Why is the king's dagger destined for greatness? And why does Rhaenyra remind
us so much of Arya Stark? "House of the Dragon" is here — here's what you missed in Episode 1.
"House of the Dragon" takes place 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen,
and is a "very faithful adaptation" of George R. R. Martin's 2018 book "Fire & Blood," according
to showrunner Ryan Condal, beginning about halfway through its sweeping narrative.
Part of the appeal of "House of the Dragon" is the chance to see King's Landing at a time of
relative peace and prosperity. The Red Keep is brand new and the Dragonpit is in its heyday,
with several adult specimens kept within its cavernous walls.
"Syrax is growing quickly. He'll soon be as big as Caraxes."
This is the same Dragonpit we see during "Game of Thrones" in utter ruin as Daenerys,
Jon, and Tyrion reveal their captive wight in an attempt to convince Cersei to join their
fight against the White Walkers. The Dragonpit ruins are also where the series finale takes
place, during which a newly-formed council nominates their next ruler,
putting the final nail in the coffin of the dragon-riding family's domination.
That they're ruins in "Game of Thrones," however,
means the Dragonpit fell into disrepair while the Targaryens still occupied the
throne. Depending on how closely "House of the Dragon" hews to the books,
and how many seasons it runs, we may eventually get to see its demise play out in live-action.
Yeah, that's the iconic "Iron Throne" in "House of
the Dragon" — it just looks a lot more like what George R. R. Martin originally
had in mind than the seat of swords as it appeared in "Game of Thrones."
In the books, Martin describes the Iron Throne as ugly, asymmetrical, and huge, and the "House of
the Dragon" version fits that description nicely. In his lore, it was made of the
swords of 1000 enemies vanquished by King Aegon and melted by his dragon, Balerion.
As impressive and intimidating as the "Iron Throne" in "Game of Thrones" was, it wasn't
a monstrosity that sprawled all over the throne room the way it does in "House of the Dragon."
There's another throne-related detail later in the episode that speaks to Martin's world-building.
King Viserys has a nasty wound on his back that he attributes to the Throne,
and when we see him actually sitting in it,
he cuts his hand on the armrest. Could that be a foreshadowing of some bad news to come?
Rhaenyra clearly wants to lead, but she seems more interested in making
her own history on the back of her dragon than she is in studying the
history of those who came before her. Her friend and companion, Alicent Hightower,
implores her to recite back the story of Princess Nymeria to please the septa.
At first, Rhaenyra bluffs her way through it, but when pressed,
she effortlessly rattles off the bullet points. Nymeria, she says,
fled her Valyrian pursuers with 10,000 ships across the Narrow Sea, arrived in Dorne,
and destroyed her own fleet to "show her people they were finished running."
She married Lord Mors Martell to unite Dorne under one flag
for the first time. While few women inherited thrones on the mainland,
Nymeria saw to it that lines of succession were gender-blind. After her death, her daughter ruled.
Nymeria, and perhaps her legend, may sound familiar to fans of
"Game of Thrones." Arya Stark named her direwolf Nymeria after the Warrior Queen.
"Nymeria?"
That "House of the Dragon" chose to highlight the tale of Nymeria is no accident. Her strength and
ambition not only mirror Rhaenyra's, her husband also mirrors one of Rhaenyra's potential suitors.
During the name day tournament, a victorious Criston Cole reveals himself to be Dornish,
which is surprising enough to elicit a reaction from the young women.
Rhaenyra knowing her history brings to mind Sansa Stark being quizzed by a septa in Season 1 of
"Game of Thrones," and her correctly identifying the builder of two King's Landing landmarks.
"Who built the Iron Throne?"
"Aegon the Conqueror."
"And who built the Red Keep?"
"Maegor the Cruel."
Speaking of Maegor the Cruel … In the first episode of "House of the Dragon," when
Otto Hightower brings up the issue of succession at the small council following the tragic deaths
of the king's wife and day-old son, he warns that Prince Daemon should never sit on the Iron Throne.
"Daemon would be a second Maegor, or worse. He's impulsive and violent."
Only one episode in, it's painfully clear that the Hand of the King and the
Prince are bitter rivals, so his input should be taken with a grain of salt.
So who was Maegor the Cruel? He's only briefly mentioned in the "Game of Thrones" TV series,
but we learn he built the Red Keep and used wildfire against his enemies. The books tell us
he was the second son of Aegon the Conqueror, and the third Targaryen King of Westeros.
