House of the Dragon

The island of St Michael's Mount, the Peak District and a hilltop village in Portugal are among the other spots used in the first series of the new fantasy ...

Filming also took the cast and crew to the hilltop Portuguese village of Monsanto. It sits on the boundary of the northern gritstone “Dark Peak” and the southern limestone “White Peak” and at the head of the Hope Valley, right in the thick of the Peak District National Park. It is around 177-meters high and offers views across Farnborough and the surrounding countryside. Fragments of the castle, said to have been built by the Knights Templar, remain today. The Unesco-listed old town of Cáceres is a mix of cobbled streets, Renaissance palaces and religious buildings and its architecture includes Roman, Islamic, Northern Gothic and Italian Renaissance styles. The summit of Eldon Hill passes above the quarry. The Peak District village was founded after the building of Peveril Castle in 1086, the ruins of which remain overlooking the village. The popularity of recognisable locations in the original television epic suggests a similar bout of interest could drive fans to these freshly scouted spots. The cost is £13 for children aged 5–7 and entry is free for under-fives. The tidal beach is already a popular spot helped by its white sand, invitingly blue sea and rugged rock stacks – and its role in Poldark. The castle, village, harbour and lawns are open Monday to Friday with adult tickets £14, children (aged 5–17) £7 and access free for under-fives. In doing so, its makers flitted between foreboding Cornish beaches, Spain’s Gothic towns, a Portuguese village and the Peak District.

At the start of the series, we see that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen (Michael Carter) summons a council to settle the question of who will succeed him.

[subscribe now](http://radiotimes.com/magazine-subscription?utm_term=evergreen-article) and get the next 12 issues for only £1. [NOW](https://www.radiotimes.com/streaming/now-tv/) – [sign up for Sky TV here](https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?id=489797&clickref=radiotimes-1690243&awinmid=11005&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sky.com%2Fshop%2Ftv). At the start of the series, Daemon is in a loveless marriage to Lady Rhea Royce, who resides in the Vale of Arryn. But House of the Dragon will chart her ancestors, so we thought she was worth mentioning. The pair have no children. Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is the second-born son of Prince Baelon, the grandson of King Jaehaerys, and the younger brother to King Viserys. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock, Emma D'Arcy) is the first-born daughter of King Viserys Targaryen and Queen Aemma Arryn and is the King's only legitimate child at the start of the season. In House of the Dragon, King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is a distant ancestor of Daenerys. Rhaenys is married to Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), also known as the Sea Snake, who is a central character in House of the Dragon, while their son is Laenor Velaryon. At the start of the series, we see that King Jaehaerys I Targaryen (Michael Carter) summons a council to settle the question of who will succeed him. [RadioTimes.com](https://www.radiotimes.com/) we've created a list of key players in the Targaryen family, boiled it down to those who are central to the family at the start of the season, explained what their lineage is and how this leads up to the original show. As is to be expected from the world of Game of Thrones, the Targaryen family tree gets a little bit complicated...

Starring actors including Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, Rhys Ifans and Paddy Considine, the spin-off – based on the A Song ...

and while it’s [drumming up plenty of excitement](https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/19/house-of-the-dragon-review-a-reminder-of-why-we-loved-game-of-thrones-17207572/), there may be some GOT aficionados reluctant to watch the tale of House Targaryen. This is why you should swallow your pride and give House Of The Dragon a watch. [If you thought Game of Thrones was violent… So are you still mad at the Game of Thrones finale? [What time is House Of The Dragon available on Sky in the UK?](https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/21/house-of-the-dragon-what-time-is-it-available-on-sky-in-the-uk-17217282/?ico=more_text_links) House of the Dragon has a horrifying scene where children ‘beat each other senseless’](https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/16/house-of-the-dragon-showrunner-reveals-shocking-children-fight-scene-17190211/?ico=more_text_links) It’s time to swallow your pride and accept that House Of The Dragon – from what we’ve seen of it in advance so far – is a brilliant new release that will make you fall in love with this world all over again. After a three-year hiatus, watching House Of The Dragon will get you back into the swing of things in this fantastical world, so your GOT knowledge is up to par by the time the other shows see the light of day. [‘out of the loop’](https://deadline.com/2022/08/game-of-thrones-creatives-kept-george-rr-martin-out-ofloop-in-later-seasons-1235090719/) when the final seasons were being made. [Matt Smith](https://metro.co.uk/tag/matt-smith/), [Emma D’Arcy](https://metro.co.uk/tag/emma-darcy/), [Olivia Cooke](https://metro.co.uk/tag/olivia-cooke/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P3_LNK1), [Milly Alcock](https://metro.co.uk/tag/milly-alcock/?ico=auto_link_entertainment_P3_LNK2), Emily Carey, Rhys Ifans and Paddy Considine, the spin-off – based on the A Song of Ice and Fire books by George RR Martin – is set 200 years before the events of the original series. [House Of The Dragon](https://metro.co.uk/tag/house-of-the-dragon/), is being released… [Game of Thrones](https://metro.co.uk/tag/game-of-thrones/) season 8 finale left a bitter taste in fans’ mouths across the globe, as the show concluded in a way that left numerous viewers [upset and fiery with rage](https://metro.co.uk/2020/05/19/game-thrones-season-8-was-bad-destroyed-shows-entire-legacy-12716944/).

