'House of the Dragon' Rotten Tomatoes Rating: Where It Currently Stands
Now that it's over, House of the Dragon Season 1 has proven to be a big hit for HBO. Not only did the show break ratings records to rival Game of Thrones, it has maintained strong rankings among both critics and fans. At the time of this writing, it has 86 percent positive scores on Rotten Tomatoes.
House of the Dragon Season 1 has an average score of 8.7 out of 10 among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with a total of 861 reviews accounted for. Among fans, the average score is 4.2 out of 5, with over 8,800 user reviews. In both cases, 86 percent of the responses were considered positive. This is a welcome win for the franchise after the infamously hated ending of Game of Thrones. It may also be good news for the other six spinoffs in the works right now.
Still, there's no denying that this early score looks great for House of the Dragon. Out of 345 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes considered 294 of them "fresh" and only 51 of them "rotten." The show also has 62 audience ratings logged, which may simply come from journalists like me who were sent screeners but were not included in Rotten Tomatoes' algorithm.
The audience score stands at 87 percent positive at the time of this writing with an average of 4.4 out of 5 stars. However, we can't put too much stock in that number as it may be influenced by fans with an agenda. Some may have left a positive review without even seeing the show, wanting to see it succeed and get renewed.
For those interested, many critics have already praised the show's breathtaking CGI, outstanding performances and impeccable directing. Many are also relieved by the style of the dialogue, which sounds more like the early seasons of Game of Thrones than the later, with a return to vaguely medieval affectations. The writing has also been praised on a more narrative level, with fans appreciating the structure of the story whether they've read the source material or not.
To dig a little deeper, critics can't seem to help but compare the show to Game of Thrones at every turn. This presents problems since Game of Thrones was so beloved for so long yet so reviled in its final season – often for varying, nuanced reasons. To compare the two, critics must summarize their own take on the ending of Game of Thrones, and that creates some diverging paths that can be difficult to navigate.
House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones are streaming now on HBO Max. Martin's books, including Fire & Blood, are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.