House of the Dragon might not have White Walkers, but the show’s cast is just as sprawling as Game of Thrones‘ was. Houses Targaryen, Hightower, and Velaryon aren’t the only ones destined to find themselves fighting in a civil war of fire and blood. The Dance of the Dragons will ensnare nearly every family in the Realm. Of course, identifying the many characters of Westeros has never been easy, and it remains tricky on House of the Dragon. Fortunately, you don’t need a maester to know who everyone is, not even with all those “new” families popping up. We’re tracking every major new character introduced on House of the Dragon during season one and season two. Here’s everyone we meet, what happens to them, and who’s still around on House of the Dragon….for now.

The Latest Character Additions on House of the Dragon

Lord and Lady Frey

Jace flew to the Twins, site of the Red Wedding, to meet with the Freys on House of the Dragon. Fortunately for him there was no bloodshed. He made a deal with Lord and Lady Frey. They will allow Cregan Starks’ Northmen soldiers to cross their bridge and will bend the knee themselves to Rhaenyra. That gives the Queen an ever-growing army in the Riverlands. In exchange, Jace said both he and his Uncle Daemon would protect the Twins with their dragons. And at the end of the war, the Blacks will grant the Freys Harrenhal. Allegiance always comes with a big prize for the ambitious Freys.

Dyana

A minor season-one character is now a major player in the Dance of the Dragons. The barmaid Dyana previously worked in the Red Keep but left after Aegon sexually assaulted her. Queen Alicent helped Dyana get an abortion and politely threatened Dyana if she went public with assault in House of the Dragon season one. Now Elinda, an emissary for Rhaenyra, has arrived in King’s Landing to begin spreading Rhaenyra propaganda to the smallfolk, a plan that involves Dyana. When Elinda knocked on the mystery King’s Landing door in House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode, it was Dyana who answered the summons.

Lord Amos Bracken

The ancient enemy of House Blackwood preferred to die in dragon flame rather than bend the knee to Daemon. The King Consort realized that’s exactly the type of soldier he needs for his army, so instead of burning the Brackens he instructed Willem Blackwood to do his “worst” to bring the Brackens to heel. After a series of atrocities committed on women and children, Lord Amos Bracken bent the knee.

Ser Willem Blackwood

Willem Blackwood appeared during House of the Dragon’s first season as a young man. He was vying for Princess Rhaenyra’s hand in marriage before he slew a Bracken boy in a duel. He’s now the regent for House Blackwood. Willem Blackwood swore his house to Rhaenyra’s cause in exchange for Daemon defeating House Bracken. He committed horrible war crimes against the Brackens, enraging other Riverlands lords and ladies.

Ser Oscar Tully

Ser Oscar Tully is the young grandson of Lord Grover Tully, the old, infirmed Lord Paramount of the Trident. Grover is unable to make any decisions, so Daemon told Oscar, Grover’s heir, to put a pillow over his grandfather’s head so he could rule and swear allegiance to Rhaenyra. The horrified knight said he loved his grandsire and could never.

Hugh Hammer the Blacksmith

House of the Dragon has spent much time with the white-haired Hugh Hammer, the blacksmith, a member of King’s Landing’s smallfolk. Hugh believed King Aegon when the monarch said he would pay the blacksmiths quickly, but that never happened. Hugh’s wife wanted them to flee the city with their gravely sick daughter, but new Iron Throne regent Aemond barred the gates before they could leave.

Ulf the White

The white-haired, gregarious Ulf told strangers at a tavern-brothel in King’s Landing he is a “dragonseen,” a bastard of House Targaryen. He specifically said he is the bastard brother of the late King Viserys and Daemon Targaryen. Ulf said this even though he believes some would kill him if they knew that. He’s either a liar or not very smart. He’s also definitely a coward. After saying he supported his supposed niece Rhaenyra, Ulf quickly paid tribute to Aegon when he unexpectedly showed up at the bar.

New House of the Dragon Characters—After Extending “Read More,” Jump To: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, Hulls, and More)

House Targaryen

King Viserys Targaryen

King Viserys Targaryen was the king of sat on the Iron Throne when House of the Dragon began. Of all the new House of the Dragon characters, he definitely wanted peace the most. But the matter of succession was of high importance to King Viserys during the end of his reign. He bypassed his brother Daemon and named his daughter Princess Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne. However, that was before Viserys had a son with his second wife, Alicent Hightower, which brought Targaryen civil war into motion. King Viserys died at the end of season one, and this caused the rift in his family to turn into war.

Daemon Targaryen

Daemon Targaryen is among House of the Dragon‘s most dynamic characters. He seemed volatile and untrustworthy at first, but then seemed to mellow over time. Or so we thought. He and Rhaenyra married after the death of his second wife, Laena Velaryon, and the staged death of her husband Ser Laenor Velaryon. Together, they fight for her place on the throne as we move into House of the Dragon season two, though some question if he truly fights for himself.

Jacaerys (“Jace”) Velaryon

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen had three black-haired boys with her first husband Ser Laenor. They named their oldest son Jacaerys, heir to the Iron Throne, after Rhaenyra. However, many believed (correctly) their real father was Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong. Jace is Rhaenyra’s heir to the Iron Throne (she doesn’t actually have).

Lucerys (“Luke”) Velaryon

Rhaenyra and Laenor’s second child was Prince Lucerys Velaryon, his grandfather Ser Corlys Velaryon’s heir as the Lord of Driftmark. Prince Lucerys never got to inherit that seat, though. He died high over Storm’s Landing after his uncle Aemond Targaryen’s dragon Vhagar attacked Luke and his dragon Arrax. His death helped trigger the main events on House of the Dragon.

Joffrey Velaryon

Joffrey Velaryon was the third, black-haired son of Rhaenyra and Laenor. His lawful father named him after his late paramour, Joffrey Lonmouth, whom Criston Cole murdered years earlier. Joffrey is yet to play a major role on House of the Dragon, but we’re sure we’ll see more of this character in season two.

Aegon Targaryen (Son of Rhaenyra and Daemon)

Daemon and Rhaenyra’s first child together was Prince Aegon Targaryen. (Not to be confused with Alicent’s first child, also a House of the Dragon character named Aegon. That much older Aegon is now King, Second of His Name.)

Viserys Targaryen (Son of Rhaenyra and Daemon)

Rhaenyra and Daemon named their second child after her father, King Viserys. Their third child, a daughter, died during childbirth after Rhaenyra learned her father passed away and Aegon had been crowned King.

Aegon Targaryen (Son of Viserys and Alicent)

Queen Alicent and King Viserys named their oldest child and firstborn son Aegon after the Conqueror. A known rapist and spectator of child fighting rings (where one of his own bastards might be forced to fight), Aegon himself said he is unfit to rule. However, he allowed his grandfather Otto Hightower, the green council, and his mother to crown him King, bypassing Viserys’ named heir, Aegon’s older half-sister Rhaenyra. He wears the crown and holds the Valyrian sword Blackfyre of Aegon the Conqueror.

Helaena Targaryen

Helaena, the first daughter and second child of Queen Alicent and King Viserys, married her older brother Aegon. She became Queen of Westeros after his coronation. They had twins, a son named Jahaerys and a daughter named Jahaera. Blood and Cheese killed Jaeherys in season two’s premiere. (The show did not introduce their third son from Fire & Blood, Prince Maelor.)

The quiet, kind, strange Helaena also seems to be a dreamer. A number of her cryptic quotes proved prophetic, most notably about her brother Aemond needing to lose an eye to gain a dragon, “the beast beneath the boards,” and her fear of the rats in King’s Landing.

Aemond Targaryen

Aemond, the third child and second son of Alicent and Viserys, lost his eye as a child during a fight with his cousins. Aemond grew up to be a great warrior who resented his bastard-born nephews. He frequently wears an eyepatch over his sapphire eye and, unlike his lazy brother, Aemond takes his duties seriously. He spent his life studying and training. Aemond assured war after his dragon Vhagar killed his nephew Lucerys Velaryon in the finale of House of the Dragon season one.

Season one did not introduce Aemond’s younger brother, Alicent’s fourth child with Viserys, Prince Daeron, as a character on the show. He was finally mentioned early in season two, so we know he exists and is living in Oldtown.

House Hightower

Ser Otto Hightower was the first Hand of the King to Viserys (a job Otto filled with the previous king). Viserys eventually relieved Otto of his duties, but Otto returned to the position after the death of Lord Lyonel Strong. He’s also father to Queen Alicent and grandfather to four Targaryens. However, Otto Hightower is not the Lord of his own family. That title belongs to his older, clean-shaven brother, Lord Hobert Hightower, head of one of Westeros’s oldest and most important noble families.

Otto was an instrumental character in crowing Aegon as King on House of the Dragon.

Lord Hobert Hightower

Lord Hightower wanted to ensure his great-nephew became king rather than Aegon’s older half-sister, and House Hightower stands behind the new King.

Ser Gwayne Hightower

Alicent’s arrogant brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower, reminded Criston Cole of his “modest beginnings” when they first met, as Cole had just replaced Gwayne’s father, Otto Hightower, as Hand of the King. But Gwayne sang a different tune after he foolishly left himself exposed during a march to war. Cole saved Gwayne from a dragonflame bath, earning the smug knight’s thanks.

House Velaryon

Ser Corlys Velaryon

Ser Corlys Velaryon, husband to Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (The Queen Who Never Was), abandoned his position as master of ships on the small council to fight in the Stepstones with Daemon Targaryen. Two major characters from House Velaryon—his son and his brother—joined him in this early House of the Dragon battle.

Ser Corlys Velaryon is known as the Sea Snake, the most celebrated and accomplished sailor in the history of Westeros. He controls the most powerful fleet in the world, which he has sworn to Queen Rhaenyra. After debating sitting out the war, he declared for her side to protect his grandchildren. His wife will also fight for Rhaenyra, vowing to use her dragon Meleys for their side.

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen

Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, should have sat on the Iron Throne long ago, but it was not to be. Instead, Viserys was voted heir by the lords of Westeros.. Rhaenys serves as the Lady of Driftmark and helps her husband to shrewdly navigate the world of Westeros. Rhaenys’ chief allegiance is to the good of her family and she considers her loyalties from that perspective. In House of the Dragon, Rhaenys made a splash when she rode her dragon Meleys through King Aegon II’s coronation. She didn’t kill them (as she should have), but has vowed her loyalty and dragon to Rhaenyra.

Laenor Velaryon

Corlys and Rhaenys’ oldest son Laenor and his dragon Seasmoke helped defeat the Crabfeeder in his character introduction on House of the Dragon. He then married Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, an arrangement where they both vowed to do their duty while seeking happiness in the bed of another on the side.

Laenor conspired with his wife, her uncle Daemon, and his paramour Ser Qarl Correy to fake his death following a quarrel with Correy. The pair then fled to Essos, allowing Rhaenyra to marry her uncle. We did not see this character again after that and it isn’t clear if he will ever return on House of the Dragon.

Laena (née Velaryon) Targaryen

Lord Lyonel Strong suggested Laenor as a strategic suitor for Princess Rhaenyra, just as he had once recommended King Viserys wed Laenor’s older sister, Laena. Ultimately Laena married Prince Daemon Targaryen. The two had twin daughters, Rhaena and Baela, but Laena died after she was unable to deliver their third child. Rather than die in bed, she had her dragon Vhagar bathe her in dragon flame.

Baela Targaryen

The older daughter of Daemon and Laena’s twins, Baela, rides the dragon Moondancer. She also stayed at Driftmark with her grandmother after the death of her mother, Laena. She is betrothed to Jacaerys Velaryon and fights for her aunt/step-mother, Rhaenyra.

Rhaena Targaryen

Daemon and Laena’s younger daughter was the only member of the family not to be a dragonrider while they lived in Pentos. She is still without a mount at the start of the Dance of the Dragons and serves as Rhaenyra’s cupbearer. This character was also betrothed to Lucerys Velaryon before his death on House of the Dragon.

Vaemond Velaryon

Ser Corlys’s brother Vaemond was ready to mutiny against Daemon Targaryen before their side’s victory in the Stepstones. He also sought to have himself named as Lord of Driftmark when it looked like Ser Corlys might die. After King Viserys affirmed his grandson Lucerys as the lawful heir to Driftmark, Vaemond called Rhaenyra’s boys bastards and her a whore. Daemon then sliced Aemond’s head in half. (He left him his tongue.)

(Note: In the books, Vaemond is Corlys’ nephew, not his brother.)

New House of the Dragon Characters; Jump to: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, and More)

House Strong

Lord Lyonel Strong of Harrenhal first served on King Viserys’ small council as master of laws before becoming Hand of the King. He had two sons. The oldest, Harwin, died alongside his father during a fire at Harrenhal started by Lyonel’s youngest son, Larys.

Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong

Considered “the strongest knight” in the Seven Kingdoms, Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong was quite a knight in Westeros. We saw how the character earned his nickname early in House of the Dragon, during Viserys’ royal hunt. He was the only knight to hold the stag with his bare hands. Everyone else rode atop a horse.

Harwin Strong later became Commander of the City Watch in King’s Landing and was the real father of Princess Rhaenyra’s three oldest sons. Harwin died alongside his father at Harrenhal shortly after his banishment from King’s Landing for attacking Criston Cole.

Larys Strong, The Clubfoot

Harwin’s younger brother Larys is known as “The Clubfoot” because he was born with a twisted foot. He cited his foot as the reason he could not go on the royal hunt. Instead, he stayed at the King’s pavilion and quietly sat with the high ladies of the hunt. (That group included Lady Ceira Lannister and Lady Joselyn Redwyne, character created for House of the Dragon.)

Larys proved himself to be far more than just cunning and perceptive, though. He murdered his father and brother to appease his close friend and ally, Queen Alicent. Their deaths also made him Lord of Harrenhal. An unofficial master of whispers for the “Greens,” Larys is an amoral killer with a memorable proclivity.

Ser Simon Strong

Ser Simon Strong, uncle to Larys Strong, is an older knight and the castellan of Harrenhal. He willingly gave the enormous castle in ‘disrepair” to Daemon Targaryen and said he does not accept his nephew as Lord because he believes (correctly) that Larys caused the fire at Harrenhal that killed his father and brother.

House Lannister

The widowed Lady Ceira has twin sons, each of whom holds a major position in Westeros.

Jason Lannister

The older of the twins, the prideful, long-haired Jason Lannister is Lord of Casterly Rock and Warden of the West. Princess Rhaenyra spurned his offer of marriage, which he made after believing Prince Aegon had supplanted her as heir. His assumption also upset King Viserys, who called such talk “treason.” Jason Lannister is head of House Lannister, which supports King Aegon.

Ser Tyland Lannister

Tyland Lannister—who sports a shorter, neater haircut than his older twin brother—replaced Ser Corlys Velaryon on the small council as master of ships. His brother considers Tyland “frightfully dull.”

Tyland Lannister conspired with Otto Hightower and the green council to place Aegon on the Iron Throne. The House of the Dragon character remains on the new King’s small council as master of coin.

New House of the Dragon Characters; Jump to: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, and More)

House Royce

House Royce of Runestone in the Vale is an old, noble family descended from the First Men. (They also played a meaningful role on Game of Thrones.) Though kings long ago, they are sworn bannermen to House Arryn, Princess Rhaenys’ family (her mother was an Arryn). The Royce sigil features black iron studs and rune markings on a bronze field, which is where Daemon Targaryen got his uncouth nickname for his late wife.

Lady Rhea Royce

Prince Daemon hated his wife, Lady Royce, and the feeling was mutual. He killed the skilled rider (who was obviously much prettier than any sheep) after Lady Rhea fell from her horse. She died without an heir, which led Daemon to appeal to Lady Jeyne Arryn directly for the rights to Runestone.

Ser Gerold Royce

Lady Rhea’s cousin Ser Gerold Royce believes Daemon killed his first wife, an accusation he made during a feast for Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding. But he was taken aback by Prince Daemon’s plans to claim Runestone as his own. The castle has been House Royce’s seat of power for thousands of years. It remains to be seen how the altercation between these two characters will play out.

House Stark

Lord Cregan Stark

House of the Dragon‘s second season brought viewers back to the North where we met the Lord of Winterfell Cregan Stark. The head of House Stark promised Prince “Jace” he would honor his family’s oath and support Queen Rhaenyra, but that he was limited in how many men he could send to her cause. Winter has arrived, and Cregan has an even more sacred duty to the Wall.

Other Major New Characters on House of the Dragon

Alyn and Addam of Hull

Season two has introduced the brothers Alyn and Addam of Hull. Hull is a recent surname given to bastards born in the town of Hull, which sits on Driftmark, the domain of Corlys Velaryon. The bald, stern, no-nonsense Alyn is a talented seaman and adventurer who saved Lord Corlys’ life in the Stepstones. His gregarious brother Addam is a shipwright (who also makes a mean goat stew). Addam also believes Lord Corlys “owes” the two of them something.

Alys Rivers

Alys Rivers last name reveals she’s a bastard born in the Riverlands. Her appearance (and jarring American) accent in Daemon’s unsettling vision reveals she’s a mysterious presence. Alys Rivers is the character tells Daemon, “You will die in this place” at Harrenhal.

Ser Alfred Broome

Ser Alfred Broome, knight of House Targaryen, is a member of Queen Rhaenyra’s black council. He also politely accused her of ordering the brutal death of young Prince Jaehaerys even after Rhaenyra swore she played no part in the child’s death.

Lord Lyman Beesbury

Lord Lyman Beesbury served as master of coin under King Jaehaerys. He continued in that role as part of Viserys’s small council, but Criston Cole killed him after Lord Lyman refused to go along with the plan to crown Aegon.

Lord Jasper Wylde

Lord Jasper Wylde joined King VIserys’s small council as master of laws. He conspired to place Aegon on the Iron Throne. This House of the Dragon character serves on the new King’s small council.

Lord Commander Ser Harrold Westerling

Ser Harrold of House Westerling (House Lannister’s most important bannermen) served as Lord Commander of King Viserys’ Kingsguard. He refused to go along with the green council when it planned to install Aegon as King. We don’t know where this character has ended up as of the finale of House of the Dragon season one.

Ser Criston Cole

Criston Cole called his ascent to the Kingsguard the highest honor anyone in his (minor) family from the Stormlands’ Dornish marches ever achieved. He owed that position to Princess Rhaenyra and was originally her sworn protector. But after they had an affair and she refused to run off with him, he became Queen Alicent’s sworn shield. This House of the Dragon character now hates Rhaenyra and helped usurp her throne.

Criston Cole, Lord Commander of Aegon’s Kingsguard, crowned Aegon at the Dragonpit. He is now Aegon’s Hand of the King, a role he is ill-suited for.

Mysaria

Prince Daemon’s former paramour, sometimes called “Misery,” hails from the Free City of Lys in Essos. Daemon wanted to make Mysaria his second wife, but his brother and the laws of Westeros forbade the marriage. She then became known in King’s Landings as the “White Worm,” a purveyor of secrets. She traded her information to Otto Hightower and also turned Prince Aegon over to him for coin and promises of reform after King Viserys’ death.

Mysaria has so many spies in King’s Landing and not even Larys Strong knows all of them. The Clubfoot and Alicent burned down Mysaria’s manse in season one, but no bodies were shown in the building. She tried to flee, but was intercepted by Daemon, who offered her freedom in exchange for information (which he used to hire Blood and Cheese). She also helped saved Rhaenyra from Ser Arrky Cargyll’s assasination attempt.

Lord Boremund Baratheon

The show’s first Lord of Storm’s End in the Stormlands hosted Princess Rhaenyra during her tour of suitors. Lord Boremund Baratheon was the only son of Lord Rogar Baratheon and former Queen Alyssa Velaryon. (She was first married to King Aenys I Targaryen and was mother to King Jaehaerys I.)

He was also a supporter of his cousin Rhaenys Targaryen’s claim to the Iron Throne before swearing an oath to support Rhaenyra as Viserys’ rightful heir. Boremund had one son of his own, Borros, who followed his father as Lord of Storm’s End after Boremund’s death.

Lord Borros Baratheon

The new, illiterate, prideful Lord of Storm’s End ignored his late father’s vow to keep Rhaenyra as heir after Aemond Taragryen promised to marry one of his daughters in exchange for Storm’s End’s support in the coming war.

Grand Maester Mellos

The first Grand Maester of King’s Landing under Viserys provided the king and his family with questionable care. His service was bad enough to make us wonder if the Grand Maester Conspiracy theory is absolutely true and House Targaryen should be weary of the order. Mellos also served Princess Rhaenyra Moon Tea, a libation used to end a pregnancy, a vital secret that got out immediately. This character died during Viserys’s reign on House of the Dragon.

Grand Maester Orwyle

Archmaester Orwyle tried offering King Viserys a different, more effective course of treatment during House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode, but was shut down by his boss, Grand Maester Mellos. Orwyle eventually became Grand Maester of King’s Landing, which earned him a seat in Viserys’ small council. He is a member of the green council that crowned Aegon king.

Maester Gerardys

The maester of Dragonstone and member of the black council continues to serve and advise Rhaenyra during the Dance of the Dragons began.

Ser Qarl Correy

The paramour of Ser Laenor Velaryon helped fake Laenor’s death. The couple then fled to Essos.

Lord Caswell

Lord Caswell was among the first people to congratulate Rhaenyra and Laenor on the birth of their third son. He asked the couple if there was anyway he could serve the family, which he did when Aegon was about to be named king. He lied about swearing allegiance to Aegon and tried to flee King’s Landing to warn Rhaenyra. Larys Strong had him captured, and Otto Hightower hanged Lord Caswell for treason.

Sers Erryk and Arryk Cargyll

The identical twin brothers, Sers Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, served on King Viserys’s Kingsguard. Erryk was Aegon’s sworn protector, but refused to help crown him King. He knew Aegon was unworthy of the position, so he stole Viserys’s crown and brought it to Dragonstone for Rhaenyra, whom he swore to protect as a member of her Queensguard.

Arryk Cargyll remained behind in King’s Landing as part of Aegon’s Kingsguard against his brother’s urging. They both died after Criston Cole sent Arryk to impersonate his brother in a failed assassination attempt.

Ser Steffon Darklyn

Ser Steffon Darklyn of Viserys’s Kingsguard was with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone when The Dance of the Dragons began. This character joined her Queensguard (under threat of death by Daemon) rather than swear allegiance to Aegon in the final episode of House of the Dragon season one.

Ser Lorent Marbrand

Ser Lorent Marbrand was also a member of Viserys’s Kingsguard at Dragonstone when The Dance of the Dragons began. And like Ser Steffon he joined Rhaenyra’s Queensguard (under the same threat of death by Daemon).

Lord Bartimos Celtigar

The Lord of Claw Isle, Lord Bartimos Celtigar, took an immediate and important spot on Rhaenyra’s small council at the start of the Dance of the Dragons.

Lord Simon Staunton

Lord Simon Staunton of Rook’s Rest was also a member of Rhaenyra’s black council on Dragonstone when war broke out over the Iron Throne.

New House of the Dragon Characters; Jump to: House Targaryen // House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Lannister // House Royce // House Stark // Other Major Characters (Baratheons, Coles, and More)

Originally published on September 6, 2022.

The post Every Major New Character on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon brought viewers back to one of Game of Thrones‘ most notorious locales during the prequel’s fifth episode of season two. Prince Jacaerys took it upon himself to fly his dragon to the Twins, home of House Frey, the Red Wedding, and Arya’s ultimate revenge. House of the Dragon‘s visit to that infamous stronghold wasn’t as deadly, but even without any murder, Jace’s encounter with Lord and Lady Frey still had major connections with Game of Thrones. House Frey was always willing to let a Northern army cross its valuable bridge… for the right price.

With Meleys and her dragonrider Rhaenys dead, Queen Rhaenyra’s position has never been more tenuous. She desperately needs the Riverlands and its massive armies to join her cause if she has any hope to defeat the Greens and claim the Iron Throne. With her husband Daemon out of pocket—and possibly out for himself at Harrenhal—a frustrated Jacaerys flew off on his dragon Vermax without his mother’s knowledge or permission. He’d grown tired of being confined to Dragonstone while others serve (and die for) his mother’s cause. His proactive, unsanctioned mission took him to the Twins of House Frey. Jace hoped to find both an ally and a path forward in the war.

House Frey is one of the newer noble house in Westeros. At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, its history only dated back four hundred years. That’s nothing compared to the millennia some other families have been around. House Frey rose to prominence thanks to its identical dual castle home the Twins. Also known as the Crossing, those structures are connected by a long stone bridge over the Green Fork River, one of three rivers that make up the Trident.

(In George R.R. Martin’s books, the bridge also has a tower in the middle. From there guards can fire on anyone who crosses without permission. HBO’s shows do not include the tower.)

The Freys got rich and powerful by charging others to use their well-placed river passage. They never lacked for willing customers, either. The Twins greatly reduces the time needed to move between the North and Riverlands. The Crossing provides speed, safety, and convenience, all things especially valuable to armies on the move who would otherwise be forced to go a long way around a much more treacherous path.

That swift passage is exactly what Jace hoped to secure for his mother on his mission. Cregan Stark has sworn the North to Rhaenyra’s cause. The Lord of Winterfell is sending 2,000 seasoned, older troops to immediately fight on her behalf. If they could cross at the Twins they would be able to join the fight much faster. Without House Frey’s permission the Northmen might be too late to be of any use. The war could be lost before they arrive. Lannister forces sworn to King Aegon are already amassing in the West.

At first Lord and Lady Frey were wary of providing Cregan’s men passage. They have no issue with Rhaenyra’s claim, but their Lord Paramount has not declared for either side. “The oaf” Lord Grover Tully is too sickly to make any decision. (That led Daemon to tell his grandson to put a pillow over his grandsire’s head so the young man could begin his reign and back Rhaenyra.) Supporting the Queen without their Lord’s permission would be treasonous. Even letting Cregan’s men cross would amount to picking a side.

More importantly, House Frey rightfully fears Aemond and Vhagar. They are the most destructive power in the world. If there were any question about that before, the whole Realm already knows what just happened at Rook’s Rest.

Jace assuaged their concerns by swearing both his dragon and his Uncle Daemon’s would protect House Frey. While that made the Freys happy, the Prince recognized they wanted more. When pushed they asked for Harrenhal, an even bigger, more valuable castle in the Riverlands. It belonged to Larys Strong before Daemon took it.

Prince Jacaerys was willing to give the grant them the infamous, cursed stronghold at the end of the war, but he needed more for a prize that big. To earn Harrenhal his mother Rhaenyra requires “bent knees.”

The Freys sworn support is far more valuable than a couple thousand Northmen walking across a bridge, because the wealthy family can amass a well-regarded army that is even bigger than the one their own lords at House Tully can call on. (The Riverlands are really important because it’s centrally located, fertile, and full of soldiers. Houses Blackwood and Bracken, both now sworn to Rhaenyra as well, can also gather more men than the Tullys.)

Lord and Lady Frey accepted the Prince’s offer, and Rhaenyra said her son did their cause a great service. The Blacks now have a fighting chance to win. But while Jace’s meeting at the Twins went very differently from the last time viewers saw a dark-haired member of a noble family there—when Arya poisoned every Frey man while disguised as Lord Walder—Jace’s scene at the Twins was ripe with connections to Game of Thrones.

Robb Stark’s ill-fated alliance with Lord Walder Frey on Game of Thrones also arose from Robb’s own need to move his Northern army quickly. He was trying to march south against the Lannisters. They had his father Ned imprisoned as a traitor in King’s Landing and were holding Sansa as a de facto hostage. (No one knew where Arya was.) To save his family and advance against the Lannister army, Robb needed safe passage for his men at the Twins.

His mother Catelyn knew the prickly Lord Walder personally and went as an emissary for her son. She returned with an offer for both safe crossing and Frey fealty. The deal included Robb’s oath to marry one of Walder’s daughters after the war.

Robb accepted and the Northmen crossed at the Twins. But Robb did not keep his promise to the notoriously dangerous, untrustworthy Lord Frey. Robb fell in love with a healer from Essos named Talisa. After the two married, against Catelyn’s advice, House Frey withdrew their support from Robb’s cause. A desperate Robb’s later efforts to bring House Frey back to his army resulted in the Red Wedding.

Lord Walder wanted much more than what Robb was now offering. The new deal would see his uncle, Catelyn’s brother and new Lord of Riverrun Edmure Tully, marry one of Walder’s many daughters instead. This new marriage would unite the two Riverland families by marriage.

That marriage happened, but Lord Walder got his revenge anyway. He conspired with Tywin Lannister and Roose Bolton to pull off the Red Wedding. The Freys killed Robb, Catelyn, Talisa, and all the Northmen Walder had sworn to protect at the Twins.

Lord Walder, who always felt disrespected and looked down upon by older, noble houses, specifically cited his desire to have his family marry a King as his reason for this unimaginable act. House Stark had broken their oath and embarrassed House Frey. Robb denied the Freys the one thing all their money and soldiers could never buy: respect. For that disrespect, Robb and the North paid with their lives, as did Lord Walder. In the end, winter came for House Frey.

Lord Walder’s actions did not represent House Frey, but it did capture some things that were always true about them. The Twins was always extremely valuable during war when Northmen needed to go south. And even two hundred years before the Red Wedding the Freys were just as ambitious when someone came knocking. House Frey wanted more power, more money, and more respect.

For Jace that meant giving them a bigger castle. For Robb it was supposed to mean his hand in marriage. And for everyone else it’s a reminder that an upstart family smart enough to build a highly valuable bridge at an important locale should never be underestimated.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who is always looking for a reason to mention Cregan Stark. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post How HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s Visit With the Freys Connects to GAME OF THRONES appeared first on Nerdist.

On House of the Dragon, keeping track of the many dragons flying around is a little complex. In Game of Thrones, it was much easier to account for the creatures. Daenerys Stormborn took three eggs into the flames and rose unscathed from the ashes with three “children.” That was it! But the skies of Westeros are overrun with “fire made flesh” on House of the Dragon. The prequel series shows us House Targaryen at its strongest, when they had 17 dragons prior to the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. And the dragons play important roles both in the personal and political machinations of House of the Dragon. But with that many beasts in the air, the question becomes: How will you keep straight the identities of all of House of the Dragon‘s numerous dragons from season one and two of the show and beyond?

The good news is you don’t have to. We’ve got you covered—with as few spoilers as possible. Here’s a list of all the dragons you’ll see on House of the Dragon, along with their riders. And we’ll keep updating this post every time a dragon appears on the prequel series or does something major on the show. For now, this list of House of the Dragon‘s dragons is complete through season one and will be updating throughout season two. So, who are House of the Dragon‘s 17 dragons? Let’s find out.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

How Many Dragons Will Appear During House of the Dragon Season Two?

As House of the Dragon season two begins, the question of dragons returns to the table. And thanks to showrunner Ryan Condal, we know exactly how many dragons we’ll see this season. Per Deadline, Condal noted, “There will be five new dragons in season two” of House of the Dragon. He recently confirmed that season two dragon number, again noting that “five new ones that you haven’t seen before” are coming to House of the Dragon.

You can see season two’s dragons in action in the new House of the Dragon trailers released by Max. And the trailers even revealed a couple of the new dragons we’ll be meeting in season two of House of the Dragon, Sunfyre and Moondancer. You can read about these new dragons in full below.

How Many Dragons Appeared During House of the Dragon Season One?

House of the Dragon‘s co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik told Empire that season one would feature nine of House Targaryen’s 17 dragons before the season began. And that’s exactly what happened, plus a couple of other dragon mentions. While each dragon has its own look, the Game of Thrones alum says the creatures are easier to differentiate by their individual traits, as each dragon has its own personality.

That’s no surprise. We already know Game of Thrones‘ dragons are highly intelligent creatures with minds of their own. But with so many different personalities flying around, it will be fun to see how they interact with their fellow dragons. And it will be entertaining to see how the dragons’ attitudes either mirror or conflict with their riders. Dragons only accept a single rider—of Valyrian blood—while both still live.

For now, let’s meet every House of the Dragon dragon that we get to see in season one and season two.

Which Dragons Have Already Appeared on House of the Dragon?

Syrax (Dragon Rider: Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen)

A giant yellow-scaled she-dragon who took young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen as rider in 104 AC. House of the Dragon opened with the princess riding high over King’s Landing while in a saddle on Syrax’s back. Thanks to her parents, we also now know you can smell like a dragon after taking one for a spin. Syrax features in an early standoff with Rhaenyra’s uncle Daemon Targaryen. When Daemon disrespects the crown during the first episodes of House of the Dragon, Syrax and Caraxes have a tense dragon stand-off, as their riders battle wills below. Without Syrax, there would have been no reasoning with Daemon. But the presence of two dragons serves as insurance and prevents a fight. The dragon was greatly featured earlier in House of the Dragon season one, but we will likely see more of her in season two. In the first episode of the series, Syrax accompanies Rhaenyra in her vigil over Lucerys and Arrax. It is believed that Syrax is the mother of Arrax, which adds to the grief shared by the duo as they discover their lost children.

Syrax is still laying dragon eggs, however—three in episode eight of House of the Dragon season one—setting the stage for more dragon riders to come in House Targaryen’s internal battle. As the Dance of the Dragons war heats up on House of the Dragon, we know Rhaenyra will be glad to have this Syrax by her side.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Caraxes (Dragon Rider: Daemon Targaryen)

In 105 AC, Daemon Targaryen became the second member of his family to mount Caraxes, the large red dragon known as the Blood Wyrm. Caraxes’ original dragonrider was Prince Aemon Targaryen, but Daemon took him as his dragon after Aemon’s murder. Caraxes made a big impression in House of the Dragon‘s premiere. That included how it brought out the tender side of Prince Daemon.

