Mbuyelo Mudzunga

An amazing, much-awaited TV series is back. Well, its prequel, that is. Westeros 200 years prior to the life and times of Daenerys Targaryen is the setting of the story. But the locales are quite familiar to all GoT fans out there. King's Landing, the Red Keep, Dragonstone, the Vale, Pentos. A few may be new like Driftmark and Stepstones. I wanted to wait for season 1 to end before I say something about this series but I couldn't wait to share my own observations about it so far. What I can say outright is that it doesn't disappoint and it hews closely to the cinematic standards for which GoT is known: fantastic visuals, great cinematography, admirable world-building, splendid acting, which at this point is understated. The focus is on character-building. We root for Daemon and his niece, Princess Rhaenyra. We wonder what Lord Corlys will do as a result of King Vieserys' firm rejection of his offer. And we want Princess Rhaenyra and Ser Cristino Cole to fall in love and see how it will turn out down the road. The more complicated it becomes, the better for the pundits among us. (After all, this is a fairy tale about the Seven Kingdoms.) Finally, what about the friendship of Princess R. and Lady Alicent? Will it stand the test of time?