>if not exactly prevailing.

I don't think it's the prevailing sentiment at all. You can even check the IMDb ratings and it's not even close, heck, there are lots of shows rated higher than House of the Dragon, while Game of Thrones was on top for most of it's run

House of the Dragon improves on a lot of things like acting, but I think it feels so good because it is related to Game of Thrones, while Game of Thrones stood on it's own without needing anything to prop it up. Without GOT, Hotd would be considered above average