A generation of divine drama "Game of Thrones" has been completed for three years.
Despite the bad ending.
But this epic IP still has unparalleled charm.
As a result, Xiaohuangtai HBO resisted the pressure and developed a new spin-off drama.
This time, the shot is more generous.
The average single cost was as high as $20 million, and the investment in the first quarter exceeded $200 million (about 1.37 billion yuan).
And the original "Game of Thrones", the single integration book is only up to $15 million.
Such a big deal, naturally also lived up to expectations.
The first episode of the first broadcast, that is, set a record for the highest number of premiere viewers of an original series of paid stations in the history of American television dramas -
9.986 million!
Not only that, but the series also set a record for the highest premiere ratings of HBO in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The most explosive episode of the year has finally come —
Dragon Family
House of the Dragon
Dragon Family is a prequel to Game of Thrones.
From the very beginning, he rushed to take over the banner of "HBO Ace Series".
The once eight seasons of "Game of Thrones" are like mountains and insurmountable.
With an unprecedented shocking experience, a cultural wave has swept the world.
It has almost redefined the concept of "TV series".
Over the years, there have been many works that have played the slogan of "catching up with "Game of Thrones".
However, it is too difficult to replicate its success.
Just talking about the scale, it is enough to kill a lot of opponents.
Bare chest and exposed buttocks, you can see it everywhere.
Eighteen forbidden scenes in various forms are even more commonplace.
Erotic shots are just embellishments, and those bloody killings that break through the imagination are the powerful flavoring agents.
Beheading, dismemberment, burning... Strange ways to die, only you can't think of it, without it can't be filmed.
Among them, the red viper vs. The battle of the Magic Mountain left a psychological shadow on Uncle Yu.
The red poisonous snake that originally had the upper hand was unexpectedly attacked by the magic mountain that had fallen to the ground.
First, he was slapped by the other party and broke his teeth.
After that, he was pressed to the ground by the magic mountain.
Hands in the eyes, staged a "headshot".
And this, at the same time, also reflects another major point of "Game of Thrones" in addition to the scale -
Unpredictable plot directions.
In this show, the "protagonist aura" does not exist (at least until the end of the show).
Until the last moment, the story will never be conclusive.
And always at the last moment, with a surprising twist to give everyone a heavy punch.
And the good thing is that this reversal of "Game of Thrones" is both unexpected and reasonable.
It makes people feel shocked, but they don't feel abrupt and awkward.
For example, at the end of the first season, everyone is counting on Ned to kill Cersei.
He was beheaded on the street without trying to turn around.
Dead.
Another example is the third season of "Blood Wedding".
What was originally a festive and lively wedding suddenly became the scene of a cold and desperate massacre.
Mother Catherine and eldest son Rob died one after another.
The most popular Stark family was almost slaughtered and badly injured.
Of course, what is even more unforgettable is a large number of flesh-and-blood, angular characters in the play.
Joan Snow, Mother Dragon, Sansa, Cersei, Littlefinger and more.
No matter which camp, it has created enough famous scenes.
For example, he is known as the smartest person in the play, the "little devil" Tyrion.
The dwarf has a body, but has a profound mind and a clever tongue.
The hand is not separated from the wine, the brothel is in charge, but it can see inside and outside the government and the public.
Whether it is an arrogant king or a father, he can always deal with it calmly.
The most classic scene is the "judgment" in the fourth season.
Framed and betrayed, Tyrion was furious on the spot.
In anger, confess your guilt in court.
Not because he confessed to murdering Joffrey, but because he was "born a dwarf.")
Born short, he was shocked and intimidated.
Of course, in addition to these, this show also has the most eye-catching trump card -
Dragon.
It is the symbol of the Targaryen family and is also a battlefield weapon.
A breath of dragon's breath is worth tens of millions of military forces.
The charm of the dragon speaks for itself.
So much so that there are many stems on the Internet.
No matter how "Game of Thrones" is complained about, a sentence of "but it has dragons" can be overshadowed.
Many elements came together to finally make this century drama.
Unfortunately, the show has a fatal flaw:
The original author, George W. Bush, was a member of the R· R. Martin was too slow to keep up with the speed of the TV series.
As a result, the last part of the story can only be made up by the screenwriter himself.
Hastily knotted, heartbroken.
The original "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of "Game of Thrones" is probably difficult to see in recent years.
Unexpectedly, George Martin did not think that he was even slower.
First came a prequel, Blood and Fire.
It tells the story of 300 years before Game of Thrones.
This is also the prototype of HBO's new drama "Dragon Family".
It is still the focus on the power struggle under the Iron Throne.
It is still a joint effort between HBO and Martin's original.
This time, can we rekindle the enthusiasm of this IP?
In fact, after the show was just exposed, it was complained about by countless people.
Someone said:
The heroine's appearance is too low!
Compared with the dragon mother, pull the crotch in all aspects.
Compared with the illustrations in the original book, there is no similarity.
It was also said:
How can you make a black man play an aristocrat!
But then again.
Scolding.
When the episode really came, everyone still jumped into the pit -
Sleeper, what a fragrance!
Just broadcast one episode, IMDb 9.1, Douban 8.7.
There are previous works, and this drama is readily available.
Even, more.
Everyone wants to see dragons.
The Dragon Family has 17 dragons.
In the first episode, two dragons were released to make everyone addicted.
The opening scene is when the golden dragon flies over King's Landing.
In the kingdom ruled by Targaryen, everyone is not surprised by the dragon.