House of the Dragon sees us returning to Westeros for a Game of Thrones prequel focused on one of George R.R. Martin's most powerful families.

As it's such a huge new show, House of the Dragon is airing all over the world. Some of his favorite shows are What We Do In The Shadows, Bridgerton, Gangs of London, The Witcher, Doctor Who, and Ghosts. You can always [find the latest Sky TV deals over on the Sky.com website](https://www.awin1.com/awclick.php?awinmid=11005&awinaffid=103504&clickref=whattowatch-us-6787151192185156000&p=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sky.com%2Fdeals) (opens in new tab). House of the Dragon finally gets underway on Sunday, August 21 at 9 pm on HBO. Thankfully, that means you have a range of options for watching the show. This story takes place during the height of Targaryen's reign over Westeros and transports us back to a time when they sat on the Iron Throne, and their dragons still ruled the skies. How to watch House of the Dragon in the UK How to watch House of the Dragon in other regions How to watch House of the Dragon in the US How to watch House of the Dragon Here's how to watch House of the Dragon so you're ready to return to Westeros. Here's how to watch House of the Dragon so you're ready to get sucked back into the world of Westeros all over again and see the drama unfold.

Serving as a prequel to the iconic modern classic Game of Thrones, the upcoming show is based on portions of Martin's 2018 novel Fire & Blood. George R R Martin ...

Consisting of ten episodes, the first episode is going to air soon and is titled ‘The Heirs of the Dragon’. It will cover the Targaryen war of succession, popularly known as the “Dance of the Dragons” and all the internal and external incidents surrounding it. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik are showrunners for the series that will cover the events set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones transformed the tourism industry of Croatia, Iceland and Northern Ireland during the decade after filming began in 2011.

And it’s a similar story on the Iberian peninsula. [Game of Thrones](https://deadline.com/tag/game-of-thrones/) transformed the tourism industry of Croatia, Iceland and Northern Ireland during the decade after filming began in 2011. [House of the Dragon](https://deadline.com/tag/house-of-the-dragon/) makes its highly-anticipated global debut this week, it won’t just be fans who will be poring over every scene.

House of The Dragon, a Game of Thrones spin-off series, is all set to stream on Disney+Hotstar from August 22. Weekly episodes will drop on the streaming ...

One has to subscribe to the premium membership of Disney+Hotstar to watch House of The Dragon. The show tells the story of House Targaryen and the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons. The first spin-off to have successfully been made is House of The Dragon and fan anticipation is at an all-time high.

We took a look at the Targaryen family tree to prepare for the premiere of House of Dragon. Here is what we found out.

However, Carice van Houten from portrayed the Melisandre of Asshai, who received the nickname the Red Woman, said she was interested in returning to the role. His daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, would be the first woman to sit upon the throne, but her uncle Prince Daemon Targaryen, sees himself as the presumptive heir. This time, after generations Targaryen rule in Westeros, divisions begin to tear the family apart. The show will include many more dragons, romances, and betrayals. Condal “tracks the beginning of the end of Houses Targaryen.” For those less familiar with author’s George R. Martin’s fantasy universe, House Targaryen includes Daenerys Targaryen or the Queen of Dragons.