Don’t let that fool you, though. Caraxes is a fearsome creature. We see him devour his prey with great ferocity, and that’s just lunch. Throughout House of the Dragon‘s episodes, we’ve mostly seen the giant dragon menacing in the background. But it looks like in the season two trailer of House of the Dragon, we see this dragon do battle. And it makes for quite a sight. Especially since it seems Caraxes will battle other dragons in the sky.

Although Caraxes hasn’t seen much action yet in season two of House of the Dragon, we got a very good look at the dragon in episode two, and in episode three, we saw Daemon ride him through a storm on his way to the very wet Harrenhal.

In episode five of House of the Dragon, Daemon used Caraxes to menace the men of the Riverlands to his side.

Seasmoke (Dragon Rider: Laenor Velaryon)

The silver-gray dragon accepted Laenor Velaryon (son of Rhaenys Targaryen, which makes him eligible for dragon-riding) as its rider by the year 101 AC. The duo didn’t make their House of the Dragon debut, though, until the show’s third episode. That’s when Laenor and Seasmoke helped Laenor’s father Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Daemon Targaryen defeat the Crabfeeder in the Stepstones. Although Laenor does not die in season one of the Game of Thrones prequel series, he fakes his own death and goes into hiding. And that means he has to leave Seasmoke behind.

Presently, it seems that Seasmoke resides in Driftmark. Daemon Targaryen hoped to use the dragon to help secure Princess Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne on House of the Dragon, but it is not yet clear what will happen with the dragon since Laenor, his rider, remains alive. As mentioned, typically dragons can only bond with another rider when their rider is dead. But it remains for us to see how House of the Dragon tackles this particular bit of dragon-lore. Potentially, Seasmoke will simply not find a new rider on the show. Or perhaps Rhaenyra’s need for another dragon on her side will find Laenor returning to the world of House of the Dragon.

In season two, episode two of House of the Dragon, we see Seasmoke briefly flying around, hinting a potential return could come sooner rather than later. And we see Seasmoke again in episode three of House of the Dragon. This time the show more overtly suggests the dragon may be searching for a new rider.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Meleys (Rider: Rhaenys Targaryen), Dragon and Rider Are Deceased

Rhaenys, “The Queen Who Never Was,” became the second Targaryen to sit upon the swift red and pink she-dragon Meleys when they bonded in 87 AC. The first Targaryen to ride Meleys was Princess Alyssa Targaryen. But unfortunately, Meleys lost her dragonrider when the Targaryen princess died while giving birth. In her prime, Meleys was known as one of the fastest of dragons. With time she slowed, but she remained no less cunning.

We finally saw Rhaenys flying Meleys in House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode of season one. As House of the Dragon revealed, this rosy-hued dragon has a “crown” of thorns around her head, hence Meleys’ nickname the “Red Queen.” But after the show’s ninth episode, we can also call the dragon the “Beast Beneath the Boards.” Rhaenys rode Meleys up into the arena of the Dragonpit during Aegon II’s coronation, killing quite a few citizens and causing general mayhem. Rhaenys did not, however, use this chance to spew dragon-fire against her enemies, including Queen Alicent and Aegon II, who had her imprisoned. She instead escapes to safety.

In the finale of House of the Dragon season one, Rhaenys pledged her dragon to Queen Rhaenyra. In season two, she used her dragon to strengthen the Velaryon blockade of The Gullet. But sadly, service to Queen Rhaenyra cost Rhaenys and Meleys their lives. In House of the Dragon season two, episode four, we saw our first major dragon death on House of the Dragon. Rhaenys and Meleys rode out to defend Rook’s Rest from Criston Cole and his Green army, but unfortunately, the Greens had a trick up their sleeve. Aemond and his dragon Vhagar lay in wait for any of Rhaenyra’s dragons to appear. And on top of that, King Aegon II appeared by surprise at the battle with his dragon, Sunfyre. Both dragons attacked Meleys and Rhaenys, and though the duo put up a good fight, they did not prevail.

Vhagar fatally bit his fellow dragon’s neck at the end of the House of the Dragon season two episode, and both Meleys and Rhaenys went tumbling to their doom.

Sadly, our last look at Meleys is of the dragon’s severed head being ignobaly dragged through King’s Landing. We take heart in the fact the people of the city do not look upon the posturing kindly. We do, however, get the sweet story of how Rhaneys claimed Meleys as her dragon. She snuck into the dragonpit, a place she is said to have known exceptionally well. And the firece creature, who shunned all others, bent her neck to Rhaneys and Rhaenys alone.

Despite Meleys and Rhaenys’ deaths, both dragon and rider will always be remembered as a House of the Dragon pair not to be trifled with.

Vermax (Rider: Jacaerys Velaryon)

Prince Jacaerys, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s son, bonded with the young green dragon after it hatched in his crib. This helped cement his place as heir to the throne after Rhaenyra because some in King’s Landing questioned his heritage. Jace and Vermax start off on shaky footing, with the dragon only barely obeying his rider. But by the time of the House of the Dragon finale, they seem to have settled into their dragon and rider bond.

In Game of Thrones’ book, Fire & Blood, it is noted that Vermax especially disliked ice, snow, and cold. This probably means the dragon won’t love the trip North he set out on with “Jace” in House of the Dragon‘s season one finale. Vermax and Jacaerys head to familiar territory in early season two, the Eyrie and Winterfell, in the hopes of finding support for Rhaenyra’s cause among the northern houses.

While we learned they were successful on their mission in episode one of season two, we didn’t get to see the dragon itself again until House of the Dragon season two, episode five. In the episode, Jace takes Vermax to meet with the Freys who control the crossing at the twins, a direct route into the Riverlands. We see the green dragon perching nearby as the political negotion takes place, but no use of force becomes necessary as Jace pledges the protection of his dragon and Daemon’s to the Freys, with the promise of Harrenhal in the future, and wins them to Rhaenyra’s side for now.

Vhagar (Rider: Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen / Rider: Aemond Targaryen)

The Dragon Vhagar in Season One of House of the Dragon

Vhagar was one of the three dragons that helped Aegon and his sisters conquer Westeros. She was first claimed by Queen Visenya. According to the Game of Thrones books, the dragon was so huge, a hore could be ridden down her throat. And Vhagar’s breath was said to be hot enough to melt armor and cook a knight inside of it. Later, the bronze she-dragon with green-blue coloring and green eyes took Laena Velaryon as its rider. But the dragon didn’t establish its importance on House of the Dragon until the show’s sixth episode

Instead of facing death during childbirth, Laena took matters into her own hands. She told Vhagar “dracarys” until the dragon engulfed her in flame.

After Laena’s funeral on Driftmark, young Aemond Targaryen claimed the massive Vhagar as his own, though not without a cost. An ensuing fight with his cousins led to Aemond losing an eye. The young prince was happy to pay that “price,” though. He had long desired a dragon of his own.

Vhagar helped set the coming Targaryen civil war in motion when he killed Prince Lucerys and his dragon Arrax in House of the Dragon‘s season one finale. Seeing this intense violence between dragons in House of the Dragon was shocking, but only the beginning of things to come. And it seems that though Aemond has a certain smugness in himself and his abilities, his dragon still does not fully respect him. This makes sense because Vhagar is an ancient dragon who has lived a long life and seen many riders. And, unlike his dragon, Aemond only has a narrow outlook on the world.

The Dragon Vhagar in Season Two of House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

In season two of House of the Dragon, Aemond and Vhagar returned to cause yet more chaos that will surely intensify the Targaryen civil war. In House of the Dragon season two, episode four, the dragon and its rider flew to battle. Aemond and Vhagar set a clever trap for Rhaenyra and her supporters. Criston Cole boldly attacked Rook’s Rest, the seat of House Staunton, whose lord is a member of Rhaenyra’s small council. Rook’s Rest also is located only a short distance away from Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra has settled. But the small castle was not really the aim. Instead, Aemond and Cole sought to draw out one of Rhaenyra’s dragons so Aemond could attack it with Vhagar.

Their plan succeeded. Rhaenyra sent the dragon Meleys and her rider Rhaenys to attack the host. Though Aemond’s plan was temporarily disrupted by the appearance of his brother, King Aegon, and his dragon, Sunfyre, it ultimately worked just as he’d imagined. Aemond and Vhagar attacked Meleys, who already had to contend with battling Sunfyre, and managed to kill the other dragon by biting its neck and sending it tumbling to the ground. Both Meleys and Rhaenys perished. However, that wasn’t the only potential casualty Vhagar caused. Unfearing for his brother’s life or his brother’s dragon, Aemond ordered Vhagar to send out a fireblast during the battle, which caught Aegon and Sunfyre in its path. Both Aegon and his dragon seemed in bad shape at the end of the House of the Dragon episode. Aemond and Vhagar seem to have escaped unscathed.

Sunfyre (Rider: King Aegon Targaryen II)

We first caught glimpses of the dragon Sunfyre in House of the Dragon season two’s trailers and the creature made its grand appearance in episode four of the season. On House of the Dragon, Sunfyre is King Aegon II’s dragon. True to its name, this House of the Dragon dragon has golden scales that shine like the sun. We didn’t see Aegon claim Sunfyre but the king has been restless to ride his dragon all season. And finally, in episode four of season two, Aegon and Sunfyre rode out to battle.

Unlike in the original Fire & Blood novel, Aegon’s joining the battle was not part of the plan that his brother and Ser Criston Cole concocted to try to kill one of Rhaenyra’s dragons. Instead, Aegon impetuously flies to the battle of Rook’s Rest, interrupting Aemond’s designs for the clash. Aegon and Sunfyre attack the dragon Meleys and her rider Rhaenys when they appear on the scene, but do not put up a very good fight. When Aemond and his dragon Vhagar join the House of the Dragon battle, Aegon believes he is saved, but Aemond sends a blast of dragonfire into the fray, uncaring if Sunfyre and Aegon survive it.

Dragon and rider are gravely injured at the end of House of the Dragon season two, episode four. It is not yet known if they will survive on the series. In House of the Dragon episode five, Criston Cole refers to Sunfyre as “long in the dying” while Rhanerya refers to the dragon as slain. It seems we cannot yet clearly assess whether Sunfyre remains alive at this time. Aegon remains alive for the moment. (Although, of course, the curious can read about their Fire & Blood fates in the source novel.)

Arrax (Rider: Prince Lucerys Velaryon), Dragon and Rider Are Deceased

The small, young dragon Arrax appeared on House of the Dragon with blue scales. Though quick and agile, the dragon was unable to outrun or outfight Vhagar high above Storm’s End in season one. Vhagar bit Arrax in half, killing Prince Lucerys and killing the dragon. In season two of House of the Dragon, we see the sad remains of Arrax wash up on the shore. It is believed that Arrax is the son of Syrax, meaning that both Rhaenyra and her dragon lost a child.

Moondancer (Rider: Baela Velaryon)

Only one daughter of Daemon Targaryen and his late wife Laena is a dragonrider, Princess Baela. She rides the swift, pale green she-dragon Moondancer noted for her pearl-colored horns and bones. Moondander might be young, but she is as fierce as her rider. In season two, episode three of House of the Dragon, we see Baela riding on her dragon, scouting for Queen Rhaenyra. Baela gives Criston Cole, Gwayne Hightower, and the other Greens quite a scare but ultimately loses them in the forest.

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

Stormcloud and Tyraxes (Unclaimed) Plus Four More Dragon Eggs

Though they have yet to appear, Rhaenyra entrusted Baela’s sister Rhaena with looking after two young, small dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes. The latter belongs to Prince Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s youngest son with her first husband Laenor Velaryon. (Though the late Harwin Strong is Joffrey’s real father.) No one has yet claimed Stormcloud. Rhaena is also responsible for looking after four unhatched dragon eggs, three of which we know won’t hatch for two hundred years.

The two small dragons are mentioned again in House of the Dragon episode five, which visits Rhaena at Vale of Arryn, in the Eyrie. Lady Arryn is not very impressed with the two dragons Rhaenyra sent her way, calling them “wet from the egg.” But as Rhaena points out, they will grow. We still do not get to see the little dragonlings.

Dreamfyre (Unclaimed)

Dreamfyre, the slim, blue she-dragon with silver wings, was once the dragon of Princess Rhaena Targaryen, Aegon I’s granddaughter. Dragon and rider stayed together until Rhaena passed after a long and troubled life. And then Dreamfyre settled in the Dragonpit at King’s Landing. We first hear of Dreamfyre on House of the Dragon when Daemon admits to having stolen one of her eggs, falsely insisting he had a child on the way. Aemond Targaryen next comes across Dreamfyre in the Dragonpit around 120 AC, but the dragon is not to be claimed by him.

While we know Dreamfyre’s rider from Fire & Blood, the show has yet to establish which member of House Targaryen rides her. Dreamfyre might also connect House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones together. Some theorize that Dreamfyre laid the eggs that became Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion. We are sure that Dreamfyre’s lack of rider will become an object of interest for both sides of the upcoming war.

Unhatched Dragon Egg

Technically, episode two of House of the Dragon season one didn’t feature a new dragon. But we’re positive there’s one inside the egg Daemon stole in the early episode. How can there not be when that egg—originally meant for King Viserys’s son Baelon—already feels like Chekhov’s dragon? For now, all we know is that the egg belongs to the dragon Dreamfyre. But we think it could ultimately hatch and bond with one of Viserys’ offspring.

Vermithor (Rider: King Jaeherys I (Deceased) / Unclaimed)

One of the largest dragons to ever fly over Westeros, the bronze beast belonged to House Targaryen’s longest-reigning ruler in the Realm, The Old King Jaeherys I. Vermithor outlived the King and remained unclaimed at the start of the Dance of the Dragons.

The beast finally appeared on House of the Dragon during the show’s season one finale, when Daemon sang a song in High Valyrian to lure the dragon from its rest. Rhaenyra’s forced to hope they will find a rider for Vermithor, a hope that she and Jace will soon press more earnestly. One dragon could make all the difference in the upcoming fight on House of the Dragon.

Balerion (Rider Aegon the Conqueror/Viserys I)

We do not ever get to see Balerion the Black Dread alive in House of the Dragon, but the presence of the mighty beast is felt throughout the show. In episode one, Balerion’s giant dragon skull looms over Viserys and Rhaenyra as Viserys imparts crucial words of prophecy onto her.

Aegon the Conqueror was, of course, the first to ride Balerion. And the dragon played a crucial role in Aegon’s conquering of Westeros. It is fitting that Balerion be a party to Viserys and Rhaenyra’s discussion because Viserys speaks of exactly why Aegon the Conqueror felt so moved to conquer.

Balerion was a dragon born in Valyria and was the last dragon to exist in its mighty Freehold. Balerion’s wings and body were black. And his fire was also said to be black. Balerion was one of the largest dragons to ever exist, and his wingspan was enormous. He had sharp teeth and a vicious temperament. But, with time, age took him. The dragon is, in fact, a fitting analog for his final rider Viserys on House of the Dragon. Like Balerion, we see Viserys succumb to the languor of age until he finally fades away. Though once mighty, the time of his rule, like that of his dragon, ends in season one of House of the Dragon.

ADDITIONAL READING

Aegon’s Conquest, When Dragons Came to Westeros
Dragonstone, Birthplace of a Dynasty and Home of Dragonglass
Rhaenyra Targaryen, the First Woman to Sit on the Iron Throne
The Dragonpit and the Demise of Dragons
The Chilling Legend of Ice Dragons

House of the Dragon’s Dragons; Jump to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Dragon, Syrax // Daemon Targaryen’s Dragon, Caraxes // // Laenor Velaryon’s Dragon, Seasmoke // Rhaenys Targaryen’s Dragon, Meleys // Jacaerys Velaryon’s Dragon, Vermax // Laena (Velaryon) Targaryen and Aemond Targaryen’s Dragon Vhagar // King Aegon Targaryen II’s Dragon Sunfyre // Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s Dragon Arrax // Baela Velaryon’s Dragon Moondancer // The Unclaimed Dragons, Stormcloud and Tyraxes, Plus Four Eggs // Unhatched Dragon Egg // The Unclaimed Dragon, Dreamfyre // The Unclaimed Dragon, Vermithor // The Deceased Balerion // House of the Dragon Future Dragons

What Other Dragons Exist During the Dance of the Dragons?

Silverwing, Tessarion, and More

In addition to the dragons mentioned above, House Targaryen also had four other dragons before civil war pitted the beasts against one another in 129 AC. That included the full-sized dragons Silverwing, Tessarion, as well as two hatchlings too small to ride: Morghul and Shrykos. Silverwing is mentioned in season two, episode five of House of the Dragon, but we have yet to meet the creature properly.

Wild Dragons on House of the Dragon

During the time of House of the Dragon, three wild, unbonded dragons also lived on Dragonstone: Grey Ghost, Sheepstealer, and the Cannibal. Daemon mentions these dragons briefly in the finale of House of the Dragon season one as Rhaenyra and company hope they can join their side of the conflict to come.

In a war pitting dragon-against-dragon, both in the air and on the ground, you can imagine the possibilities a wild dragon presents. But there’s a reason those three had no riders by the time war broke out.

House of the Dragons‘ Future Dragons

So what about the dragons we didn’t see in season one and haven’t met yet in season two? Who flew them high above the Seven Kingdoms? Well, we’ll let you learn all of that on your own when House of the Dragon brings those many magical creatures to life throughout this season.

Don’t worry, though, we’ll make sure to update this post to help you can keep track of all of them. It was a lot easier when Daenerys only had three of them.

This post originally published on August 17, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In the Game of Thrones franchise, it’s hard to know who to root for sometimes. Even our heroes find themselves morally compromised people. But you know who are the only non-malicious characters in A Song of Ice and Fire? The actual dragons themselves. They just want to fly around, eat sheep, and they only do bad things when humans tell them to. As a way of honoring these very good babies, the folks at Diamond Select are releasing a new Legends in 3 Dimensions bust of Caraxes, Daemon Targaryen’s dragon from House of the Dragon. You can check out images of this incredibly detailed bust down below in our gallery:

Click To View Gallery

Here’s the official description for the House of the Dragon Caraxes bust from the folks at Diamond Select:

Dracarys! Your friends will be breathing fire with envy when you show them your bust of Caraxes, the mount of dragonrider Daemon Targaryen! Measuring approximately 12 inches tall, this bust is insanely detailed, and rests atop a dragon’s egg base. Limited to only 1000 pieces, this resin bust comes packaged with a numbered base and a numbered certificate of authenticity in a numbered full-color box. Designed by Joe Allard, sculpted by Sandro Luis Sampaio.

In George R.R. Martin’s world, the Dragonkeepers considered Caraxes to be the fiercest of all the young dragons of the Dragonpit. They even gave him the fearsome nickname the “Blood Wyrm.” Caraxes isn’t the largest of the dragons in Westeros, as he’s about half the size of Vhagar, the oldest of the Targaryen dragons. None of that kept Caraxes from being one of the deadliest dragons in history, however. You can pre-order this incredible House of the Dragon bust for the price of $250.00 now. Diamond Select is expected to start shipping the Caraxes bust sometime in the first quarter of 2025.

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House of the Dragon‘s “The Burning Mill” saw Rhaenyra Targaryen task her young niece/step-daughter with a vital mission. The Queen not only entrusted Rhaena to look after her three young sons, she gave the princess two baby dragons and four dragon eggs to protect. If everything comes to “ruin” for Rhaenyra’s side, Rhaena is their backup plan. That plan that will include hatching new dragons ultimately earmarked for Pentos. But that’s where another Targaryen princess will be gifted three dragon eggs during her wedding to Khal Drogo centuries later. So are House of the Dragon‘s dragon eggs the exact same ones Daenerys Targaryen will one day hatch on Game of Thrones? Yes, they are. The series has confirmed Rhaenyra gave Rhaena the very same eggs that appeared on Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon‘s Gives Daenerys Targaryen’s Dragon Eggs an Origin Story

Episode director Geeta Vasant Patel told Mashable the dragon eggs seen during House of the Dragon season two’s third episode are historically important. Three of those pristine eggs become fossilized by Game of Thrones‘ time period almost two hundred years later. These House of the Dragon eggs are the exact same dragon eggs gifted to Daenerys Targaryen at her first wedding. As we know, she will eventually walk into a fire with them, emerging with her fire-breathing “children,” she’ll name her dragons Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

“All of us who work on this show are big Game of Thrones fans,” Patel said. “So it was very exciting to shoot that scene.” Considering Daenerys will quite literally prove to be her family’s “hope for the future” as Rhaenyra Targaryen called her niece on House of the Dragon, it was a fitting send-off for those dragon eggs. They’ll eventually, one way or another, reach Pentos and fall into the hands of the Free City’s Magister Illyrio Mopatis. He’ll then give the priceless artifacts to curry favor with Daenerys and her brother Viserys.

Game of Thrones Lore Suggests a Different History for Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs Than House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon‘s Patel needed to verify the dragon eggs’ connection between shows because it’s a change from established Game of Thrones lore. While never officially confirmed, George R.R. Martin’s in-world history Fire & Blood seems to all but establish those dragon eggs arrived in Essos many decades before the Dance of the Dragons.

The accepted tale is that the three eggs came from the she-dragon Dreamfyre. Her current rider is Queen Helaena, but before Helaena that dragon belonged to a totally different Targaryen princess, (frustratingly) also named Rhaena. That Princess was the child of King Aenys and one of King Jaehaerys’ many siblings. She’s also the Targaryen infamous for letting her lover, Elissa Farman, steal a clutch of dragon eggs.

Elissa desperately wanted to build her own boat and set sail in the Sunset Sea. Rhaena simply loved Elissa too much to let her go, so eventually Elissa took matters into her own hands. She did so by taking dragon eggs. She stole some and sailed to Braavos where she sold them to the Sealord for gold. That gave her the coin needed to build her very own ship, which she used to sail under another name, evading capture.

The theft of the dragon eggs wounded House Targaryen, the only remaining dragon lords in the world. The shame of the scandal was bad enough. Far worse, though, was the fear someone would hatch the eggs themselves. All efforts to get the eggs back failed, and over time, they are believed to have eventually ended up in Pentos.

What About the Fourth House of the Dragon Dragon Egg?

Eventually, the three dragon eggs end up in a fire with Daenerys Targaryen. It’s a good thing they did, regardless of the specifics of how they got there. Without Daenerys’ dragons, the living might not have held off the Night King long enough to stop him. But we knew that already.

What we don’t yet know is what happens to the fourth dragon egg Rhaenyra entrusted to her niece. But for that, we guess we’ll have to wait for House of the Dragon to reveal its secrets.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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King Aegon Targaryen, Second of His Name, is an amoral, depraved man-child without honor. So when he finds an idea grotesque, it must surely be too terrible for anyone with a shred of decency to entertain. Yet in House of the Dragon‘s “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” the measured Otto Hightower proposed something that horrified his otherwise unethical grandson. The (now former) Hand of the King turned the brutal murder of little Prince Jaehaerys into a funeral progress of propaganda against Rhaenyra. It was a monstrous, sickening plan that turned his family’s private grief into a public spectable. And Otto was right to do it.

That’s not an easy thing to admit, but not for the reason you might think. Defending Otto Hightower’s actions on House of the Dragon means you are also legitimizing Tywin Lannister pulling off the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones.

It’s hard to imagine anything could make Alicent’s son Aegon recoil with horror. He grew up drinking and whoring his way through Flea Bottom where he frequented kids fighting pits, even though some of those children might have been his own unacknowledged bastards. He’s completely craven, and sitting the Iron Throne has only brought out the worst in him. Yet his grandfather’s ploy to turn little Jaehaerys’s murder into a public relations opportunity on House of the Dragon shocked the King. Even a despicable pig like Aegon recognized what anyone with an ethical bone or beating heart did instantly: this was a truly repellent suggestion, even for war.

But as Otto had told his daughter in private before the small council meeting, “Some good may yet come of this.” He wasn’t going to let Jaehaerys “die in vain,” even if that meant doing something Otto must have known in his soul was disgusting. He wouldn’t simply name Rhaenyra a “slayer of infants” without proof (totally unseemly on its own). Otto Hightower wanted to hold a funeral progress to let the people of King’s Landing physically look at a decapitated six-year-old so they could “look upon the works of this pretender to the throne.”

From there, word spread to the lords of Westeros, who would inevitably revaluate their loyalty to the Queen. But Otto Hightower wasn’t going to leave anything to chance on House of the Dragon. He was going to milk this unthinkable tragedy for every ounce of publicity he could. “The Realm must see the sorrow of the crown,” he said. “A sorrow best expressed through its most gentle souls.” Those souls were his guilt-stricken daughter and Jaehaerys’ sweet, traumatized, neurotypical mother, Queen Helaena. They’d have to sit behind the boy’s body as they were quite literally paraded through the city.

Otto’s reprehensible idea was even worse in reality. We had to see Jaehaerys, stitched back together, get stuck in a rut in the streets. We had to watch an overwhelmed Helaena made to suffer even more when she should have been left to grieve in private. And we had to hear Rhaenyra, a grieving mother herself, falsely labeled a monster to smallfolk being manipulated. Aegon, miraculously, was right to find the mere suggestion of the propaganda event so vile. Yet Otto Hightower’s reasoning for this House of the Dragon funeral progress is totally defensible. “Jaehaerys will do more for us now than a thousand knights in battle,” he said to the green council on, which ultimately agreed with him.

The Dance of the Dragons is here. There’s no stopping it now. Jaehaerys’ death will just be one of many still to come. Lots of people are going to die, many of them smallfolk and children as innocent as the little prince. Why not turn the boy’s death into a spectacle if it saves lives? What better outcome could there be? Wouldn’t lessening the pain and suffering of others be the kindest thing the greens can do, especially if the only price is their own pain?

Saying something is “the lesser of two evils” doesn’t mean something is not evil, which Otto Hightower’s House of the Dragon funeral progress surely was. But “lesser” is a relative term, and his plan might lessen the overall amount of evil in the world.

You don’t have to like anything about Otto Hightower’s otherwise unethical House of the Dragon scheme to recognize its merits. But the real quandary begins once you do. Because when you admit Otto had a point you also have to accept that you’re making the case for Tywin Lannister conspiring with Walder Frey to pull off the Red Wedding two centuries later on Game of Thrones.

Inviting people into your home under a banner of peace and protection only to slaughter them is obviously reprehensible. It’s the kind of unimaginable act that seems an obvious bridge too far (intended!) even when done against people you are literally at war with. Tyrion will raise the same argument with his father when he learns about what happened at the Twins. But Tywin Lannister will raise the same type of argument as Otto Hightower long before him: “Explain to me why it is more noble to kill ten thousand men in battle than a dozen at dinner,” Tywin will say.

Is he right? Was Game of Thrones’ Red Wedding—as plainly devious and cruel as it was—justified? If we acknowledge Otto had legitimate cause to use his grandson’s murder to save lives, don’t we have to admit Tywin will have legitimate cause to kill a dozen men in a dishonorable manner because he thinks it will save thousands from dying with honor? What’s honor to the dead anyway? Plus, Tywin didn’t attack innocents victims at the Red Wedding. He only killed soldiers engaged in a war against him and his family, the family he was trying to protect. How is one okay and not the other?

The answer is not obvious because there’s an obvious distinction between exploiting a death that has already happened versus committing literal murder. One is personally repugnant and exploitative, while the other is a war crime. Yet the distinction between the two probably isn’t large enough to make fans of the Seven Kingdoms comfortable. The only real lesson we can take comfort in is one both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have left unquestioned: the only way to truly save lives in war is never to fight one.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He is sick to his stomach for having defended Otto Hightower in any way. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Targaryen civil war has begun in earnest in season two of House of the Dragon. While the people in this conflict are all varying degrees of “terrible human,” the dragons are innocent in all this. They just want to breathe fire and eat some sheep. Now, there’s a new way of showing your love for the precious dragons of Westeros. Kross Studios has revealed a new set of collector’s watches and egg cases, inspired by House of the Dragon. The six latest collectors sets pay homage to the dragons Arrax, Silverwing, Moondancer, Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Sunfyre. These complement and complete their dragon-inspired series. You can check out images of these exquisite collector’s timepieces below in our gallery:

Game of Thrones – House of the Dragon Collector’s Set

Click To View Gallery

Each of these House of the Dragon collector sets pays homage to a specific dragon from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire saga, capturing their unique essence and terrifying presence. Previous unique collector set editions, all currently sold out, were dedicated to Balerion, Viserion, Viserion Ice Dragon, Drogon, Rhaegal, Syrax, Caraxès, Meleys, Vaghar, and Vermax. The crafted dragon egg sculpture is in resin, and comes hand-painted by the renowned French workshop Leblon Delienne. Each egg, inspired by the appearance of its corresponding dragon, serves as a nest for the watch. 

The central feature of each set is a central floating tourbillon watch, designed by Kross Studio’s founder Marco Tedeschi. The House of the Dragon watch and its tourbillon, suspended beneath a sapphire crystal dome, reflects the aesthetic codes of House Targaryen, from its 45mm, grade 5 titanium case to its intricate movement. They’re not quite Valyrian steel, but the closest thing to it in our less exciting and dragon-free realm. For more information and pricing, head over to the official Kross Studios website.

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When we began our History of Thrones series examining important events and people from the complex and controversial past of Westeros, we were searching for clues about what might happen on Game of Thrones. What we didn’t know at the time was that HBO would one day bring some of those stories to the screen, too. House of the Dragon takes place long before Daenerys brought dragons back to the Realm. But before she tried to reclaim her family’s Iron Throne, another Targaryen woman fought to sit upon it, Rhaenyra Targaryen. If you want to learn all about Princess Rhaenyra and why we believed her story was a harbinger of things to come on Game of Thrones, here’s everything you need to know about her life and brief reign. Just be warned, this tragic tale is full of spoilers for Rhaenyra Targaryen’s journey and House of the Dragon.

You can find all other History of Thrones entries here.

Jump to: The First Woman to Claim the Iron Throne // King Viserys’ Son // Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Romances // Targaryen Civil War // Rhaenyra Targaryen on the Iron Throne // The Death of Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra Targaryen, the First Woman to Claim the Iron Throne

Game of Thrones’ sixth season ends with Cersei Lannister as queen of Westeros, but only after innumerable tragedy and unspeakable acts of horror. She has the support of few friends, is beset by enemies on all sides, and, if all that isn’t bad enough… She doesn’t have any dragons at her disposal like the only other woman to claim the Iron Throne before her.

Because while Cersei became the first official female queen of the Seven Kingdoms, she was not the first woman to sit in Aegon the Conqueror’s royal chair as Westeros’ ruler. That title belongs to the Half-Year Queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen. Rhaenyra Targaryen briefly held King’s Landing during the infamous Targaryen Civil War known as the Dance of the Dragons. The story of this war and of Rhaenyra Targaryen will now be explored in the Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon.

King Viserys Targaryen Names Rhaenyra His Heir

The war of succession between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon II got its name both from its combatants and the dragons who fought each other over the skies of the Seven Kingdoms. But the story begins long before, back during the time of Rhaenyra’s childhood.

Rhaenyra Targaryen, born in 97 AC, was the only surviving child of King Viserys and his first wife, Aemma Arryn. Their first son died as an infant. And their second son passed away a day after Queen Aemma died during birth. The early episodes of House of the Dragon chronicle this part of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s life.

To ensure that his brother Daemon was not his heir, Viserys announced in 105 AC that Rhaenyra, already a dragonrider, would follow him on the throne. The King made the Lords of Westeros swear fealty to his eight-year-old daughter as the lawful successor to the crown. Rhaenyra Targaryen was named the Princess of Dragonstone, and thereafter was always by her father’s side, becoming known as the Realm’s Delight. Rhaenyra was beautiful, with classic, old Valyrian looks. But while a popular figure (early in life), she was also a proud woman with a temper.

King Viserys’ Son and the Birth of Civil War

Viserys thought the matter of succession was established for good in 105 AC. He had reason to believe it was. He ascended to the Iron Throne without issue after the Great Council of 101 AC named him King Jaehaerys’ heir. But a year after naming Rhaenyra as his, he remarried. He wedded Alicent Hightower, daughter of his Hand Ser Otto Hightower. Their union is what set the future civil war set in motion, even if the king didn’t realize it. Because a year after they wed, King Viserys and Queen Alicent had a son (107 AC), Aegon, followed by a daughter and two other sons.

You can probably see where this is going.

Sons, no matter their date of birth, always came before daughters in the line of succession. And with the King now having two surviving boys, it was thought he would name his eldest son the rightful heir. But Viserys refused to change his mind. He said he had already named Rhaenyra his successor and that the lords of the Realm had sworn to honor his wish and will. Not everyone wanted those vows kept, though. And some questioned Rhaenyra Targaryen as heir to the Iron Throne.

Ser Otto Hightower Loses His Position for Questioning Rhaenyra’s Claim

Viserys’ Hand and father of the Queen, Otto Hightower, pushed the issue of succession after his grandson’s birth so often that Viserys dismissed him from both his position and King’s Landing. The formerly warm relationship between Queen Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra also grew cold. From their enmity, two factions grew at court. The “Blacks” supported Rhaenyra. The “Greens” backed the Queen. (The names were references to dresses each woman wore at a large tournament).

