Following the political struggle of the House Targaryen, House of the Dragon has been quite successful with its 5 episodes. Created by Ryan J. Condal and George R.R. Martin, it’s set around 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
Released around the same time, The Rings of Power is a spin-off based on J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings universe, set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit. Produced by Amazon, the series is expected to be adding new stories to the lore.
The Dragon destroys the Ring
Despite all the hype and immense money poured into the series, The Rings of Power has failed to please the fans. While many House of the Dragon viewers feel the prequel series has not only redeemed the lackluster end to Game of Thrones but added so much more to its legacy.
Both the shows were initially inundated with complaints about the race-swap and strong female leads, but the only one still hearing these complaints is Rings of Power. Most fans are finding the characters in House of the Dragon more relatable and interesting.
House of the Dragons towers with 29 million average viewers
The audience reviews have directly affected the show’s average viewership as House of the Dragon started out with 10 million viewers to now having averaged 29 million viewers per episode. As the person who wrote the lore, George R.R. Martin is directly involved with the series, many fans feel relieved.
On the other hand, The Rings of Power seems to be struggling to satisfy its fans. It did start strong with 25 million viewers worldwide, but the real challenge comes with retention and its ability to bring in new viewers, which doesn’t seem likely.
One major criticism of Rings of Powers repeated is that the show strays too much from Tolkien’s original world, making the original fans confused as to what to expect, while House of the Dragon has kept a good balance of references and stuck to the lore.
Source: Collider