While House Targaryen are known for their blonde hair, Matt Smith and Paddy Considine have dark hair. Prince Daemon Targaryen is ...

His hair is also not combed over like in the show.Rhys Ifans attends the "House Of The Dragon" Sky Group Premiere in Leicester Square on August 15, 2022 in London, England.Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesPrincess Rhaenys is the cousin of King Viserys, and wears her hair in a tall, braided style.Princess Rhaenys in "House of the Dragon." Ollie Upton/HBOIn real life, Olivia Cooke, who plays older Alicent, also has hair that's a darker shade of brown than her character and rocks bangs.Olivia Cooke attends the "House Of The Dragon" Sky Group Premiere in Leicester Square on August 15, 2022 in London, England.Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesOtto Hightower, Alicent's father, is a practical-looking man with close cropped hair and a beard.Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower in "House of the Dragon." Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic for HBOMysaria has long dark hair that is often cloaked when she's in public.Mysaria is a confidant of Prince Daemon.Ollie Upton / HBOSonoya Mizuno also looks very similar to her character in real life but has recently dyed her hair a reddish shade.Sonoya Mizuno attends the Sky Group Premiere of "House Of The Dragon" in Leicester Square on August 15, 2022 in London, England.David M. Matt Winkelmeyer / GA / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty ImageCriston Cole is young and solemn knight with curly brown locks and light facial hair.Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole.HBOOf all the cast members, Fabien Frankel looks the closest to his character in the show in real life.Fabien Frankel recognizes someone in the crowd at the LA premiere for "House of the Dragon." Ollie Upton / HBOEmily Carey, who plays the younger version of the character, naturally has hair that is a slightly darker brown than Alicent's.British actress Emily Carey poses on the red carpet upon arrival to attend the HBO original drama series "House of the Dragon" premiere at Leicester Square Gardens, in London, on August 15, 2022.Hollie Adams/AFP via Getty ImagesThe older Alicent we'll see in "House of the Dragon" wears her hair in even more elaborate designs.Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower and Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower in "House of the Dragon." Ollie Upton/HBOSteve Toussaint also wears a wig for the show since he is bald in real life, and usually he has way less facial hair.Steve Toussaint puts on his best smile and blue suit for the LA red carpet for "House of the Dragon." Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / Getty ImagesPrincess Rhaenyra is the most similar-looking to Daenerys Targaryen in "Game of Thrones," with signature long blonde hair often worn in braids.Princess Rhaenyra is the daughter of King Viserys.Ollie Upton / HBOIn real life, Milly Alcock, who plays young Rhaenyra, is a brunette, but she has recently added blonde highlights to her hair.Milly Alcock attends the "House Of The Dragon" Sky Group Premiere in Leicester Square on August 15, 2022 in London, England.Gareth Cattermole/Getty ImagesOver the course of season one, we'll see Rhaenyra grow up from a 14-year-old girl to a woman in her 20s.The older Princess Rhaenyra as played by Emma D'Arcy.HBOEmma D'Arcy, who portrays older Rhaenyra, also wears a wig for their character. Matt Winkelmeyer / GA / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty ImageKing Viserys Targaryen has silvery-blonde hair that matches his family.King Viserys in "House of the Dragon." Picture date: Monday August 15, 2022.Ian West/PA via Getty ImagesLord Corlys is a serious leader with white locs and a salt-and-pepper beard.Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon in "House of the Dragon." Ollie Upton / HBOPaddy Considine has short, dark, salt-and-pepper hair, but he rocks the same facial hair as his character.Paddy Considine opted for a casual leather jacket look for the LA red carpet for "House of the Dragon." Prince Daemon is the brother of King Viserys.Ollie Upton / HBOUnder the blonde wig and sturdy armor, Matt Smith actually has short, dark brown hair.Matt Smith looking cool with a pair of shades on the black carpet for "House of the Dragon." The main cast and showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik (on the sides) pose for a picture together.Matt Winkelmeyer / GA / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Image"House of the Dragon" premieres Sunday on HBO.The "Game of Thrones" prequel series focuses on the noble houses of Westeros during a civil war.While House Targaryen are known for their blonde hair, Matt Smith and Paddy Considine have dark hair.Prince Daemon Targaryen is played by Matt Smith, who wears a variety of blonde wigs throughout "House of the Dragon."