During this time, the two most important men in Rhaenyra’s life were her uncle Daemon and Ser Criston Cole. She was very fond of both of them and them of her. Her history with both was, for lack of a better word, complicated. But what we know of her relationship with each help explain future events. House of the Dragon also delves into Rhaenyra Targaryen’s complex relationships with both these men.

The Men Who Loved Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

Ser Criston Cole

Criston Cole named young Rhaenyra the queen of love and beauty at a grand tourney. Soon after he became her personal sworn shield as a member of the Kingsguard. She had asked her father to give him the position. But Viserys was clearly impressed with Ser Criston, too. The King eventually promoted Cole to Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. House of the Dragon delves into Criston Cole and Rhaenyra Targaryen’s romance and even resolves a mystery about their relationship from the Game of Thrones book, Fire & Blood.

Daemon Targaryen

The story of the princess and her valiant knight did not end as a fairy tale, though. A sordid and controversial story began to spread that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to her uncle Daemon at age 16. No one knows if that is true. But Targaryens had long married within the family to keep their bloodlines pure. And King Viserys did exile his brother shortly after. In House of the Dragon, the answer seems to be that Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen did not sleep together when she was young. But perhaps we do not know the full story yet.

Doomed Romance

Meanwhile, the histories tell another story about Rhaenyra and the other man who loved her. As mentioned, one tale tells that the day came when Criston Cole professed his love to Rhaenyra and asked her to run away with him to Essos. But instead, she questioned his loyalties since he wanted to break his sworn Kingsguard vow. But another version of the story says that it was she who professed her love to him, only for him to turn her down. Whatever really happened between the princess and her sworn shield, has remained a mystery until now. But whatever it was, he suddenly became a bitter enemy of hers. Once again, if House of the Dragon is to be believed, it was actually Cole who confessed to Rhaenyra, but instead of questioning him, she wanted him to remain her lover and guard. In any case, Ser Criston Cole then became supporter of Queen Alicent and the Greens.

Game of Thrones‘ prequel series professes to deliver a true account of the events of the time. What we know so far comes from meta “histories,” where the truth of events became distorted with time. It seems that House of the Dragon reveals to us the truths of the relationships between Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, and Criston Cole. And, indeed, we have seen depictions of many of moments between the trio.

The Controversial Marriages of Rhaenyra Targaryen

Eventually, Rhaenyra entered into a politically motivated marriage with Ser Laenor Velaryon. Her father arranged the union and threatened to name his son Aegon heir instead when she protested the arrangement. Her desire to be queen was greater than her lack of desire for a husband. But it seems perhaps the match was not a great one for either of the pair. The Princess said Laenor would be more interested in romancing her half-brothers. The couple did officially have three sons together, but the overwhelming evidence indicated Laenor was not their father. The inescapable and obvious question of paternity in the matter of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children would become a major moment on the path to civil war. Rumors of the boy’s true father would also lead to bitter disputes with their cousins that led to violence over the years.

A few years later, Ser Laenor died during a fight with a dear friend. Some believe it was a lovers quarrel born of jealousy. But others whispered that Daemon arranged to have Laenor murdered. That was never proven. What happened next, though, did nothing to quell the murmur of conspiracy. Rhaenyra quickly remarried, this time to her uncle Daemon. Their controversial union angered her father. Still, the king did not announce a different heir. And that’s where things stood when Viserys died in 129 AC, and all dragon hell broke loose.

On House of the Dragon, we see the marriage between Rhaenyra and Daemon take place. In House of the Dragon‘s version of Rhaenyra, Daemon, and Laenor’s story things go a bit differently. The three come to some kind of arrangement and stage Laenor’s death so he can escape with his lover somewhere far away, and Rhaenyra and Daemon can wed.

The Death of King Viserys Leads to All-Out Targaryen Civil War

Rhaenyra was in Dragonstone, away from court, when her father, Viserys Targaryen, died, an event that has finally happened on House of the Dragon. Meanwhile, Queen Alicent was in King’s Landing. On House of the Dragon, Alicent is at Viserys side when he dies, and hears him speak of the prophecy, “A Song of Ice and Fire.” She does not realize Viserys believes himself to be speaking to Rhaenyra. These are events that the books do not recount.

In the books, after Alicent learned of her husband’s death, she kept it hidden for a week. In the meantime, she called together the small council to determine succession. The council was almost entirely made up of Greens, save for Lord Lyman Beesbury. He argued that Rhaenyra was the rightful heir. For that, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, slit his throat, ending the debate. It’s why Cole is forever known as the Kingmaker. In House of the Dragon, we see these events take place according to what is set out in the books. Although Alicent seems much more empathetic to Rhaenyra and what she might go through and does not wish to kill her, while Otto Hightower is much more set on blood.

In the Game of Thrones books, Aegon II reluctantly accepted the title of King only after he was convinced his half-sister would execute him when she became Queen. Rhaenyra was predictably furious when she finally heard everything that had happened. In response, she had herself crowned on Dragonstone. In House of the Dragon, however, Rhaenyra Targaryen has a much more measured initial response to the news of what has transpired with the crown. Although she crowns herself Queen, she initially agrees to consider the terms sent by Queen Alicent and Otto Hightower. Though Rhaenyra does not think to give up her claim, she notes she does not wish to rule over a kingdom of ash and bone.

The Realm Chooses Sides in the Dance of the Dragons

Despite swearing a vow to King Viserys, many lords of the realm took up Aegon’s claim, for a myriad of reasons. Chief among them was that Rhaenyra Targaryen was a woman. Some also believed her children, next in line to the Iron Throne, were bastards. And some thought crowning her would ultimately make her despised uncle-husband King. However, she had many supporters who planned to keep their vow to her. Plus, she had one major advantage over her brother—Rhaenyra’s side had more dragons than Aegon and the Greens.

Any small hope for a peaceful resolution went out the window quickly. The two sides quickly went to work rallying support which led to a deathly encounter. King Aegon’s brother Aemond, riding on his giant dragon Vhagar, killed Rhaenyra’s son Luce atop of his much smaller dragon, Arrax. When Luce died over Shipbreaker’s Bay off of Storm’s End, peace was no longer an option. In House of the Dragon, Lucerys’ death at Aemond and Vhagar’s hands appears to be more accidental than in the books. However, when news reaches Rhaenyra Targaryen at the end of season one of House of the Dragon, it still strikes the match of full-on war.

To tell the tale of the entire Dance of the Dragons would take five more parts. (NOTE: There’s a reason HBO chose this as its first Game of Thrones spinoff. It features some epic fights, horrible tragedies, and shocking moments we haven’t even touched on). But Westeros will never forget when the skies filled with the flames and shadows of dragons battling one another. And the Realm will never forget how it ended.

Fire & Blood Comes to House Targaryen

King Aegon II was badly injured early in the war. He and his dragon spent most of the Dance missing out of sight. Some even thought Aegon was dead for most of it. However, in the end, he emerged victorious. But only for a very brief time.

Rhaenyra Targaryen could, and probably even should, have won this civil war. She had enough of the realm’s support along with her superior number of dragons. But she lost too many of each of these aspects because of her own anger, paranoia, and mistakes. (She even lost the bastard Targaryens who became Dragonriders during the way. They betrayed her like so many others.). Despite all of that, though, she did sit upon the Iron Throne for a fleeting time.

Rhaenyra Targaryen Takes the Iron Throne, but Only For a Moment

While the Green forces were away from King’s Landing, they foolishly left the capital sparsely protected. That allowed Rhaenyra and Daemon to easily take the city, where she sat on the Iron Throne for half-a-year. An infamous story says when Rhaenyra Targaryen first got up from the chair, she was bleeding from so many cuts. To some, it meant the throne had rejected her for not being worthy. (Though, in fairness, how many people could avoid being cut by a chair of swords the first time they tried to get comfortable in it?)

Rhaenyra Targaryen’s brief rule, which her brother Aegon later declared unofficial, initially caused a celebration in the city. But the Queen soon grew unpopular. She raised taxes, began executing green loyalists, and earned the crude moniker of “King Maegor with Teats.” That was a hard reference to the brutal and hated third Targaryen king.

Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Death—How Did the Queen Die?

Rhaenyra’s time on the Iron Throne enraged citizens so much they came to think of dragons as evil. So one legendary night, they stormed the Dragonpit in a frenzy and killed the four dragons inside. (Many died during the attack.) They also killed Rhaenyra’s own dragon Syrax, shortly thereafter. Having already lost her first three sons to the war, Rhaenyra fled back to Dragonstone for safety. But there she was betrayed and brought before her injured and delirious brother King Aegon II.

So how did Rhaenyra Targaryen die? Well, Aegon had his dragon Sunfyre burn Rhaenyra alive before he ate her. (Sunfyre was one of only two dragons left from many who fought in the war). He also made Rhaenyra’s young son, also named Aegon, watch his mother die. The King refused calls to execute his nephew, though. Instead, he kept him prisoner as his enemies continued the war in the name of Rhaenyra’s son and own heir. And the younger Aegon would ultimately achieve what his mother couldn’t.

King Aegon Is Dead, Long Live King Aegon

Someone close to King Aegon II—who proved himself as unworthy of the Iron Throne as many had feared—murdered the unpopular monarch not long after Rhaenyra Targaryen’s death. And his demise raised the same issue that started the Dance of the Dragons decades earlier. Aegon II died without an obvious heir.

In a poetic end to the deadly war, Rhaenyra’s son with Daemon became King Aegon III. He was also wed to his cousin, Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera. Their marriage reunited both sides of House Targaryen. But the new King was a sad man who never recovered from seeing his mother’s horrible death. He was known by many names, such as Aegon the Unlucky, Aegon the Unhappy, and the Broken King.

But his lasting moniker is Aegon the Dragonsbane. Because during his rule, the last dragons died (until Daenerys’ time, almost 150 years later). Some suspected him of conspiring to eliminate the creatures due to his personal hatred. But other theories say the maesters of the Citadel, who hated magic and the death caused by dragons, secretly plotted to kill them off.

When Aegon III died, his brother, Viserys—once thought lost forever—ended up sitting on the Iron Throne himself. For everything denied her, Rhaenyra Targaryen ended up being the mother of two kings.

The Dance of the Dragons’ Legacy and House of the Dragons

The Dance of the Dragons was the swan song of the dragons. And House Targaryen was never as powerful without them as they were before.

As for Rhaenyra Targaryen, she grew up believing she would rule Westeros. But when the time came, her enemies and family stole the crown from her. She answered with fire and blood and was destroyed by them. So while Rhaenyra may have been the first woman to claim the Iron Throne, she never ruled the Seven Kingdoms. The Half-Year Queen’s tale is the ultimate reminder that all rulers—whether Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, or Cersei Lannister—need more than many dragons to rule. They need the support of the people. And the people never truly wanted a woman to rule.

What none of those who opposed Rhaenyra Targaryen knew, including us until House of the Dragon, though, was that Rhaenyra was fighting for something bigger than herself. She knew about Aegon’s dream of Ice and Fire. Her father gave the responsibility of the world to her. For that, she’s a far more sympathetic figure than the histories have ever told of the woman who lost the Dance of the Dragons. But it also means her many mistakes are more unforgivable, too.

Originally published on July 1, 2017.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Westeros isn’t getting any bigger, but its presence on HBO certainly is thanks to a very large and legendary knight. A second live-action Game of Thrones spinoff is coming about the Realm’s most beloved duo, Dunk and Egg. What’s the show called? Who is this famous knight and his young Targaryen squire? And why are fans of George R.R. Martin so excited to see them come to life? Here’s everything we know about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms so far.

HBO Shares First Production Image From and New Cats Members

Ser Duncan is officially here. HBO has shared the first official pimage from the production in Belfast and it features the “lunk” known as Dunk walking through a market. His raggedy clothes suggest this moment comes from his pre-Egg days. (Not that he’ll look that much better later. Hedge knights aren’t exactly the best dressed knights.)

The network also announced some major new cast members and their roles along with the photo’s release:

• Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen
• Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen
• Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle
• Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Barotheon
• Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen

Sarah Adina Smith (Lessons In Chemistry) has also come aboard to direct three of the season’s six episodes.

Title

At one point the spinoff was working under the wordy title of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. But a recent report says HBO has—thankfully—dropped the latter. The prequel is now operating under the simpler name and the book it’s adapting, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Plot 

The show’s official logline provided an introduction to the series’ time period and characters. From HBO:

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Fans of A Song of Ice and Fire know much more about the beloved duo’s exploits and lifelong friendship. Martin’s three novellas cover both big and small events related to Westeros during a dangerous time in the Seven Kingdoms. Dunk and Egg began their time together shortly after the second Targaryen civil war known as the Blackfyre Rebellion. The fresh wounds of that Realm-splitting battle is why Egg needed to hide his real identity while serving as Duncan’s squire.

Martin has also previously confirmed a fan theory that the honorable, noble Ser Duncan the Tall is the ancestor of Brienne of Tarth. (Though we don’t yet know how.) Despite taking place a century before its HBO predecessor, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will also have more direct ties to Game of Thrones. Brynden Rivers, Egg’s uncle and the most notorious figure in Westeros, would go on to become the Three-Eyed Raven. And Egg’s older brother is none other than Maester Aemon of the Night’s Watch.

Martin has long said he has plans for many more Dunk & Egg stories. The show could ultimately adapt those unwritten/unpublished tales into entire seasons. HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi has said the series will “ideally year-to-year and arcing out a three-season series, which maps out the three novellas that George wrote.” But that doesn’t mean it will only run three years. She also said, “Of course, we’d like more beyond that, and George is continuing to think about the remaining novellas that he still wants to write, but at this point, we have our eye on three seasons that would map out each book, each novella.”

The adult exploits of Dunk and Egg are also explored in Martin’s massive compendium book The World of Ice and Fire. (Spoilers!)

Behind the Scenes

Martin and Ira Parker will write and serve as executive producers the show. House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal will also serve as as executive producer along with Vince Gerardis. Owen Harris (Black Mirror‘s “Be Right Back” and “San Junipero”) will direct the show’s first three episodes.

Production began in the spring of 2024 following the end of the writers and actors strikes.

Additionally, Martin wrote The Hedge Knight will be shorter than the other Game of Thrones series on HBO, however, it will be no less brutal, to be sure. Success for The Hedge Knight could mean other Dunk & Egg stories receive spinoffs. (And maybe Martin will even write a few more.)

Here’s what Martin shared in full.

THE HEDGE KNIGHT will be a lot shorter than GAME OF THRONES or HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe  Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job.  I hope to visit the shoot come July, when I swing by Belfast on my way to the worldcon in Glasgow.    The show will make its debut next year… and if it does well, THE SWORN SWORD and THE MYSTERY KNIGHT will follow.  By which time I hope to have finished some more Dunk & Egg stories (yes, after I finish THE WINDS OF WINTER).

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Cast

The only two stars of the show we know so far are the two most important. 6’4″ tall Peter Claffey (Bad Sisters, Vikings: Valhalla) will play the legendary Ser Duncan the Tall. Young Dexter Sol Ansell (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes) will serve as Dunk’s diminutive squire, the fiery secret Targaryen prince Aegon forever known as “Egg.”

Martin publicly praised Dexter Sol Ansell’s transformation into Egg.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms‘ Release Date

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has previously said HBO is targeting a “late 2025″ premiere.

Originally published May 22, 2024.

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House of the Dragon has a big creative advantage over most adaptations. George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood is not a definitive account of events. It’s a history of House Targaryen “written” by a maester that is incomplete or even wrong in certain places. (Though we can’t always know how or where). That’s especially true of the time period the HBO’s prequel series is retelling. That section is based on three biased sources that frequently conflict with one another, often because none of the chroniclers actually witnessed the events they wrote about. Their blindspots and distortions provide House of the Dragon narrative freedom. It also lets the show fill in huge gaps never mentioned. And House the Dragon‘s season two premiere used that storytelling advantage to make Queen Alicent and Ser Criston Cole’s relationship far more troubling, complex, and interesting.

In Fire & Blood, Kingsguard member Criston Cole goes from being the sworn sword of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen to the personal protector of her enemy, Alicent Hightower. No one in Westeros ever hated Rhaenyra more than the man who crowned her brother Aegon king. The Targaryen history provides a very personal reason for the enmity between the two formerly close duo: their relationship turned sexual.

In Fire & Blood, one source claims Cole asked Rhaenyra to run across the Narrow Sea with her, giving up her claim to the Iron Throne. Another says it was Rhaenyra who asked him to forsake his vows to the Kingsguard. What every historian agrees on is that, after that moment, the two despised one another. Criston Cole didn’t just turn his back on her, he worked to destroy her.

House of the Dragon‘s first season provided a definitive answer as to what happened between them. It’s the one that always made the most sense based on what we knew about each. It was Criston Cole, the worst person ever, who begged Rhaenyra to leave Westeros behind with him. The HBO series also gave us a reason for his request. It wasn’t one driven by love or even lust. Cole felt guilt for having broken his sacred vows in the first place and he wanted Rhaenyra to give up everything to make him feel better about himself. When she refused in House of the Dragon season one, Criston Cole abandoned her and went into the service of Queen Alicent instead.

For everything Fire & Blood says/suggests about Cole and Rhaenyra’s relationship, both explicitly and in subtext, it says almost nothing of his relationship with Alicent. Criston Cole becomes Alicent’s sworn sword and protector, but none of the book’s sources raise even a hint of impropriety between the two. But that doesn’t mean the show created a physical relationship out of thin air, either.

Westeros remembers Criston Cole for the unethical punk he was. It also knows he almost certainly broke his vows and slept with Rhaenyra. (Who was a drunk teenager the first time they slept together on the show). It’s not a stretch, in any way, to imagine Cole also went on to violate his oaths with a young, beautiful widow like Alicent. Nor it is absurd to think that a woman whose entire life was defined/bound by duty until that point took her handsome knight to bed when she was under the most stress she’d ever know.

While their physical relationship contributed to the show botching Fire & Blood‘s most shocking moment (the other side of the adaptation freedom coin), this expansion of their story is ultimately a good thing for the show. It makes all of their interactions more fraught. Their advice to Aegon, whether they agree or not, is also harder to trust. Alicent and Criston Cole have entangled themselves in a way that has often doomed other duos because personal relationships have a tendency to undermine duty and rational thinking.

Each character is also more interesting on their own now, too. This evolution of the relationship makes Alicent more complex and, therefore, more compelling. She’s not as “perfect” as she thought. Maybe now she fears/knows Rhaenyra was right about her true nature, especially since Alicent did the very thing she held against Rhaenyra. It’s even possible jealousy of how Rhaenyra got to live her life drove Alicent into Criston Cole’s arms in House of the Dragon season two. And while Alicent’s hypocrisy makes her less righteous, calling her piety into question, it makes her more human and, therefore, possibly more sympathetic. She’s as vulnerable and flawed as anyone. She gave in to her basest desires just like any other human might.

While this relationship twist makes Alicent more dynamic, it also makes Lord Commander Ser Criston Cole an even greater villain. He’s less a knight and more a walking fraud who speaks with a forked tongue. Every awful thing he says about Rhaenyra is projection. He can’t truly protect the King and his family because he’s compromised himself. He’s the amoral, unethical center at the Dance of the Dragons.

He’s what the show needs just as Game of Thrones needed characters like Joffrey, Ramsay, and Baelish. The handsome Kingsguard member who began his story so nobly and with so much promise is like a reverse Jaime Lannister, someone we hated but grew to love.

No one will ever love Criston Cole… Except apparently Alicent Hightower. And House of the Dragon is better for it.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and the original Criston Cole hater. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon season two, episode one is here. Soon, dragons will take to the skies as the Greens and the Blacks face off in a bloody civil war. We’ve many great pieces to read before the Game of Thrones show returns, including ones that will catch you up on everything from House of the Dragon‘s main characters (and its many dragons) to what you should remember from season one of the series. But the most important thing you need to know is what is House of the Dragon season two, episode one’s release date? When should you tune in to watch it? And which platform will stream this return to the world of Game of Thrones? Let’s break down all the practicalities of watching House of the Dragon season two’s first episode.

House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 1 Release Date

House of the Dragon season two, episode one, is now available to watch. It released on June 16. If you don’t want to be spoiled about the deaths, disgusting moments, dramatic betrayals, and more, we suggest you make a plan to tune in right away.

What Time Did House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 1 Air?

House of the Dragon season two, episode one, released promptly at 6:00 PM Pacific/9:00 PM Eastern. It will also simultaneously released/was simulcast in the UK. If you’re in the UK, you can catch House of the Dragon season two, episode one, and all its other episodes, at 2:00 AM BST on June 17. The episode will air again at 9:00 p.m. BST on Sky Atlantic.

Where Can You Stream House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 1?

In the United States, House of the Dragon season two released on HBO and Max, the streaming network, at the same time. In the UK, House of the Dragon season two, episode one airs on Sky and its streaming service, NOW TV.

Stream House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 1 for Free

If you don’t have Max, you can stream House of the Dragon season two, episode one, for free, for a limited time. Max currently has a free trial on offer, but not for long. If you’re a new Max customer, you can sign up for a one-week free trial until June 26.

What About Watching the Rest of House of the Dragon Season 2?

There are eight episodes of the season to watch, after all. Here’s our guide to House of the Dragon season two’s full release schedule.

Originally published on June 14, 2024.

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House of the Dragon‘s season two premiere ended with a violent scene readers of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood have desperately waited to see. It was the iconic, infamous event known as “Blood and Cheese,” arguably the single most shocking, cruel, and heartbreaking moment in the history of Westeros. And House of the Dragon completely botched it by needlessly delivering a vastly inferior version.

I love every single book and short story George R.R. Martin has written about Westeros. Yet I also know books are not TV shows and TV shows are not books. Adaptations, even faithful ones, must make significant changes if they hope to succeed. The written word, no matter how good, simply does not always translate to the screen. In its first season, House of the Dragon made a lot of amazing changes, the majority of which I supported and celebrated. From the revelation of Aegon’s Dream to an infinitely more dynamic King Viserys, it provided so many fantastic new aspects to Martin’s story.

Of course, the show also made some terrible changes. It undercut the major figures’ storylines and created big spectacles free of logic. Those kinds of alterations are frustrating (to be polite), but it’s a part of the process. I get that. I really do.

But some scenes need zero changes because they’re not only perfect on the page, they’re already perfect for the screen. And—more than any other moment in all of Fire & Blood, and maybe in all of A Song of Ice and Fire—no scene was ever more TV ready than “Blood and Cheese.”

The murder of Prince Jaehaerys on House of the Dragon almost certainly shocked and bothered those who had no idea what was coming. The violent murder of a child, even in Westeros, is still inherently stunning. The problem is those who did know what was coming, the people most excited and invested in this scene, know this version is monumentally, infuriatingly worse. George R.R. Martin’s version is so much more powerful, creative, and awful than House of the Dragon‘s. It’s also more logical and far more meaningful to the story.

In Fire & Blood a scheming, angry, worried Alicent Hightower is the chief architect of Aegon usurping his half-sister’s throne. House of the Dragon took away some of her agency by making her believe Viserys had a deathbed change of heart about succession. Fortunately season two’s premiere gave some back to Alicent by showing she knows the only way forward now is violence. She accepts blood must be shed and she has played a role in that inevitability. That scene with her father (along with the rat catcher walking by her earlier in the episode) also seemed to be setting up the horror that awaited her at the end by having her naively believe a war for the Iron Throne would free of “wanton” violence. The series did a fantastic job foreshadowing the worst moment in Alicent’s life, one that would make her truly face the consequences of her choices.

Then it didn’t have her experience it.

In Fire & Blood, Daemon’s two hired assassins aren’t bumbling around without a plan. They are far more capable, focused, and diabolical. The rat catcher is chosen specifically because he knows how to get around the Red Keep’s secret tunnels (including where the royals live) in a way few others do. That includes even those who actually live there. Cheese, as he is eventually called, knows all the hidden passageways in and out of bedchambers and offices. His intimate knowledge is also partly why they targeted Haelena’s young son rather than Aegon or Aemond in the first place.

Book Alicent resides in an accessible part of the castle, the Tower of the Hand. The highly protected King and his family sleeps in Maegor’s Holdfast, which has no secret ways entrances. King Maegor had the Red Keep’s secret tunnels installed, but wisely didn’t want any where he lived and slept. The subtext of Martin’s story reveals no one in the royal court worried about where Alicent, Helaena, and the kids went anyway because they obviously weren’t targets. This is a war between Rhaenyra and Daemon against Aegon and Aemond. Even the murder of Lucerys Targaryen wouldn’t make someone think little Prince Jaehaerys was in danger. He’s a literal child. But that’s one of the major points of the entire scene, which is really not about Jaehaerys or Helaena at all. They’re just victims. The scene is really about Alicent and how she made her loved ones targets.

In Martin’s book, Blood and Cheese hide in Alicent’s bed chamber because that’s how they can get what Daemon wants, “a son for a son.” Spies let Daemon (not still on Dragonstone at this point) and Mysaria (still in King’s Landing and willingly involved in this scheme) know about the Queen’s activities. Every night Helaena takes her three kids— the twins Jaehaerys and Jaehara, aged six, and son Maelor, aged two—into their grandmother’s bedroom to say goodnight.

On that fateful evening, Blood and Cheese had already bound and gagged Alicent and strangled her bed maid. Then they waited, as a helpless and terrified Alicent looked on, not knowing exactly what they had planned. When Helaena walked in with the three kids holding Maelor’s hand, Blood “barred the door and slew the queen’s guardsman, whilst Cheese appeared to snatch up Maelor.” After promising to kill them all unless Helaena stayed calm and quiet, they also swore to only harm one son. Only, in one of the most horrific decisions ever faced by anyone in Westeros, Helaena would have to pick which son died.

The Queen pleaded with them to take her instead, but they threatened to assault her daughter if she didn’t choose. Finally, “on her knees, weeping, Helaena named her youngest, Maelor.” Why him? Some think because he was too young to understand, others because Jaehaerys was the King’s heir. Whatever drove her choice, it didn’t matter. Cheese whispered to little Maelor, who must have been so confused and scared, “You hear that, little boy? Your momma wants you dead.” Cheese then smiled at Blood, who instead struck Jaehaerys’ head off with a single blow.

Yeah. Yeah.

On the page this horrible, shocking, heartbreaking scene—a true testament to Martin’s gift as a writer—reads like a short play in a way few moments of Fire & Blood do. It’s all there. There’s no guessing at the action, tension, and dialogue. There’s no mystery to fill in. Nor is there any way to improve it. It’s perfect, as is the purpose it serves in this story about two women fighting over the Iron Thrones. That’s what really matters.

This is the moment where Alicent literally must face what she’s put in motion. For all her talk about protecting her family from Rhaenyra, she is the one who put them all in mortal danger. She started this war. Her anger and ambition helped make such a moment of evil possible.

And for all of the Greens’ arrogance about righteousness, they must now spend the rest of the war knowing none of them, not even the youngest and most innocent, are safe. This is a fight to the death no one will win even if they survive. Helaena, Alicent, Jaehaera, and Maelor all walk away from Blood and Cheese with their lives, yet each life is destroyed in its own way.

For indefensible, incomprehensible reasons, House of the Dragon decided not to have Alicent present for any of this. Neither does it make Helaena agonize over an impossible decision only to be left with a son who knows she named him for death. Instead Alicent only had to hear about what happened while Helaena instantly gave up her son. (Which itself was an illogical moment of non-tension. Blood and Cheese could have easily looked under the kids’ pajamas to identify Jaehaerys.)

Why did House of the Dragon take a scene this good and beloved, one of the most highly anticipated in all of Game of Thrones history, and make it inferior? Why did it lessen the emotional impact, horror, and meaning to the story? It’s not as though these changes were about lessening the violence. The show actually amped the physical brutality of the moment. The murder of little Jaehaerys was worse because Blood slowly sawed off his head rather than chopping it off in a single blow. Why amplify the physical awfulness but lessen the emotional aspect when that’s the entire reason for the scene in the first place?

Ultimately the show’s reasons doesn’t matter, at least not to book readers who know what they missed out on. The only thing that matters is that House of the Dragon blew a rare opportunity. It had the chance to adapt a book moment that was already perfect for the screen in every way.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings. (Or complaining about how House of the Dragon did the impossible and screwed up “Cheese and Blood.”)

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House of the Dragon‘s first season featured one of the most significant revelations in all of A Song of Ice and Fire. Aegon the Conqueror came to Westeros because he “foresaw the end of the world of men” at the icy hands of the White Walkers, and he believed the only hope to defeat the darkness was a unified Westeros led by a Targaryen. We learned about Aegon’s Dream when Viserys shared the secret with his daughter Rhaenyra. It was a vision the family’s kings had only ever told their own heirs. Or so we thought.

House of the Dragon‘s season two premiere has indicated the Conqueror shared that secret with an outsider, the Lord of a family Aegon knew would be the first line of defense when a “terrible winter gusting out of the distant north” began: House Stark. And that shared secret deepens the binds between House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, Aegon, Jon Snow, the Targaryens, and the Starks.

House of the Dragon returned by returning us to Winterfell at the outset of winter. Season two also began with the voice of Lord Cregan Stark. He said, “Duty is sacrifice. It eclipses all things, even blood.” Those were no mere words, either. He said them as part of a ceremony we’ve never seen on either Game of Thrones show before. When winter starts, House Stark sends one in ten of its own kin, drawn by random lot, to join the Night’s Watch.

Most members of that ancient order are made up of “doomed men who had their life as their only possession.” Game of Thrones viewers know those doomed men—often rapists, thieves, and cravens—usually aren’t the best Westeros has to offer. The Night’s Watch needs capable, honorable fighters and leaders to keep those men in line. The Night’s Watch needs Starks.

Even without that ceremony, though, Starks have served in the Night’s Watch since its inception. The family’s members have often served as Lord Commanders.

What makes this new piece of northern lore so monumental is who began this tradition and when. This “sacrifice” changes everything we know about Aegon Targaryen’s interactions with the Starks and the North, and, therefore, the “bastard” who will one day unite the Realm against the White Walkers.

With the ceremony complete, Cregan Stark brought Rhaenyra Targaryen’s oldest son and heir, Jace, to the top of the Wall. Jace was on a diplomatic mission to secure support of major houses for his mother’s claim to the Iron Throne. The two talked about the first time a Stark swore an oath to a Targaryen, when King Torrhen Stark bent the knee to Aegon.

The current Lord of Winterfell then assured the prince, “Starks do not forget their oaths.” The North will keep the vow Cregan’s father Rickon made to Viserys when the King named Rhaenyra his rightful heir. However, Cregan also said he has an even more sacred oath that limits how many men he can commit to the Queen’s cause.

“My gaze is forever torn between north and south,” Cregan said. “In winter, my duty to the Wall is even more dire than the one I owe to King’s Landing.” Jace did not understand why guarding against “wildlings and weather” was more important than stopping the Hightowers and saving the Realm from a war that will rip it apart. That is until Jace gazed out past the Wall in awe.

Cregan then told the story about how Jace’s great grandparents, King Jaehaerys and his wife Queen Alysanne, once visited this very spot with his father Rickon. From there, the two Targaryens watched as their dragons, “the greatest power in the world,” refused to cross the Wall. The implication was obvious even before Cregan spoke again. “Do you think my ancestors built a 700-foot wall of ice to keep out snow and savages?” Lord Stark asked the prince. When Jace then asked what the Wall does keep out, Cregan told him: “Death.”

The Warden of the North’s comments show House Stark, even millennia after the First Long Night, always knew what the Wall kept out. That exchange also reflected a memorable and ominous moment from Game of Thrones‘ pilot.

In the original series’ premiere a visiting Benjen Stark, member of the Night’s Watch, discussed whispers of White Walker attacks with his brother Ned. Unlike everyone in else Westeros would for many years, the two did not dismiss or mock those reports. They spoke of the possibility with the solemnity of a Stark who knows, and has always known, “winter is coming.” House Stark’s ancient words were always a reminder of the real threat out of the darkness plotting its return.

That’s what makes the timing and originator of the Stark Night’s Watch ceremony so significant. That’s actually an understatement. It’s among the most meaningful pieces of lore ever introduced to A Song of Ice and Fire. To understand why, we need to go back to the start of House Stark and House Targaryen’s relationship, a century before House of the Dragon.

Aegon Targaryen had already conquered most of Westeros when he turned his attention to the King in the North, Torrhen Stark. Torrhen had marched 30,000 men into the Riverlands to take their stand against the larger force of House Targaryen. But by then, Torrhen knew what Aegon, his sisters, and their dragons could do, both good and bad. The Targaryens had already ended the lines of ancient houses who had not bent the knee while empowering those who had. Aegon bestowed honors on his new allies and spared their people.

Not surprisingly, some northern lords still wanted to fight, even though they must have known on some level they would lose. Instead, the evening before the battle, Torrhen sent his bastard brother and maesters to treat with Aegon.

George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood tells us “all through the night messages went back and forth” between the camps. In the morning, Torrhen did not fight as most expected of the northerners. Instead, he knelt as the King of Winter and “rose as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North” for King Aegon Targaryen.

Why did Torrhen kneel? Wouldn’t a Stark—-leader of a family that traces its ancient blood back to the First Men, who defended Westeros against the White Walkers long ago, who held firm against the Andals—rather go out on his shield fighting than kneel to a foreign invader?

Those obvious questions have always made Torrhen’s decision seem an easy one to explain. He was a wise ruler who didn’t let his pride get in the way of saving the people he swore to protect. But those obvious questions are also why that explanation has always felt incomplete. Why didn’t Torrhen Stark, at least, offer to fight Aegon Targaryen in single combat? He might have died, but it would have been an honorable death that still kept northerners safe from dragon flame. Without understanding what he was fully saying, on House of the Dragon, Jace provided the reason why.

