We Can’t Forgive House of the Dragon for Repeating The Witcher Mistake That Forced Henry Cavill to Retire

House of the Dragon drummed up massive excitement when it was first announced and subsequently aired. The first season was great, with thrilling plots, surprising twists, and evil characters. However, the second season somewhat failed to do justice to the storyline with respect to various aspects, which led to fans being utterly disappointed.

This happened to another show, not that long ago. Starring Henry Cavill, The Witcher also faced the same fate. Possibly, there’s one thread connecting the ultimate outcomes of both these shows.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Strayed from the Source Story

It’s not just the fans, but the creator of the fictional universe George R.R. Martin also claimed that the prequel show did not do justice to the source material. Unlike Game of Thrones which had to adapt its own story since Martin had not finished the book, House of the Dragon had the entire source material at its disposal. Despite this, they took certain creative liberties to adapt it to the screen.

Based on Fire & Ice by Martin, House of the Dragon explores the tumultuous civil war past of the Targaryen clan when two half-siblings go toe to toe in order to claim their supposed birthright. Dividing the continent into Green and Black banners, the two factions wreak havoc on the common folk since they are the ones who suffer the most.

One widely unaccepted arc in House of the Dragon season 2 was that of Daemon Targaryen. Positioned as the ultimate Rogue Prince of Westeros in season 1, the subsequent season fails to carry that legacy. The seasoned warrior was holed up in a haunted castle, battling visions and blurry dreams that terrorize him in his sleep. In an effort to show character development or give depth to his narrative, the showrunners forgot to take the story ahead.

As per the book, Daemon only spends a few days in Harrenhal Castle to raise an army and then swiftly moves on to wage the war he left for. However, it appears that the crew fell in love with the set of Harrenhal which was extensively covered in their behind-the-scenes footage as well. With intricate trees and a massive old-timey castle, the set looks incredible. But was the beauty of the set worth wasting time on one storyline for an entire season that could have easily been done in a couple of episodes?

House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.

The Witcher Season 2 Made the Same Mistake

The reason why Henry Cavill chose to leave The Witcher has been widely speculated and debated. When the show failed to follow the story as directed in the source material, Cavill felt it was necessary to take a step back since he did not want to mess with the story someone had so carefully crafted. Season 2 of The Witcher made the same mistake as House of the Dragon as it chose to showcase so much of one location that they failed to make the story progress meaningfully.

Kaer Morhen, a gigantic castle is heavily featured in the show even though it finds minimal mention in the source material. We understand that the crew spent loads of money building iconic sets such as the Kaer Morhen and the Harrenhal castle, but the core narrative of the project should always take first precedence. While almost the entire season 2 of The Witcher revolves around Geralt and his protégé Ciri at Kaer Morhen, the book only outlines two chapters for the same.

Cavill’s exit led to Liam Hemsworth coming on board as the titular character, plummeting the show’s popularity further. Fans have been increasingly unhappy with this casting as many believe the show should shut down since Cavill was the driving force behind the story. Nevertheless, fans are still holding out hope for both shows to learn from their mistakes and get back on track after going astray for a season or two.

The Witcher is streaming on Netflix.