

Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.