The prince told Cregan, “Surely the great Torrhen Stark would’ve sooner died than bent the knee. Unless he believed the Conqueror could bring unity to the Seven Kingdoms.” Cregan said that was right, but it’s not completely accurate. Before Aegon no one cared about unifying the Seven Kingdoms, especially the North, which was unlike any other kingdom. Torrhen Stark would not have knelt to Aegon Targaryen in the name of unity.

Not unless he truly knew what Aegon was unifying the Realm against.

Everything House of the Dragon revealed about Torrhen Stark—from why he kneeled to the Night’s Watch sacrifice he began right after he knelt—can be explained by something unsaid in words during that scene yet so obvious when taken as a whole: Aegon Targaryen told Torrhen Stark about his dream.

The Conqueror believed the battle with the White Walkers would begin in the North. He even personally called his prophetic dream “A Song of Ice and Fire.”

Aegon trusted Torrhen with the most important secret in the world because only together, Stark and Targaryen, did the living have a chance against the dead. We know Aegon was right. Jon Snow, the son and rightful heir to the Iron Throne born from the love Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark shared, was the only one who could unite the Realm to stand against the White Walkers. Jon Snow’s song, as the prophecy foretold of the Prince That Was Promised did, in fact, promise, was a song of ice and fire.

Did Torrhen tell his own heirs? That seems unlikely based on everything else we know of House Stark, but he didn’t have to. The Starks always knew what was lurking beyond the Wall, which is why Torrhen believed Aegon Targaryen in the first place. It’s why Torrhen started making sure the Night’s Watch had men from his own family who could lead them. It’s why Cregan Stark can’t send all his men to help Rhaenyra Targaryen. Winter has arrived, and that means the Night King might come with it.

Like in season one with Aegon’s Dream, this enormous revelation does more than just connect both shows. It’s also bigger than even the Starks and Targaryens and how important Rhaegar and Lyanna’s love will be one day. Its beauty goes beyond even that of the wondeful symmetry it creates, as King in the North Jon Snow—secretly named Aegon Targaryen—will one day kneel to a Targaryen ruler in the name of uniting the Realm just as Torrhen Stark once did.

This revelation gets to the beating heart of George R.R. Martin’s massive story.

Without this bond between Stark and Targaryen, these houses of ice and fire, death would have done what Aegon and Torrhen both feared. Together, they began crafting the song that would save the world.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who got goosebumps during Jace and Cregan’s scene. You can follow him on Twitter and  Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Reveals a Monumental Connection Between Starks and Targaryens appeared first on Nerdist.

Have you heard about that new Game of Thrones spinoff HBO is developing? No, not that one. Not that one, either. They already stopped working on that. And that other one is now going to be an animated series. I think.

HBO’s time in Westeros didn’t end when Bran Stark claimed the Iron Throne. The network has been working on other potential shows set in George R.R. Martin’s world of A Song of Ice and Fire since before the original series even ended. House of the Dragon was the first to make it to air, but it won’t be the last. Many more are still in development. Some, though, as Martin says, are already on the proverbial “shelf.” (He should know. He also says he is “deeply, heavily involved” in every potential show.) Which ideas are still alive and which are dead… for now? Here’s every Game of Thrones spinoff we’ve learned about over the years and their current status.

Latest Developments in the World of Game of Thrones Spinoffs

10,000 Ships – Pulitzer Winning Playwright Working on New Pilot

Another early Game of Thrones spinoff idea still in development is 10,000 Ships (sometimes written as Ten Thousand Ships). It would focus on the legendary warrior Queen Nymeria. She led her people out of the Rhonyar River region in Essos to escape the Valyrian Freehold. Her long and arduous journey to find a new home ultimately led her to Dorne where she and her people settled. Queen Nymeria, who lived a thousand years before the events on Game of Thrones, married Lord Mors Martell. The two conquered Dorne together. She is the reason Dorne has princes and princesses. She was also one of Arya Stark’s heroes. Arya named her direwolf after the famous Queen.

In 2016 Brian Helgeland (L.A. Confidential) was attached to the show before Amanda Segel took over. HBO tapped her to write the pilot and serve as potential showrunner. In March 2022 Martin said Segel had already delivered a “couple drafts” of the script. However, another writer is now tackling the project. At his “Not a Blog” Martin said Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth (Primary Trust) is “working on a new pilot” for Ten Thousand Ships. “We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles,” he said.

Hegelend Shares 10,000 Ships Has a Biblically-Inspired Story

Helgeland shared details of his idea for the series. He wrote:

It came out great, but I think they felt the period of my show was too far removed from the pillars of the original. That’s why it hasn’t been picked up yet, but nothing is ever dead. My script was based on Queen Nymeria and this little blurb about her that was in a Westeros encyclopedia. Essentially, it was the story of Moses but swapping him out for Nymeria. Her country gets ruined and her people are forced to live on the water, which is why the show was called Ten Thousand Ships. They end up having to leave and find a new home like the Israelites leaving Egypt. She’s leading all these people, trying to hold everyone together but things are always in danger of falling apart as they travel around a fictionalized version of the Mediterranean, looking for a new home to settle in.

Their life was nomadic. Living in a raft city that was bound together, this big floating city. Sometimes, the characters would come ashore, but they ultimately get driven off the land as they search for a home, their version of the promised land. I met with George R.R. Martin to pitch him the idea, which he signed off on. Sadly, I didn’t work with him closer, but I would have done if the show was picked up. It was kind of like Ray Harryhausen’s Sinbad films mixed with The Odyssey. In a way, Nymeria is Odysseus, but instead of a 12-person crew, she’s responsible for every citizen in this floating city-state. My work is still there if HBO wants to pick it up. I enjoyed my time developing it, and you just never know.

Aegon’s Conquest

In early 2023 Variety reported HBO was “actively” discussing a potential prequel about the legendary Targaryen lord who conquered Westeros. A series about Aegon’s Conquest (roughly 300 years before Game of Thrones) was also among the first batch of spinoff concepts considered by HBO in 2016. The original idea is said to have portrayed the famed King as a “drunken lout.” Rand Ravich and Far Shariat wrote that script.

The Hollywood Reporter now says HBO ” is actively heating up” discussions about the long-gestating concept. It also has a name attached to this new attempt. Mattson Tomlin, who is said to have done uncredited script work on The Batman and who is officially co-writing its sequel, is heading up this iteration of an Aegon’s Conquest spinoff. Tomlin is also behind the BRZRKR with Keanu Reeves and is serving as showrunner for Netflix’s animated Terminator series.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tomlin confirmed he’s working on the series, though that work has just begun. “That one is very early days where I’m currently writing the script, currently doing a lot of great back and forth with George (R.R. Martin),” said Tomlin. He also said Martin told him to treat the story as history that really happened. Doing that he said is akin to writing about great historical figures like Napoleon or Alexander the Great.

“We know where he was, we know who he conquered, we know who lived, and we know who died,” said Tomlin. “That all becomes the plot, and then it becomes my job to go, but what did it mean thematically? How did it feel? What were the emotions when this person died and this person lived? We don’t have the context. We don’t know what anybody said.”

While Tomlin and Martin will handle all of that, THR‘s initial report included one confusing clue about HBO’s idea for the series. A source said the show would mark a “back to basics” approach. Considering House of the Dragon is not that different from Game of Thrones in any meaningful way beyond being more focused, that could indicate previous attempts at an Aegon series tried something very different with its approach. That could explain why the network did not proceed with them. Or “back to basics” could mean this idea is more like a traditional drama with fewer characters and jumping around to various location than Game of Thrones.

The one thing we know for sure about any and all attempts at telling Aegon’s story is that they’ll involve dragons.

ON-AIR

House of the Dragon

HBO’s first Game of Thrones spinoff, a prequel about the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, will return for its second season in summer 2024. However, season one co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik will not be back. He left the series in 2022. Ryan Condal now fulfills the role on his own.

Carly Wray and Bryan Cogman (who wrote a pilot) both worked on a Dance of the Dragons series, but HBO did not move forward with either of their concepts.

Read More: Everything We Know About House of the Dragon Season 2

ORDERED TO AIR

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight (Dunk & Egg)

George R.R. Martin’s three Dunk & Egg novellas tell the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his young squire. That squire was really a Targaryen Prince named Aegon who traveled with Dunk in disguise. (He also unexpectedly went on to become King years later.) The beloved duo is now set to star in HBO’s second spinoff. HBO ordered the prequel to series to air in April 2023. Martin and Ira Parker will write and executive produce the show. (Patriot‘s Steve Conrad was originally tapped to write the show in 2021.) Ryan Condal and Vince Gerardis will join as executive producers. The series has its Dunk and Egg, but it no official release date. It began filming in spring 2024. A 2025 premiere seems very possible. It also has an official logline:

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Read More: 5 Reasons Why We’re Excited For The Game Of Thrones Dunk And Egg Spinoff Series

IN-DEVELOPMENT

The Golden Empire

Development continues on a potential adult animated series about Essos’ far eastern Yi Ti dynasty. Martin once wrote Yi Ti is the fantasy analogue of Imperial China the way Westeros is the fantasy analogue of the medieval British Isles. The World of Ice and Fire compendium book (which Martin jokingly calls The GRRMarillion in reference to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion) expanded on the little we know about that powerful, large nation. That also includes some tantalizing tales, one that connects the ancient, advanced Yi Ti to the first Long Night.

It’s unknown who is leading the show’s development or what it would be about. But a possible series would be so far removed from Westeros and Martin’s main story that it would have incredible freedom to tell any story from any time period.

The Sea Snake/Nine Voyages

After initially being developed as a live-action series, George R.R. Martin announced a prequel about the adventures of young Corlys Velaryon is now being considered as a potential adult animated spinoff. The show also initially operated under the title Nine Voyages (which Martin still uses sometimes). That was in reference to the nine famous trips Corlys Velaryon made around the world on his ship The Sea Snake. He travelled to far off places all over the globe in the decades prior to the Dance of the Dragons. His accomplishments made him Westeros’s most famous and celebrated sailor ever. He is also a major figure on House of the Dragon, where Steve Toussaint plays an older Sea Snake.

In March 2022 Martin confirmed reports Rome showrunner Bruno Heller would write the show’s pilot. More recently the author also explained at his “Not a Blog” blog why he “fully” supports the show’s change from live-action to animation:

Budgetary constraints would likely have made a live action version prohibitively expensive, what with half the show taking place at sea, and the necessity of creating a different port every week, from Driftmark to Lys to the Basilisk Isles to Volantis to Qarth to… well, on and on and on. There’s a whole world out there. And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation. So we now have three animated projects underway.

STATUS UNKNOWN

Unknown Animated Series

Martin has long made reference to development of an unnamed adult animated series, one possibly meant to air on HBO Max. Nothing is known about the series. That includes whether a spinoff idea reported on previously is the mystery cartoon and no one has made the connection.

SHELVED

Flea Bottom

One potential live-action prequel idea that seemingly never gained much traction was a series have focused on the denizens of King’s Landing’s infamous slum district Flea Bottom. HBO never even confirmed the show was in development. Reports say it did not make it very far in the process.

Untitled Valyrian Freehold Series

The initial batch of five spinoff ideas HBO pursued in 2016 (out of a list of at least 15) was a show about the destruction of the Valyrian Freehold. Valyria was the Roman Empire-like dynasty of dragon lords who ruled over Essos for thousands of years. House Targaryen avoided its ancestral home’s doom when it fled Valyria a century before its demise. Kong: Skull Island‘s Max Borenstein wrote a script for the show, but that seems to be as far as HBO got with it.

Valyria was home to thousands of dragons and ornate architecture. That would make for a bloated VFX budget. This idea is a great candidate for the mysterious animated show Martin continues to allude to.

Untitled Seven Gods of Westeros Show

A long lost concept that “didn’t get very far” at HBO would have seen the gods from the faith of The Seven team up like superheroes, leading to others worshiping them as deities. It’s easy to see why HBO didn’t have much faith in this idea.

Snow Is No Longer Happening

In a Narrow Sea worth of prequel ideas, the only potential sequel series that was confirmed to be under consideration at HBO is Snow. Kit Harington brought the idea to the network. He also brought it to George R.R. Martin, who confirmed the possible spinoff’s development. The author said he’d already met with Harington and his team about it, as well. The show would follow the former Lord Commander after he returned to life beyond The Wall in Game of Thrones‘ series finale.

Snow was “shelved” during the Hollywood strikes. Though the end of the strikes left the current status of the series unknown. In November 2023 HBO CEO and chairman Casey Bloys said, “I wouldn’t say there is anything else in that world that is close to a green light or anything, but we are always working on different scripts and ideas.” And that seemed to convey that the series wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

Most recently, we got a firmer answer about the fate of the Game of Thrones spinoff show. Kit Harington revealed the Jon Snow series was firmly “on the shelf” and no longer in active development. He shared, “In development, you look at every angle, and you see whether it’s worth it. And currently, it’s not. Currently, it’s off the table, because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough. So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It’s firmly on the shelf.”

NOT PICKED UP

Bloodmoon

House of the Dragon will forever be the first Game of Thrones spinoff to reach airwaves. However, HBO filmed another spinoff before it. The network spent (at least) $30 million to shoot a pilot for Bloodmoon, a prequel set thousands of years prior to the original series. Starring Naomi Watts, it took place during the Age of Heroes. That’s when legendary figures of the Realm helped establish its most famous houses. At least that’s what the stories say. That mythical era remains shrouded in secrecy.

The series, from showrunner Jane Goldman, also operated under the working title of The Long Night, as it would have covered the original White Walker invasion that plunged the world in darkness. While HBO has said it was a good pilot—and the network was clearly serious about it considering its financial investment—it ultimately passed. That decision shocked many.

Read More: History Of Thrones: The Long Night And Identifying Enemies And Heroes

The public has never seen Bloodmoon‘s lost episode. Not even George R.R. Martin. But it remains a fascinating idea with incredible potential. Just because HBO didn’t order it to air doesn’t mean it won’t some day. Martin always says “shelved” TV shows can always leave the shelf.

Especially in Westeros, where we all know the dead have a way of coming back.

Originally published on January 4, 2024.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post The Status of Every GAME OF THRONES Spinoff HBO Has Ever Developed appeared first on Nerdist.

Dragons will soon dance over Westeros. The Greens and the Blacks will officially go to war when House of the Dragon returns for its second season on HBO. How did the Targaryen family get to this deadly point? Who is battling over the Iron Throne? And why will fire and blood engulf the Realm two centuries before Game of Thrones? You might not remember the answer to those questions and more after a two-year hiatus, so before House of the Dragon season two debuts this is everything you need to remember about season one.

The Major Characters, Houses, and Dragons from House of the Dragon Season 1

Get ready for the Dance of the Dragons with our updated season one primers on all things Targaryen. They’ll help you remember the major figures, families, and fire made flesh creatures of the show’s inaugural year. (Seriously, even if you just rewatched House of the Dragon season one these are all essential reading.)

Every Major New Character On House Of The Dragon
House Of The Dragon Houses That Didn’t Appear On Game Of Thrones
Who Are House Of The Dragon’s 17 Dragons?
Every Major Character Death From House Of The Dragon
The Most Brutal, Shocking, And Gross Moments In House Of The Dragon

King Viserys and His Heir

The Old King, Jaehaerys I, had no obvious heir. To resolve the matter, he called on the Realm to name one for him during a grand gathering at Harrenhal. In the final vote the lords of Westeros chose his grandson Viserys over his cousin, Rhaenys (“The Queen Who Never Was”). Their decision established an unwritten rule that males take precedence over women in the Iron Throne’s line of succession. Their decision also put in motion the future war that would divide House Targaryen and the continent.

King Viserys I and his wife Queen Aemma (who was half Targaryen/half Arryn of the Vale) would have only one surviving child, a daughter Rhaenyra. Viserys told doctors to save their unborn son, whom he believed would one day be king, at the cost of Aemma’s life during a difficult childbirth. However, the baby died a day after his mother. The boy’s death meant Viserys’ brother Daemon remained his legal heir. While the King loved his brother, many, like the Hand of the King Otto Hightower, believed Daemon reckless and dangerous. They thought he would bring ruin to the Realm if he ever ascended to the throne.

After the much-maligned Daemon was overheard toasting about his nephew’s death (“the heir for a day”), an irate Viserys named Rhaenyra his successor and ordered Daemon to leave King’s Landing. Viserys then made the lords of Westeros swear oaths to accept Rhaenyra as his rightful, lawful successor. That’s also when he told his daughter the real reason Aegon the Conqueror united the Realm.

Aegon the Conqueror’s White Walker Dream

Aegon had a dream about the eventual White Walker invasion. He believed only a united Westeros led by House Targaryen could stop the end of the world. This revelation is one of the biggest in the history of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Viserys Shocks the Realm and Marries Alicent

With Daemon out of both King’s Landing and his brother’s good graces, the conniving Otto Hightower was free of his most powerful enemy. With a grieving Viserys vulnerable, the Hand of the King made his move. He instructed his daughter to console the Viserys during his time of grief. The obvious, creepy power play paid off, as the King shocked everyone by marrying Alicent rather than a more politically savvy suitor.

They would go on to have four children: the detestable, lazy, amoral Aegon, the sweet, simple Helaena (who has prophetic dreams), the focused, driven warrior Aemond, and Daeron who did not appear in season one. Aegon also married his sister Haelana. He was a terrible, uncaring, unattentive husband who likely fathered many children out of wedlock while drinking his life away in King’s Landing. But the two did have three children, the twins Jaehaerys and Jahaera and their young sibling Maelor, who did not appear in season one.

Some people thought Aegon should have usurped Rhaenyra as heir, but Viserys did not change his succession plans. (Though during one drunken evening he did express doubts to Alicent about whether or not he should.) His unexpected marriage did lead to Rhaenyra losing something else, though. It caused a deep rift in the previously loving friendship Alicent had with the Princess.

Rhaenyra’s own actions pushed them even further apart.

Rhaenyra Almost Loses Her Spot as Heir

The obstinate, independent Rhaenyra refused to pick a husband from the innumerable suitors (including lords of Great Houses) who came forth to offer their hand in marriage. Lacking the political savvy and/or will to treat them gently, she also left many feeling insulted. Viserys finally forced her into an arranged marriage with Laenor Velaryon—son of the powerful Lord of the Tides and Master of Ships, Corlys Velaryon—after Viserys heard scandalous reports about his daughter cavorting in Flea Bottom with her uncle Daemon. In response an irate Viserys said if Rhaenyra did not agree to the marriage he would name her half-brother Aegon as his lawful heir instead.

While Rhaenyra maintained her position as heir, her evening did result in two powerful figures losing their place in the King’s court. Viserys finally realized how Otto had manipulated him into marrying Alicent and removed Otto as Hand of the King. And Daemon, who had returned to King’s Landing in glory after winning a war in the vitally important Stepstones alongside Corlys Velaryon, saw his scandalous evening with Rhaenyra lead to a second estrangement from his brother.

What no one knew was that Rhaenyra had actually ended that night with her sworn protector and member of the Kingsguard, the worst human on the planet, Ser Criston Cole. Their relationship would also forever change the Realm.

The Many Loves of Rhaenyra

Before her marriage, Criston Cole, who’d violated his sacred Kingsguard oath already, proposed that Rhaneyra run off to Essos with him. She refused to give up her future crown and the world-changing prophecy entrusted to her. That ended their relationship. The awful, despicable loser grew to hate Rhaenyra and instead swore his life to protecting her rival, Queen Alicent.

Rhaenyra’s first marriage also helped lead to the coming civil war. She had no problem that Laenor was gay, and the two agreed to live their own lives will still maintaining a strong personal bond. He spent his time with his paramours while she spent hers with Ser Harwin Strong, the son of new Hand of the King Lyonel Strong. Rhaenyra’s three dark-haired sons were all clearly Harwin’s offspring, an open secret everyone but Viserys knew.

Eventually Rhaenyra and Laenor came up with a plan to fake his death so he could live freely in Essos and she could marry her uncle Daemon, recently widowed for the second time. (He caused his first wife’s fatal accident and his second, the sister of Laenor had her dragon Vhagar bathe her in flame during childbirth.)

Everyone, including Laenor’s powerful parents, assumed Rhaenyra and Daemon had Laenor killed. Rhaenyra and Daemon would have two children, Aegon (yes, another one) and Viserys. Both had blonde Targaryen hair.

The Two Families of Viserys Don’t See Eye to Eye

The kind but naive Viserys was desperate for all his grandchildren to grow up together and form strong familial bond that would strengthen House Targaryen. Instead Alicent’s boys mocked their “strong” cousins for clearly being illegitimate. Their feud would erupt one fateful night after Aemond claimed the biggest dragon in the world, Vhagar. When he returned from his first flight a fight between the boys led to Rhaenyra’s son Luke slicing out Aemond’s eye. The entire royal court then saw just how much animosity existed between Alicent and Rhaenyra.

Alicent believed she’d always been dutiful while Rhaenyra did whatever she wanted. Rhaenyra believed Alicent, who wanted Luke to lose an eye as payment, was a fraud long hiding behind a veil of morality.

Larys Strong Kills His Family and Otto Hightower Returns

Larys Clubfoot, Master of Whispers, had his father and brother killed in a fire at Harrenhal, making him Lord of the giant ruined castle. He then worked for Queen Alicent, who kept Larys happy by indulging his foot fetish.

The less said about all of that the better.

Deathbed Confusion Leads to a New King

A dying Viserys spent his final night on Earth happy. He’d organized a dinner for all his family where everyone had a nice time. But when Viserys left Aemond couldn’t help but insult his cousins, splintering the two sides again. Alicent then went to see her husband. He believed he was talking to Rhaenyra about Aegon’s dream. Alicent thought Viserys was talking about their son and that he wanted their child to become king and not Rhaenyra.

When Alicent went to the small council she learned they were already planning to install Aegon as king over Rhaenyra, who was back at Dragonstone unaware her father had even died. Criston Cole murdered the only member of the council who spoke up against the coup. Days later, and after making lords and ladies in King’s Landing choose a side at threat of death, Cole crowned a previously reluctant Aegon in the Dragonpit with the Conqueror’s crown and sword in front of all King’s Landing.

Princess Rhaenys, who Alicent had tried to imprison in the Red Keep, ruined the festivities when she broke through the floor with her dragon Meleys. Rhaenys opted not to kill the Hightower faction, even though her two granddaughters and only unquestioned living heirs will now be in danger. Rhaenys instead flew to Dragonstone to alert Rhaenyra about Aegon taking the Iron Throne.

The Dance of the Dragons Begins With a Mother’s Grief

Rhaenyra did not respond with fire and blood to her brother’s treachery. She showed restraint and debated whether she should give up her claim to keep the peace. (In large part because of Aegon the Conqueror’s dream.)

But she still made moves to shore up her support after being named Queen with her father’s crown. (The Kingsguard Arryk Cargyll had stolen it and brought it to her, while his identical twin brother Erryk stayed to serve in Aegon’s Kingsguard.) Rhaenyra then sent her two oldest sons, Jace and Luke, off to see if the Lords of Westeros remembered their oaths to her.

Some did, but others hadn’t even made them. Their fathers had. That included Borros Baratheon, who agreed to support Aegon in exchange for Aemond marrying one of his daughters.

Prince Lucerys knew none of this when he arrived at Storm’s End to seek the support of House Baratheon. There Luke found an angry Borros and his cousin, who wanted one of Luke’s eyes for long overdue retribution.

Luke then left on his small dragon and Aemond followed on Vhagar. As Aemond chased Luke down to merely toy with him, the dragons acted out and Vhagar killed both Luke’s dragon and the young prince. Season one ended with Daemon telling Rhaenyra about her child’s death.

And so the Dance of the Dragons began.

Now you’re all caught up on season one. So get ready for the show’s second season with Everything We Know About House of the Dragon Season 2.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who talks about Westeros like it’s a real place. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post What You Need to Remember for HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon‘s first season put the pieces in place for all-out war, but the new trailer for the show’s sophomore season reminds us this family showdown won’t be limited to just the battlefield. The combatants will also need to struggle with their own demons and the choices they made that brought them to this point. And the two women at the center of this bloody war both know that in the end neither of them might win.

“Fire and blood” have come to Westeros, and the whole continent is going to burn in season two. This latest look at the infamous civil war that tore the Realm apart two centuries before Game of Thrones will pull in all Seven Kingdoms. But its the internal war its chief combatants must grapple with that could determine the outcome. Though, as both Olivia Cooke’s Queen Alicent and Emma Darcy’s Queen Rhaenyra know, sometimes to win a war you have to be willing to lose your soul. Are either willing to do that? House of the Dragon‘s latest trailer is a wild one, indeed.

House of the Dragon‘s other returning season one stars include Matt Smith, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Other returning cast members include Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham. 

Season two will also feature some important new faces in major roles. Abubakar Salim is onboard as Alyn of Hull. Clinton Liberty will play his brother Addam of Hull. Gayle Rankin will play the mysterious Alys Rivers. Freddie Fox will join the Hightower family as Ser Gwayne Hightower. Simon Russell Beale is headed to House Strong as Ser Simon. Tom Taylor will represent the North as Lord Cregan Stark. Vincent Regan will star as Ser Rickard Thorne. And Jamie Kenna has joined as Ser Alfred Broome. Meanwhile Kieran Bew will play Hugh the Hammer and Tom Bennett will play Ulf the White. They are two very important figures in the Dance of the Dragons.

House of the Dragon will return with its second season at HBO on Sunday June 16. It premieres at 9:00 pm ET. It will also be available to stream on Max. Pick your side well. Or, better yet, stay out of a war of fire and blood entirely. That might be the only way to win.

The post It’s All-Out War in HOUSE OF THE DRAGON’s New Season 2 Trailer appeared first on Nerdist.

Westeros has one Iron Throne, but on House of the Dragon two people now claim it as their own. And that means civil war has come to House Targaryen and the Realm. The prequel’s season one finale made sure of that. The death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon killed any chance at a peaceful resolution to the question of succession. But we still have plenty of other questions for the show’s sophomore year. Here are the biggest ahead of House of the Dragon season two.

Jump To: House of the Dragon Questions with Existing Answers // House of the Dragon Questions That Fire & Blood Might Answer // House of the Dragon Questions with Season Two Answers

Important House of the Dragons Questions We Already Have Answers For

There are a couple of major questions about the show’s future we already know the answer to. That will let us focus more time on the many we don’t know.

Will There Be Any More Time Jumps in House of the Dragon?

The big time jumps of House of the Dragon season one are a thing of the past. Showrunner Ryan Condal has said there will not be anymore large passages of time between episodes going forward. House of the Dragon will be more like Game of Thrones in that regard. (And considering what we know about the Dance of the Dragons, the prequel could ultimately be even more condensed than its predecessor.)

When Will House of the Dragon Season Two Release?

HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a second season in late August just five days after the premiere. It will release on June 16 with weekly episodes for eight weeks.

House of the Dragon Questions George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood Can/Might Answer

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. But the series has already made major changes to the timeline and specifics around certain events. It can (almost certainly will in some cases) do the same in the future. So we only think we know the answers to these questions.

Who Will Claim Vermithor and the Other Dragons Without Riders?

Rhaenyra’s side has a big dragon advantage over the greens, but not in the way that matters. Most of their dragons lack experience in battle, and even more have no rider at all. Vermithor, the dragon Daemon sang to, is the biggest left without a mount. But there are others.

That includes three very wild, dangerous dragons. Who—if anyone—will claim them and what will that mean for the war?

Who Will the North, Vale, and Riverlands Declare Their Loyalty To?

Both sides have dragons, but they still need men to win this war. Especially the men who lead the Realm’s greatest and most powerful houses. Lord Boros of Storm’s End declared for Aegon, but Rhaenyra is counting on House Stark in the North and House Arryn in the Vale to support her.

She has reason to think both will, but Lord Grover Tully of (the vital) Riverlands is a wild card. Will Daemon’s dragon flight there be enough to bring House Tully and all its sworn houses to Rhaenyra’s cause? Or will the region fight for Aegon?

Is Mysaria the White Worm Still Alive?

Alicent and Larys Strong conspired to burn down Mysaria’s manse. She not only had spies throughout King’s Landing and the Red Keep, she was a valuable asset to Otto Hightower. But we never actually saw her (or anyone else’s) body burn. Is she still alive? If so, what kind of role will a powerful purveyor of spies play during the Dance of the Dragons? And might Mysaria’s past with Daemon influence her actions for or against Rhaenyra?

How Will Rhaenyra Respond to the Death of Her Son Lucerys?

House of the Dragon‘s first season ended on an ominous note. After learning about the death of her son Lucerys, Queen Rhaenyra’s resolve hardened. Any thoughts of peacefully ending the war died with Luke. But how exactly will a mourning mother respond now that she wants both her throne and blood? We doubt restraint will factor into the answer.

Questions Only House of the Dragon Season Two Can Answer

For as much as we think we know what’s going to happen on House of the Dragon, there’s even more we can’t predict. These are the biggest questions only the show itself can resolve next season.

Will Aemond Tell the Truth About Luke’s Death?

Aemond did not mean to kill Prince Lucerys on House of the Dragon. That’s a departure from the story told in the (unreliable) Fire & Blood. But is that the official story because it’s the one Aemond will tell? Will he lie and say he murdered his nephew intentionally? If not he’ll have to admit he’s not in control of Vhagar. Will he elect to look weak or be thought a dangerous kinslayer?

Will Rhaenyra Tell Anyone Else About Aegon the Conqueror’s Prophecy?

Aegon the Conqueror’s “song of ice and fire” completely changed Rhaenyra’s own story. But even though he was briefly Viserys’s heir, the King never told his brother Daemon about the prophecy. Does anyone else know about it? Will Rhaenyra share the Conqueror’s vision with more people? If so, how will that impact their support during the war?

Will Ser Laenor Velaryon Return in House of the Dragon Season Two?

Unlike in Martin’s books, Ser Laenor Velaryon is not actually dead. He only faked his death so him and Rhaenyra could be free from the duty that bound them to a life of misery. Since he only lived on the show, only House of the Dragon can tell us if he’ll ever return to Westeros and his dragon Seasmoke.

Will Halaena Targaryen Predict Other Major Events?

From cryptically foretelling of Aemond losing his eye to gain a dragon, to the civil war now threatening to tear her family apart, to predicting “the beast beneath the boards,” the new Queen of Westeros has proven herself to either be a prophetess, witch, or yet another Targaryen dreamer. Whatever she is, Halaena can clearly see the future. So what other major events will she see before they happen? And, more importantly, will anyone in her family ever realize they should listen to her?

Is Aemond the Real Father of Halaena’s Children?

One fan theory to arise during House of the Dragon‘s first season is that Aemond, rather than her brother-husband King Aegon, is really the father of Halaena’s children. Not all the “evidence” holds up to scrutiny, but some of it absolutely does. Aemond is also dedicated to his duties. Did he see protecting his sister and ensuring more heirs as part of his familial responsibilities since Aegon is an absentee husband? Does Aemond love his sister romantically? All of the above? Or is this just a fun theory without merit?

Is Lord Larys “The Clubfoot” Strong Actually a Warg?

The other major fan theory from House of the Dragon says Larys Strong is actually a warg who can inhabit the many, many, many rats of King’s Landing. That could explain why he knows so many secrets of the royal court. He’s a strange man (and not because of his foot fetish), but is he even more peculiar than we thought? Is he really a warg like Bran Stark?

We have a lot of questions we need answered and it will happen soon.

Originally published October 26, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Civil war has come to Westeros, but the Dance of the Dragons won’t be the only infamous feud viewers see during House of the Dragon‘s second season. The series will also feature Westeros’ answer to the Hatfields and the McCoys, House Bracken and House Blackwood. Who are these ancient families from the Riverlands and why do they hate each other so much? And what does their infamous animosity mean for the Targaryens fighting over the Iron Throne? Here’s what to know about the Realm’s oldest, most enduring, most personal clash.

Age of the First Men and the River Kings

The Targaryens’ ultimately ruled Westeros for three hundred years, a mere blip in the Realm’s long history. Some families, like House Stark, trace their bloodline all the way back to the First Men. Those settlers arrived 12,000 years before Aegon and his sister-wives brought dragons to the Seven Kingdoms.

The First Men fought the Children of the Forest for two thousand years until the sides signed a peace agreement. During the Age of Heroes that followed, the Children retreated north. Meanwhile petty kings of men fought each other for millennia to rule different regions across the continent. One area frequently contested was the fertile riverlands. Over time many different houses ruled as river kings. That included the neighboring families of House Bracken and House Blackwood. Their battle for the riverlands is where their bitter feud began.

House Bracken of Stone Hedge

The ancient House Bracken of Stone Hedge in the riverlands dates its founding to the First Men. At the time of House Targaryen’s rule it controlled a large area of land along the Red Fork, one of the three important rivers that make up the Trident. Their sigil celebrates their renown for breeding horses. It features a red stallion upon a golden shield on brown.

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During the Age of Heroes House Bracken ruled the Red Fork for a time as kings. This is not disputed, but how they lost their kingdom is. According to the Brackens their vassals of House Blackwood usurped them. Only, House Blackwood tells a very different story.

