‘House of the Dragon’ Is Setting Itself Up To Give Us Answers ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Fire & Blood’ Didn’t
With HOTD, we lore lovers might finally eat well!
House of The Dragon season 2 finale has as many supporters as haters. And honestly, I am one of the former. It may be revealing its cards slower than we expected and not giving us a full-blown war like we wanted, but what it’s doing instead is a much greater act in service of Game of Thrones fans.
Spoilers ahead for the HOTD season 2 finale and Fire & Blood!
Hear me out, because just like Daemon Targaryen touched the weirwood heart tree and SAW his part in the story, so did I see the true intentions of House of The Dragon.
What did Daemon see in the House of The Dragon season 2 finale?
Oh, he saw a lot, and possibly binge-watched all the spoiler-y bits of Game of Thrones! And the meaning behind his visions is one fascinating deep dive.
But a nutshell version of it is that Daemon saw what part he plays in the grander scheme of things. What is that part, you ask? Well, for starters, procreation. His and Rhaenyra’s line are going to birth two extremely important people that have a major part to play in the prophecy from Aegon the Conqueror’s dream of the Song of Ice and Fire. One is Brynden Rivers AKA the Three-Eyed Raven, the last greenseer before the Others breach The Wall. The other is Daenerys Targaryen, who is confirmed to be the Prince(ss) that was Promised as per the prophecy.
There’s more to Daemon’s story before his end at the God’s Eye where he will meet his nephew Aemond Targaryen in an epic battle above the mythical lake that is to be both their tomb. For example, why did he and Aemond (who was told by Helaena how he’d die) both knowingly go to their deaths? Those answers may yet be revealed.
But the one answer that this vision of Daemon has confirmed for me is that House of The Dragon is all about answers, and I finally see it!
Like Daemon, I finally “see” what House of the Dragon is trying to do
As I write this, dissatisfied fans across the internet are comparing season 2 of HOTD with season 8 of Game of Thrones. Even the ratings seem to be matching. But HOTD is actually doing so much better. Especially if you set aside the demands for “more action” and “but this is not how it goes in the book.” Because HOTD isn’t doing this by the book.
Fire & Blood’s unique narrative device has a lot of gaps in it, because it is just different people’s accounts of what they believe happened during the Dance of The Dragons. It reads like a sort of history textbook stating mere facts and speculation. What the series is doing, using its creative liberties, is filling those gaps, lending gravitas to the motivations and actions of these characters, and reminding us that history is always a one-sided account. And rumors are a game that every side can play. The show’s version then, by virtue of George R.R. Martin being one of the co-creators on it, because the true canon interpretation.
A stark difference between the two shows is how Game of Thrones shied away from magic and prophecy while House of The Dragon leans into it. Repeatedly, the Targaryens and their dragons are shrouded in god-like myth, and Rhaenyra is positioned as almost like this religious cult symbol, a prophesied savior, if you will. And A Song of Ice and Fire readers will know how important myths, religions, and magic from the Age of Dawn is to the story.
The Song of Ice and Fire, when you lay it out simply, is about the Targaryens. And there’s long been speculation that the Others, especially the Night King, might also have some connection to the house of the dragon. Multiple Targaryens—Daenys the Dreamer, Aegon the Conqueror, Helaena, Brynden Rivers, Daenerys, and Jon Snow—have had visions and suspected of being green seers, an ability connected to the Children of the Forest, who help the humans fight against the Others.
Game of Thrones never quite delved into these connections as it began rushing through its final few seasons, which is when all of these different forks in the story were supposed to converge. Perhaps, then it would be able to clearly answer some pertinent questions.
Who really was the Prince that was Promised? Were they the same as Azhor Ahai? Why were there so many red herrings for this prophecy? If it was Daenerys, then was Jon Snow a back up, in case Dany failed, or because the prophecy said that the dragon has three heads, as indicated in the Targaryen sigil as well? It did take three Targaryens to conquer Westeros. Or if Jon Snow was it, then why was Dany the clear protagonist of the series?
And more importantly, why was Bran Stark, a warg with green sight and a descendent of the Northern men, ultimately made king? Was it some way for the Children of The Forest, who used to live in Westeros before anyone else, and who were removed from their own lands by the First Men and the Andals, to take back control? Was this all supposed to be some metaphor for nature winning against man and monsters?
Most of these theories remained rather unclear by the time Game of Thrones season 8 finale aired, with factions fighting for both Jon and Dany to be the prophesied savior. And looks like House of The Dragon is poised to give us a definite answer, even if it means course-correcting a few things, such as the Three-Eyed Raven’s book-accurate birthmark that wasn’t there in Game of Thrones. Or giving us closure regarding the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, which has now been repeated multiple times on the show.
Clearly, prophesies rule GRRM’s world of ice and fire, even if he maintains that they have a way of biting you in the ass. As Rhaenyra once said to her son, Jacaerys, there has to be more to the entire Targaryen civil war and all that bloodshed than simply a crown. And while I get that knowing the end of Game of Thrones makes this an even bleaker prospect, we’ve got to stick with it.
House of The Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, in a post-finale interview, has revealed that the series will only last four seasons, with the third season being full-blown war. With all of the knowledge we now have about HOTD’s ultimate objective, I’d say, let them cook! Because they seem to be serving our hungry minds some truly satiating answers!
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