The long awaited prequel that’s taken the world by a fiery heat
By Ruwandi Perera
HBO did it again and now we’re waiting with bated breath for the second season of House of the Dragon, which is rumoured to be out in 2024.
It was indeed a breath of fresh air when Game of Thrones fans, who were devastated by the anticlimactic ending of the HBO franchise, were given news of a prequel.
While still waiting for George R.R. Martin to finish The Winds of Winter, the world grabbed House of the Dragon like a dying man finding water in the Sahara. So much so that the show averaged 29 million viewers an episode in its first five episodes.
This was quite an achievement considering that we all know the fate of the Targaryens in the Game of Thrones timeline thanks to the War of the Usurper or when Robert Baratheon, helped by Eddard Stark and Jon Arryn, led a rebellion against the dragon lords.
House of the Dragon, which is based on Martin’s Fire & Blood, can be taken as a prequel to Game of Thrones but it also commands its own storyline and some even speculate that it might overshadow its sequel.
Picking up the story in the ninth year in the reign of King Viserys, House of the Dragon tells the story of the beginning of the end of the incest loving, dragon riding, fair-skinned and god-like Targaryens.
There are many themes being explored in the show beginning with feminism, which links it well with Game of Thrones where we see strong female characters like Daenerys Targaryen, Catelyn Stark, Brienne of Tarth, Arya Stark. Melisandre, Margaery Tyrell, Sansa Stark and of course Cersei Lannister running the show.
There are many Game of Thrones Easter eggs hidden and not quite hidden, in the show. The most important being Aegon’s vision of the prophecy of the end of the world – yes, we’re talking about the White Walkers. This brings in an icy shadow of doom and gloom but also shows us how the fate of Jon Snow and Queen Daenerys have gone to the far north of Westeros.
We’re also introduced to the famous steel dagger of Petyr Baelish, which we first saw in the assassination attempt against Bran Stark and last saw in the hands of his sister as she used it to kill the Night King. The Valyrian dagger is shown in House of the Dragon when we see the angry Queen Alicent Hightower with it.
The two shows also share a common beginning of sorts entwined with House Arryn. Remember the start of Game of Thrones when Ned Stark was called to King’s Landing because of the death of Jon Arryn? Similarly, we see the death of an Arryn in House of the Dragon where Aemma Arryn, daughter of the Lord of the Eyrie Rodrik Arryn and his wife Daella Targaryen, is seen dying.
The list is long and we’re still at the beginning of a saga that will probably drag on (pun intended) for years. HBO may not have started filming season two yet but they’ve promised us that House of the Dragon will return in 2024.
There is a lot of speculation about what it would entail given that the first season set the stage for the bloody wars ahead. Season two will zoom in on the families of Rhaenyra and Alicent, and we’re going to see a lot more of Westeros. For one thing, everyone’s favourite Starks are said to arrive with Cregan Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, set to play a major role.
So let it start the beginning of the end. Can you take the heat?
Ruwandi is a marketer-turned-journalist-plus-tutor who enjoys balancing a diverse portfolio in life and writing!