George RR Martin Reveals His Thought On House of the Dragon Vs Rings of Power Debate

Two fantasy giants, House of the Dragon and Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, are out simultaneously. Will this cause rivalry?

By Pratyush Singh
October 13,2022
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The writer of the HBO showstopper House of the Dragon, a prequel to the biggest show ever, Game of Thrones. The events of this series take place less than 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. There is no doubt that House of the Dragon will attract tremendous views, and now that another television masterpiece, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, is out as well, things are getting a little complicated.

The timing of these two mammoths of the series couldn’t have been worse as they are both fan favorites and move around the same genre. Some would say that releasing them simultaneously may have been a mistake. However, the tension between the media and the writers of the show may prove to be good for public relations and marketing.

What Is The Media Saying?

Forbes, a well-reputed company globally, published an article titled: House Of The Dragon’ Is Just Better Than ‘Rings Of Power,’ influencing public perception of these series. Forbes does mention facts and figures to justify their claim, stating that House of the Dragon has a much higher viewership than Rings of Power. House of the Dragon has a large audience, as Game of Thrones was already massively successful. Also, Lord of the Rings is traditionally viewed as a movie series rather than a TV series, which could be why it has fewer viewers now, but this may change over time.

Galadriel and Rhaenyra
Galadriel and Rhaenyra

The Warp, a media house, had taken an interview with the writer of House of the Dragon, where this exact topic was discussed. Ryan Condal, the writer of the House of the Dragon television series, said that he didn’t see any rivalry between the shows. In fact, he believes that they are both mutually beneficial to each other.

In Ryan Condal’s exact words,

“I don’t think that somebody watching ‘Rings of Power’ means they’re not watching ‘House of the Dragon,’” which is quite true, as even though a percentage of the viewers of both shows may overlap, Rings of Power has its own fanbase.”

How is George R. R. Martin Tackling the Supposed Rivalry?

Ryan Condal and George Martin in an Interview
Ryan Condal and George Martin

In an interview with The Independent, George R. R. Martin said that he would like to see both shows, House of the Dragon and Rings of Power, succeed. Recently, in his blog, Martin wrote,

“I am a fantasy fan, and I want more fantasy on television, and nothing would accomplish that more than a couple of big hits.” So, this makes it clear that George Martin does not see both these fantasy series as rivals. He even goes as far as to praise Neil Gaiman’s fantasy comics; The Witcher, Shadow & Bone, Wheel Of Time, and The Sandman, and he also said he would like to see more of them.”

From reading Martin’s blog, it is clear that he does not give into the Media’s version of reality but sees things from a fantasy content point of view.

House of the Dragon writer Ryan Condal also made a very good point of saying that because both shows are being aired simultaneously, fans of Rings of Power will still watch it. It’s just that House of the Dragon happens to be much more popular, which could be because of the already massive fanbase of Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is a major success, and so is Rings of Power. Even though the IMDb rating of Rings of Power has dropped significantly to 6.9/10, House of the Dragon sits comfortably at 8.6/10. Only time can tell how successful these shows will turn out. Let’s hope Ryan Condal shows consistency in his script and sticks to the books.