House Blackwood of Raventree Hall

House Blackwood’s Raventree Hall sits in the Blackwood Vale, which is just north of the Red Fork. The ancient family’s own history also dates back to the First Men, except they originally hailed from the wolfswood in the north. The Kings of Winter from House Stark drove the Blackwoods to the riverlands. According to Blackwood tradition, they then ruled as river kings from the Blackwater Rush’s mouth. They also say they ruled as kings opposite House Bracken, not as vassals to the Brackens. The Blackwoods say their enemies were mere petty kings who hired sellswords to fight House Blackwood.

We will likely never know if either side’s version is the whole truth. Westeros’s ancient history is as much myth and legend as fact. But we know why their sigil features a dead weirwood on a black shield surrounded by a flock of black ravens on scarlet. That poisoned tree memorializes a major moment of escalation between the two families.

Bracken and Blackwood Unite Against the Andals

When the Andals crossed from Essos into Westeros House Bracken and House Blackwood put aside their long held animosity to unite against a common enemy. It wasn’t enough. Their combined force fell to the Andals. (As did most kingdoms and Houses outside the North.) What followed that defeat only made the families’ hatred for one another deepen.

Following their loss House Bracken did what most families south of the North did: it converted to the Andals’ Faith of the Seven. House Blackwood did not. It kept the old gods the First Men had adopted thousands of years earlier from the Children of the Forest. The split in religious beliefs caused new, more personal problems. The Blackwoods claim House Bracken poisoned the sacred weirwood at Raventree Hall. The appearance of the poisoned tree on the Blackwood sigil shows just how important that event was to the family, even if we don’t know whether or not the Brackens were actually responsible.

Whatever the truth, it’s one of the many events neither family has ever forgiven despite many attempts to bury the hatchet.

The Many Failed Attempts to End the Bracken and Blackwood Feud

The Brackens and Blackwoods attempted to end their feud many times via marriage. A bastard born of both houses even became King of the Trident once. But no matter how often they combined their families, the feud ultimately always restarted. While they often fought over disputed nearby lands, their history reveals a hostility that went far beyond power. They hated one another on a personal level.

That hatred not only prevented either house from gaining more power, it also left the riverlands vulnerable. A few centuries before House Targaryen’s arrival, House Blackwood united with the Storm King in a war against the riverlands other kings. But rather than the Blackwoods emerging as the unquestioned rulers of the region, the riverlands became part of the Storm King’s domain instead.

Three hundred years later House Bracken betrayed the Blackwoods in its fight against House Hoare, Kings of the Iron Islands. Instead of a Bracken becoming King of the Trident, House Hoare usurped the Storm Kings, putting the riverlands under the domain of the brutal Iron Island kingdom.

The feud also led to both families missing out on a chance to become the major house of their region when Aegon the Conqueror arrived.

Aegon the Conqueror Passes Over Both Bracken and Blackwood

Bracken and Blackwoods alike joined House Targaryen in its battle against the Iron Island King Harren the Black. But when Aegon burned Harren and his sons inside Harren’s just finished Harrenhal castle, the Conqueror named the Lord of House Tully as Lord Paramount of the Trident rather than the lords of House Bracken and House Blackwood.

The two sides had fought a secret war against one another a decade before, for which Harren had punished them. That left both families in a weakened state when Aegon selected his representative to lead the region.

House Bracken and House Blackwood Under Targaryen Rule

Aegon’s wife, Queen Visenya, tried to end the feud with a double marriage between the families, but the double matrimony failed just as all previous marriages. During the first one hundred years of House Targaryen’s reign, both Bracken and Blackwoods found themselves mixed up with the royal family, often with deadly results. Lord Blackwood also backed the losing finalists put forward as King Jaehaerys’ heir, a title that fell to Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys.

The Bracken and Blackwood feud even erupted when Viserys sent his daughter on a trip to find a suitable husband. During an event with the king’s heir young, Amos Bracken fought with young Samwell Blackwood.

We saw a similar moment during House of the Dragon‘s first season between Willem Blackwood and Jerrel Bracken. They drew swords after Jerrel mocked Willem while he spoke to the princess. However, unlike in George R.R. Martin’s history where Amos and Samwell merely fought that day, on the HBO series Willem killed Jerrel.

We already know that deadly encounter won’t be the last time we see Westeros’ Hatfields and McCoys on the show.

House Bracken and House Blackwood in House of the Dragon Season 2

Trailers for House of the Dragon‘s second season show an intense encounter between a Bracken and members of House Blackwood. Why are they drawing swords? What are they fighting over now? Most importantly, which side of the Targaryen civil war will each family support in the Dance of the Dragons? Considering each side controls a force in the riverlands even larger than House Tully commands, both the greens and blacks will want the Bracken and Blackwoods as allies.

Will they back the same dragon? Or go to war against one another? Even if you don’t already know the answer from Martin’s history, you can probably guess what these families will do. It’s what they’ve always done for thousands of years full of hatred for one another.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who talks about Westeros like it’s a real place. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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In early 2018 Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss signed on with Lucasfilm. The duo behind HBO’s global phenomenon were going to make a series of Star Wars films. More than a year later they were still on track to shoot in the galaxy far, far away. But that was a long time ago. The studio eventually scrapped every film it had been developing, including the mystery project from Benioff and Weiss. Now we finally know what story they wanted to tell. It’s one Lucasfilm is still planning to bring to the screen. The pair revealed they wanted to tell a story about “The First Jedi,” a concept that sounds a lot like James Mangold’s upcoming Star Wars movie.

Benioff and Weiss have now returned to television with Netflix’s 3 Body Problem, another big budget show. Just like with George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, it’s also an adaptation of another complicated book series. It’s based on Chinese author Liu Cixin’s Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy.

Ahead of the show’s release they sat down with The Hollywood Reporter‘s James Hibberd to discuss their journey from the fantasy realm of Westeros to a complex sci-fi world. Along the way they made a stop in another galaxy to discuss the idea behind their unmade Star Wars project.

“We wanted to do The First Jedi,” Benioff told THR. “Basically how the Jedi Order came to be, why it came to be, the first lightsaber…” The two also joked around about how mad they were when Rian Johnson ruined their “obvious title” by naming his film The Last Jedi.

In a more recent interview, Benioff and Weiss also shared how far into the development process their Star Wars movies were when they were canceled. Weiss revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, “I think we got relatively far, storywise, with the first one. We like had a basic roadmap to the other two, and it was a shame.”

So, what happened to the project? Benioff said it was simple: they “had a very specific story idea in mind” and Lucasfilm decided not to make it. That’s a tale as old as time in Hollywood, but in 2023 Lucasfilm announced James Mangold will direct a featured film called Dawn of the Jedi. It will explore the exact same concept and ancient time period Benioff and Weiss hoped to cover.

That doesn’t mean Mangold’s film will be similar to the one the Game of Thrones creators had planned. All it means is their general idea was one Lucasfilm liked. Whether that’s any consolation, or a point of aggravation, to them probably doesn’t matter. Right now all the two likely care about, though, is whether or not people like the sci-fi story they did get to tell with 3 Body Problem.

Originally published on January 10, 2024.

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House of the Dragon‘s first season showed the Targaryen family’s decades long march to civil war. Now comes the fire and blood. It’s a battle HBO thinks is too big for just one trailer, so the network released two competing House of the Dragon clips to kickoff the prequel’s second season.

It’s time for everyone to choose whether they are with Rhaeynra’s blacks or Aegon’s greens.

The Dance of the Dragons is officially on. Fans of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book know it’s a war destined to consume the realm. But even if you don’t know how this Game of Thrones prequel ends, each House of the Dragon trailer shows just how destructive this era of House Targaryen truly became. That’s what happens when each side has plenty of dragons and plenty of hate for one another. Queen Rhaenyra has more of both than anyone after the death of her son in season one’s finale. She’s a mother in mourning and the rightful heir robbed of the Iron Throne. And she has more of the Seven Kingdom’s greatest power, the beasts known as fire made flesh.

But she’s not the only one willing to risk everything to claim her ancestor’s chair. Alicent and the greens who support her son are also ready to take to the skies as seen in their side’s season two trailer.

House of the Dragon‘s second season will mark the return of stars Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, and Olivia Cooke. Also back for a lot more fire and blood are Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Matthew Needham, and Rhys Ifans.

A lot of newcomers in important roles will join them this season. That includes Simon Russell Beale as Harrenhal castellan Ser Simon Strong. Freddie Fox plays ser Ser Gwayne Hightower. Gayle Rankin will star as the mysterious Alys Rivers. Abubakar Salim is setting saul as Alyn of Hull alongside Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull. And season two will also mark the debuts of Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh the Hammer, Tom Bennett as Ulf the White, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.

How many of them will survive a brutal Targaryen civil war of fire and blood? We’ll find out when House of the Dragon‘s one and only second season premieres at HBO this summer on June 16.

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When the end of Game of Thrones was still a highly anticipated event rather than a very sore subject, reports said the show’s co-creators were considering ending their time in Westeros with three feature films. George R.R. Martin confirmed those rumors in 2020. But how close did David Benioff and D.B. Weiss come to actually finishing their song of ice and fire with a big screen trilogy? That’s a matter of perspective. The two have now said they really did plan to complete Game of Thrones‘ story in theaters. Only, HBO refused to let its smash hit TV show go to the movies.

Benioff and Weiss told to The Wall Street Journal (in news we first saw at Variety) they really did want to end Game of Thrones with a trilogy of theatrical releases. The three movies would have replaced what ended up being the final two seasons of the drama. So what happened to their plans? HBO executives reminded the two showrunners Game of Thrones was a television show. Benioff said one pithy exec told them HBO stood for “Home Box Office” and not “Away Box Office.”

Good line! Tyrion-esque.

It’s hard to quibble with HBO for wanting its worldwide phenomenon TV show to finish its run as a TV show on HBO. Feature films also would have taken away from the weekly excitement a new season always brought. For lots of obvious reasons, though, it would have been fun to see Westeros on the biggest screen possible. Imagine Drogon in IMAX. But it’s also really hard not to wonder what might have been if we got those three movies instead of the divisive final 13 episodes that ended Game of Thrones.

They might not have been any better. A change in format would have made a difference in at least some ways, sure, but those films likely would have been remarkably similar to seasons 7 and 8. HBO gave Benioff and Weiss the same type of time and budget for the show that movies would have required.

The only thing we can safely say is that those films probably couldn’t have been any worse.

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It’s officially Super Bowl week. For sports fans that means we’ll soon see which team is crowned champion of the National Football League. For everyone else it means watching a bunch of very expensive commercials featuring famous celebrities. Sometimes those ads are memorable and sometimes they’re a big (game) disappointment. How can companies avoid the latter? Simple: reunite two popular stars of a beloved show. That’s what MTN DEW did for its new campaign. It stars ray of sunshine Aubrey Plaza having a Baja Blast even before she rides atop a dragon opposite her Parks and Rec costar Nick Offerman.

“America’s sweetheart” is having definitely having a good time everywhere she goes in MTN DEW’s new promo. Well, she’s having a “blast” in the exact way you’d expect Aubrey Plaza to go through life. But the “good” times really take off at the end of the ad when she goes full Game of Thrones by riding a dragon. As Daenerys learned, though, you’re better off having someone ride with you, and that’s what Plaza does when her former Parks and Rec boss joins her in the skies.

This commercial isn’t just a (Baja) blast for fans of the NBC sitcom. Plaza told Variety she was “dying” over the chance to work with Offerman again. “It was so fun because I love Nick so much,” she said, “And even though we’re not playing our characters in Parks and Rec it does feel in some way like a little April and Ron reunion and I feel like in some alternate universe, this is exactly what they would be doing. So it all made sense to me.”

Ron Swanson would definitely love owning a dragon if he lived in Westeros. April Ludgate would also definitely burn down King’s Landing for no reason if given the chance, so that checks out. As does our theory that reuniting sitcom stars is always a win to make a winning Super Bowl commercial.

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Whether you loved or hated how Game of Thrones‘ finished its story there’s no denying it’s ending wasn’t exactly popular. After creating a worldwide phenomenon, co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss didn’t deliver the kind of conclusion many had hoped for. Considering the backlash, do they have any regrets about their journey through Westeros? Actually they do. Only, Benioff and Weiss’ Game of Thrones regret has nothing to do with how they ended their time in the Seven Kingdoms. This “mistake” is not the last one you’d ever guess, though. It’s something you’d never even think of. They wish they’d briefly brought back a minor season one character as the owner of a small tavern.

In a story that will surely make some Game of Thrones fans want to drink, The Hollywood Reporter shared a leftover tidbit from its recent big interview with Benioff and Weiss. While discussing their time in the Realm, Benioff and Weiss mentioned something they’d wish they’d done during their time on Game of Thrones. It had nothing to do with Bran becoming King under absurd circumstances or dragons traveling at warp speed. Nor did they mention Dany “kind of” forgetting about the Iron Fleet. It had to do with Mord, the Eyrie’s crude Sky Cell jailer, whom Tyrion paid off with a sack of gold.

Yes. Mord the Jailer. Here’s a photo of him for those who don’t remember Mord because he only appeared in two Game of Throne episodes.

Mord.

“It was a mistake not bringing Mord the Jailer back into it,” Weiss said. “We always talked about doing it.” Out of thousands of characters and countless story decisions, what exactly could the two showrunners regret about freaking Mord? Not showing what he did with his Lannister gold? Specifically, Benioff and Weiss regret not showing Mord as a tavern owner on Game of Thrones.

“We could have had that actor in the background acting exactly the way he did as a jailer,” said Weiss. “Except now as a small business owner. It was just such an obvious, no-brainer, day-after idea.” We’re not sure we agree with no-brainer, since the idea of Mord handling payroll and putting in ale orders seems far-fetched. But regardless, Benioff said it was “too late” when they realized they could have done that during either a Brienne or Hound scene.

….Dang? I guess your disappointment or apathy about this depends on how you feel about Mord. The Jailer. From Game of Thrones.

Do you have any thoughts on Mord? If you do, please send them to us via raven because we’d love to know why. We’re also willing to hear all the many regrets you have from Benioff and Weiss’s time on Game of Thrones. Just so long as you’re willing to listen to ours.*

*None of them include Mord.

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Iron Islanders sure do understand how television works. “What is dead may never die, but rises again harder and stronger.” A report released in 2021 shared that HBO was developing three additional spinoff possibilities for Game of Thrones. The three new concepts included 9 Voyages (a.k.a. Sea Snake), Flea Bottom, and 10,000 Ships. While Flea Bag has since been shelved, and 10,000 Ships remains in development as of April 2023, it is the first project, Sea Snake, that seems to be the furthest along in the developmental process. Deadline says it already has a creative team, which includes Bruno Heller (Rome, Gotham). Additionally, G.R.R. Martin recently gave the project a fairly extensive update in his latest blog post.

The Sea Snake Spinoff Will Now Be Animated

Sea Snake would follow the many adventures of Westeros’ most legendary seafarer, Corlys Velaryon. The famed hero lived one of the most extraordinary lives of anyone who ever called the Seven Kingdoms home. That includes both afar and in Westeros. The show would follow his many journeys to every corner of the world, bringing him to places the original series never touched. That includes arguably the most mysterious place in all of George R.R. Marin’s fantasy world, Asshai.

No surprise, we’re big fans of this idea. It’s similar to two concepts we suggested way back in 2017, when HBO first acknowledged the possibility of spinoffs. Not only would it open up the world across the Narrow Sea, it would explore stories very different than those of the original series. It would also complement the currently airing Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. An older Corlys Velaryon was a major figure in the Dance of the Dragons. His later life at home was just as noteworthy as were his younger years abroad.

Martin recently shared an update about the Sea Snake show in a blog post shared on December 31, 2023. He noted that Sea Snake has shifted from a live-action series to an animated one. But that this change is a positive one. Martin writes of the Game of Thrones spinoff, “We have moved Nine Voyages, our series about the legendary voyages of the Sea Snake, over from live action to animation. A move I support fully. Budgetary constraints would likely have made a live-action version prohibitively expensive, what with half the show taking place at sea, and the necessity of creating a different port every week, from Driftmark to Lys to the Basilisk Isles to Volantis to Qarth to… well, on and on and on.   There’s a whole world out there.  And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation.”

The Flea Bag Game of Thrones Spinoff Has Been Shelved

Although the Flea Bottom spinoff has been presently shelved, the series would have followed the lives of the poorest citizens in King’s Landing’s most notorious district. The original home of Davos Seaworth, it was seen throughout Game of Thrones. Gendry returned there to hide in plain sight, and Arya had to survive in its narrow streets before she left the city.

HBO

10,000 Ships Remains in Development

10,000 Ships would explore the legendary story of Princess Nymeria. (Not Oberyn’s paramour.) She led her people of the Rhoynar out of Essos after the Valyrian Freehold conquered the region, 700 years before Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros. Her long and dangerous three-year path to find a new home ultimately led her to Dorne. Once there she burned all the ships, married Lord Martell of Sunspear, and fought to rule the kingdom. She was successful, which is why the Dornish, unlike the other six kingdoms of Westeros, have royal titles like Prince and Princess. Nymeria was also a hero of Arya Stark.

Like Corlys’ adventures, 10,000 Ships would open up Martin’s massive world. But on a smaller scale. Nymeria didn’t travel as far for nearly as long. But all three shows are a world away from becoming a series. According to Martin, as of April 2023, the series continues to be in development.

Most Game of Thrones spinoffs HBO has developed have never become anything more than an idea. But like winter, more shows are coming. And even if these projects don’t happen now, they could always be revived in the future. In Westeros, what is dead may never die.

Originally published on March 19, 2023.

Featured Image: HBO

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“There is no war so hateful to the gods than a war between kin.” We’re not sure how much the gods will be involved in House of the Dragon‘s sophomore outing, but the new trailer for the show’s second season features a whole lot of hate and war. Rhaenyra Targaryen is coming for both vengeance and the Iron Throne. And everyone, on both sides, who splintered House Targaryen is now preparing for the blood that will surely follow all that fire. HBO has finally debuted its highly anticipated first trailer for House of the Dragon season two. It premiered at this year’s CCXP23 panel in São Paulo, Brazil. This promo more than delivers on the promise of rage and death teased during the first season’s final moments.

Rhaenyra’s son is gone and she’s determined to make those responsible for his death answer. They know what’s coming, too. This House of the Dragon season two trailer has an underlying sense of regret, as the members of House Hightower who stole Rhaenyra’s crown must face the grim reality of having succeeded. Death is coming for all involved. And with both sides having dragons it’s coming in the form of fire. Bad for them, but it should make for a great season of television for us.

The show also announced some new cast members. Some will end up playing major roles on the show. (We won’t spoil which ones for you.) The new stars include: Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne. Previously announced new season two cast includes Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, and Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong.

The show will also feature a number of returning stars. Back for more chaos in the Realm are: Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.

What Is the Release Date for House of the Dragon Season 2?

The eight-episode second season debuts at HBO next summer in 2024.

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There was never any question of whether or not HBO would return to Westeros. The only question was often the network would. George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire features thousands of years of backstories and lore spread across multiple continents. But one thing seemed certain about any potential Game of Thrones spinoff – it would be a prequel. Well, we can forget that. A new report says HBO is developing a Jon Snow sequel series with Kit Harington returning for the Game of Thrones spinoff.

The Hollywood Reporter‘s James Hibberd, author of the behind-the-scenes Game of Thrones book Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, has proven just how true that is. According to him, HBO is currently developing a show about Jon Snow set after the hit HBO series. That’s if the series moves forward. The working title for this Jon Snow spinoff is Snow. We also learned from Emilia Clarke that this idea comes from Kit Harington (George R.R. Martin confirmed it; he’ll be a producer on the series). She told the BBC:

It’s been created by Kit as far as I can understand, so he’s in it from the ground up. So what you will be watching, hopefully, if it happens, is certified by Kit Harington.

Recently, HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi have a brief update on the status of this spinoff, noting: “We’re just working deeply… to get it in shape for a potential greenlight, but at this point, no, no determination on whether it can go all the way.”

In Jon Snow’s final moments, he went to live beyond the Wall with the wildlings. But considering his true identity as Aegon Targaryen, rightful heir to Westeros, it’s easy to imagine why he’d return. Events in the Seven Kingdoms could result in him returning south. That would also make it possible for any and all surviving characters from Game of Thrones to return.

When asked, Harington dodged around giving too much information out about the Jon Snow spinoff, but in many ways, he set the scene for how Jon Snow could return in a new Game of Thrones show. According to Entertainment Weekly, the actor shared:

I think if you asked him, he would’ve felt he got off lightly… At the end of the show, when we find him in that cell, he’s preparing to be beheaded and he wants to be. He’s done. The fact he goes to the Wall is the greatest gift and also the greatest curse. He’s gotta go back up to the place with all this history and live out his life thinking about how he killed Dany, and live out his life thinking about Ygritte dying in his arms, and live out his life thinking about how he hung Olly and live out his life thinking about all of this trauma.

And all of that, the actor concluded, is “interesting.” We won’t read too much into it, but we’ve hard that shows often need an interesting base of ideas. Harington concluded by saying, “So I think where we leave him at the end of the show, there’s always this feeling of like… I think we wanted some kind of little smile that things are okay. He’s not okay.” But hopefully, if Snow does make it onto HBO, Jon Snow will find some kind of peace in the spinoff. Or not; this is Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon, a prequel set 150 years before Thrones, premiered on HBO in August. This latest project is merely the latest of the many—and we do mean many—other Game of Thrones spinoffs HBO is currently considering. However, Snow is the first spinoff that would take place after the main Game of Thrones series. It would completely upend what was always promised to be the end of that story.

Would HBO have ever considered a sequel if the original show’s final two seasons had proven more successful with fans? It’s easy to say no, but wildly popular IPs have a tendency to rise from the dead again and again, like Beric Dondarrion. And since Jon Snow himself came back from the grave once, we really shouldn’t be that surprised that his spinoff show may surface as well.

Originally published on June 17, 2022.

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House of the Dragon is only heading into its second season, yet HBO is moving forward with another Game of Thrones prequel. (Of course, we first heard about it being in development back in 2021, hence the original date of this post, but this whole decade is a void of time.) This second series will be based on George R.R. Martin’s novellas about Dunk and Egg.

The famous pair, who became King Aegon Targaryen V and his legendary Lord Commander, Ser Duncan the Tall, began their time together when “Egg” was a child. He served as squire to Dunk, a lowly, brave hedge knight, as the two traveled all over Westeros. During those years they interacted and lived with the common folk. But they never fully escaped the clutches of Egg’s royalty and the troubles his family faced during that complicated time. Theirs is a remarkable story, full of adventure, intrigue, triumph, and tragedy.

Martin himself has said their tales make for the “most natural follow-up” to his smash hit HBO show. And there’s reason to believe he’s right. Here are the reasons why a Dunk and Egg series will make for a spectacular spin-off.

We Will See the Westeros of the Other 99%

Random House

House of the Dragon will tell “The Dance of the Dragons,” the first Targaryen civil war. Like Game of Thrones, the series will primarily follow the most powerful figures in Westeros. But the Realm consists primarily of common people just trying to survive. Their experiences were, necessarily, not a priority in telling the epic story that followed Robert Baratheon’s death. And HBO’s other prequel, also set against a great war for the Iron Throne, likely won’t give viewers a chance to see that side of the continent much either.

But young Aegon Targaryen’s travels in (general) anonymity with Dunk, during a time of uneasy peace, provided him a perspective few in his family ever had. He interacted with people as far from the royal court as possible. Dunk and Egg’s time wandering Westeros will provide a totally different perspective of the Seven Kingdoms. That means totally different characters and stories, which will allow the series to differentiate itself from the other two Thrones shows.

A Delicate Peace and a Looming Threat Makes for Compelling Storytelling

Dunk and Egg met after the first Blackfyre Rebellion, the second great Targaryen civil war. Unlike “The Dance of the Dragons,” where mostly terrible people fought for power, the Blackfyre Rebellion was a battle between two worthy claimants. And the outcome very nearly went against Egg’s side of the family. The war inevitably splintered the Seven Kingdoms into two factions, even after it ended. The losing side did not quickly forget. They firmly believed, with sincere and understandable cause, that their king had been the rightful heir.

The wounds of the war were fresh while Dunk and Egg traveled during a time of peace. Not everyone Egg came in contact with had supported his side of the Targaryen family. The Blackfyre forces were not fully defeated. either For years they tried to reclaim the throne, a threat both Dunk and Egg were not immune from even while Aegon hid his true identity. Two of Martin’s three novellas embrace both of these circumstances with great success. This time period, when a tenuous peace barely concealed the deep wounds of the Realm, is ripe for great and compelling storytelling.

The Dunk and Egg Series Can Go Anywhere and Everywhere in Westeros

“The Tales of Dunk and Egg” are action-adventure stories. All three novellas (of which Martin has said he’d like to write as many as 12) take place in decidedly different locales. Yet all involve epic showdowns and battles. But they only provide a small glimpse into the places the pair went, the things they saw, the people they met, and the troubles they encountered. We know they went up, down, and across all of Westeros. They roamed from Dorne to the Wall, and crossed from the Sunset Sea in the west to the Narrow Sea in the East.

Game of Thrones showed us some truly amazing places, like the Eyrie in the Vale and Casterly Rock of House Lannister. But we never saw the important seat of House Baratheon: the ancient castle Storm’s End. Nor did we travel to the mysterious island known as the Isle of Faces, where Children of the Forest might still live. And we don’t know if cannibals really do live on the Northern island of Skagos. Dunk and Egg’s adventures are the perfect vessel to opening up the entire Realm—and maybe even beyond. They aren’t fighting a war. Two can move a lot easier than an army.

The Future Three-Eyed Raven

One of Game of Thrones‘ biggest omissions from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels was the Three-Eyed Raven’s backstory. In the books Bran’s mentor was known as the Three-Eyed Crow, a pale white figure who was more tree than man. (The character originally looked like that, but his appearance was greatly altered when they recast Max von Sydow in the role.) Long before he became Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch and disappeared beyond the Wall, the Three-Eyed Crow was the mysterious and feared Hand of the King, Ser Brynden Rivers. Many called him Bloodraven, though never to his face. His life story is one of the most fascinating and consequential in all of Westerosi history.

Bloodraven was one of many highborn bastards of the detestable Aegon the IV. Known as “the Unworthy,” King Aegon legitimized those children on his deathbed. That decision ultimately led to the Blackfyre Rebellion, fought between Aegon’s lawfully sired children and his legitimized bastards. But Bloodraven did not fight with his fellow bastard-born siblings. He stayed loyal to the crown and his half-brother, King Daeron II, Egg’s grandfather. Few though, including the common folk and even Egg, ever truly trusted Brynden Rivers. People believed he possessed dark magical powers that let him see everything, everywhere, at any time. We know from his future as the Three-Eyed Crow the whispers were true.

It’s hard to overstate how big a role Brynden Rivers played in Westeros. First as a member of the royal court, then beyond the Wall where he outlived his natural life by many years. He looms over Dunk and Egg’s adventures. A series about the duo is also a perfect way to explore one of the most fascinating and important characters the Seven Kingdoms ever knew.

Read more about Bloodraven, his abilities, and his importance with our “History of Thrones” series.

We Could Get More Dunk and Egg Written Stories

George R.R. Martin has always had big plans for Dunk and Egg on the page. In 2014 he said his “intent” was to “write a whole series of novellas” about them. But so far he’s only finished three, even though the first was published in 1998. An announced fourth, set at Winterfell, was supposed to be published in 2013. It still hasn’t been released. Considering we all might be Melisandre’s age when (IF!) he finishes The Winds of Winter, let alone the seventh and final book in A Song of Ice and Fire, we might never get another Dunk and Egg story from him. We might not even get more of their general story unless he finishes part two of his Targaryen family history, Fire and Blood. That’s a long of unfinished projects for a notoriously slow writer.

A TV series is our best chance at getting more tales of this memorable pair. That means meeting more great characters—heroes, villains, and those in-between—like the ones who populate the novellas. And since Martin has told so few official stories, a show would come with plenty of mystery and intrigue about what we will see. We know where their story is going, but not much about how they got there.

Westeros has thousands of stories to tell. But few are as perfect for the screen as those of Dunk and Egg.

Originally published January 22, 2021.

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A new report from Variety says HBO is “actively” discussing an Aegon Targaryen Game of Thrones spinoff. This isn’t the first time the network has contemplated doing a series about the man who started his family’s dynasty in Westeros. It was among the original group of spinoff ideas HBO considered as far back as 2016. That version would have presented the legendary Conqueror as a “drunken lout.“

It’s a long path to go from an idea to an actual television show. That’s a road only House of the Dragon has walked flown in Westeros. But should you root for this Aegon series to be the next one to make that journey? That depends on whether you think the pros outweigh the cons.

The Cons of a Game of Thrones Spinoff Series About Aegon the Conqueror

1) There’s not a lot of mystery around the events of his invasion

Aegon’s Conquest is one of the most transformative events in Westeros’ history. That’s why his victory is so well-chronicled, both in-world and in George R.R. Martin’s books. There’s very little we don’t already know about the two-year Conquest’s biggest events. Even Aegon’s failures in Dorne, the one kingdom he never brought under his rule, are well-established.

2) Aegon’s battles were one-sided affairs without much drama

Tywin Lannister once explained to Arya Stark that “Aegon Targaryen changed the rules” of warfare forever. He did that by easily defeating all of his enemies. (Either on the battlefield or when they surrendered before the fight even began.) As fun as it would be to see three dragons sweep over the continent together, almost all of the actual Conquest’s biggest moments are anti-climactic. Even Aegon’s most visually stunning battle, the Field of Fire, would be a letdown. We’ve essentially already seen it on Game of Thrones when Daenerys wiped out the Lannister forces in the Loot Train Attack.

And while Aegon still had wars to fight after being crowned, they’re not as exciting as what we saw on Game of Thrones or what awaits on House of the Dragon.

3) There are maybe too many Targaryens and dragons already

How many Targaryen centered stories do we need or want? Daenerys was a main character on Game of Thrones. And House of the Dragon covers the era of House Targaryen when the family had the most dragons ever under its control. Westeros’s history goes back tens of thousands of years and involves countless families, heroes, and villains. There’s also an entire world of stories beyond its borders. Do we really need yet another series about that one clan of surviving Valyrians? At what point do even dragons get boring?

4) House of the Dragon already revealed the most important secret of Aegon the Conqueror’s story

Why did Aegon suddenly turn his attention west one day? Why did House Targaryen spend a century on Dragonstone before anyone thought to unleash the greatest weapon in history on the Realm? House of the Dragon already told us: Aegon’s Dream drove his conquest. That prophecy convinced him a unified kingdom under his family’s rule was the only thing that could save the world from a White Walker invasion someday.

That was a monumental, franchise-shattering revelation on House of the Dragon. It completely reframed everything we knew about House Targaryen and Aegon the Conqueror. There’s nothing else we could learn about Aegon that would be anywhere near as important.

The Pros of a Game of Thrones Spinoff Series About Aegon the Conqueror

1) An Aegon series could explore what it’s like to truly have power

Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are about the fight for power. Aegon’s story is about truly having it. That’s a very different perspective to explore. What are the burdens and pitfalls of really ruling the world? How did Aegon avoid the fate that befell someone like Robert Baratheon after his own conquest? And how did Aegon shape the way history remembers him and his legacy? Those questions, and all the possibilities for storytelling that come with them, would come to the forefront in a story about the most powerful figure in the history of Westeros.

2) We don’t know the real Aegon

For all its battles, magic, dragons, and shocking moments, Game of Thrones worked because it always centered its story around its characters. From their desires and failures, to their personal relationships, the show mattered because we cared about the people in it. The same is true on House of the Dragon, and it would be true on an Aegon spinoff.

While we know much about the big events in his life, we know very little about the man he actually was. What did he care about when no one was around? What was he afraid of? How did he get along with others? Did he relish his Conquest or bemoan the awesome responsibility that launched his invasion? Even the legendary, larger-than-life Aegon the Conqueror was a real person. Meeting that man in an intimate setting would be fascinating in the best tradition of the franchise.

3) Aegon isn’t the Conquest’s most interesting figure. His sisters are.

History calls it Aegon’s Conquest, but as Arya reminded Tywin, it did not solely belong to him. Aegon’s two sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, helped him take the Realm and ruled alongside him. That’s why House Targaryen’s sigil is a three-headed dragon. Centering all three of them equally would make for a compelling spinoff that could tell a captivating story about family, power, legacy, and love. Aegon didn’t do this alone. His sisters, both very different in personality and in their relationship to their brother-husband, were conquerors, too. There’s even more to learn about them.

4) Family Drama, with a capital “D” for dragons

If you love nothing more than seeing Westeros’s most powerful families engage in some good old-fashioned infighting and drama, a Game of Thrones spinoff series with Aegon and his sister-wives will provide plenty of that. He truly loved one but only married the other out of duty. One was also a fierce and imposing warrior, the other a charming beauty adored by all. Seeing the three of them interact together while currying favor at court would make this spinoff worth it. Far more than the actual invasion.

So do the pros outweigh the cons? Is this a Game of Thrones spinoff idea HBO and Warner Bros. should make a reality? Or is it time to stop focusing on House Targaryen? Not everyone will agree. But if Aegon’s Conquest does come to life, we doubt anyone will complain about seeing Balerion take to the sky.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at  @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon is another global hit for HBO, and more Game of Thrones spinoffs are on the way. Despite all that success, though, most viewers don’t know the name of the woman whose contribution to the franchise helped make all of that possible. Because had author Phyllis Eisenstein not convinced George R.R. Martin to “put the dragons in” his story, most of us might never have met Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and Princess Rhaenyra. Those fantastical beasts have cast a spell over mankind—transcending both culture and time—for as long as people have told stories. They’ve also continued to capture our imaginations since the moment we started putting moving pictures on screen. And without dragons, Westeros might not be the magical phenomenon it’s become.