Later, a "Dragon Flame" was revealed.
As soon as the familiar password came out, it immediately reminded people of the former Dragon Mother.
There is also a red dragon with a different form.
Soar up into the sky.
In addition to dragons, large-scale pictures, nature is indispensable.
The pieces of naked flesh in the brothel, at a glance, know that it is produced by Xiao Huangtai.
Matt Smith, the actor who plays the male protagonist Damon Targaryen, also complained:
"There are too many large-scale scenes"
As for the violent scenes, many "new tricks" have been contributed.
At the tournament, spears stabbed each other, shields smashed in the face, and swords exploded heads.
These are all brutal aesthetics of violence that belong exclusively to the world of Game of Thrones.
There is also a scene where Damon leads soldiers to punish criminals in the city.
When the street execution, the means are extremely cruel.
Thief, broken hand.
Rapist, castrated.
Murderer, beheaded on the spot.
Eventually, one carriage after another pulled countless corpses and limbs away.
That's right, it's Game of Thrones.
In terms of story, the "Dragon Family" drama is as its name suggests, focusing on one of the most popular families in "Game of Thrones" -
Capable of harnessing dragons, the Targaryens.
Turning back the time of "Game of Thrones" by nearly 200 years, it was the time when this "Dragon Family" was at its peak.
Compared with the POV-style multi-line narrative of "Game of Thrones", the plot line of "Dragon Family" is more uniform.
The current King Viserys has never had a son, and his wife died in childbirth.
The selection of an heir becomes a top priority.
Traditionally, the younger brother, Damon Targaryen, was supposed to be the heir.
But the king did not believe much in his brother's means of governing.
He also heard rumors that Damon mocked the king for being childless.
Enraged, the king banished him from King's Landing.
So the king's choice was left with only his only daughter—
Rainy la Targaryen.
Two actors will play Renella as a teenager and an adult.
After watching more palace fight dramas, you may not be too impressed with the plot of choosing an heir like this.
However, "Dragon Family" is not a clichéd palace fight, but it leads to a civil war called "Blood Dragon Dance".
As the name suggests, it is a split within the Targaryen family.
The two most important female characters on both sides of the Civil War: Rainella and Allison
There are dragons on both sides, spraying each other.
This face, think about it, is exciting.
In the original book "Blood and Fire", it is mentioned that the "Dance of the Blood Dragon" directly led to the decline of the Targaryen Dynasty.
The dragon, which is the symbol of the family, is almost extinct, and the number of family members is drastically reduced.
By Game of Thrones nearly 200 years later, only two orthodox Targaryens remained.
It is foreseeable that "Dragon Family" will be filled with more bloody storms.
Of course, "Game of Thrones" is too classic to be remade.
As a prequel to Dragon Family, it is clear that it did not want to become another Game of Thrones.
Although it has dragons, the Iron Throne, and King's Landing, it has a number of familiar elements.
But these are just emotional killings.
What really captures the audience is its own unique charm.
Namely, women and power.
In the play, the queen says this to Renella:
"Our womb belongs to the royal family, you and I are both, and the delivery bed is our battlefield."
The bloodiest scene in the first episode is not a battle scene.
Instead, the queen produced.
The venue of the tournament was even designed in the shape of a miyaguchi, corresponding to the scene after the queen gave birth.
In the play, a montage is used to parallel the two scenes together.
It is both a visual and auditory impact and a psychological impact.
Outside is a war of men, a battle of arms.
Inside is a war of women, tearing hearts and lungs.
It's all about fighting for your life.
The audience here is waving the flag for the brutality of the men.
Over there, the queen was in labor and did not want to die.
Faced with the difficult choice of "one corpse and two lives or the big for the small", Viserys has no other way.
Only the life of the queen can be sacrificed.
Therefore, he had to have people cut the abdomen directly.
For a moment, the roar in the delivery room was intertwined with the shouting outside.
However, the prince who bought the queen's life only cried twice and bid farewell to the world.
In the end, it is a futile tragedy.
Such a scene that makes people suffer physical and psychological attacks at the same time directly sets the tone of the cruelty and bloodshed of the whole play.
In that still barbaric period, men won power by fighting, and women won by giving birth to boys.
As long as there is a desire for power, it is bound to pay a blood price.
This bloody reality is the lingering haze in the story after "Dragon Family".
However, The reign of Renella will break this law.
Because she has a dragon that symbolizes absolute power.
Compared to traditional combat, there is no difference between men and women in dragon riding combat.
With the dragon's control, Renella has the confidence to challenge men in the power struggle.
Dragons don't just exist as a fantasy creature.
It's more like a hammer to break the shackles, to buy the Targaryen women for the power they deserve.
But as the kings said:
"The only thing that can destroy the Dragon King Family is itself."
The Blood Dragon Dance is caused by a group of loyal fans who believe in male succession.
As dragons fall one after another, women gradually lose their chips to challenge men.
The result of the civil war was not the defeat of one person, but the beginning of the downfall of an entire family.
Strangled female power, slaughtered dragons, cut open insides of decay.
These are the most gripping aspects of the whole story.
I have to say that the approach of "Dragon Family" is clever.
Instead of trying to reproduce the glory of the previous work, he dedicated himself to creating a good work.
Relying on the super IP of "Game of Thrones", everyone's expectations are naturally very high.
Fortunately, it has withstood the test.
There is enough money, the special effects are strong enough, the story is gripping enough, and the suspense is tempting enough.
Having such a play contract this summer is so satisfying.