HBO’s House of the Dragon confirms A Song of Ice and Fire fan theory

Home of the Dragon, HBO’s new successor present to Recreation of Thrones, is all in regards to the Targaryen household, so it’s no shock that it digs into their previous. However in its first episode, the sequence already jumps past its supply materials, Fireplace & Blood, to disclose beforehand unknown particulars about one in every of A Tune of Ice and Fireplace’s most necessary characters. And based on the showrunners, the reveal comes straight from George R.R. Martin himself.

[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for all eight seasons of Game of Thrones and the first episode of House of the Dragon.]

Home of the Dragon’s first episode revolves round King Viserys’ eventual alternative to call his daughter Rhaenyra as his successor for the Iron Throne of Westeros. This goes in opposition to the precedents of the realm, particularly the Nice Council of 101 AC’s resolution that solidified within the minds of most that male heirs took precedence for the crown above feminine heirs. None of that is information to viewers acquainted with the prequel sequence’ story, however what King Viserys tells his teenage daughter needs to be a welcome shock to hardcore A Tune of Ice and Fireplace followers.

Picture: HBO

Contained in the Purple Hold, Viserys tells Rhaenyra just a little bit about Aegon the Conqueror, the primary Targaryen king in Westeros and the person that united the seven warring kingdoms of the continent into one which he might rule. Most significantly, Viserys reveals that Aegon first sought to beat Westeros as a result of he had a imaginative and prescient of the tip of the world:

And simply as Daenys noticed the tip of Valyria, Aegon foresaw the tip of the world of males. It’s to start with a horrible winter, gusting out of the distant north. Aegon noticed absolute darkness using on these winds, and no matter dwells inside will destroy the world of the residing. When this nice winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros should stand in opposition to it. And if the world of males is to outlive then a Targaryen have to be seated on the Iron Throne. A king or queen, sturdy sufficient to unite the realm in opposition to the chilly and the darkish. Aegon known as his dream ‘A Tune of Ice and Fireplace.’ This secret, it’s been handed from king to inheritor since Aegon’s time. And now you will need to promise to maintain it. And to hold it.

This prophecy is each distinctive and necessary for its place within the sequence. Whereas prophecies in fashionable fantasy tales, particularly A Tune of Ice and Fireplace, are sometimes used paradoxically or as a misdirect, this one is handed to us as nearly unambiguously true.

By being positioned subsequent to Daenys’ appropriate prophecy of the tip of Valyria, which saved the Targaryen dynasty from the Doom that destroyed Valyria and first despatched them to Dragonstone and Westeros, Aegon’s dream is given a bit of additional credibility. We additionally know that it’s (largely) true as a result of… we’ve already seen the ending. We all know {that a} Targaryen’s return to Westeros, and her dragons, are vital within the struggle in opposition to the White Walkers and saving males from the Lengthy Evening. We even know that it’s a Targaryen named Aegon that does the saving — since that’s Jon Snow’s actual title. (As a enjoyable tidbit, this additionally offers us our second rationalization of the A Tune of Ice and Fireplace sequence title, which most followers usually assume refers to Jon because the little one of a Stark and Targaryen — representing ice and fireplace.)

Whereas all of this sounds prefer it could possibly be handy backfilling from showrunners Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, that isn’t the case. In an interview with Polygon forward of Home of the Dragon’s premiere, Condal confirmed that this particular dream got here straight from Martin.

Picture: HBO

“That truly got here from [Martin], at the very least the origin of that time,” mentioned Condal. “He informed us very early on within the room — simply as he does, simply casually talked about the truth that Aegon the Conqueror was a dreamer who noticed a imaginative and prescient of the White Walkers coming throughout the wall and sweeping over the land with chilly and darkness. […] So along with his permission, after all, we infused that into the story as a result of it was such a good way to create resonance with the unique present.”

That is already an enormous reveal about one of the crucial necessary characters within the A Tune of Ice and Fireplace universe, however with just a little hypothesis, it’s additionally simple to see how this might give us a clue about ways in which Martin’s ebook ending for the sequence might deviate from the one we noticed in HBO’s Recreation of Thrones.

In accordance with Viserys, to avoid wasting the world all of Westeros have to be united in opposition to the menace from the north and a Targaryen have to be seated on the Iron Throne. Each of these are kind of vaguely gestured at by the HBO sequence, however aren’t actually true. Neither Dany nor Jon is definitely on the throne by the point the Lengthy Evening arrives, and the ultimate battle at Winterfell actually solely entails a small pressure somewhat than all of Westeros.

Picture: Helen Sloan/HBO

If Aegon’s prophecy is appropriate — and proves to be within the books — then it’s attainable that we might see Jon or Dany (discover Viserys says king or queen) take King’s Touchdown and the Iron Throne lengthy earlier than the Lengthy Evening arrives. It additionally implies that we might see the military of the useless march a lot additional south, threatening way more of Westeros than they do within the sequence.

For now, although, like most A Tune of Ice and Fireplace questions, we’ll simply have to attend for the books to seek out out if any of this pans out. However on the very least, this tiny little bit of dialogue proves that Home of the Dragon has extra new info to share with viewers and hardcore followers than its standing as a prequel and a Fireplace & Blood adaptation may recommend.