House of the Dragon has premiered on HBO and HBO Max. This is certainly a series for Outlander fans to watch to get through Droughtlander.

Then there are the costumes, the use of magic, and the focus on civil war. The HBO series is a prequel to Game of Thrones. Plus, with it getting a weekly release, it’s taking us through to the end of October, so we have something to get us through a little more of Droughtlander. The series is set 200 years before Game of Thrones. It’s been a long wait for the Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. Of course, they are big reasons we, as Outlander fans, even considered the series for Droughtlander to start with.

Frankel has only seen the first episode and explained that he is excited for later episodes to be released as a series of new actors will be introduced. fabien ...

[HBO](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=127X991730&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hbomax.com%2F&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.digitalspy.com%2Ftv%2Fustv%2Fa40948698%2Fhouse-of-dragon-fabien-frankel-important-episode%2F), and on August 22 in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW. I hope that they have the same amount of love that I had for Game of Thrones for ours. "It feels so different as a show to the original show. "And actually, the later episodes are amazing because it was a whole new cast of actors who came in. So any of the later episodes as well. It felt like I was going into a different thing."

“You are on this big plinth and they hurl rain and wind at you,” says Smith, 39, whose character, Prince Daemon, is a skilled dragonrider. “It does give you a ...

We’re never going to recreate the gargantuan success of that show, it’s its own moment in time, it’s its own cultural phenomenon. But hopefully we can add something to the pot.” “Or what side of the coin you’re gonna get from moment to moment.”

How to watch one of the most highly-anticipated premieres of the year, episode 1 of House of the Dragon. Here's the start time, network, and more.

[Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels](“https://www.amazon.com/b/?rh=i:instant-video,n:2858778011&ie=UTF8&filterId=OFFER_FILTER=SUBSCRIPTIONS&node=2858778011&ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1465430649312&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=fs-livedrops1-20&linkId=90b2815fb79ba0e403137c68e139db16”) While we wait for the new series to premiere tonight, check out some of the stunning images released so far. House of the Dragon, the first spin-off to Game of Thrones, premieres this evening, and fans can’t wait to see it. Just a few hours to wait. And yes, expect a lot of dragons. We’ll get to meet more of the Targaryen family during the height of their reign, including King Viserys I Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra Targaryen, and more.

Tonight marks the launch of House of the Dragon, the first of a number of upcoming Game of Thrones spin-offs. It's a prequel, set long before the original, ...

No one, even Martin, know what other series are actually going to make it to air, but knowing HBO, probably at least a handful, as they want to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was the original Thrones. Everything else is spanning the course of history, probably even more spread out from the movie/show timelines of Star Wars, but certainly more similar to that model. The MCU and Star Wars are two of the most successful, popular IPs in the world. Now, House of the Dragon and a long list of other potential spin-offs in the works are attempting to change that. It was also sheparded directly by author George RR Martin, unlike the final seasons of Game of Thrones, giving some fans hope it could recapture some of that old magic again. It’s a prequel, set long before the original, focused on the Targaryen house.

The Game of Thrones universe is back on screens with House of the Dragon, but does it live up to the huge weight of expectation?

As does [The Wall Street Journal](https://www.wsj.com/articles/house-of-the-dragon-review-game-of-thrones-george-r-r-martin-fire-and-ice-paddy-considine-emily-carey-milly-alcock-emma-darcy-matt-smith-11660859240) (opens in new tab), which states that it’s “a success dramatically, as captivating as any season of Game of Thrones.” My guess: It may leave newcomers wondering what all the Game of Thrones fuss was about.” As Nina Metz of the For fans of Game of Thrones, it’s a cautious thumbs up, especially if you’re patient enough to give it a few episodes to bed in. “Dragon doesn't soar immediately, but no House was built in a day,” it concludes. Critics, after all, have only seen 60% of the series and presumably, there will be a cliffhanger to enjoy at the end of the ten-episode run. And that, after the bizarrely poor finale to what had been a roaring success of a show, is a relief.” The If you’re concerned that this is HBO going rogue with George RR Martin’s world, don’t be: it’s still based on the writer’s work. The first episode is airing at 9 p.m ET on HBO and HBO Max tonight, but is it worth your time? It’s set 200 years before the events that Westeros watchers will be familiar with, and concerns itself with the Daeneyrys’ Targaryen ancestors’ brutal civil war. [LA Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-08-19/house-of-the-dragon-review-hbo-game-of-thrones) (opens in new tab) agrees, saying that it “recaptures the power, grandeur of the original”.

