House of the Dragon has a high-profile supporter from the original Game of Thrones series. Kit Harington, Jon Snow himself, recently explained that he had 'palpable fear' in the lead-up to seeing the show on the air, but found that he thinks the show is more than a worthy successor.
House of the Dragon has been enjoying much success. The House of the Dragon premiere became HBO's highest viewed debut ever as soon as it aired, with 9.99 million viewers who tuned in to see its inaugural episode. There was some trepidation prior to its release because Game of Thrones ended in a controversial manner, and many thought that the show might fail in lieu of that ending. Based on his words, Harington was not concerned about the quality as such, but his worry and fear came from the idea of seeing others involved in a universe he had spent so much time in but was no longer a part of.
Harington spoke with Josh Horowitz on his Happy Sad Confused Podcast. Horowitz asked Harington if he has been watching the Game of Thrones prequel, and Harington responds affirmatively. He stated that part of the reason he watched was out of sheer curiosity, but also because he is friends with showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, who recently announced he is stepping down as House of the Dragon showrunner ahead of season 2. While he stated that there was 'palpable fear' for him, Harington also said, "I felt emotional, and I felt strange. Seeing people in the costumes - you know, me not being involved, all in the lead-up to the press felt odd. And then I watched it, and I was like, ‘It’s a different thing.’ It’s a different show, it’s different people. And I just felt overwhelming, like, support for them."
Harington said that he found House of the Dragon to be a great piece of media on its own. He then praised the production crew. He further went on to say, "I think that they’ve done a really good show, and it's its own show, and it’s really hard to follow up a big show like that. And I think that they’ve nailed it and made it their own, and that’s great.”
While Harington is extolling the virtues of House of the Dragon and appears to be a fan himself, he has his own Jon Snow sequel in the works at HBO. Details on that spin-off are sparse, with the only real information about it being that it will center on Harington's Jon Snow, but the show was Harington's own brainchild, and George R.R. Martin has signed off on the spin-off.
The spin-off is still nebulous and has yet to begin production, but it's a good sign that Harington still seems to be diligently involved with the lore. Perhaps House of the Dragon, which has some nods towards some lore that Game of Thrones did not touch on, can provide a source of inspiration for Harington's spin-off.
House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9 PM EST on HBO.
Source: Happy Sad Confused