Based on George R.R. Martin’s highly acclaimed A Song of Ice and Fire, the Game of Thrones television series spellbound audiences for nearly a decade with its grim power struggles amid prisons in the sky, the capricious magic of red priests and the majestic awe of dragons on the hunt. The show was so popular, despite widespread disappointment with the later seasons, that when the final episode sailed away beyond the Narrow Sea, HBO was already incubating five potential spin-offs. Of those five, one has been canceled. The fate of the other three is presumed aborted, with only one remaining: House of the Dragon, whose teaser trailer just dropped.
Adapted from Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood, this new series details the Targaryen Civil War, or the Dance of Dragons, which takes place two centuries before the white walkers breach the wall and Bran the Broken ascends the Iron Throne. It also deals with the conflicts surrounding dynastic succession. The Targaryens, the conquerors of Westeros who are blessed with a birth bond to dragons, feud over which of them has the best claim to the throne. An answer to the question, who is the rightful heir, is made more complicated by intermingled family lines and the preferences of the powerful. House of the Dragon‘s trailer gives powerful hints as to which threads the show will weave from the source material.
Daemon Targaryen, the Rogue Prince
The House of the Dragon trailer opens with the first glimpse of one of the greatest swordsmen of his time, and an extremely complicated character, Daemon Targaryen. Daemon is the ambitious younger brother to Viserys, the king of Westeros, who is beloved by the people and reviled by some of the nobles. His quest for power takes him across the world, where he makes potent allies and a host of persistent enemies. He wields one of the two Targaryen ancestral blades, Dark Sister, and rides a massive red dragon named Caraxes, the Blood Wyrm.
Balerion, the Black Dread
When Aegon the Conqueror darkened the skies above Westeros with clouds of ash and screams on the wind, it was astride mighty Balerion. At the time of House of the Dragon, Balerion has only been dead within a generation, so the skull pictured here seems to still cling to a bit of flesh. In his childhood, King Viserys rode Balerion, though, by that time, old age had greatly diminished the Black Dread.
Otto Hightower, Hand of the King
Prince Daemon’s principal rival and the mastermind behind many of the manipulations that led to the Dance of Dragons is Otto Hightower. He serves as King Viserys’ Hand and also served his grandfather Jaehaerys in the same capacity. Fearful of Daemon’s popularity, and eventually his command of the City Watch, Hightower backs Princess Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne over Daemon. He later reverses his support after his daughter, Alicent Hightower, marries Viserys, becomes queen and bears a male heir. Her eldest child, Aegon, is crowned king in secret upon Viserys’ death, which incites the Targaryen Civil War.
King Viserys and Blackfyre
Viserys, the First of His Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm, is seated on the Iron Throne and clutching Blackfyre, the second of the Targaryen hereditary swords. Westeros was prosperous under his reign and he was considered to be a king of kings, slow to anger, persuadable but rigid when necessary and legendarily generous. He named Rhaenyra, his firstborn child, as his heir after a falling out with his younger brother Daemon.
Young Rhaenyra
This appears to be Rhaenyra in her childhood, played by Milly Alcock. Her surroundings are somewhat obscured but her dress is formal and dark, so this could be a somber ceremony. Her brother died one day after being born when she was eight years old, a significant moment beyond its tragedy because it is when her father named her as his heir and the Princess of Dragonstone. She bonded with a yellow dragon named Syrax, a ritual that also takes place during early adolescence.
Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen
Standing on a beach, perhaps Dragonstone itself, staring out across the water, perhaps towards King’s Landing, Rhaenyra and Daemon consider the moment that is upon them in the House of the Dragon trailer. Eventually, the Crown Princess marries her uncle and they assert her claim to the Iron Throne. The Targaryens made a pragmatic practice of incest to keep their bloodline pure so that their rapport with dragons did not become diluted. Their daughter Visenya was stillborn as news arrived that Rhaenyra’s half-brother had been crowned king in her absence, despite her having been named by her father as his rightful heir.
The Combatants
There is an important tourney the House of the Dragon trailer alludes to more specifically later, and this may be a part of that decisive day or another competition. Though the warriors are hidden behind helmets and plates, one of them bears a shield with the Targaryen crest and is carrying a blade, presumably Dark Sister, which would make this Daemon. One of his famous losses at such an event came at the hands of Ser Criston Cole, who disarmed him while wielding a morningstar, was later inducted into the Kingsguard and became Rhaenyra’s white knight.
Ser Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake and Lord of the Tides
The Lord of Driftmark, Corlys Velaryon is a Valyrian noble, the Head of House Velaryon, and a famed seaman. His ventures on the waters of Westeros and the shining horizon have made him the wealthiest lord of his peerage and one of the most powerful individuals among the Westerosi elite. Daemon and the Sea Snake form a military, political and familial alliance throughout their partnership. He is married to Daemon’s first cousin, Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was.
House Velaryon
Rhaenys Velaryon, once Rhaenys Targaryen, was in line for the throne until a group of nobles decided that her womanhood made her unfit to rule. When she was passed over for the crown, she and her husband self exiled to their lands in Driftmark and he relinquished his seat on the small council. They had two children, Laena, who marries Daemon, and Laenor, who marries Rhaenyra, prior to the Targaryens marrying one another. This scene, where House Velaryon is appearing for a feast hosted by others, might be a joyous occasion centered around one of those events, despite the stern and purposeful faces. Their house becomes a third warring faction during the Dance of Dragons.
Mysaria
Known as Lady Misery or the White Worm to her enemies, Mysaria is a dancer from Lys who becomes Daemon’s lover. During Rhaenyra’s upstart regime, she also becomes the queen’s defacto Mistress of Whispers or spymaster. She is considered to be a formidable ally and a fearsome enemy.
Alicent Hightower and the Catspaw Dagger
Alicent Hightower is the daughter of Otto Hightower and becomes Viserys’ bride and therefore Queen of Westeros. This scene is particularly interesting because she appears to be holding what has come to be known as the catspaw dagger. This is the same knife that was used in Bran Stark’s attempted assassination hundreds of years from now, which is where it derives its non-canonical name. A catspaw is one who is duped by another, as Littlefinger so cleverly accomplished with the attempt on Bran’s life. It also appears on a page of a book in the Citadel that Samwell Tarly is studying during that same time.
The Black and Green Tournament
This is one of the most important scenes from the House of the Dragon trailer. On the fifth anniversary of Viserys’ marriage to Alicent, a tourney is held in their honor. The tensions between Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne and Alicent’s son Aegon had been building up until this point, with shadow alliances and public support coalescing around the two branches. When Rhaenyra arrived in the royal box in bold Targaryen black and red, seated next to her stepmother the queen, who was wearing green, their supporters took to wearing those colors as a sign of allegiance. The feuding factions became known as the Blacks and the Greens. The banners adorning the walls are the red archer on a green field, the sigil of House Tarly. Oddly, this event seems to be taking place at Horn Hill, the seat of House Tarly, as opposed to King’s Landing. Of note, most of the Lords of the Reach, including House Tarly, wind up supporting the Blacks.
The Iron Throne
Lastly, the Iron Throne. Here, there are swords newly melted that serve as a fence framing the procession to the literal seat of power in Westeros. Rhaenyra appears to be approaching Viserys, marred by shadow, portending the fading of his family’s light in the darkness that is to come.
House of the Dragon premieres on Jan. 1st, 2022 on HBO Max.
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