Others also playing principal parts in the show include Paddy Considine as King Viserys, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon, and Emily Carey and Olivia Cooke as the ...

[enraged at worst](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a27522397/game-of-thrones-finale-plot-holes-twitter-reactions/), by [GoT](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a32600339/game-of-thrones-finale-one-year-later/) ['s divisive series finale](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a32600339/game-of-thrones-finale-one-year-later/). Still, “I don’t think anybody is thinking this show will pick up, from a ratings perspective, right where Thrones left off,” HBO's EVP and Head of Drama told the magazine. Production on the series began in 2021, with Milly Alcock and Emma D'Arcy recruited to play the younger and older version of Princess Rhaenyra, respectively. But we tend to like things to air and give it some time. "That said, if I were betting, I’d say there’s a pretty good shot that House of the Dragon will get a season two. The 10-episode series, based off of George R.R.

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in a blue robe stands before a temple with a chained. At this time, she and her brother are the last living Targaryens, ...

House of the Dragon will explore the downfall of the house that brings such fear and disdain. The history of the Targaryens help set the world stage for Game of Thrones explaining why the family is something to be feared while the rest of the important families in Westeros also treat the foreigners with disdain. It's important to remember the original series' Targaryen protagonist, Daenerys (Emilia Clarke), beginning to connect House of the Dragon to her and the larger political state Westeros in Game of Thrones, even though this series takes place around 2 centuries before.

Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen discuss their bleach-and-tone routines in HBO's new "House of the Dragon." HBO Max.

- Alicent Hightower is Viserys' second wife and stepmother to Rhaenyra. - King Viserys I is the current king of Westeros. No wonder they all went mad. Are your wheels completely greased for a new era of "Game of Thrones?" - Prince Daemon is Viserys' brother and Rhaenyra's uncle. So at this point in the game, when HoD takes place, the current political system has only seen Targaryen rulers. Another good thing to remember is that many people in Westeros believe the Targaryens have a genetic tendency towards insanity. She is Aegon II's mother and has designs to be Westeros' first queen regnant, so she doesn't get along with her stepdaughter. He's your typical Hamlet-y "always a prince, never a king" kind of figure. Their scaled steeds brought the family from their original home of Valyria and helped them conquer all of Westeros. (The Targaryen family tree is very narrow, yet complicated. Here is everything you need to know before you watch so you can avoid common confusions like "Why are all of these blonde people so sad?"

House of the Dragon,” the “Game of Thrones” author's preferred spinoff, premieres on Sunday night. “It had everything that I thought we needed for a ...

And even some of the things I told them are changing as I do the writing. Let’s say “House of the Dragon” is a hit. I always knew once the show got beyond my books — which honestly I did not anticipate — they would start going in directions that the books are not going to go in. The Long Night is mentioned in my books here and there, but it’s an ancient event that people tell stories about — it’s like the Garden of Eden or a biblical flood. As you know, “The Winds of Winter” is very, very late — the last book was 11 years ago, and people are very angry about that. I do like what Marvel is doing because I like the variety of the shows. And the one that really excited me was “Lou Grant.” They took this character from a sitcom and they made him the hero of a serious journalism show. “Game of Thrones” and my book version of it, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” is, in some ways, a classic high fantasy in the mode of Tolkien and many, many writers who followed. [“House of the Dragon”](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html) was ordered straight to series in late 2019. It had dragons — a lot of dragons — and battles and betrayals. And [the “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and Dan Weiss] for years were saying they wanted to wrap it up in seven seasons. Martin kept pushing: his rise-and-fall tale of the dragon-riding Targaryen family, set nearly 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones.”

"House of the Dragon" is set decades before the events of "Game of Thrones" but fans may be thinking of entering George R. R. Martin's world for the first ...

