How would you compare this show to House of the Dragon?

I'd give this a 6/10, and House of the Dragon a 9.25/10.

So I watched the first two episodes before watching the first two episodes of House of the Dragon. I was reticent about watching both for different reasons. In the case of House of the Dragon I was sure I would never go back to anything Game of Thrones because season 8 was such a betrayal. In the case of Rings of Power the trailers looked terrible and the black elves dwarves and hobbits seemed ridiculous and generally when the priority is being woke you can be sure that a story will suck balls.

However despite all that it turned out to be quite good. All of the cast were really good, including the black dwarf and surprisingly the Lenny Henry hobbit. It didn't bother me like I thought it would. The story had me engaged, it may not be true to the lore, but if you take it on its own terms it is very above average entertainment, much better than season 2 of the Witcher for example. or any of the other trash like Wheel of Time or Shadow and Bone.

House of Dragon turned out to be pretty great. It's not Game of Thrones, but what is. If all episodes were available I would have binged it. I can't remember if there has been a series since Game of Thrones that made me want to do that. All the cast was great, the first episode was good but the story seemed to be quite linear. In episode two more characters are coming into play it seems. Full of complex characters who you can't quite make if they are good or bad, or whose side you are on. But you care about them all.

In summary, both series overshot my expectations by a mile. Whereas House of Dragon is great, I would describe Rings of Power more as solid, which some flashes of excellence.

Rings of Power is for children and adult children. House of the Dragon is for adults and adult pedophiles.

After watching the first two episodes of each, I'd give this 5/10, and House of the Dragon 8/10.

8.5 Rings of Power episode 1
8.0 House of the Dragon episode 1
8.0 House of the Dragon episode 2
6.5 Rings of Power episode 2


Rings of Power had the better first episode. But House of the Dragon was more consistent and better overall. That said, I wish HotD wasn't so manipulative.

This show is dogshit, and HOTD is not dogshit.

House of the Dragon has some excellent actors and the likely same phenomenal design team which created GoT.
The story and style are coherent, dialogues range from solid to very good.
I think story-wise episode two was harmed by the crude anti-Patriarchy content but hopefully they will get past it at some point.

The CGI is better or at least more expensive in RoP.

I like HotD better. More mature, better writing, better characters, not everything is spelled out, the showrunners don't treat viewers as complete idiots. Plus, gory violence and nudity.

Rings of Power is gorgeous to look at, there's no denying that. The technical aspects are masterful. But the story (so far) is bland, the characters are kind of annoying, some full of themselves, and overall unfaithful to the works of Tolkien.