He came to power after the death of his weaker older brother, who'd tried to co-rule alongside
him. He murdered his own nephew to prevent his claim to the throne. After the Red Keep
was finished, Maegor had all the workers killed to preserve the secrets of its blueprints. By the end
of his six tyrannical years in power, he'd managed to unite almost the entire realm against him.
Daemon is an opportunistic and violent womanizer,
but it remains to be seen if he can live up to Maegor's deranged awfulness.
Princess Rhaenyra is frustrated by her father's obsession with producing a male successor,
and she seems ambivalent at best about her future as a wife and mother. She laments
that no matter what she does, she'll never be a son, and when a son is imminent, Alicent asks
if she's worried about her position. She says no, but it's obvious the real answer is yes.
So when Viserys summons her to tell her he's decided to name her his heir,
she's genuinely taken aback. The King even apologizes to her for wasting many years
wanting for a son when she was already worthy of the crown. Viserys warns her
that the Iron Throne is the most dangerous seat in the Seven Kingdoms before he holds
a ceremony to officially deem her Princess of Dragonstone, during which the lords bend the knee.
In both "Fire & Blood" and "House of the Dragon," Rhaenyra serves as cupbearer for the
King's small council. This position might seem like a task that would be given to an intern,
but it's actually a place of honor and a show of trust that's bestowed upon noble boys and girls.
It's more explicit in the book, but by keeping Rhaenyra around him as he conducts his business,
Viserys is exposing her to what's essentially classified information
as well as to the daily goings-on of a monarch. A disguised Arya Stark,
in another parallel to Rhaenyra, served as Tywin Lannister's cupbearer — on the show,
not in the novels — because he recognized that she was high-born and he enjoyed her wit.
The gigantic skull of Balerion is no small detail, but its significance and previous appearances may
have been lost on some audiences. The dragon that belonged to Aegon the Conqueror, Maegor the Cruel,
and finally Viserys himself, Balerion the Black Dread was the largest dragon in the
post-conquest era and, as Viserys explains, the last living thing to flee Valyria before the Doom.
The King asks his daughter what she sees when she looks upon his remains. Rhaenyra
answers that she sees them, the Targaryens. She grasps that their family has exercised influence
over the Kingdoms because they can control the fearsome beasts, but their fortunes rise and fall
with the creatures to whom they've tethered their destiny. Viserys sees that they're as
wonderful as they are terrible, and doubts that his people should've ever tried to tame them.
"They're a power men never should have trifled with."
Readers of the books and "Game of Thrones" viewers may recognize this imposing skull,
which would put any natural history museum display to shame. Among other instances,
Cersei plots her attack on Daenerys' dragons from Balerion's crypt,
and the skull can be seen behind Tyrion as he plans the Dragonpit Summit with Jaime Lannister.
In other words, for all the destruction that's befallen
King's Landing and the Seven Kingdoms at large over the past two centuries,
the remains of the Black Dread still rest in peace, if a little worse-for-wear.
In the final moments of the "House of the Dragon" premiere,
King Viserys makes sure that his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra,
understands just how precarious and loaded with responsibility her role as Queen will
be. He describes Aegon the Conqueror's vision, in which a coming cataclysm will begin with a long,
harsh winter and bring with it a threat from the North like the world has never seen.
He tells her that for the Seven Kingdoms to survive, a Targaryen must remain on the Throne,
presumably to fight the dark force with their dragons. At this point,
he reveals the Valyrian steel blade at his hip. While all Valryian steel can
kill White Walkers (the threat to which King Viserys was referring),
this isn't just any Valyrian steel dagger. It's the Valyrian steel dagger.
A would-be assassin uses it to try to murder Bran
Stark in "Game of Thrones." When he just barely fails,
the weapon ends up in the Starks' possession and it follows them throughout the show.
Catelyn takes it to King's Landing to try and solve the plot against her family. Its
ownership, however, remains a mystery. It could've been Littlefinger's or Tyrion's;
the former says he lost it to the latter in a bet.
Bran eventually gives it to Arya, who famously wields it in the Battle for Winterfell to
finish off the Night King, about whom Aegon's dream warned him. It's she who holds it still,
as far as we know. But nearly two centuries earlier, it was the property of King Viserys.