In short, it is not necessary to have seen Game of Thrones to watch House of the Dragon because it is a prequel. House of the Dragon premieres on Sunday, August 21 at 9 p.m. [Game of Thrones](https://www.newsweek.com/game-thrones-creator-george-r-r-martin-kept-out-loop-later-seasons-1732837) directly affect the spin-off; it is the other way around. Martin's books, or Game of Thrones. [House of the Dragon](https://www.newsweek.com/house-dragon-game-thrones-prequel-targaryen-hbo-1589162) explores the beginnings of the bloody civil war that broke out between the Targaryen family during their reign over Westeros. R.

When is episode 1 of House of the Dragon Season 1 airing? Where can you watch this fantasy drama? Here's everything we know:

House of the Dragon is available to watch on the HBO channel and HBO Max. House of the Dragon is the long-awaited prequel to Game of Thrones, taking place 200 years before the War of the Five Kings. What do you hope to see as the series progresses?

House of the Dragon showrunners Ryan Condal & Miguel Sapochnik on telling a unique story with prequel series and the possibility of future seasons.

And then, when we finished Game of Thrones, I remember going to Francesca Orsi at HBO and saying, “You should really consider Ryan Condal to write something.” Ryan has read the books and is an encyclopaedia of knowledge of that world. There is really 300 years of Targaryen history to explore, and there are many stories within there that are really fascinating. Plans like that always have to be fairly broad, yet you have an idea of landmarks, and places that you want to go, and a sense of an end point, which I think is really important, particularly with this story. There’s the story of the conquest, the story before the conquest, the Targaryens leaving Old Valyria. CONDAL: I think it was our combined experience, me as a fan of the original books and the original show, and Miguel having made some of the most successful episodes of the original show. I remember really wanting to do that pilot, but it had been taken by the guy called Jeffrey Reiner. Let’s not just make a prequel because there’s a desire to make more money off of Game of Thrones. Our first challenge was to figure out what not to change and what we had to carry forward, as far as the tone, voice, look and feel of the show, the spectacle and the elegance of it. Now, later in my career, I’m more established and trying to find good work and pro projects to work on that I would be proud of and proud to have created. That was before I was married. When you throw in powerful dragons, it becomes impossible to know who to trust or where loyalties lie, and the Iron Throne that they’re all fighting for is not kind in its embrace of whoever sits upon it. At that point, I was really much more focused on just trying to find work.

The “Game of Thrones” spinoff tries to recapture the magic through nostalgic detail, family fights, and grisly scenes of childbirth.

Rhaenyra’s voice-over tells us that the old king knew that “the only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon was itself.” Ain’t that the truth, king. Like the infamous final season of “Thrones,” “Dragon” doesn’t always make the most of its story’s assets. There’s funny dialogue, but mostly of the unintentional variety: “Laughing with your whores and your lickspittles!” the king yells to a relative, in a rage. Will “House of the Dragon” have us obsessing about the Crabfeeder? “Game of Thrones,” for all its flaws, was a Sunday-night treasure for a reason: its wild inventiveness and beauty, its overstuffed intrigue and action, its humor, its characters. (Did they always sound so Wookiee-like?) And it’s hard not to love a show in which hundreds of flickering votive candles surround not rose petals and a proposal but a dragon skull the size of a Humvee. The Daemon-Rhaenyra dynamic, and Daemon’s flaxen wig and eyes narrowed in constant scheming, recalls the Targaryens we know best: Daenerys and her brother, also named Viserys, whose death in “Thrones” involved our rejoicing while he encountered a faceful of molten gold. “Dragon” swiftly provides some of the old “Thrones” pleasures. Inside the palace, Rhaenyra and her friend Alicent Hightower visit the hugely pregnant queen (“This discomfort is how we serve the realm,” she says, proud and grim), and then Rhaenyra zips off to a meeting of the king and his advisers, where, as she pours water for them, undercover-Arya style, she listens to the proceedings: reports that begin “We’ve all been poring over the moon charts”; a discussion of a pirate-punishing madman called the Crabfeeder. Martin’s “ [Fire and Blood](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593598008),” tells the story of House Targaryen in an era well before our old friends showed up—a hundred and seventy-two years before the death of the Mad King, the opening titles inform us, and the birth of his daughter Daenerys Targaryen. Like Rhaenyra, he’s a dragon rider—not just anybody can pilot those things—and, also like her, he’s a possible contender for the Iron Throne. The show opens not with a grim ice-monster sequence, as “Thrones” did—hat tip to that—but with the announcement, in a grand hall, of Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine) as the next king.