Dragons have been part of mankind’s myths since the beginning of civilization itself. The first such legend dates back to Ancient Sumer during the 4th or 3rd millennium B.C.E. Those mythical animals started appearing in stories from China, Egypt, and India not long after. Ancient Greece then followed with its own famous dragon tales starting 4,000 years ago, with more societies around the world independently contributing their own tales to dragon lore. (Possibly after finding dinosaur skeletons.) The classic English dragon tales that endure to this day—ones where brave knights battle giant beasts of fire—began earlier than many realize. The Medieval story “Saint George and the Dragon” traces its origins back to around 300 C.E.

The specifics surrounding tales of large reptilian monsters differ throughout history. In some parts of the world dragons are benevolent and heroic. In others they’re cruel and dangerous. Some fly and breathe flames, while others swim or crawl on land. Others have no wings at all, but sport great horns or even antlers. But while their features, size, and personalities change, dragons’ enduring place in our myths and folktales do not. That didn’t change as the way we tell stories do, either. Just as they’ve long adorned works of art, scrolls, and books, they’ve been part of our movies and TV shows for as long as we’ve had those.

The first dragon appeared on screen in Austrian director’s Fritz Lang’s 1924 “Die Nibelungen.” A dragon made its animated film debut in Disney’s 1931 film The China Plate. (They’ve remained a staple of Disney movies ever since.) Those magical beasts then made the jump to TV in 1946 on Kukla, Fran and Ollie. (The final name in the show’s title refers to the puppet Oliver J. Dragon.) The advent of CGI has only made dragons’ place on screen more ubiquitous during the 21st century. Between live-action stories, cartoons, video games, and tabletop adventures, in many ways dragons are more prevalent in society than ever before. The 21st century makes Arthurian legends seem dragon-light.

Dragons owe their oversized place in modern pop culture to the written word just as much as moving pictures, though. J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales of Middle-earth began with The Hobbit, an adventure about defeating a greedy dragon. We’ll never know if that novel would have been beloved without Smaug. Nor if publishers would have gone forward with The Lord of the Rings had the author’s introduction to his fantasy world not been so well received. But we know Bilbo’s journey led to us meeting Frodo, Gandalf, and Sauron, as well as generations of fantasy stories inspired by the Fellowship of the Ring. Without a dragon at the start we wouldn’t have many of the most beloved and influential fantasy epics we have today. That very much includes George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

Westeros is not interesting merely because it has dragons. It’s too rich and layered a world to only define it by one element. But it wouldn’t be the same without dragons. Those creatures add a grandeur and mystical quality the story might not otherwise have. (And, let’s be honest, dragons are always cool.) But most importantly they give A Song of Ice and Fire a timeless quality that speaks to people everywhere.

There’s a reason countless cultures, separated by both time and distance, came up with their own dragon myths. It’s the same reason their place in our stories, both for kids and adults, remains steadfast to this day. Dragons represent the power, beauty, and danger of nature. They represent both the perilous challenges and incredible possibilities all humans face. Dragons are supernatural yet made of flesh. They’re seemingly impossible to defeat or even tame, yet vulnerable as any creature. They can be good or bad or something in-between, same as us. They are a fantasy that capture the horror and wonder of the real world.

And George R.R. Martin almost didn’t include them in his story.

Martin originally considered giving House Targaryen a dragon sigil but no actual dragons. Instead he would have imbued Targaryens with “a psionic power” that was like a “pyrokinesis” where “they could conjure up flames with their minds.” Ultimately, though, his friend and fellow fantasy author Phyllis Eisenstein wisely told him to include actual dragons, forever changing the trajectory of not only Martin’s novels but the entire world of pop culture. Would his books have been as good or successful without dragons? Would HBO have adapted them without that success? And would Game of Thrones, a true global phenomenon, have found its massive audience minus an element that has long been a part of mankind’s stories everywhere?

We’ll never have answers to those questions. We don’t want to know or need to know them anyway, because we know what happened with dragons in the story. We’re reminded of that every time we watch or discuss House of the Dragon, a prequel about the time when House Targaryen had its highest total of dragons ever in Westeros.

Martin dedicated 2000’s A Storm of Swords, arguably the best book in his series, to his friend. But while Phyllis Eisenstein saw the world embrace Game of Thrones, she passed away in 2020. She never got to see dragons take to the sky on House of the Dragon.

Every time they do, though, we should remember her role in making it all possible and be grateful for what she did. Because she recognized something mankind has always known: dragons always have—and always will—make any story better.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s first season reveals that the world of Game of Thrones is so much bigger than just its most famous houses, families, and wardens. Long before Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, other lords and their kin made lasting contributions—-both good and bad—to Westeros. That included the houses that played monumental roles during the first Targaryen civil war, known as The Dance of the Dragons. If you’re only familiar with George R.R. Martin’s world of ice and fire through the original HBO series, though, they’re all new to you. Let us introduce you to House of the Dragon‘s new houses so you can enjoy the prequel spinoff without having to figure out who everyone is.

But beware: this post contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon‘s first season.

New House of the Dragon Houses; Jump to House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Beesbury // House Cole // House Westerling // Other New Houses From House of the Dragon // Named (But Not Yet Seen) Houses

Major New House of the Dragon Houses

House Hightower

The most significant Great House not to factor into Game of Thrones’ story was House Hightower of Oldtown along Westeros’ southwest coast. But the family plays a central role on House of the Dragon.

House Hightower is one of the most ancient, most powerful, most respected families in the Realm. It gained its great wealth through shipping and trade. The family’s name and sigil both refer to the Hightower, a tall castle and lighthouse it built in the center of Oldtown. Their position as lords of the city also contributed to their standing in Westeros. Oldtown is home to the maesters’ Citadel. It was also where the High Septon resided before the Faith of the Seven’s leader relocated his seat to King’s Landing.

Ser Otto Hightower, noted by Daemon Targaryen as a fellow second son, served as Hand of the King during the end of King Jaehaerys’ reign. Ser Otto essentially ran the kingdom as the Old King’s health declined. He then continued in the position under King Viserys I. The widowed Otto also brought his young daughter Alicent to court with him. She tended to the elderly Jaehaerys before his death and (initially) became friends with Rhaenyra Targaryen. But that was just the start of the family’s rise.

Alicent married King Viserys, and they had three children together. (Or four, depending on whether or not the show ultimately introduced their third son.) After years of animosity with Rhaenyra, the “Greens” as Alicent’s faction became known as conspired to place Alicent’s oldest son, Aegon Targaryen, on the Iron Throne, usurping Rhaenyra’s claim as Viserys’s named heir.

House Velaryon

Like House Targaryen, House of the Dragon‘s House Velaryon is an old noble family of Valyria. But unlike the Targaryens, Velaryons were not dragonlords. Instead, they were great seafarers whose family’s head is known as the Lord of Tides. House Velaryon rules over the island of Driftmark just west of Dragonstone in Blackwater Bay. They are the oldest and most loyal bannermen of their Valyrian kin, but House Velaryon actually came to Westeros before the Targaryens.

They also provided most of the royal fleet for House Targaryen. No surprise then that master of ships on the Small Council essentially turned into a hereditary one for Velaryons. Just as it did with the title of lord admiral.

House of the Dragon‘s Lord Corlys Velaryon is known as the Sea Snake. He is Westeros’ most famous and celebrated sailor. He traveled to places no other person in the Realm ever had. His famed exploits also made his family so rich they surpassed even the Lannisters in wealth for a time. The Sea Snake used that money to build House Velaryon a new seat of power, the castle known as High Tide. Corlys is also the husband to The Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys Targaryen. And along with House Hightower and House Targaryen, House Velaryon will play the biggest role on House of the Dragon. And it will contribute greatly to the Dance of the Dragons fighting for Queen Rhaenyra.

House Strong

House Strong of the Riverlands traces its lineage back to the First Men. They also have a long history with House Targaryen in Westeros. Ser Osmund Strong served as Aegon the Conqueror’s fourth Hand of the King. Osmund also was in charge of the completion of King’s Landing and its great walls. A Strong also served in King Jaehaerys’ Kinsguard. (Though that didn’t end well.) And it was Jaehaerys who named House Strong—whose sigil is a white field with a blue, red, and green stripe running down the center—lords of Harrenhal. That’s where Jaehaerys held his Great Council to name his heir.

Lord Lyonel Strong was King Viserys’ master of laws in House of the Dragon before replacing Otto Hightower as Hand of the King. But he wasn’t the only member of his family to play a significant role during the show’s first season. His eldest son, Ser Harwin “Breakbones” Strong was the real father of Rhaenyra’s first three children. But he died alongside his brother during a fire at Harrenhal, a fire his younger brother, Larys the Clubfoot, started. This House has certainly had a fascinating time so far on House of the Dragon.

New House of the Dragon Houses; Jump to House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Beesbury // House Blackwood // House Bracken // House Cole // House Westerling

House Beesbury

House Beesbury is a minor noble house that also traces its founding back to the First Men. Sworn bannermen of House Hightower in the Reach, the family’s seat of Honeyholt sits north of Oldtown. Their sigil features three yellow beehives on a black and yellow striped field.

On House of the Dragon, Lord Lyman Beesbury served as master of coin under King Viserys. Lord Beesbury previously held the same position under King Jaehaerys, despite some of his ancestors ending up on the losing end of trials by combat with Targaryens. That included one where King Jaehaerys himself killed Ser Baxton Beesbury.

Beesbury was the first death during the Dance of the Dragons. Criston Cole murdered Lord Lyman when Beesbury refused to go along with seating Aegon on the Iron Throne.

New House of the Dragon Houses; House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Beesbury // House Cole // House Westerling // Other New Houses From House of the Dragon // Named (But Not Yet Seen) Houses

House Cole

House of the Dragon made clear how small and unimportant House Cole was in Westeros during this era. Princess Rhaenyra had no idea who Ser Criston Cole was. Even the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard knew little about the family. The knight’s shabby armor also made clear his family is not a rich one.

House Cole, a former noble family, comes from the Dornish marshes of the Stormlands and swears allegiance to House Dondarrion. The family sigil is 10 black pellets—mostly likely pieces of coal that gives the house its name—against a scarlet field. Not much more is known about the Coles. But House of the Dragon will reveal why Westeros will never forget the name of this new Game of Thrones house.

House Westerling

House Westerling of the Crag in the Westerlands is a name that readers of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire know well. In the books, Robb Stark didn’t marry Talisa like on Game of Thrones. He married Jeyne Westerling, despite her family being the “principal bannermen” of House Lannister. That ancient noble house, whose sigil is six white shells on a beach, also often married Lannisters.

At the start of House of the Dragon, Ser Harrold Westerling served as Lord Commander of King Viserys’ Kingsguard. But he ended the season by walking away from the green council. Alicent then replaced him as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard with Criston Cole. But Ser Harrold faces a tough decision now. His house, sworn to the Lannisters, will fight for Aegon in the coming war. But will he instead ally with Rhaenyra? We’re in uncharted waters with the character, who in the books was dead before the war started.

Other New House of the Dragon Houses

House Blackwood

House Blackwood of Raventree Hall is an ancient family who once ruled as kings of the riverlands during the Age of Heroes. Its sigil depicts three black ravens above a white weirwood tree on a red field.

They aligned with Aegon during his Conquest against their own king, Harren the Black. Since then, the house has served as loyal bannermen to House Tully. However, they can amass an even bigger army than their lord. And while the blood of the First Men flows through them, they merged their family with the Andals. But unlike most everyone else outside of the North, they have never given up the old gods, who they still worship.

House Blackwood is best known as the longtime bitter rivals of House Bracken. We see the feud between the new houses play out on House of the Dragon.

House Bracken

House Bracken of Stone Hedge traces their roots back to the First Men. During the Age of Heroes, they ruled as kings until overthrown by House Blackwood, who they claim hired sellswords to defeat them. Their sigil features a red stallion against a yellow field. They are also loyal bannermen to House Tully, but like the Blackwoods can put together an even larger army than the Tullys.

Their conversion to the Faith of the Seven after they merged their family with the Andals only added to the deep enmity between their family and House Bracken.

(Note: We met members of House Bracken on Game of Thrones, but only in very minor roles.)

New House of the Dragon Houses; House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Beesbury // House Cole // House Westerling // Other New Houses From House of the Dragon // Named (But Not Yet Seen) Houses

House Wylde

The noble House Wylde of Rain Town resides in the Stormlands where it swears fealty to House Baratheon. Lord Jasper Wylde served as master of laws for King Viserys and plotted with the “green council” to install Aegon on the Iron Throne. He now serves the same role on the new King’s small council.

House Caswell

House Caswell is known as the Defender of the Fords, because Bitterbridge castle sits where two rivers meet in the Reach. The family’s sigil is a yellow centaur with bow on white.

Lord Caswell was a friend of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen at court. After falsely swearing allegiance to Aegon he tried to escape King’s Landing to warn her. Lord Larys Strong caught him, and Otto Hightower had Lord Caswell hanged.

House Cargyll

A noble house of the Reach, House Cargyll’s sigil is believed to be a golden goose on “bendy sinister black and red.” Two members of the family, identical twins Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk, served on Viserys’ Kingsguard. Ser Erryk had been Aegon’s sworn protector, but defected to Rhaenyra’s side because he did not believe Aegon was fit to rule.

Ser Arryk stayed on to serve Aegon despite his brother’s pleas. We will have to see how these decisions impact the new Game of Thrones house.

House Darklyn

The noble House Darklyn of Duskendale traces its lineage back to the First Men, when it ruled as petty kings in the crownlands. From its keep the Dun Fort, it still presides over the town of Duskendale and its lands.

The house was one of the first to oppose Aegon the Conqueror and also one of the first to bend the knee to him. Ser Steffon Darkyln served on the Kingsguards of both Jaehaerys and Viserys. He was on Dragonstone protecting Princess Rhaenyra when Viserys died. He then swore to serve on her Queensguard.

New House of the Dragon Houses; House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Beesbury // House Cole // House Westerling // Other New Houses From House of the Dragon // Named (But Not Yet Seen) Houses

House Marbrand

The noble House Marbrand of Ashemark is a major house of the Westerlands where the Lannisters rule. The family calls Ashemark near Tumblestone its home. The sigil of this Game of Thrones house is a burning orange tree.

Ser Lorent Marbrand of Viserys’s Kingsguard was with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone when her father died. He swore to serve her over Aegon.

House Celtigar

The ancient House Celtigar of Claw Isle calls the coast of Crackclaw Point in the Narrow Sea home. It has long sworn fealty to Dragonstone and House Targaryen and even shares some Valyrian blood with the dragon lords. The Celtigar sigil features red crabs on white.

Lord Bartimos Celtigar serves as a fierce and loyal member of Queen Rhaenyra’s black council.

House Staunton

House Staunton is a noble house of the crownlands in Game of Thrones‘ world. The family calls Rook’s Rest home. Lord Simon Staunton serves on Queen Rhaenyra’s small council.

Named (But Not Yet Seen) Houses

Daemon Targaryen sent ravens to seek support for Queen Rhaenyra. That includes sending ravens to House Massey and House Bar Emmon, both noble houses in the crownlands.

New House of the Dragon Houses; House Hightower // House Velaryon // House Strong // House Beesbury // House Cole // House Westerling // Other New Houses From House of the Dragon // Named (But Not Yet Seen) Houses

This post originally published on August 22, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post HOUSE OF THE DRAGON Houses That Didn’t Appear on GAME OF THRONES appeared first on Nerdist.

House of the Dragon couldn’t tell the exact same story found in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood even if wanted to. Numerous events in the author’s history feature multiple versions told by unreliable sources with agendas and biases. Those, combined with inaccuracies found in many historical retellings, make Fire & Blood‘s account of the Targaryen civil war far from definitive. That’s the Game of Thrones prequel’s biggest advantage. It has the freedom to explore the Dance of the Dragons in ways not even book readers might expect. But after the season one finale and the accidental death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon, it’s clear House of the Dragon is not just answering lingering questions and reconciling differences in the official record. The series is fundamentally changing events and character motivations in ways that make the story a lot less interesting.

Fire & Blood‘s Alicent Hightower is the leader of the “greens” and the driving force behind crowning her son king. House of the Dragon‘s Alicent was about to abandon that long-held goal before Viserys’s final scene. The dying king’s confusion altered both the Queen’s plans and reason for wanting Aegon seated on the Iron Throne. An honest misunderstanding will now frame her entire story going forward, rather than her own desires and wants. As a result she’s more sympathetic. Less of a villain than she is in the book, but also less compelling. Rather than a complicated mother driven by resentment, lust for power, and a deep yearning to keep her children safe from a woman she doesn’t trust, live-action Alicent is a victim of circumstance. That’s the same exact ill-conceived change House of the Dragon opted for in its season one finale with another major character.

Prince Aemond’s murder of his nephew high over Storm’s End is a seminal moment in the Dance of the Dragons. It destroys any remaining chance at a peaceful resolution and ensures a gruesome war. In Fire & Blood there’s no question Aemond meant to kill Prince Lucerys Velaryon. It’s an incredible moment rife with personal animosity, questionable decision-making, and tragic consequences. Aemond wants revenge against Lucerys because the young prince took his uncle’s eye years earlier. But in that moment Aemond, a great warrior known for flying off the handle, also recognizes an opportunity. Rhaenyra’s side has a dragon advantage. Killing Luce and Arrax weakens her and strengthens the greens’ cause. It’s not necessarily a great decision by Aemond, but it is a defensible one whether you believe that makes him an unlikeable figure or not.

House of the Dragon took Aemond’s agency and culpability away from him when it made Luce’s death an accident. After Prince Lucerys couldn’t control Arrax, an angry Vhagar disobeyed Aemond and killed the younger dragon and his rider, all while a helpless Aemond screamed “Nooo!” Was Aemond responsible for trying to frighten his nephew and using a Westerosi weapon of mass destruction in such a reckless way? Yes, but that’s a far cry from owning the responsibility of intentionally killing a scared kid and launching a continent-wide war.

This change, which now makes Aemond a victim of circumstances like his mother before him, is one House of the Dragon opted to make not out of necessity but desire. Lucerys’s death is not one of Fire & Blood‘s conflicting or unreliable reports. Not everything in that history comes from questionable sources. The specifics around major events at significant locations (like Storm’s End) are more trustworthy in the official account because countless people witnessed them and maester’s present for them recorded what happened. That includes what pushed Aemond to murder his nephew.

In the book version, Aemond ultimately hunts down Lucerys after one of Lord Boros Baratheon’s daughters taunts his manhood. After Lucerys refuses to fight, she says to Aemond, “Was it one of your eyes he took, or one of your balls? I am so glad you chose my sister. I want a husband with all his parts.” Had the show included that amazing moment, witnessed by many, it couldn’t have made Lucerys’s death an accident. To make such a major moment chance shows the series clearly wants to tell a different kind of story. Its version is one where events beyond people’s control move the plot rather than their own decisions. And stories where things happen to people rather than them doing things is less engaging.

We don’t need to travel far from Westeros to understand why, either. Imagine for a moment if Game of Thrones had changed the scene between Jaime, Cersei, and Bran. What if, instead of intentionally pushing Bran out of the window to protect their deadly incestuous secret, Jaime accidentally knocked Bran out of that tower? Would that have been more interesting? Was it more compelling watching Jaime spend his life dealing with the fallout of that decision than it would have been watching him deal with an oopsie doopsie? Would the Kingslayer’s arc to redemption, which took him from grand villain to beloved character, have been better or worse? The answer seems obvious. Just as it does when you consider any of the major events of the original show. And yet that’s what House of the Dragon just did to Aemond and his story, same as it did with Alicent.

Sometimes accidents we have no control over change the entire course of our lives. There is value and entertainment in seeing characters deal with moments like that. But not when it keeps happening over and over again, and not when it happens to characters who are interesting because of what they do and why. It’s powerful when characters own responsibility for their own actions and their consequences. Especially in the Dance of the Dragons. This is a family civil war, where personal failings, personal ambition, and personal animosity influence so much of the story. It’s why this era of House Targaryen was worthy of adapting in the first place.

House of the Dragon had—and still has—more creative freedom than most adaptations do. It can flesh out characters and add a level of depth and understanding of their actions frequently absent from Fire & Blood. It can also surprise book readers and newcomers alike. But the decision to radically change this story so it’s playing out more like the “Accidental Dance of the Dragons” is undermining so much of what makes this story engaging. House of the Dragon is showing us why Game of Thrones wouldn’t have been as good if characters like Tywin and Cersei weren’t so ruthless. And that Realm just isn’t as much fun. Who’s more fun to watch: an opportunistic, violent, vengeful, hot-tempered warrior with family issues? Or a helpless bystander who couldn’t control his own dragon?

We don’t need to feel bad for every character any more than we need to hate all of them. It’s better when we hate some people because we understand why they did the terrible thing they did. Just as it’s more interesting watching them deal with the consequences of their flawed choices. Taking away their agency is no accident, it’s a big mistake

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon is full of incest, abuse, death, and violence. And yet somehow the show managed to shock us with a man called the Clubfoot pleasuring himself to the Queen’s royal toes. If you never want to think about what was going through the mind of Lord Larys Strong in that moment, we understand. We don’t either. But there was much more to that scene than just its unsettling (for us and Alicent) sexual nature. It completely changed what we know about both characters and their relationship. And that has big implications for the path they’ll walk together during the Dance of the Dragons.

Until House of the Dragon‘s “The Green Council” it seemed we had a clear understanding of Larys Strong and Alicent Hightower’s partnership. He’s an amoral sociopath with grand ambition who has served as her loyal advisor and friend. Larys has also acted on her behalf in heinous ways she didn’t ask for or want. He murdered his own father and brother because it would get her dad Otto back to King’s Landing. (Larys also offered to take one of Lucerys Velaryon’s eyes for the Queen.) Of course, the Clubfoot has also benefited from his relationship with Alicent. He immediately became Lord of Harrenhal after the fire, with the implied promise the Queen would find an even better way to repay him.

The secret of his murder also gave him something to hold over her. Yes, he did it on his own accord, but he could always say he did it on her orders. If Larys is ever in danger of going down for his actions, he can take the Queen with him. They’re friends, but she must protect him to protect herself.

Combined with his web of spies and (ahem) foot soldiers, in some ways he’s been more powerful than her. He has knowledge she doesn’t and can get things done that she can’t. She’s the Queen, but in the relationship he seemed to have the upper hand. Or rather he did until their “foot” scene completely reframed their relationship.

Once you get past the initial shock of Alicent and Larys’ consensual playtime, there’s a ton of storytelling to appreciate in the moment. Once more we find him waiting for the Queen alone in her personal quarters. But upon finding him she’s already exhausted by his presence. What follows is a give-and-take. He has information for her, but he refuses to give it over until she begins revealing her bare feet to him. As she takes off her socks he opens up about the White Worm and Otto Hightower’s willingness to use Mysaria for his own purposes. He then agrees to covertly handle this problem for Alicent, all before her feet leads to him using his hand.

On the surface this interaction seems to reinforce the Clubfoot’s hold over Alicent. He’s in the Queen’s bedroom trading secrets and service for the right to pleasure himself not just to her, but in front of her. In this moment Alicent is selling a piece of herself for something of value, turning the Red Keep into a royal brothel.

But Alicent isn’t really selling her body, since the two aren’t having any actual physical interaction. Instead she’s trading her dignity to keep Larys in her service. She knows how dangerous and valuable he is. It behooves her to keep him happy and loyal to her, especially now that war is surely coming to Westeros, as few players in the game of thrones will offer what he can to a woman now competing with her own father. All it takes for her to maintain Larys Strong’s discretion and reliability is showing off her feet and turning her head. People in King’s Landing pay far more for far less everyday.

Of course, Lord Strong could go to the Street of Silk and pay someone to do so much more than merely show him their feet. The fact he wants—or possibly even needs—to see the Queen’s feet to satiate his sexual appetites shows that on some level he desires her specifically. Whether it’s being around Alicent the woman, whom he has leered at since she was a teen, or the Queen of Westeros and what that represents, she has some kind of hold on him. He might think this act is a type of power play for himself, and that Alicent is desperate for his service. But what he wants from her—and likely always has, since he’s done unspeakable horror to please her—is far more personal. And therefore he is far more exploitable.

On Game of Thrones during the Battle of Blackwater Bay Cersei gave some shocking advice to a naïve Sansa Stark. The Queen said women have a weapon they can us against men to manipulate them. Alicent isn’t using the exact “weapon” against Larys that Cersei meant, but the same idea applies. Alicent is using her body and Lord Strong’s lust for her to her advantage. He thinks he’s in control over their relationship, but she has something he wants and can only get from her. He’s not quite the supreme evil genius only driven by ambition we thought he was. He’s a man with wants and desires that make him vulnerable. Because she’s willing to exploit that, Alicent is in charge of this relationship. She wants his help, but she doesn’t need him the way he needs her.

But in true A Song of Ice and Fire fashion, power, even in a single relationship, comes with a price. Throughout the scene Alicent is exhausted and frustrated. She shouldn’t have to placate this amoral monster in such an undignified way. And she knows it’s undignified. Disgust—with herself, with him, and with this absurd situation—is evident on her face in the scene’s final moments. Alicent looks away in shame while Larys finishes his unseemly act. She’s willing to lower herself for a greater cause, but she doesn’t like it.

Pride for power? Dignity for loyalty? Bare feet for control over a dangerous weapon? Is that an exchange worthy of a Queen? Of Alicent Hightower? Of any woman? When it comes to the Iron Throne, and all the danger and death that comes with claiming it, there are never any easy answers.

But what we do know now is the truth about the relationship between Larys and Queen Alicent. Even if we’d rather not think about what it took to learn what’s really going on.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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For more than an hour House of the Dragon‘s eighth episode, “The Lord of Tides,” was the show’s best yet. Full of incredible performances, moving moments, complex familial and political relationships, and the specter of danger to come, it was the very best of what we’ve come to expect from HBO’s Game of Thrones universe. But unfortunately the episode’s final scene will stand as its ultimate legacy, because King Viserys’s deathbed confusion completely reframed Queen Alicent’s story going forward, and not for the better.

House of the Dragon‘s premiere introduced Aegon the Conqueror’s prophetic dream to George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. That revelation changes everything we know about House Targaryen’s time in Westeros in ways we don’t fully understand yet. But it’s immediate ramifications for the spinoff series were clear. In the war of succession to come, Rhaenyra will fight for more than the Iron Throne. She’ll be fighting to save the entire world.

That makes her own story considerably more interesting and complex than the version told in Martin’s Fire & Blood. The responsibility of Aegon’s dream makes how hard Rhaenyra will soon fight more understandable and human. That also makes her a more sympathetic and compelling character. But what Aegon’s dream has not done is absolve her of the many mistakes she has made and will make. In fact, the onus of her responsibility magnifies her selfishness.

Rhaenyra mistreated and insulted the lords of Westeros, the very people her father tasked her with uniting. She let personal animosity trump smart and helpful politicking in King’s Landing. She let her actions in Flea Bottom sully her name and honor, all while knowing her claim to the Iron Throne was destined to be contested by some looking for any reason to bypass her. Rhaenyra allowed people to question her morality by “killing” her husband and immediately marrying her detested uncle.

And, most importantly, she had three children out of wedlock. That calls not only her own claim into question, but her heir’s. Her “strong” boys represent the single biggest threat to her ascension. But they also represent the single biggest obstacle to fulfilling the purpose of Aegon’s Conquest, a mission he undertook to save humanity from darkness.

Knowing the secret responsibility Rhaenyra inherited from her father made her both more and less likable. That’s masterful storytelling, especially for an adaptation. But that’s the complete opposite of what knowing about Aegon’s prophecy has done for Alicent’s own story.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, but you wanted to know if I believe it to be true. Don’t you remember? Aegon. His Dream, the Song of Ice and Fire. It is true, what he saw in the North. The Prince That Was Promised. The Prince. To unite the Realm against the cold and the dark. It is you. You are the one, you must do this. You must do this.”

We know a confused Viserys thought he was talking to his daughter Rhaenyra on his deathbed. He was answering her question from earlier in the episode about Aegon the Conqueror’s dream and whether Viserys believed in it. In his final moments the King reaffirmed his daughter as heir to both the Iron Throne and to the most important task in the world.

But as far as Alicent knew, her dying husband was finally professing his desire for their son Aegon to become King. She didn’t fully understand what Viserys was saying, but she knew he was speaking of a responsibility far more important than simply ruling over Westeros. And, as far as Alicent is concerned, she is the one who “must do this” to unite the Realm. Viserys seemingly tasked her with assuring Aegon sit on the Iron Throne and not Rhaenyra.

As a result, a sad misunderstanding will now bear the blame for what she does in the future. Her desire to place her son on the Iron Throne won’t be one she makes entirely of her own accord. It will be because of an unfortunate misunderstanding. Viserys, and by extension House of the Dragon, just gave Alicent an “out.” It gave her an offramp to excuse her actions.

While that doesn’t absolve her of two decades of scheming and bad behavior, this episode did set her up to atone for her ambition, right before it guaranteed she can’t. Alicent’s story is no longer her own the way Rhaenyra’s is still hers. Rhaenyra will still be defined by her actions, which are far less defensible because of what she knows to be true. Alicent’s will be far more defensible because of what she falsely thinks she knows.

We can’t even give the show the benefit of the doubt that this moment isn’t clear cut and maybe Alicent heard what she wanted to hear. The context of her husband’s deathbed “confession” makes it impossible to assign malice to Alicent’s interpretation. Viserys’s drunken rant at the royal hunt explains why Alicent would interpret this conversation how she did. That night at the bonfire Viserys talked about prophetic dreams and how he might have made a mistake naming Rhaenyra heir. He questioned if he had made a terrible mistake in denying their son’s ascension. When you watch his death scene in that context, it’s hard to fault Alicent for connecting those dots.

But Alicent Hightower’s story has always been interesting because she made decisions of her own volition for her own reasons and then had to deal with the consequences of her choices. She helped put in motion a war that did not need to happen, then lived with the results of that war. And until her last conversation with Viserys, that’s the path she was taking on House of the Dragon. Now she has less agency and less responsibility over her own fate. She’s more of a victim of circumstances than a Queen conflicted by love, hate, regret, and ambition. For all the ways Aegon the Conqueror’s Song of Ice and Fire made Rhaenyra’s story better, it made Alicent’s worse.

“I understand, my King,” was the last thing Alicent ever said to her husband. But it’s hard to understand why House of the Dragon thought that scene made for a better show.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s Laenor Velaryon finally realized that when you play the game of thrones duty and happiness are not compatible. It’s the same realization Maester Aemond Targaryen will share with Jon Snow 150 years later. But, unlike Jon who chose duty, Laenor chose love. He faked his own death and fled to Essos. That was only possible because his wife, Princess Rhaenyra, and her uncle Daemon granted Laenor a “kindness” and “set him free.” It’s all part of Rhaenyra and Daemon’s grand plan to strengthen her claim to the Iron Throne on House of the Dragon. But will their plan work? It’s as risky as it is daring.

Rhaenyra and Daemon Set Laenor “Free”

At first House of the Dragon made it seem as though Daemon Targaryen was plotting with Qarl Correy to murder Laenor Velaryon on the orders of Rhaenyra. Ser Laenor’s death was the only way the Princess could marry her uncle. Most of that lined up with Fire & Blood, the book the show is based on. In George R.R. Martin’s unreliable history, Ser Qarl (unquestionably) murders Laenor. Most believe it to be a “lovers quarrel,” though many whisper Daemon gave Correy a large sum of gold to eliminate Laenor.

But that’s not how it played out on the show. It gave us the ole Driftmark switcheroo. Rhaenyra, Daemon, Laenor, and Qarl were in on the House of the Dragon plan for Laenor to “die.” Once alone in Lord Corlys’s throne room, Laenor and Qarl put the dead guard (whom Daemon killed) into Laenor’s clothes and placed him in the fire place. That way the body would burn beyond recognition. And with a witness to the “fight,” the Realm would think Ser Qarl had killed Laenor.

It’s a win-win for both couples. Laenor—whom Rhaenyra said deserved better for being an honorable man with a good heart—is absolved of the duty that has made his life so miserable. Now he and his shaved head are free to live happily with Qarl Correy in Essos.

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra and Daemon can marry, as they have always wanted. That gives the isolated Princess a powerful ally she can trust in the coming war of succession. All while finally getting the husband she believes she deserves. But this plan is not without its victims, nor its risks.

Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys Lose Their Last Child

That innocent guard Daemon murdered wasn’t this plan’s only victim. Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys just buried their daughter Laena. Now, as far as they know, they’ve lost their last child. The conspirators, even their own son, decided that for this plan to work, Laenor’s parents couldn’t know.

Was that because they didn’t think Lord and Lady Velaryon would agree to the plan? (Zero chance the legacy-obsessed Corlys would.) Or because they wisely wanted as few people as possible to know about the scheme to preserve the secret? Or did they think they needed a genuinely grieving mother and father to make it all believable? It’s probably a little of each. But no matter their reasons, Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys now only have three bastard grandsons and two legitimate granddaughters left. And “the greens” ambitions put all of those kids in danger.

