Published Apr 16, 2026, 5:22 PM EDT
Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.
Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."
Prime Video is the home of a high fantasy show that beats House of the Dragon in a crucial part of the genre, but there is still time for the HBO series to turn things around. After Game of Thrones ended, there was a sense of disappointment and apprehension for the future of Westeros. One of HBO's best series left fans mad.
However, with House of the Dragon and more recently with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, HBO has shown that there is still plenty of wind left under the sails of the franchise. More Game of Thrones spinoffs are in development, with one of them being the possible return of the planned Jon Snow series, while an Aegon's Conquest movie was recently confirmed to be happening.
Things are exciting right now in Westeros, but the Game of Thrones franchise, whose next step will be House of the Dragon season 3 this June, is far from the only fantasy universe that has heated up in recent years. One of those is The Lord of the Rings, which currently has multiple movies in production, such as Andy Serkis' The Hunt for Gollum.
One of Prime Video's biggest fantasy shows happens to come from the beloved franchise. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted on Prime Video on September 1, 2022. Two seasons of the show have been released so far, with a third already on the way, and the current plan is for five seasons overall. Despite criticism, it bests House Of The Dragon in one way.
Rings Of Power's Battle Scenes Are Better Than House Of The Dragon's
If you have heard about the show, then you probably know that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is one of the most controversial fantasy shows of the last few years. There have been numerous debates about changes to Tolkien lore, how certain characters behave, slow pacing, and more. However, there is one consistent aspect across both seasons.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power knows how to make its battle scenes true movie-level spectacles. For that reason, season 1, episode 6, "Udûn," and season 2, episode 7, "Doomed to Die," are the highest-rated entries of their respective seasons, with an 8.1 and a 7.9 on IMDB. The Rings of Power's battle scenes have impeccable VFX, brutal action, creative set pieces, and feel quite grand.
House of the Dragon has some exciting fight sequences, but, for the most part, when it comes to large battles, the show drops the ball in comparison to The Rings of Power or Game of Thrones. A lot of that is due to the focus on single riders during dragon sequences. Boots on the ground action is missing, and the large sequences are far and few between.
How House Of The Dragon Season 3 Can Make Up For That
That said, overall, I find that House of the Dragon has more compelling characters and storylines than The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. What it needs is to really up the ante in the action department, and based on what we have seen and heard from season 3, the HBO fantasy series could find a way to top the Prime Video show in that regard, or match it, soon.
House of the Dragon season 3 will already start with the Battle of the Gullet, which is an iconic, large-scale naval battle. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Ryan Condal claimed that it is the "biggest season to date," and that "the war this season goes very hot, very, very quickly." With the built-up emotional stakes and more action than ever, House of the Dragon can soar past The Rings of Power.
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