In a reminder that dragons aren't the whole show, this "Game of Thrones" prequel takes a while to find its momentum. By Melanie McFarland ...

She's learning the price of capability and lessons about what it means to be a Targaryen, and a woman, from noble sources and unseemly ones. In the past, the Night King is a shadow and a myth, and the Lannisters are a family of try-hards. But if its early episodes indicate the tone Condal and his co-showrunner and director Miguel Sapochnik are going for, [they seem to have dialed that back](https://www.salon.com/2022/08/18/house-of-the-dragon-will-not-depict-violence_partner/). Alicent accepts her duty without fuss, following the steps set for her by a father that assures her that if she obeys the men in her life, she'll be rewarded with an elevated status. The difference is that Rhaenyra may never see a battlefield – although that's not a certainty – and Alicent definitely won't. Considine is a wonderful actor, but Viserys' duty fatigue is wearying, and everyone else in his court holds their emotions too close to the vest to add much spice. Her point of view informs the more balanced way the writers present women in a society programmed to write them off. Rhaenyra is younger when we first meet her (and played by Milly Alcock), with a slight build and quietude that belie a ferocious worthiness to rule. Martin](https://www.salon.com/2022/05/08/george-rr-martin-the-winds-of-winter-may-be-the-longest-bookin-the-series_partner/)'s Westeros sagas held off introducing its dragons until the last moment of the first season. Popular thinking may suppose that we could do without everything else but those fire-breathing terrors, but " [House of the Dragon](https://www.salon.com/2022/03/30/of-the-dragon-game-of-thrones-hbo/)" tests that theory. Since "House of the Dragon" is set 172 years before the Mad King's overthrow and the birth of Daenerys, sightings are far more common; when one screeches over King's Landing in the opening episode, the commonfolk barely blink. His cousin Rhaenys (Eve Best) was passed over by the old king despite being well-liked and married to Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), head of the wealthiest house in Westeros.

Including behind-the-scenes teasers from the cast and crew.

[Game of Thrones](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/photos-house-of-the-dragon-cast-hbo-game-of-thrones-red-carpet-premiere) prequel, [House Of The Dragon](https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-game-of-thrones-prequel-cast-plot-trailer-release-date-everything-to-know). He teased me some things,” the actor explained. "He told me that Martin’s book Fire & Blood](https://www.bustle.com/p/the-new-george-r-r-martin-book-fire-blood-is-filled-with-fascinating-facts-about-house-targaryen-15910699), the fantasy series takes viewers back over two centuries, showcasing the civil war between the [Targaryen family](https://www.bustle.com/p/were-the-targaryens-from-game-of-thrones-inspired-by-actual-history-a-look-at-westeross-dragon-loving-family-13142185). It boasts an impressive cast including [Matt Smith](https://www.google.com/search?q=Matt+Smith+bustle.com&oq=Matt+Smith+bustle.com&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j69i60l3.2803j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8), who plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, and Emma D’Arcy, who plays Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. [But we tend to like to see how a show performs.](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/inside-house-of-the-dragon-trailer-cast-1235182776/) That said, if I were betting, I’d say there’s a pretty good shot that House Of The Dragon will get a Season 2.”

Here's the episode release schedule for 'House of the Dragon,' the new 'Game of Thrones' prequel series,

Episode 5: Sunday, September 18 Episode 4: Sunday, September 11 Episode 3: Sunday, September 4

Join House Perk as we raise our banner to celebrate the premiere of House of the Dragon. Streaming tonight at 9PM on @HBOMax.

[@hbomax]. [August 21, 2022] [@HBOMax]. Thus, they’ve enlisted the shows under the WBD purview to create banners for their “houses” to help drive awareness of tonight’s debut. [House of the Dragon](https://deadline.com/tag/house-of-the-dragon/) bows tonight on the cable channel and its streaming companion, [HBO Max](https://deadline.com/tag/hbo-max/). But even with a purported [$100 million marketing campaign](https://deadline.com/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-biggest-marketing-campaign-1235096571/) behind tonight’s launch of the Game of Thrones prequel, the Warner Bros.

Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, a highlight of House of the Dragon's opening episodes. HBO. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. The opening ...

