Premiering to the largest audience in HBO history, House of the Dragon (HOTD) has established itself a worthy successor to the wildly successful Game of Thrones (GOT). The new series tells the tale of the once great House Targaryen, a house we see rise from near extinction and then fade away over the course of Daenerys Targaryen’s journey to go home and reclaim what her family lost. As is established various times in GOT, the demise of House Targaryen did not begin with Daenerys’ father, the infamous “Mad King”. The Targayens began to lose their grip over the Seven Kingdoms when they lost the last of their dragons, the extinction of which was triggered by the deadly “Dance of the Dragons”. House of the Dragon invites us to see just how this dance played out, referencing the original series throughout.
The “Monstrous” Stillbirths of Daenerys and Rhaenyra
As any Game of Thrones fan will recall, the latter episodes of season one, see Daenerys Targaryen suffering the loss of both her husband and stillborn child. It is believed that the stillbirth was caused by the witch, Mirri Maz Duur, who described the child as having scales and wings, with skin that disintegrated to the touch over its gnarled and misshapen form. Viewers continued to believe that the blood magic performed by this sorceress was the cause of death, until HOTD revealed an alternative explanation: genetics.
In season one, episode ten of HOTD, we likewise see Rhaenyra have an equally troubling birthing experience. Unlike Daenerys, who is unconscious for the delivery, Rhaenyra is not only fully awake but insists on delivering the child herself without the help of her ladies. She furthermore prepares the babe for its funeral pyre herself, relieving the septas of their duties. This time, we get to see the child, who looks much like Mirri’s description of Daenerys’ son. The baby has dragon-like scales and an abnormal skull, as if she is not quite fully human. This, along with the intercut images of Syrax (Rhaenyra’s dragon) screeching and writhing in pain as if connected to their master in a clairsentient fashion, has led observant fans to believe that dragon-like premature births run in the Targaryen genes.
Perhaps this is because of the blood magic assumed to have been used to connect the Targaryens to the dragons in the days of Old Valyria. As Mirri Maz Duur warned Daenerys, only death can pay for life, and perhaps likewise power. George R. R. Martin himself has confirmed the connection between blood magic and the birth of dragons, explaining that Daenerys’ seemingly fireproof nature was a result of the blood magic that transpired at Drogo’s funeral pyre, at which Mirri was also burnt alive. If the theory is true, this adds yet another sad layer to Daenerys’ loss, having blamed herself for an event that may well have been entirely out of her control or that of the sorcerer.
The Blade of Aegon the Conqueror
The blade of Aegon the Conqueror was in of itself a character in GOT, and so too does it appear in the prequel series. The blade is introduced early on in season one, when Catlyn Stark intercepts the would-be assassin of her comatose son, Bran. Lord Petyr Blaish, the mastermind whose involvement in the attempted murder were unbeknownst to the audience at the time, readily informs Lady Stark that this blade was forfeited by him in a bet with Tyrion Lannister. The identification of this blade, which at this point we only know to be Valyrian steel, makes its mark in Westeros history as it is identified as belonging to the Lannisters, thus implying them to be complicit in the multiple attempts made on the little lord’s life. This effectively sets the War of the Five Kings into motion, as Lady Stark subsequently captures Tyrion Lannister as her prisoner.
At this early point in the series, the blade has yet to be further identified as a historical artifact, having been forged for Aegon the Conqueror himself. This weapon continues to play a key role in major events, as Arya Stark uses the very same blade to slay the Night King. In House of the Dragon, the blade is introduced by Viserys, as he entrusts Rhaenyra to the family secret of the Song of Ice and Fire, Aegon the Conqueror’s vision foretelling the long night.
Promises Made From the Deathbed
One of the most shocking plot twists in GOT comes when Bran, as the Three-Eyed Raven, sees a glimpse into the past revealing Lyanna Stark’s last words. Ned finds her in a tower guarded by Targaryen men, where she is giving birth to a son by Rhaegar Targaryen. It is unclear if she specifies that she and Rhaegar secretly married, thus clarifying that Robert’s rebellion was built on a false rumor, but she does name the child Aegon, and asks for her brother to keep him safe. The now iconic scene fades into a close-up of Jon Snow, who has been named King in the North, revealing his true identity as the heir to the Iron Throne. In a similar fashion, Viserys Targaryen uses his final breaths to reassure Rhaenyra of her succession and her role in the aforementioned prophecy— only he is inadvertently speaking to his wife, Alicent.
A “Master of Whisperers”
Given how well the role of the original master of whisperers was played, one may be surprised to see the concept reprised in HOTD. A predecessor to Lord Varys, Mysaria comes into the story as a sex worker turned pawn of Daemon Targaryen, who then carves her own way into the world of the powerful. Her motivations are clear, as she explicitly names her desire for safety above all. While leading a ring of spies in King’s Landing may well not be a safe job, a position of power grants Mysaria control over her fate. It remains to be seen if this Master of Whisperers will be able to pull strings quite as elegantly as Lord Varys; or if perhaps like her successor, she will face punishment and death at the hands of a Targaryen.
Nymeria the Princess and Nymeria the Wolf
Fans may have noticed a familiar name come up in the early episodes of HOTD. A young Rhaenyra and Alicent lay beneath a godswood reading about Nymeria, Queen of the Rhoynar. In GOT, Nymeria is the name given by Arya to her dire wolf. Nymeria ruled over the Rhoynar people, who in fleeing political turbulence in their own homeland, arrived to populate the desolate and poor Kingdom of Dorne. Through her leadership and strategic marriage into the Martell family, Dorne rose to be one of the strongest and willful of the Seven Kingdoms. She was a famed and controversial woman, scorned by many for being of her sex in a position of power. It is then easy to see how it is appropriate to associate her name with both Rhaenyra and Arya, two independent women that break convention.