But this plan also puts Rhaenyra and Daemon at risk on House of the Dragon. And they clearly understand why.

The Daemon-Sized Flaw in Rhaenyra’s Plan

Rhaenyra does not want to rule as a tyrant through terror. However, she also knows the “the realm will whisper” she was responsible for Ser Laenor’s apparent death. Daemon thinks that’s a good thing. They will know the truth, that they did something kind for Laenor. But it’s fine if their enemies believe they’re capable of such depravity. Daemon said, “If the king is not feared he is powerless. If you’re to be a strong queen you must cultivate love and respect, yes, but your subjects must fear you.”  

Rhaenyra agrees there’s value in that. “They will fear what else we might be capable of,” she said. There most certainly is merit to your foes thinking you’re willing to do anything to win. But in their quest to be together, these two are missing something obvious: most people hate Daemon.

The Realm didn’t want Daemon—thought to crave the Iron Throne above all else—as heir because they feared he’d be “another Maegor,” the worst, most sadistic, most destructive Targaryen king. Now Rhaenyra has not only married him, she did so immediately following the curious murder of her husband. This union was a questionable tactic to begin with. But the specifics around it make it even worse.

It’s going to be hard for people to love and respect you if they think you killed your husband to marry a depraved monster. So while their union strengthens her claim (a loyal dragonrider by her side) and brings her happiness, it also calls into question both her honor and her judgement. Combined with the question of her own children’s identities, Rhaenyra has created another reason for people to oppose her ascension.

On some level, Rhaenyra knows all of this. She recognizes that by seeking real love to help her perform her duties she opens herself up to nasty accusations along with fair criticism and concern. This plan comes with many risks.

That’s why she told her Uncle-Husband, “We have always been meant to burn together.”

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s sixth episode answered one of Fire & Blood‘s biggest questions. We finally know who caused the fire that killed Lord Lyonel Strong and his oldest son. It was Ser Harwin’s younger brother, Larys. His bloody betrayal is not only shocking, it completely reframes everything we thought we knew about The Clubfoot and his motives during the Dance of the Dragons. Thanks to House of the Dragon, Larys Strong is no longer the war’s greatest enigma; he’s one of the greatest villains in all of Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon has revealed to viewers what book readers already know about Larys Strong’s allegiances during the coming Targaryen civil war. He has aligned himself with Alicent’s faction. But why he he chose her side is a revelation to everyone.

George R.R. Martin’s history of House Targaryen never provides a tangible reason why The Clubfoot chose to support the Queen. None of the many figures whose versions of events shape Fire & Blood‘s unreliable recounting ever claim to know Larys’s motivations. He’s remembered as someone who spoke little and kept his own counsel, a mysterious man whose true reasons for what he did died with him. Until House of the Dragon, the only logical explanation for the Clubfoot’s actions came entirely from subtext.

Ser Harwin Strong was the real father of Rhaenyra’s black-haired children. That open-secret is much bigger than just being a dishonor to the late Hand of the King and his family, though. It could rip the Realm apart. The Princess, the first female heir to the Iron Throne, has always known she will face opposition to her claim. But to have any children out of wedlock—with her sworn shield no less—is a scandal that could cost Rhaenyra all her allies. It would also likely lead to her exile if not worse. That’s why King Viserys doesn’t want to even acknowledge the possibility Ser Harwin fathering her three children. He’d be forced to disown her.

Rhaenyra’s ascension to the throne is now also a more complicated issue than whether or not Westeros will accept a woman as its ruler. Her own heir will be thought a bastard. And Game of Thrones fans know why that would cause issues in a kingdom that sneers at people like Jon Snow.

That’s why, even though no Westerosi historian ever wrote it plainly, there was always a logical reason to explain Larys Clubfoot’s alliance with Queen Alicent. Princess Rhaenyra’s affair with Ser Harwin brought shame upon House Strong. But worse, their affair seemed to also lead to his father and brother’s death. Fire & Blood never determines the cause of the deadly fire at Harrenhal, but it provides plenty of suspects.

Some say it was Corlys Velaryon looking to kill the man who brought shame upon his son, Rhaenyra’s husband Laenor. Others accuse King Viserys himself, desperate to protect his daughter’s secret. Or that it was his brother Daemon, the newly-widowed Prince who wanted to marry Rhaenyra long ago. And some chalk it up to the curse of Harrenhal, whose lords and ladies always seem to die curious deaths shortly after claiming the castle.

The least likely suspect named by historians has always been Larys himself. Some thought he killed his father and brother so he could inherit Harrenhal. But the bonds of family in Westeros, combined with the curse of kinslaying, made that seem absurd. Especially since at the time of the fire Lyonel Strong was still Hand of the King, one of the most powerful people in the Seven Kingdoms. And there was never any documented enmity between father and son, or between brothers.

Larys’ allegiance to Alicent only made sense after her brother’s affair and the fire. Or at least it did until now.

Now House of the Dragon has shown that Larys Strong aligned himself with Alicent years earlier. He then killed his only family in a quest to gain something far greater than her favor or the ruins of a cursed castle.

He sees the war that is coming to Westeros. He’s picked his side early to show his value, loyalty, and unwavering commitment. And as thanks for murdering his own kin for Alicent, Larys “knows” the Queen will find a way to one day reward him for his service. Because none of this is about right and wrong, or even revenge for Larys. It’s all about him.

The Clubfoot is not a brokenhearted brother. He did not grow to hate the Princess who sullied his family name as so many always thought. The cunning Larys Strong’s greatest secret was that he is a devious, amoral monster who did not love his family and saw the coming chaos of House Targaryen as a ladder of opportunity. All of which makes him one of Westeros’s greatest villains.

Even Littlefinger didn’t murder his own father to get ahead.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, adapts George R. R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood. The stories leads to one of the most brutal chapters in Westeros’ history: the Dance of the Dragons. Introducing a new group of Targaryen characters and their various allies and enemies in Westeros, House of the Dragon depicts the Targaryens at their most powerful, almost two centuries before the events of the original Game of Thrones show. 

The Dance of the Dragons was a civil war that sprung up over succession to the Iron Throne. It is one of the precipitating events that eventually brought down the power of House Targaryen in Westeros. Princess Rhaenyra, the heir appointed by King Viserys, battled for the right to rule. And while disputes of succession are by no means new to the world of Game of Thrones, the Dance of the Dragons revealed how hostile Westeros was to the idea of a female ruler. Even though Princess Rhaenyra established herself as the most level-headed option for King Viserys’ heir, the king’s male children from his second marriage to Alicent Hightower further muddied the waters of succession to the Iron Throne. 

So far, HBO’s adaptation of Fire & Blood has stayed largely faithful to the book. However, it lacks one specific aspect that enhances the story’s focus on how society stifles women in positions of power. Fire & Blood, unlike other Game of Thrones books, is an oral history. Instead of following the story from different characters’ perspectives, Fire & Blood offers a macro view of how narratives of the past are constructed, and the political ends that they can serve. This is apparent when the narrator reveals that two different historical accounts exist for the Dance of the Dragons, one written by Maester Eustace, and the other written by a court fool named Mushroom.

Maester Eustace’s account is a sober recollection of House Targaryen’s fall; Mushroom’s is a deeply sensationalized look at Princess Rhaenyra’s life in particular. In turn, this is a perfect framework for the story of House Targaryen, because of how morally complex many of the characters are. With the narrator unsure of which version of history is true, the book leaves it to the reader to determine how much they want to believe from either one. 

This discrepancy comes to a head when the scheming Prince Daemon, brother of King Viserys and uncle of Princess Rhaenyra, returns to King’s Landing. The narrator admits that the history gets muddled between Maester Eustace and Mushroom’s accounts. According to Maester Eustace, Daemon “seduced his niece the princess and claimed her maidenhood,” leading Rhaenyra to later tell her father that she was in love with Daemon. Mushroom, on the other hand, wrote that Rhaenyra longed for Ser Criston Cole, her personal guard, leading Daemon to teach her how to seduce men. This involved sneaking the princess out of the castle and into the Street of Silk, King’s Landing’s red light district. Rhaenyra then tried to seduce Criston Cole, only to have him reject her. Mushroom’s story soon came to light, and Viserys denied his daughter’s wrongdoing before Daemon confirmed that it was true. 

House of the Dragon settles this debate by adapting many details from Mushroom’s account. The main difference is Criston Cole accepted Rhaenyra’s advances. In doing so, it tacitly accepts Mushroom’s version as the truth, without interrogating the political ends the story had in the first place. After all, it was Mushroom who leaked Rhaenyra’s purported activities to the court. Clearly men, including Daemon, had much to gain from sullying the princess’ image. 

The show did try to replicate the discrepancies in the book. We see it in a scene where Queen Alicent confronts Rhaenyra about her rumored activities with Daemon. However, it falls short of presenting the most central fact of Fire & Blood: the hindsight of men forges history. Rather than unfolding in the present through a neutral party, the history of Fire & Blood frequently presents as a collaborative project, one in which the readers themselves are complicit. Fire & Blood pulls readers in to teach them the early history of House Targaryen. Then, it shows them the patchwork of lies and incomplete truths governing the narrative. In the end, they walk away with no definitive account of what really happened. In this sense, Fire & Blood is less a history of House Targaryen, and more a portrait of the construction of history in Westeros in the first place. 

This lack of subjectivity in House of the Dragon is intriguing, given that so much of the show’s themes circle around the subjugation of women like Rhaenyra. By leaving out the roles that Maester Eustace and Mushroom played in documenting the history of House Targaryen, House of the Dragon misses the book’s most damning revelation: even at the height of their power, House Targaryen was never in control of their own narrative. As they terrorized Westeros with their display of dragons and military might, the Targaryens’ power eroded from the inside thanks to men with political agendas watching their every move. While it may be easy to wipe out entire armies full of men with a dragon, not even the Targaryens could extinguish a story spread by men like Maester Eustace and Mushroom. 

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Unlike most book adaptations, House of the Dragon is based on unreliable source material. George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood is “written” by an archmaester who lived long after the Targaryen civil war. And that fictional historian’s retelling relies on primary sources whose accounts are not only questionable, they frequently contradict. But that’s a good thing for viewers and readers alike. The spinoff series is giving us answers to some of Fire & Blood‘s most debated events, including one of the most important moments in Ser Criston Cole’s life. We now know he was the one who asked Rhaenyra to run away with him. But that wasn’t the only huge revelation the show’s explosive fifth episode gave us about the dishonorable Kingsguard. And everything we learned about him will frame his upcoming role in the Dance of the Dragons.

Fire & Blood is full of conflicting reports about signature events from this era of House Targaryen. That includes the matter of whether Princess Rhaenyra or Ser Criston Cole asked the other to run off to a life together in Essos. Now we know Rhaenyra’s sworn protector beseeched her to abdicate her throne. That wasn’t surprising, given what we know what Rhaenyra will do to claim the Iron Throne later in life. But Ser Criston’s reasons for making that outrageous request were.

Long before we got a definitive answer of who made this request, it always seemed clear it was one of love. Fire & Blood leaves no doubt Ser Criston Cole and Rhaenyra Targaryen had an intimate bond when she was younger. It was also easy to imagine why Cole would make such a desperate, outrageous plea. It’s easy to understand why a lovesick nobody from a minor house, raised to prominence by the princess he swore to keep safe, would think a fairy tale ending awaited them.

But House of the Dragon made clear the true story was far more complicated—and a lot less noble—than we ever thought. Ser Criston’s offer was not merely one of the heart, it was a selfish one. He loves Rhaenyra, but he also wanted her to rescue him from his own actions. He’s struggling to live with himself since he broke his vows (and continued breaking them) with the princess. He violated his white cloak, the “only thing” he has to his “f***ing name.” If she would merely give up her family, her title, her home, her responsibilities, and her future crown, he wouldn’t have to feel so badly about himself. She could save his honor for him.

Throw in that crate of oranges and it’s incredible she turned him down! What an offer! Rhaenyra gives up literally everything so the guy that took advantage of a drunk teenager can feel better about himself.

Whatever you think of Princess Rhaenyra and her own decisions, Ser Criston Cole clearly did not act purely out of love when he asked for her hand in marriage. Nor was he heartbroken because she said no. He was angry. He was angry at himself before, now he’s angry at her, with little self-reflection for why he is solely responsible for his own actions.

And as though that wasn’t bad enough, Criston Cole then violated Rhaenyra’s trust to Queen Alicent. He was so lost in self-pity he confessed to a crime no one accused him of. Only his guilt and need for absolution mattered to him in that moment. He gave no consideration to what his admission would mean for Princess Rhaenyra, a girl already dealing with powerful forces seeking to deny her the Iron Throne. That’s a shocking confession not found in Fire & Blood, one that has completely changed our understanding of the story.

At least Ser Criston’s anger and guilt only led him to betray Rhaenyra’s secret. Cole took out his anger and guilt on naive Ser Joffrey Lonmouth’s face, in one of the most despicable moments in Kingsguard history. Ser Criston responded to a toothless “threat” with a cold blooded murder in the throne room before half the Realm.

Ser Criston Cole’s story would have ended right then had Alicent not stopped him from taking his own life in the Godswood. And that might be this episode’s single most important revelation. It didn’t just answer some big questions about the infamous knight; it marked a major change for the Queen. She now realizes King’s Landing and its heir—which cast away her father in service of a lie—are not as sweet and innocent as she thought. Queen Alicent is finally ready to play the game of thrones.

And she begins this deadly game with a secret that could ruin Rhaenyra. A secret Ser Criston Cole is desperate to keep hidden. And what he’ll do to make sure it does—including to whom he’ll swear allegiance in the future—will forever change Westeros.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s fifth episode started with Otto Hightower telling his daughter, Queen Alicent, her husband won’t live much longer. It then ended with Grand Maester Mellos giving the ailing King Viserys subpar care. Those two bookends, combined with some curious moments earlier in the season, make it impossible not to suspect a sinister scheme might be afoot against House Targaryen. And if there is, that could mean the Grand Maester Conspiracy, a major A Song of Ice and Fire theory, is absolutely true.

The Grand Maester Conspiracy’s name comes from readers of George R.R. Martin’s novels. But the longstanding theory—which says maesters of the Citadel both spy on the families of Westeros for their own benefit and secretly undermine all forms of magic—comes from Martin’s characters.

One of them is Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowtown in the north. In A Dance With Dragons she questions maesters’ loyalty to their assigned houses. Maesters are meant to serve only the lords and ladies of the particular castles and keeps they’re sent to. But Lady Barbrey suspects those learnéd men share sensitive information among themselves. And they’d have a lot to share. They’re privy to every family’s greatest secrets. They’re als keepers of the Realm’s messenger ravens. That’s why she calls those figures clad in robes and chains “grey rats.”

(A term that obviously stands out when discussing House of the Dragon, which keeps showing rats in the Red Keep.)

She’s not the only one who thinks maesters are more cunning and diabolical than they appear. But the opinion of Marwyn the Mage carries even more weight than Lady Barbrey because he is the archmaester of magic and the occult at the Citadel.

Marwyn the Mage is a notorious member of the male-only institution. He’s one of the few maesters to forge a link (made of Valyrian steel) for mastering the study of magic. He’s also rumored to associate with strange figures and engage in bizarre activites. And he spent years abroad studying with practitioners of sorcery. Because unlike other maesters, men of science and knowledge whom Marwyn calls “grey sheep,” he embraces the very things they shun. That includes dragons.

Game of Thrones viewer knows at some point between House of the Dragon and Daenerys Targaryen’s rise to power dragons go extinct. They will not return until the Khaleesi emerges from the ashes with her three “children.” Marwyn, eager to meet with Daenerys in the books, believes the demise of dragons was no accident. Nor was it a natural phenomenon. He believes maesters conspired to secretly kill off every dragon, animals connected to magic.

Dragons are the antithesis of everything maesters believe in. They’re intelligent creatures capable of independent thought that only a handful of people can even ride. Dragons very existence also undermines knowledge, science, and control itself, the very sources of maesters strength and beliefs. For everything dragons give to House Targaryen they take from maesters.

But even if maesters don’t fear the magic of dragons, they might very well fear the destruction they bring. Dragons are “fire made flesh,” and for thousands of years they’ve killed countless people over two continents. Dragons might be majestic, but they truly do bring fire and blood wherever they go. They’re also destined to soon fight a brutal civil war of succession, a costly event maesters will witness up close.

If Marwyn and Lady Barbrey are right about the “grey rats,” the Grand Maester Conspiracy might have once been even bigger than they thought. Because House of the Dragon has hinted that maesters are conspiring against House Targaryen with a powerful ally—the Hightowers.

House Hightower is one of the most noble ancient families in all the Realm. And their seat of power, a famous lighthouse castle, resides in Oldtown, one of the oldest and most powerful cities in all of Westeros. It’s also home to the maesters’ Citadel, which House Hightower has long protected. No family has a more meaningful and important connection with the maesters’ than Queen Alicent’s family.

Now Ser Otto Hightower, the former Hand of the King and grandfather to a potential Targaryen king, is positive Viserys won’t live much longer. Is that because Otto has seen Viserys naturally growing weaker? Or because he knows someone is making His Grace ill? The King certainly is not getting the best care from his own Grand Maester, a man who might very well want to see the blood of House Hightower on the Iron throne. And Game of Thrones showed us Grand Maester Pycelle was not loyal to King Robert Baratheon. Sometimes maesters serve themselves.

From not knowing how to treat open sores, to the unexplained death of the king’s newborn son, to the many untreated wounds of Viserys, the current Grand Maester, Mellos is doing a terrible job. Even Orwyle, the new maester introduced in episode five, agrees. He tried providing Viserys with other treatments that might actually help.

But he might be the only maester trying to serve House Targaryen. But that might not be enough to save Viserys, House Targaryen, dragons, or the Realm from the Grand Maester Conspiracy. Because we might soon learn one of A Song of Ice and Fire‘s most important theories was always true.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Are dragons too big to fly? Many a scientist and over-thinker has asked this question. Sure, Game of Thrones is fantasy. After all, there’s dragons. And there’s even more in the prequel House of the Dragon. But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy a good thought experiment, similar to last month’s, what do dragons smell like? Thankfully, someone has already done the calculations for this one. An aeronautical engineer did the math. We saw it on Scientific American, but the story was originally published on The Conversation back in 2016. Let’s find out if the dragons of Westeros could actually fly.  

The Quick Math

There’s a few factors that go into this, but most people assume dragons are too heavy or their wings are too small to get lift. The author, pilot and aviation professor Guy Gratton, estimated an adult dragon’s size and mass by comparing it to Daenerys. He reached the conclusion that it was 42 feet long, or a little bigger than a school bus, and weighed 5,700 pounds, about the size of a small elephant. 

The wing size and stalling speed (the slowest it can fly) are also needed to calculate the amount of lift needed to get a dragon in the air. Assuming Earth’s gravity and air density, a dragon that heavy could not get off the ground with wings that size. Rather than giving up and saying, “then some magic happens,’ Gratton assumes Westeros itself must have different atmospheric conditions. 

How It Works

Delightfully, the author uses everyone’s ability to throw swords and spears so well to back up this theory. What would help lift a dragon would also give characters seemingly superhuman abilities. It’s like Superman’s red versus yellow suns. If you increase the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, it would make the atmosphere more dense. And dragon flight more possible. Everything would also be more likely to catch fire. But again, that is backed up by just how quickly things burst into flame in Westeros.  

In order to bump the numbers up enough to lift a dragon into the sky, the remaining nitrogen in Earth’s atmosphere would have to be replace with denser argon. Gratton admits this mix would be “moderately narcotic” but adds, “Perhaps this might in part explain the regularly irrational and downright aggressive behaviour seen among many citizens of Westeros.” So not only do we get an explanation of how dragons are able to fly, but also why everyone is such a murderous grump.

What About Pterosaurs?

But wait a minute, Earth has been home to enormous flying animals already. Pterosaurs, with wing spans over 30 feet, lived between 65 and 215 million years ago. How do we explain that? This question has also been answered thanks to The Conversation. According to the fossil record, they had hollow bones like living birds today. So even though they were massive, they may have only weighed about 1,000 pounds. The increased oxygen levels during prehistoric times also tips the calculation in favor of flight.

A recent simulation of how Pterosaurs might have launched themselves into the air using their massive legs and wings looks quite similar to the dragon lift-offs in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. So whether or not the show bothers with the math or just makes it look cool, now you know it’s actually possible for those Westeros dragons to fly.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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Our History of Thrones series examined important historical events and people from the complex and controversial past of Westeros to try and predict what might happen on Game of Thrones. Now those deep dives are giving some much needed context for House of the Dragon. But, much to our surprise, the Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon also dropped its own giant lore revelation about the dream that led Aegon the Conqueror to take Westeros. And that song of ice and fire makes his story even more important than we ever knew. But who Is Aegon the Conqueror and why is he so important to House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones.

You can read every History of Thrones here.

House Targaryen: The World’s Last Dragonlords

The last surviving Valyrian dragonlords in the world called Dragonstone home. Lord Aenar Targaryen had moved his family there after his daughter Daenys had a dream about the impending Doom of Valyria 12 years before the empire’s total demise.

That island on the eastern shores of Westeros is where Daenerys Targaryen returned from Essos with her three dragons. That castle was more than just a home, though; it was a legacy. Three hundred years before she launched her own invasion, another head of House Targaryen who ruled on Dragonstine turned his gaze to the west. That’s when Aegon I—forever known as Aegon the Conquerer—-achieved the greatest military triumph in the Realm’s history. But everything we thought we knew about why he claimed the continent forever changed when his ancestor Viserys I shared the secret of Aegon’s own dream.

A Quiet Century on Dragonstone

For more than a century House Targaryen resided on the island of Dragonstone, independent from—and uninterested in—the kingdoms of Westeros. But that might have been because they were also down to only one dragon, Balerion.

It was on Balerion’s back that the newest Lord of Dragonstone, Aegon Targaryen, joined the other Free Cities of Essos in battle. He helped them fight against Volantis, which hoped to capture Valyria’s position of power. Aegon burned the Volantene fleet at Lys, reminding the world about the power of dragons. Having experienced firsthand the strength of his ancestors, he then returned home.

The world would never be the same.

Aegon Targaryen Turns His Attention to Westeros

The Free Cities, primarily former Valyrian colonies, wanted Aegon to help them reform the Valyrian Freehold. But instead, he turned his focus to the Seven Kingdoms. Until that moment, even Aegon had only ever considered Westeros a place worth visiting rather than taking. Historical reports say he traveled to the southern island Arbor, as well as Oldtown’s Citadel and possibly even Lannisport.

Why Aegon elected to do what his predecessors at Dragonstone hadn’t and invade the Realm was always a topic of debate. But not the “how.” A Targaryen incursion of the Seven Kingdoms became far more feasible because they had recently hatched two more dragon eggs. And Aegon’s two sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, had each become riders of fully grown dragons.

The Future King, Aegon the Conqueror, Lands in Westeros

Aegon’s invasion began when King Argilac Durrandon of the Stormlands sent a letter to Aegon offering him his daughter’s hand in marriage. As a dowry, he offered lands that actually belonged to his greatest threat, Harren the Black, King of the (Iron) Isles and Rivers (now known as the Riverlands). Harren was nearing completion of his new enormous castle Harrenhal, and Argilac saw an opportunity to defeat his rival.

Aegon the Conqueror didn’t want another wife, though. Nor did he need Argilac to “give” him lands he’d have to take himself. As a counteroffer, Aegon put forth his closest friend (and possibly bastard half-brother) Orys Baratheon as a husband for Argilac’s daughter. Argilac responded by sending Aegon the hands of his envoy. The response from Aegon was not limited to just Argilac

Aegon called upon his small force of bannermen. (That included House Velaryon of Driftmark, the only other Valyrian family in the Realm.) After meeting with his allies and his sisters over his custom wooden table of Westeros (notably a map without borders), Aegon sent letters to every ruler in the Seven Kingdoms announcing himself the new king of a unified realm.

Aegon promised those who bent the knee would keep their lands and titles. Just as he promised to destroy those who did not.

He then rejected offers of alliance from Dorne and the Vale because they would not kneel. Instead, Aegon, his sister-wives, and their dragons took to the skies and landed at what is now King’s Landing. At the time, they had under 1,600 soldiers in their army.

Westeros Begins to Fall to the Dragonlords

Houses Rosby and Stokeworth quickly surrendered after Aegon’s sister-wives arrived with their dragons. (A little dragonflame roof burning display was needed to motivate Stokeworth.) But Duskendale and Maidenpool united and marched on Aegon’s forces. Their 3,000 men gave them the advantage on the ground, but after Aegon the Conqueror burned the lords from the sky both castles swore allegiance.

As Aegon continued to move across Westeros, sometimes he met an enemy ready to fight. Other times he met those ready to kneel so they could save both their lives and the lives of their people. But even when Aegon’s ever-growing army suffered losses, the strength of his dragons turned those setbacks into victory, bringing more houses under his rule.

Harren the Black, however, refused to kneel and burned inside the walls of his new castle. He’d built Harrenhal to be impenetrable. But it wasn’t immune to dragonflame from the sky, and its huge stone walls were unable to save him and his sons, ending Harren’s line forever. House Tully, who had been the first house of the Riverlands to kneel before Aegon, then became the new Paramounts of the Trident.

Dragons also proved decisive in defeating the last of the Storm Kings. After Argilac fell Aegon named his Hand of the King Orys Baratheon as the new Lord of Storm’s End. Orys married Argilac’s daughter, and House Baratheon took up the words, honors, and sigil of House Durrandon.

Those willing to oppose Aegon grew smaller and smaller, and more and more houses swore allegiance rather than burn. But not everyone was willing to surrender. Yet.

The First Field of Fire in Westeros

Two Western kings decided to stand together and fight the Targaryens and Aegon the Conqueror. Mern IX Gardener, King of the Reach, and Loren Lannister, King of Casterly Rock, put together the single biggest force in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. They marched 55,000 soldiers to the plains of the Blackwater Rush and attacked the Targaryen army. But Aegon and his sister-wives, together on a battlefield together for the first time, bathed the middle of the army in dragonflame, destroying the Gardener force. (Just as Daenerys destroyed the Loot Train three centuries later.)

Over 5,000 men died, with twice as many injured, in what is known as the Field of Fire. House Gardener was also completely destroyed, but Loren Lannister kneeled. Aegon then named him Warden of the West. And when Aegon flew to Highgarden, the Gardener stewards House Tyrell bent the knee and became Wardens of the South.

The North and the Vale Bend the Knee to Aegon the Conqueror

The Vale still intended to continue to fight and hold out, confident in the strength of the Eyrie. But after the Queen Regent Sharra Arryn found her son Ronnel sitting on Visenya’s lap, begging for a ride on the back of her dragon Vhagar, the Arryns became Aegon’s Wardens of the East.

Despite everything, Aegon had accomplished, though, the North (of course) was still ready to fight. It had amassed an impressive force of 30,000 men, twice the size of Aegon’s current army. But before battle, the two sides met at the Trident. While many of his men wanted the King in the North, Torren Stark, to go to war, he knew all too well what happened at the Field of Fire. Just as he knew, Harrenhal now stood in ruin, and House Gardener was gone. So instead, Torren called for peace. He is forever known as the King Who Knelt (an event Daenerys was only too happy to remind Jon Snow about). But not one of Torren’s men died, and House Stark was named Wardens of the North.

Aegon the Conqueror is Crowned King of Westeros

After seven days of prayer, the High Septon of Oldtown convinced Lord Hightower to open the gates and let Aegon and his dragons in. Aegon then accepted the Faith of the Seven and was crowned King. That moment also led to a new way of keeping time Westeros. Aegon technically landed in 2 BC (Before the Conquest). After his coronation, the new calendar used AC (After the Conquest).

In only two years, Aegon of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, became King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm. The first ruler of a (mostly) unified Westeros then built his new capital where he first came ashore on Westeros’s mainland. It became known as King’s Landing and the seat of his Iron Throne, which Aegon forged from the swords of his defeated enemies.

But Aegon the Conqueror never ruled all seven kingdoms because, despite his unparalleled conquest, he never did take Dorne.

Dorne Kills a Dragon and Defies Aegon

When Rhaenys flew to Dorne on her dragon Meraxes, she found all of Dorne’s castles abandoned. One person remained at Sunspear, though, the seat of Dorne’s rulers, House Martell. It was there Princess Meria told Rhaenys that Dorne had no king and would never kneel.

In 4 AC, Aegon waged the First Dornish War in an effort to finish his conquest. But the Dornish continued to hide. They’d learn a valuable lesson from The Field of Fire. They wouldn’t let Aegon use his dragons against them, and instead employed guerrilla warfare tactics of quick strikes and retreat.

Six years into the war, the unthinkable happened. Dorne struck Meraxes through its eye with a scorpion bolt (the same weapon Euron Greyjoy used to kill Daenerys’ dragon Rhaegal). Meraxes fell to his death, but no one knows whether Rhaenys died in the fall or if her captors killer her after. The body of Aegon’s most beloved sister-wife was never returned.

In response, a grief-stricken and enraged Aegon, along with Visenya, burned every castle and holdfast in Dorne except for Sunspear. But the war came to an end a couple of years later, when Aegon received Meraxes’ skull along with a letter. No one knows what that letter said. (Did it have something to do with the fate of Rhaenys?)

What we do know is that the next day Aegon agreed to a peace with Dorne. It wouldn’t formally become a part of the Seven Kingdoms until a Martell/Targaryen marriage almost 150 years later.

Aegon the Conqueror’s Dream and a Greater Purpose

Aegon conquered Westeros, but Daenerys never did. In part, because she failed to find the same early success, Aegon did during his invasion. Despite having a far greater advantage in forces, allies, and naval strength than her famous ancestor, she didn’t have the power Aegon brought to Westeros. She lost two of her dragons before attacking King’s Landing, whereas Aegon had his two dragonrider sisters to fight with him.

But things might have gone differently for Daenerys had she inherited something even more important than dragons. She might never have destroyed King’s Landing and lived to rule if she knew the real reason for his conquest. Because Aegon’s secret dream gave him a purpose that went far beyond a quest for power.

Daenys the Dreamer’s prophetic dream saved her family. And after a century on Dragonstone, House Targaryen finally came to Westeros because Aegon had his own dream. Only he dreamed of the coming Long Night. He saw that the world’s only hope against eternal darkness was a unified Westeros led by his family. Aegon turned his sights to the West and showed mercy to his enemies because his goal was to stop the Night King.

That secret was passed down only to Targaryen heirs, who inherited both the Iron Throne and the greatest responsibility in the world. But the knowledge of Aegon the Conquerer’s dream seemingly died when Robert Baratheon killed Rhaegar and Jaime Lannister slew the Mad King. Daenerys clearly did not know about Aegon’s song of ice and fire, even if she knew about the prophecy of the Prince That Was Promised.

Princess Rhaenyra knows all about it, though. And every decision she will make in the coming war of succession on House of the Dragon will be both framed and influenced by the same dream that brought Aegon the Conqueror and House Targaryen to Westeros.

Originally published on August 3, 2017.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Aegon the Conqueror forged the Iron Throne from the swords of his defeated enemies in Westeros. However, his family’s seat of power was no mere symbol of victory. Nor just a warning. Aegon designed the chair to be physically uncomfortable, because “a king should never sit easy.” His descendant, House of the Dragon‘s Viserys I, knows firsthand the perils that come with his royal seat. Literally. He’s already lost two fingers to the chair and his back is covered in open sores incurred by the sharp remnants of vanquished foes. But to some in the Seven Kingdoms those wounds represent something even more dangerous. For there are those who believe the Iron Throne rejects anyone unworthy of sitting on it.

Maegor the Cruel was Aegon the Conqueror’s second son who usurped his nephew’s rightful place as king. He’s also House Targaryen’s most infamous and detested ruler. His memory is why men like Ser Otto Hightower feared Daemon becoming king. They worried he’d be “a second Maegor.” But for all the death and mayhem Maegor brought to Westeros, his reign of terror came to a quiet end. Servants found him on the Iron Throne with his wrists slashed. He also had a large spike from the chair sticking through his neck.

Who killed him? Some say his wife, others his Kingsguard, and a few think he ended things himself. With secret passages throughout the Red Keep, it could have been any of his countless enemies. Many sought revenge against him, and all wanted freedom of his tyranny. But there are some who don’t think any person killed Maegor. They believe the Iron Throne itself brought a bloody end to his heinous rule.

The idea of the Iron Throne having a type of sentience capable of not only judging those who sit upon it but actually harming them remained until the end of House Targaryen’s dynasty. The chair enacted such a toll on the Mad King, Aerys II, that some called him King Scab. His injuries were a sign to some the Iron Throne had deemed Aerys unfit to rule.

In a world of omens, prophecies, dragons, and magic, that’s not as wild a notion as it might seem. And if the Iron Throne really can adjudicate a ruler’s worthiness, Viserys’ many wounds are potentially an ill-omen for both his reign and his family. Is the Iron Throne trying to tell Westeros it chose the wrong person to rule? Viserys only became king thanks to the Great Council of 101. Does the Iron Throne know the lords of the Realm chose the wrong person? Was Princess Rhaenys the rightful heir?

Or is the Iron Throne trying to convey disdain with Viserys’ decisions now? He disinherited his brother Daemon and named Rhaenyra, a woman, as his rightful heir. And he’s sticking with his decision even though Queen Alicent has given him a son. As Otto Hightowe said, by all the “laws of gods and men” little Aegon should be next in line. Is that why the Iron Throne is exacting such a toll on Viserys’ body? Because it is displeased with his plans for succession? Or how Viserys is handling the coming discord?

