...but at a time very different from what we’ve seen previously
It has been over two years since the final episode of the much-loved HBO series “Game of Thrones” aired—to the disappointment of fans who followed the show for 10 years, excited to see more dragons, more blood, more fire, and maybe more ice, but got little of all of those during the last season that seemed all too rushed to be satisfying.
Well, now fans have something new to look forward to, a series inspired by the world of “Game of Thrones” but set 200 years prior to the events of the original show. While “House of the Dragon” has been teased for a while now, its first trailer came out just this week, much to the surprise of fans who have expressed excitement for what seems like a promising take on the history of the Targaryens, the first family to have united the Seven Kingdoms under the rule of one house.
As the voiceover from the trailer says (presumably the voice of Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen in the series), “Dreams didn’t make us kings, dragons did.” Anyone who is familiar with even the basic lore of Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms would know this to be true. It was three Targaryens and their three dragons who united the unruly houses of the Kingdoms under the Iron Throne—hence the three-headed dragon sigil of the Targaryen house.
The trailer shows some of the more interesting characters mentioned by “Song of Ice and Fire” author George R.R. Martin in his various books. Among these is Viserys I (played by Paddy Considine) sitting on the Iron Throne, hand holding what appears to be Blackfyre, the Valerian steel sword originally wielded by Aegon the Conqueror—aka the Targaryen who united Westeros and had his dragon Balerion the Dread forge the Iron Throne from 200 swords of his enemies-turned-subjects. Speaking of dragons, there is a shot of a huge dragon skull in the trailer, which fans speculate to be that of Balerion itself.
Also making an appearance is a certain Hand of the King, shown wearing that all-too-familiar pin that has spelled doom for many of those who wore it in the original GoT series. Following established timelines, this is Ser Otto Hightower (played by Rhys Ifans). Just like any Hand of the King worthy of the position, Ser Otto managed to have his daughter Alicent Hightower (played by Olivia Cooke), who also appears on the trailer, become Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Other notable characters are Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), Corlys Valeryon (Steve Toussaint), Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), and Rhaenys Valeryon (Eve Best) who is cousin to Viserys I and had once been a contender for the Iron Throne herself.
The plot for “House of the Dragon” leads up to a civil war between two Targaryen factions, presumably the so-called Dance of Dragons, which left the once powerful family weaker than when they first swooped down on Westeros bringing fire and blood. After the events of this war, there would be no dragon left in Westeros—until Daenerys returns with her three dragons, as we have seen on GoT.
Watch the trailer for “House of the Dragon,” which is set to premiere on HBO sometime in 2022, below.