HBO's 'House of the Dragon' Promotion Ridiculed—'Money Really Badly Spent'

HBO's bold House of the Dragon promotion—which features a 270-foot reaction of Vhagar the Dragon coiled around New York City's Empire State Building—has sparked mixed reactions among social media users.

The second season of House of the Dragon returned to screens on June 16, with trailers teasing upcoming storylines heightening anticipation among fans of the hugely popular fantasy series.

Set almost 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the 10-episode first season of the prequel series aired in 2022 to rave reviews—holding a 93 percent critics score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.

To mark the return of the show, footage was shared to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday of the huge green dragon wrapped around the mast of the imposing Empire State Building. "Queen of all Dragons. Long may she reign," read a caption on House of the Dragon's account, alongside the hashtags "#TeamGreen" and "#RaiseYourBanners."

The post was also shared on the X account of the Empire State Building where a number of other images and video clips were featured.

However, the posts didn't elicit the most enthusiastic response from a number of House of the Dragon fans on the social media platform.

"Well that was money really badly spent," quipped one X user, while another asked: "Is it just me or does anyone else have a hard time actually making out what it is supposed to be?"

"It looks like King Kong from my [point of view]," another X user remarked.

"I ain't gonna lie, that does not look like a dragon, just saying," read another comment.

Noting the tourists who flock to the city, one X user posted: "Imagine being in NYC once in a lifetime and this happens on a lot of famous buildings around the city of which you wanted to take a picture of to show your grandchildren."

Newsweek has contacted a representative of HBO via email for comment.

While the images attracted criticism, they also drew in a wave of enthusiasm, with one user writing on X: "Kudos to the crew who went up there and did that because it looks dope."

"That's actually crazy," another reacted. "I wonder how much marketing like this cost them??"

"Peak marketing by HOD. Loved it," another user chimed in.

"That's pretty cool," read one comment, while another user posted: "Wish I was there!"

Getting into the competitive spirit of the opposing houses in the HBO series, one X user playfully commented: "Empire State Building is Team Green? Siding with a bunch of usurpers that want to steal the crown from our Queen Rhaenyra? Shame on you Empire State Building! Shame on you!"

According to HBO, 132 feet of the dragon replica covers the Empire State Building's mast and is true to size. It has been anchored onto the building at 153 points. Adding to the promotion, the iconic building will be illuminated green every hour. It is one of several iconic landmarks around the world to have participated in the promotion.

Giving fans the opportunity to get involved, they can take photos with the Iron Throne from the show at the Empire State Building through June 19.

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, a story collection about the Targaryen dynasty. In the Game of Thrones universe, the dragon riders ruled over the Seven Kingdoms for almost 300 years until they were overthrown by House Baratheon, with the rebellion a significant plot point in the original series.

Set two centuries before Game of Thrones, the prequel's first season showed House Targaryen still going strong—though there were concerns about who would inherit the Iron Throne after King Viserys I Targaryen (portrayed by actor Paddy Considine) died.

The second season of the fantasy epic picks up days after the first season's finale, which saw the death of a key character amid the beginning of a civil war.

With four time jumps and several cast changes in season one, Newsweek recently shared a summary of the first season to catch viewers up.