But whether House Targaryen’s seat of power truly killed Maegor, turned Aerys II into a pin cushion, or is punishing Viserys doesn’t matter. As Viserys told Rhaenyra, perception is what matters. And the fact some believe that chair—made of swords and designed to imperil those who sit on it—can pass judgement on its occupant is a bad sign for whomever claims it as their own.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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House of the Dragon‘s third episode did more than deliver another chapter in one Westeros’ most notorious events. “Second of His Name” also rectified George R.R. Martin’s biggest Game of Thrones regret. Years after Robert Baratheon walked into the woods for the last time, the prequel spinoff finally showed the author knows what a royal hunt actually entailed. That endeavor, full of great Easer eggs, was more than a fun callback, though. The King’s lavish event is a harbinger of what’s to come. Because if House of the Dragon is willing to put this many resources into killing a single deer, imagine what it will do when dragons start fighting dragons.

In author James Hibberd’s Game of Thrones oral history, Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon, George R.R. Martin was unequivocal about his “least favorite scene in the entire show, in all eight seasons.” But it’s almost certainly not a moment viewers would pick or even consider. It was a brief season one sequence, when Robert Baratheon went on his fateful hunt in the Kingswood. Here’s what Martin said about why that roughly 90-second scene bothered him so much:

Four guys walking on foot through the woods carrying spears and Robert is giving Renly shit. In the books, Robert goes off hunting, we get word he was gored by a boar, and they bring him back and he dies. So I never did [a hunting scene]. But I knew what a royal hunting party was like. There would have been a hundred guys. There would have been pavilions. There would have been huntsmen. There would have been dogs. There would have been horns blowing – that’s how a king goes hunting! He wouldn’t have just been walking through the woods with three of his friends holding spears hoping to meet a boar. But at that point, we couldn’t afford horses or dogs or pavilions.

Martin can now rest easy. Everyone has seen a “real” royal hunt take place in his fictional world. House of the Dragon‘s version had everything he ever wanted and more. The celebration for Prince Aegon’s second name day was a grandiose gathering with lots of important lords and ladies. And also lots of horses, dogs, and pavilions.

Like King Viserys, Robert went hunting in the Kingswood for a white hart, a rare, older majestic deer considered magical. And like Viserys, Robert got very drunk during his hunt. (Lancel Lannister secretly gave Robert fortified strongwine to endanger the king.) House of the Dragon showed how a wild animal could fatally wound an inebriated monarch. Viserys was stumbling and unable to focus and, even with the deer tied up, he was at risk. And we also saw how dangerous a charging boar is when it almost killed Rhaenyra. Viserys’ hunt really did give us everything Robert’s didn’t.

In fairness to Game of Thrones, though, its royal hunt was brief. It did everything it needed to quickly. It would have made more sense to cut it entirely than go all out. House of the Dragon‘s royal hunt was far more important. It was a major gathering of important figures, some new to the show, that took up half the episode and helped moved numerous plots forward.

It was also a lot of easier for the spinoff to execute an extravagant royal hunt, too. The original show’s first season had a per episode budget of $6 million. That was a lot for 2010 when Game of Thrones began production, but a far cry from what HBO lets House of the Dragon spend every week. The prequel’s per episode budget comes in just under $20 million. That’s a Brienne of Tarth-sized increase over its predecessor. (Even if you account for inflation, $6 million in 2010 is roughly $7.4 million in 2021, when House of the Dragon filmed.) Meanwhile, Game of Thrones‘ final season budget was “only” $15 million per episode.

Speaking of comparisons, the first episode of House of the Dragon gave us the kind of royal tourney Martin wanted for Game of Thrones. The author also told Hibberd the original show had to dramatically cut back on the scope of King Robert’s jousting tournament. Despite the budgetary restrictions, Martin doesn’t hate that scene. He just wishes it could have been a lot bigger, and seven bloody hells is that exactly what we got in House of the Dragon‘s premiere.

The difference between the two is staggering. Just look at them.

HBO is giving House of the Dragon the kind of financial backing it took Game of Thrones years to earn. It’s the single biggest advantage the prequel has over its predecessor. Game of Thrones‘ success is House of the Dragon‘s gain. But that doesn’t mean the show is only using that money to satiate A Song of Ice and Fire‘s creator. It’s also delivering for fans, and looks like it will throughout the entire run.

By the time “The Dance of the Dragons” ends, this royal hunt should seem quaint in scope. The first Targaryen civil war features some truly epic moments, both on the ground and high in the sky. If House of the Dragon is willing to invest massive resources in royal tournaments and hunts, imagine what it will do when dragons battle dragons.

Of course, we’re fine with the show spending money to rectify Game of Thrones‘ biggest issues. Just so long as those issues aren’t limited to just George R.R. Martin’s regrets. House of the Dragon should put money into making sure we can see dragons go to war. And, most of all, in delivering an ending we all love.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Sound the drums, let the dragons fly free because HBO has officially renewed the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon for season two. A second season of House of the Dragon seemed to be all but a given, but Game of Thrones fans will no doubt still feel excited to hear the news confirmed.

House of the Dragon has barely started to air, but its premiere broke HBO records. According to a release, “House of the Dragon debuted Sunday, August 21, to the largest audience for any new original series in HBO history. The first episode has now been seen by over 20 million viewers across linear, On Demand and HBO Max platforms in the U.S., based on a combination of Nielsen data and first-party data.” Those are big numbers, and no doubt made HBO hungry for more fire and blood… and dragons.

We know there is plenty of story still to tell when it comes to this Game of Thrones spinoff. House of the Dragon season one has only ten episodes, but the Targaryens have centuries of history to tell. We guess that’s where House of the Dragon season two comes in. Those excited to know where the story of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, and others might go should check out the book House of the Dragon is based on, Fire & Blood by G.R.R. Martin. Obviously, that means spoilers, but at least the wait for more episodes will fly by.

Of course, we don’t have any indication of when House of the Dragon season two will release or even go into production. Nor do we yet know about any new casting or story information.

However, we do know we’ll see a different co-showrunner. Via TVLine, House of the Dragon season one co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik is moving on. He said, “It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally.”

Ryan Condal will remain and serve as the sole showrunner for season two. However, Game of Thrones veteran Alan Taylor will return as exectuve producer and director for the next season. Taylor said in a statement:

It’s a pleasure and an honor to be back at HBO, immersing myself in the world of the Targaryens. I look forward to working closely with Ryan as House of the Dragon grows into its second season. Ryan, Miguel and George [R.R. Martin] have launched an extraordinary story, in a rich and fascinating world. Returning to Westeros will be a huge undertaking, and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

Really, it boils down to this, House of the Dragon‘s creators promised us seventeen total dragons in the show. But we know we only get to meet nine of them in season one. That means we still need to encounter eight more dragons. We can’t leave that many dragons on the table. House of the Dragon season two it is!

Originally published August 26, 2022.

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Game of Thrones‘ opening credits sequence changed the game for TV show openings. And though House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel show, premiered without any kind of notable intro sequence, its second episode introduced a proper opening. However, in a strange twist, the House of the Dragon opening credits uses the original theme music from Game of Thrones.

Take a look at the full House of the Dragon opening credits sequence below.

While playing the iconic Game of Thrones opening music during House of the Dragon‘s credit sequence isn’t necessarily a bad choice, it does feel like a bit of a strange one. Fans of the show are probably hard conditioned to expect to see a sprawling map of Westeros accompanying the notes. And the music makes us feel like we’ll soon watch the continuing adventures of Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, and more. There’s a bit of a disconnect between reality and expectation here. It just feels weird to see the new House of the Dragon opening unfolding to the familiar theme.

We assume HBO really wanted to stress the continuity of the two shows. And the platform probably wanted to ease fans of the original series into something new. But it probably would have been better to have the original theme blend into something new. After all, something different for the House of the Dragon opening would be nice.

We also feel a little confused about what is going on in the visuals in the House of the Dragon opening. There’s a lot of blood but no fire. We see a lot of cityscape and brick. And it seems like we’re moving through Old Valyria as a backdrop. Viewers will recognize this setting from the model King Viserys is working on in his spare time. According to Mashable, the spinning gears and insignias we see filling with blood each have to do with a specific Targaryen. Ultimately, the threads of blood appear to offer us a kind of abridged Targaryen family tree. It’s a little convoluted for those who don’t know the full history of the Targaryen family, but we assume we’ll understand more as House of the Dragon airs.

In the meanwhile, the original Game of Thrones theme has, in fact, become stuck in our heads again. Thanks a lot, House of the Dragon opening credits.

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On House of the Dragon, the first Small Council meeting began with Ser Corlys Velaryon warning of a growing concern in the Stepstones. King Viserys and Ser Otto Hightower took the Lord of Tide’s concerns “under advisement,” but not seriously. Now the show’s second episode has revealed why ignoring the problem won’t make it go away. No matter how much Viserys wants to avoid war, it seems inevitable, with or without his blessing. If he won’t act his brother Daemon just might. Exactly where are the Stepstones, though, and why are they so important in House of the Dragon?

And what is the risk of Westeros confronting the Triarchy currently ruling over those desolate rocks? Despite being undesirable land, the location of those islands makes them highly valuable. And that’s been true since the First Men came to Westeros.

What are the Stepstones? Where Are the Stepstones Located?

The Stepstones consists of more than a dozen small islands that separate the Narrow Sea to the north and the Summer Sea to the south. They run from Dorne’s eastern coast in Westeros to the Disputed Lands on Essos’s southwest shore.

The chain’s most notable island is its biggest, Bloodstone. However, that’s a fitting moniker for the Stepstones at large. Unto themselves the stony and inhospitable islands are almost entirely worthless. They’re also constantly savaged by powerful storms. And despite being so close to Westeros, they’re under constant threat by pirates, which often claim them as their own domain. (That’s why Viserys was initially pleased to learn the Triarchy had begun eliminating the pirate problem.) But despite all that, the Stepstones’ history during House Targaryen’s time in Westeros is one of war.

And their importance dates back to before their creation during Westeros’ first great conflict.

Who Created the Stepstones and Why Were They Made?

Before we get into House of the Dragon happenings, let’s look at how the Stepstones came to be. Ancient legend say the Stepstones were once part of the Arm of Dorne, a southern land passage that ran from Westeros to Essos. It is A Song of Ice and Fire‘s answer to the Bering Strait that once connected Alaska and Russia. And like the Bering Strait, the Arm of Dorne made a great migration between continents possible before disappearing under the waves. It’s believed the First Men came to Westeros across that land-bridge. When war eventually broke out between men and the Children of the Forest, the Children turned their attention to the Arm to try and prevent even more of their populous enemy from arriving.

The greenseers of the Children used powerful magic to flood and splinter the Arm of Dorne turned the land-bridge into the Stepstones. (A name they get because they look like stepping stones between the two continents.) The Children’s desperate ploy wasn’t enough to defeat the First Men, though. And the Arm’s destruction only made its remnants more important because it opened up a pathway to connect more parts of the world.

The Doom of Valyria and the War History at the Stepstones

For thousands of years the Stepstones fell under the domain of Old Valyria’s dragonlords. The Freehold turned an island just north of the archipelago into its eastern most military outpost of Tyrosh. But slavers and pirates still occasionally operated out the Stepstones. And sometimes they brought conflict to the eastern Kingdoms of Westeros, including to Houses Stark and Arryn.

When the Doom came to Valyria, though, it unleashed chaos in Essos known as the “Century of Blood Pirates,” free from the fear dragonflame would consume their wooden ships, overran the Stepstones. Meanwhile, Valyrian outposts along Essos’ western coast—as well as independent Braavos— became known as the nine Free Cities. But rather than unite, war broke out almost immediately between some of those independent city-states. They fought many battles over what is known as the Disputed Lands in mainline southwestern Essos.

But their battles also involved frequently fighting over the highly valuable islands. The Stepstones became more than a haven for pirates and outcasts. It become one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. Anyone who hoped to earn their riches through trade needed to pass through them. And that meant whomever controlled them collected a fortune of tolls.

Tyrosh, not formally part of the Stepstones despite its close proximity to them, often fought over the islands. Sometimes Targaryen kings and Dornish princes also found themselves involved in the chain’s disputes, too. (Dorne remained independent from the Targaryen’s realm until 184 AC.) However, no Free Cities warred over the Stepstones more than Myr and Lys.

War was the constant state of the Stepstones for two hundred years, from the Doom to King Viserys reign. Alliances came and went, battles were won and lost, pirates and lords alike laid claim to the islands, and yet no one ever held them long. The Stepstones’ lack of permanent keeps and stone structures is a silent testament to the brief reigns of its many rulers. But even a temporary King of the Stepstones can cause major problems.

Why Is House of the Dragon‘s Triarchy a Dangerous Problem?

No one, not even a Targaryen dragon lord, wants to deal with pirates. It’s why Viserys thought his Small Council should celebrate news of the Triarchy dispatching pirates on the Stepstones. The Triarchy is a powerful alliance of three Free Cities who often fight each other: Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. A ruler hoping to avoid war can formally parlay and negotiate with them. Especially since the Triarchy is also an alliance no king wants to war with. Even with his family’s dragons, Viserys’ knows many of his subjects would die any ensuing conflict with the Free Cities.

But the problem the Realm now faces has nothing to do with the Myrish prince Craghas Drahar and his ghastly war crimes. The Crabfeeder’s real transgression against Westeros is damaging the pockets and reputation of its most powerful seafarer. Ser Corlys, the Realm’s most accomplished sailor and master of ships, a man who made his family the richest in Westeros during his lifetime thanks to his prowess on the seas, lost four ships and their men to Craghas. He isn’t content with Viserys sending emissaries to the Free Cities and awaiting a diplomatic solution. Lord Velaryon wants to send a show of force to the Stepstones, even if it means Westeros goes to open war with the Free Cities for the first time.

Ser Corlys not only oversees the royal fleet, his house provides it. And he knows better than anyone that if the Stepstones and their shipping lanes fall into the wrong hands it could “beggar” every trader in the Realm. None more than him. No ship will be able to pass by or even near the islands without paying a hefty price to Craghas, whether the cost comes in gold or lost ships. It’s no wonder the Lord of Tides has turned to another Targaryen for help, a prince willing to embrace war. And if Daemon and his dragon answer Ser Corlys’s call on House of the Dragon, the Stepstones could serve as his own stepping stone to the power and respect he craves.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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Game of Thrones is back with its prequel series House of the Dragon. And of course it opened with sweeping shots of a blonde riding her dragon. The creators promise us lots of dragon content but for now let’s ponder the most pressing question. What does Princess Rhaenyra smell like after riding her golden steed Syrax? And what does a dragon smell like? Do dragons smell like other things you ride, like a horse? Syrax does wear a saddle, so maybe the smells of leather and oil mix with animal and fire scents. Or maybe the king and queen got a whiff of the clouds. Are Targaryens better at picking up the scent of a dragon? Let’s dive in to the possibilities of what a dragon might smell like on House of the Dragon!

What Could a Game of Thrones Dragon Smell Like?

Space

When you’re riding a dragon, you’re exposed to parts of the atmosphere you wouldn’t usually be. Earth’s ozone, or trioxygen, smells like burnt electricity or chlorine, depending on who you ask. Outer space also has a smell, described by various astronauts as gunpowder, burned cookies, raspberries, and rum. NASA devised a formula to simulate the smell of space. Recently, a Kickstarter perfume called Eau de Space was released based on this combination. When astronauts return from a spacewalk, they smell of space. So maybe it follows that when a dragon drops you off after a ride, you smell of the air you flew through.

Dinosaurs

An exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago lets visitors smell Sue the T. rex’s breath. Scientists determined rotting flesh as the likely smell. They diluted it down enough so that paying customers wouldn’t gag. Apparently the team also considered hyena poop as the closest smell to T. rex fecal matter because both species eat animal bones as well as flesh. It’s possible our House of the Dragon dragons could smell something like this.

Bats

Bats, with their leathery wings, certainly cut the same profile as dragons. Some species have a wingspan of five feet. The strongest smell associated with bats is urine. It’s often the most telling sign that you have an infestation in your attic or are entering a cave they call home. Amorous male bats rub urine and “other secretions” over their bodies to attract females. One bat researcher, however, describes different species as smelling like burnt oranges, fungus, and even corn tortillas, which doesn’t sound all that bad.

Komodo Dragons

Their eight-foot size is nothing compared to Westeros’s favorite pets, but Komodo dragons are the closest living animal. So what do Komodo dragons smell like? “Reptiles do not have sweat glands,” says Kim Gray, curator of herpetology & ichthyology at the San Diego Zoo. “They do scent mark, as all monitor lizards can, and are territorial. But we humans, with our relatively poor sense of smell, can’t detect anything really.” Perhaps the Targaryen’s sense of smell zeroes in on subtle dragon scents. Considering their important bonds, this would make sense.

As for their breath, Komodo dragons ambush deer and other prey, but also feast on dead or dying animals. Though they eat them raw instead of cooking them the way George R.R. Martin’s dragons do. “Perhaps dragons simply smell like their food items, so depending on what they are eating…hopefully not humans?” says Gray. “Galapagos marine iguanas smell like seaweed a bit, obviously that is their main diet and the older animals even have algae growing on them. So Godzilla or a water dragon would smell like seaweed. Being a bit of a D&D nerd myself, one might debate they smell like ash and burnt coals if it is a fire breathing sort.”

Barbecue

Grilled meat and campfire is probably the most logical guess for what dragons smell like. The ability to cook your food using fiery breath certainly comes in handy if you refuse to eat raw meat. But we also know barbecuing gives off certain smells. And those linger on whoever is at the grill. That smokey smell permeates your hair and whatever clothes you were wearing. Some of those smells are delicious. But anyone who’s accidentally singed their arm hair or cooked sweet meats knows there can also be some funkiness mixed in. Depending on each dragon’s favorite foods, a mix of ash and that burning smell is likely.

With all the questions House of the Dragon already put forward in episode one, I doubt there will be any canonical information about what Syrax and other dragons smell like. But that’s why you count on Nerdist for these types of thought experiments. We can’t be the only ones wondering about what a dragon smells like.

Melissa is Nerdist’s science & technology staff writer. She also moderates “science of” panels at conventions and co-hosts Star Warsologies, a podcast about science and Star Wars. Follow her on Twitter @melissatruth. 

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One of the things Game of Thrones became best-known for over its long run was its elaborate opening credits scene. So it makes sense that as the Game of Thrones spinoff series approached, fans wondered whether it would continue this tradition. But those who have watched episode one of House of the Dragon will know that there was no drawn-out animation to welcome us into the show. The opening credits for House of the Dragon consisted of just a brief lingering look at the Targaryen crest. But we haven’t lost hope yet.

According to Vulture, the show’s creators wanted to give fans a “cold opening of sorts to get on and tell the story without the indulgence of a Ramin Djawadi–scored title sequence.” But that House of the Dragon episode two, and the rest of the show, will indeed get the greatly-anticipated opening credits sequence of our dragon dreams.

We have to say, we hope so. Hearing Game of Thrones theme while its world unfolded around us always helped us get a little deeper into the world of the show. And even though House of the Dragons might not have the same universe sprawl that Game of Thrones did, we bet the prequel show will cook up something cool with all those dragons.

But, we guess it also makes sense that the creators of House of the Dragon wanted viewers to focus on the first episode itself and not just on its opening credits sequence. If there had been a splashy title, you can bet that would have stolen much of the attention. And now the anticipation and speculation about House of the Dragon‘s opening can ratchet up that much more.

We absolutely can’t wait to see what kind of blood and fire opening this Game of Thrones prequel show has in store for us.

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House of the Dragon finally flew in with its first episode. The premiere packed in a lot of information about the show’s time period and its main families. There are also a lot of nods to Game of Thrones from that Weirwood tree to other important lore mentions. The one thing that everyone couldn’t wait to see was the Iron Throne. It is not sentient but it is still an important character in this saga. As we all know, the Iron Throne is the most dangerous seat in all of Westeros, and it looks more ominous in House of the Dragon than it did in Game of Thrones. Let’s talk about how the Iron Throne shows up in House of the Dragon and who it actually belongs to. 

Who Sits on the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon and What Happens?

House of the Dragon takes place 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen back when House Targaryen was incredibly powerful. King Viserys is the man in charge, and therefore the Iron Throne is his seat; however, there is the issue of his successor. Common sense would say it goes to this firstborn Rhaenyra, but—GASP—she’s a girl and women cannot do things! Well, except give birth and perhaps die while doing it.

Anyway, the first solid glimpse of the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon‘s present timeline is when Viserys’ brother (and the next male heir in line) Daemon Targaryen, Commander of the City Watch, strolls into town and decides to perch himself on the throne. As we see, this Iron Throne has a ton of swords not only on the seat itself (which makes it larger) but all over the surrounding floor and steps. It is certainly different from what we see in Game of Thrones when Robert Baratheon (and later Joffrey and Cersei) sits on it. And it is lowkey dangerous with Viserys cutting his hand on it. It is also where we see his ire grow as he decides to make his daughter the next heir after Daemon takes things a little too far.

Why Does the Iron Throne Look Different in House of the Dragon? 

Well, there are a few answers to this question. First, House of the Dragon‘s Iron Throne more accurately represents the danger and fear that the seat was meant to elicit in the books than Game of Thrones’ version. The Targaryens had mad dragons and wanted everyone to be shook by their power. What better way to do this than have a killer-looking throne? And, as years went by, the Iron Throne would change with each King who wanted to make changes to it. We may see this change happen in real time as the next leader takes Viserys place. Also, at some point, a leader must wonder why the hell they want to sit on a sharp and uncomfortable throne anyway. 

The end of episode one sets up a few brewing conflicts. Daemon will surely cause trouble after his brothel babble cost him the throne. Rhaenyra will have to face a sea of men who don’t want to see a woman in power. And the Velaryon crew is holding a big chip on its shoulder, so they will likely use their fortune/power to make something happen. No matter what, the Iron Throne will be at the center of it all.

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The Targaryen family’s storied past will soon unfold onscreen in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. It’s based on Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin’s history of the Targaryen dynasty.

Here’s everything we know about House of the Dragon so far.

Title

The Game of Thrones prequel is called House of the Dragon. 

House of the Dragon’s Plot

The series is based on Fire & Blood, the first of George R.R. Martin’s two volumes diving into the extensive Targaryen history. According to HBO, the prequel is set hundreds of years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones. It’s during that era when Aegon the Conqueror, the first of three centuries of Targaryen rulers, united six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros. But, most likely, especially given what we know about the cast, the series will focus on the first Targaryen civil war, a.k.a. “The Dance of the Dragons.” It’s during this “dance,” more than a century after Aegon’s rule,  that dragons went extinct. Well, until Daenerys hatched three 150 years later.

The official trailer for House of the Dragon reveals how quickly a cold war can turn hot as it introduces us to some of our major players.

San Diego Comic-Con gave us a slightly (and we do mean slightly) longer “extended” version of the trailer.

Additionally, a previously released trailer also takes us into the heart of the action. Its tagline? “History does not remember blood. It remembers names.” That truly gives us the shivers.

HBO also released new character posters spotlighting their main players. These posters came with a handy one-sentence summary reminding us of each character’s role on the show. You can take a look at all the new House of the Dragon posters here.

Ultimately, HBO sums up the show with its official logline, “Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the series, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.”

Of course, the first episode has now been released, but fans hungry for more House of the Dragon can rejoice. HBO has released a “Weeks Ahead” trailer spotlighting the full journey of the show and its upcoming episodes. There’s a lot to look forward to.

The Canceled Prequel

The series is unrelated to the other Game of Thrones prequel that HBO passed on. Unlike House of the Dragon, which received a straight-to-order pickup, that series actually shot a pilot. Known unofficially as Bloodmoon, it was set thousands of years earlier, during the mysterious era when Westeros’s Age of Heroes descended into the first Long Night.

Behind the Scenes

George R.R. Martin co-created the series with Colony‘s Ryan Condal. The latter will write for the show and also serve as joint showrunner with veteran Game of Thrones director Miguel Sapochnik. Sapochnik led some of the biggest, most famous episodes on the original series. His résumé includes “Hardhome,” “The Winds of Winter,” “The Long Night,” and “Battle of the Bastards,” which earned him a directing Emmy. He will direct House of the Dragon‘s premiere and additional episodes.

One area we know the prequel will live up to the original series will be in the music department. Emmy-wining Game of Thrones‘ composer Ramin Djawadi will return to Westeros to score House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon’s Cast

As in all of Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire works, and its HBO predecessor, House of the Dragon boasts a large ensemble cast. Paddy Considine was the show’s first official cast member. He’s playing King Viserys I, the Targaryen ruler who foolishly did not anticipate the war of succession that would follow his death.

Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Emma D’Arcy are playing a trio of the most important characters in the series. And, of course, the events that eventually tear the Targaryen family apart. Cook is Alicent Hightower, the second wife to King Viserys I, who schemed to have her son seated on the Iron Throne. Smith is “Rogue Prince,” Daemon Targaryen, Viserys’ younger brother. D’Arcy will play Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the would-be queen who was her father’s named successor who ultimately marries Daemon.

Other major initial castings were Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon a.k.a. “The Sea Snake”; Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans as Hand of the King Otto Hightower; and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria. Fabien Frankel will play Ser Criston Cole of Dorne who plays a major role in the civil war. George R.R. Martin has teased a few major things on his blog.

Meanwhile, the latest casting annoucement teases several of the major families during this era in Westeros… including a Lannister. Outlander‘s Graham McTavish will Kingsguard member Ser Harrold Westerling; Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin ‘Breakbones’ Strong; Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister; David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos; Matthew Needham as Larys Strong; Bill Paterson as Lord Lyman Beesbury; and Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong. Additionally, Milly Alcock will play young Rhaenyra and Emily Carey will play young Alicant. Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell,  Harry Collett, Tom Glynn-Carney,  Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate,  Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, Savannah Steyn, also star.

Official images for the main cast were also recently released, alongside detailed character descriptions. HBO shares the following about House of the Dragons‘ characters and story:

Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, chosen by the lords of Westeros to succeed the Old King, Jaehaerys Targaryen, at the Great Council at Harrenhal.  A warm, kind, and decent man, Viserys only wishes to carry forward his grandfather’s legacy. But good men do not necessarily make for great kings.

Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, younger brother to King Viserys and heir to the throne. A peerless warrior and a dragonrider, Daemon possesses the true blood of the dragon.  But it is said that whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods toss a coin in the air…

Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and the most comely woman in the Seven Kingdoms. She was raised in the Red Keep, close to the king and his innermost circle; she possesses both a courtly grace and a keen political acumen.

Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king’s first-born child, she is of pure Valyrian blood, and she is a dragonrider. Many would say that Rhaenyra was born with everything… but she was not born a man.

Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Sea Snake.” Lord of House Velaryon, a Valyrian bloodline as old as House Targaryen. As “The Sea Snake,” the most famed nautical adventurer in the history of Westeros, Lord Corlys built his house into a powerful seat that is even richer than the Lannisters and that claims the largest navy in the world.

Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, a dragonrider and wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, “The Queen Who Never Was” was passed over as heir to the throne at the Great Council because the realm favored her cousin, Viserys, simply for being male.

Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, of Dornish descent, the common-born son of the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven.  Cole has no claim to land or titles; all he has to his name is his honor and his preternatural skill with a sword.

Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, who came to Westeros with nothing, sold more times than she can recall.  She could have wilted… but instead she rose to become the most trusted — and most unlikely — ally of Prince Daemon Targaryen, the heir to the throne.

Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower. The Hand of the King, Ser Otto loyally and faithfully serves both his king and his realm. As the Hand sees it, the greatest threat to the realm is the king’s brother, Daemon, and his position as heir to the throne.

Release Date

HBO began production for House of the Dragon in 2021. And they confirmed in December 2020 that the show would arrive in 2022. The news also came with new artwork for dragons.

Now we finally know this Game of Thrones prequel will turn up the heat on HBO this summer, when the show premieres Sunday, August 21.

We can’t wait to see what this new series has in store.

Originally published on July 29, 2020.

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We know a lot about House of the Dragon‘s story. We know all the major figures and events, who will survive, and how it will end. But despite all of that knowledge, the show’s premiere still managed to drop a huge revelation. It’s a monumental piece of lore that reframes the series, Aegon’s Conquest, House Targaryen, and Game of Thrones. Because a dream brought fire and blood came to Westeros to one day lead the fight against the White Walkers.

Once King Viserys decided to name his daughter heir to the Iron Throne, he told Rhaenyra a family secret few Targeryens ever even knew. It’s also a secret never before shared in all of George R.R. Martin’s grand story – the real reason Aegon conquered Westeros.

Before Aegon’s Conquest, House Targaryen stood as the world’s last dragonlords for nearly a century. A minor noble house of Old Valyria, they fled the empire twelve years before its Doom. They only left because Lord Aenar Targaryen’s daughter, known as Daenys the Dreamer, foresaw Valyria’s fall. When the Doom consumed all of the empire and its dragons, House Targaryen was safely on Dragonstone.

But despite possessing the greatest power in the world and residing along Westeros’s eastern coast, House Targaryen barely involved itself in the Realm’s affairs for nearly 100 years, let alone attacked. Aegon didn’t either initially. Before looking west he cared more about what was happening across the Narrow Sea in Essos. That only changed—or so we thought—when King Argilac Durrandon of Storm’s End insulted Aegon. One act of violence from a single old stubborn king led Aegon to conquer the whole continent, not just Argilac’s kingdom.

Until now there’s always been something strange about House Targaryen’s century of inaction followed by Aegon’s overreaction to Argilac. Westeros, rife with in-fighting and millennia old animosity, was ripe for a dragon invasion. And House Targaryen had good reason to do just that. Dragonstone was not the easiest place to live. Now thanks to House of the Dragon we know what changed Aegon’s thinking, and therefore the world forever. Here’s what Viserys told his daughter about Aegon the Conqueror:

Ambition alone was not what drove him to conquest. It was a dream. And just as Daenys saw the end of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. It is to begin with a terrible winter, gusting out of the distant North. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding on those winds, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When this great winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the world of men is to survive, a Targaryen must be seated on the Iron Throne, a king or queen strong enough to unite the Realm against the cold and the dark. Aegon called his dream “The Song of Ice and Fire.” This secret has been passed from king to heir since Aegon’s time.

House Targaryen has a long recorded history of prophetic dreams starting with Daenys. In the novels Daenerys has them. As did a prince named Daeron the Drunken and the Targaryen bastard Daemon II Blackfyre. Now we know Aegon had them as well. He saw the return of the Night King three centuries before the White Walkers breached The Wall. That dream, more than personal ambition, pushed him to take over Westeros. That also helps explain why he let those who bent the knee keep their lands and titles rather than install lords loyal to him. From Aegon’s perspective, he was there to conquer so he could unite Westeros, not destroy or remake it. That was the only way to ensure a Targaryen could lead the charge against the Long Night. His dream fundamentally changes everything we know about Aegon came to Westeros with his sisters.

(Note: Dragons didn’t even exist during the first Long Night. Neither did House Targaryen.)

But the ramifications of this prophecy, shared only with a king’s heir, changes everything we know about every Targaryen king who followed Aegon. Each carried the burden of a dark secret that involved the very fate of the world. That huge responsibility re-contextualizes every decision any of them ever made. That even includes (without condoning or excusing) Viserys’s decision in House of the Dragon‘s premiere to sacrifice his wife for an heir. Viserys’s obsession with having a son whose claim could not be challenged was at least partly about ensuring a Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne until Aegon’s dream came true.

Aegon’s prophecy now also reframes why Rhaenyra will soon fight a savage civil war to claim the Iron Throne. Her father entrusted her with the most important responsibility in the world. But that secret doomed some of Aegon’s other ancestors, too. It’s the same secret King Daeron the Young Dragon knew of while singularly focused on bringing Dorne under his rule. It’s also a dream Aegon the Unlikely knew about when he died trying to hatch dragon eggs.

But this prophecy also changes everything we know about Game of Thrones and the events leading up to it. That includes how Daenerys Targaryen never knew about her ancestor’s dream, and why Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark’s love led to mankind’s salvation.

One day Rhaegar Targaryen—son of the Mad King, heir to the Iron Throne, and older brother of Daenerys—suddenly decided he had to become a great knight. Some believe he made that decision because he read about the Prince That Was Promised prophecy and thought he was that prince. Now we know it might have been because his father told him of Aegon’s secret. But no matter what made him pick up a sword, eventually he likely believed his future son would be the world’s greatest hero Aegon dreamed of.

Like Aegon’s dream, that Prince That Was Promised prophecy said a great hero would defeat the darkness and save mankind. But it was not Rhaegar who united the Realm against the White Walkers, nor even a king. It was Rhaegar’s son and rightful heir Jon Snow, whose real name was Aegon Targaryen. Jon Snow never knew about Aegon’s dream, either. But he was the son of Lyanna Stark, and his song was a song of ice (Stark) and fire (Targaryen).

In ways Aegon the Conqueror never could have predicted, his dream came true. A Targaryen united (enough of) the Realm to stand against the Night King and save the living. For nearly three centuries before Game of Thrones, though, that dream also influenced the lives of everyone in Westeros, because it influenced every Targaryen ruler who sat—or, like Rhaenyra, was mean to sit—on the Iron Throne. So much for what we “knew” about House of the Dragon, the Targaryen family, and why dragons came to Westeros.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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