Every Game of Thrones Show, Ranked Worst to Best (Based on Their First Season)

HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise has been steadily growing since the main show’s ending in 2019 — and while the original series remains the best of them, its spinoffs are starting to showcase a similar level of quality. It’s no secret that Game of Thrones is basically the standard for fantasy on television. And while its current spinoffs aren’t on quite the same level, they’re some of the best fantasy offerings to emerge from the 2020s.

And now that all three series have at least one season, it’s possible to pinpoint which are the strongest based on their beginnings alone. Game of Thrones is proof of how quickly things can turn around, for better or worse, with more seasons. However, this is where each of the franchise’s series ranks looking solely at Season 1. For most, their places won’t come as much of a surprise.

3) House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon is the weakest of HBO’s three Game of Thrones series so far, though Season 3 has the potential to change that. Like Game of Thrones, HOTD is centered on a fight for the Iron Throne. However, it’s on a much smaller scale, chronicling a Targaryen civil war rather than a conflict between several Great Houses of Westeros. This should make the prequel more intimate, but unfortunately, it’s difficult to get attached to more than a handful of characters, especially early on. There just isn’t enough time spent with supporting players, the result of the timeframe Season 1 covers. Based on Season 1 alone, it’s at the bottom of any ranking.

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The character work is much better handled in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Game of Thrones‘ first seasons, which is why HOTD lands behind both of them. Despite its later dragons and physical altercations, its initial episodes also just aren’t as epic as either. Judging by House of the Dragon Season 3’s action-packed trailer, it could turn things around as a whole. But even if it does, it still has the changes to the source material and George R.R. Martin’s criticisms to contend with.

2) A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is just a single, six-episode season into its run, but it’s already ahead of House of the Dragon‘s first two chapters — and could rival Game of Thrones, if it continues to capitalize on its strengths. The newest spinoff is a very different type of story, with a smaller production budget, more focused narrative, and quite a bit more humor. It’s the sort of refresh the franchise needs, though, and it excels when it comes to character writing. Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell are already iconic as Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg, and even supporting players like Lyonel Baratheon, Baelor Targaryen, and Raymun Fossoway leave a strong enough impression to care about their fates.

And despite being slower and having a smaller scope, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 still manages to deliver one of the franchise’s most gripping action-based episodes. On top of that, it continues Game of Thrones‘ tradition of having a quieter, character-focused finale that leaves you chomping at the bits for more episodes. Sadly, it’s not enough to overtake the iconic nature of Game of Thrones Season 1.

1) Game of Thrones

House of the Dragon doesn’t compare, and it’s too soon to say if A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will, so Game of Thrones still tops any ranking of the franchise’s series — overall and based on Season 1. Despite Game of Thrones falling off in its later outings, its opening installments are peak fantasy television. Game of Thrones succeeds at the same sort of character work A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms benefits from, and it boasts similarly large stakes to House of the Dragon.

With Game of Thrones, all of these strengths felt fresh too, as it benefited from being a groundbreaking fantasy project for its time. The gruesome deaths and shocking revelations of House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will, sadly, always pale in comparison, as viewers now expect such things. With Game of Thrones, they stood out far more distinctly. Just look at the response to Ned Stark’s fate.

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