As the first episode of House of the Dragons finished, I asked myself whether it was as captivating as Game of Thrones' first. Even after six episodes of the show, House of the Dragon's scope is still mysterious. But the shining star of House of the Dragon's opening episodes is surely Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra. In contrast, House of the Dragon is all about the internecine conflict generated by different Targaryens all laying claim to the same Iron Throne. Much of Game of Thrones centered on the combative houses of Westeros vying to become the dominant clan. Perhaps more importantly, House of the Dragon will give lapsed Game of Thrones fans reason to love again.

The 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon' premiered on HBO Max with some hiccups for some subscribers reporting the site crashed.

Please try closing the app and restarting to see if this helps. House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. We’re aware of a small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices that are having issues and are in the process of resolving for those impacted users.” [HBO Max](https://deadline.com/tag/hbo-max/) support team would later acknowledge issues of the site crashing and replied to a user saying: “We’re aware some users may be encountering issues at the moment. However, the @HBOMaxHelp Twitter account was experiencing a lot of traffic as subscribers tried to stream House of Dragon. As the first episode was launched online, some users reported the app crashing which prompted them to seek help.

In the first episode of the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon, there is no opening credits sequence. The sequence will premiere in the second ...

Well, an insider at HBO tells Vulture that the showrunners wanted to give us a cold opening of sorts to get on and tell the story without the indulgence of a Ramin Djawadi-scored title sequence. And what would Thrones be without the title sequence that oriented us in the sprawling fantasy world, flinging the viewer across an animated map of the season’s cross-continental locales? Longtime [Game of Thrones](https://www.vulture.com/2022/08/hbo-max-house-of-dragon-questions.html) director Miguel Sapochink and composer Ramin Djawadi return to the spinoff, giving the new series a distinct Thrones-ian air.

We recap the debut episode of the Game of Thrones prequel, in which tragedy strikes the Seven Kingdoms, and a new heir is named for the Iron Throne ... for ...

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A Targaryen-centric prequel begins in typical Game of Thrones fashion: well-acted, violent, revolting, CGI'd to the max, and more than a little horny.

(And what did Otto write in the letter that he sent to Oldtown?) When he came to Westeros, Aegon had a dream: He foresaw the end of the world of men. But that doesn’t mean that their female characters will escape the fates of so many women of earlier ages (and let’s be honest, so many women of our own age). Rhaenyra and Daemon’s moments together are some of the most charged and exciting — their conversations in Valyrian edge them closer to dragon than human, and that little trill of desire when Daemon clasps a necklace around Rhaenyra’s throat has some big incest energy. The intertwining sequence of the tourney and Aemma’s brutal childbirth is this episode at its most vicious and its best. That is, we expect, one of the major questions House of the Dragon will explore. Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint, with just the right amount of swagger) is Master of Ships, a fitting role for a man known as the Sea Snake. Nine years into Viserys’s reign, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys (a fact that the showrunners proclaim in big bold letters), another silver-haired dragon-rider swoops into frame. To his right stands his grandson Viserys (eldest son of his second son) and pregnant Aemma. So far the series feels expansive enough not to get bogged down in a Succession-like teeter-totter, where the balance of power swings back and forth to the point of nausea. [House of the Dragon](https://www.vulture.com/article/house-of-the-dragon-game-of-thrones-prequel-review.html) has no such protections in place. [told the New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html) that his ending for books six and seven — The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring, respectively — will substantially differ from Dave Benioff and D.B.

The Game Of Thrones prequel brings us back to King's Landing in “The Heirs Of The Dragon”

The lords of Westeros pledge fealty to their future queen, looking so young and lost in her royal raiment, over Viserys delivering the rest of his message to his daughter and heir. Viserys begins with a warning: The control their family holds over the dragons is an illusion that led to the infamous Doom of Valyria, and if they forget their history, they’re doomed to repeat it. - Aemma tells Rhaenyra that the way women serve the realm is by bearing children, but her headstrong daughter would rather be a knight. If this first episode is anything to go on, House Of The Dragon will be a more staid affair than Game Of Thrones, for better or worse. Still, the princess steps forward and utters the first “Dracarys!” of the series, and the king’s dragon sets the bodies aflame. The subject of the day is planning a jousting tournament in honor of the maybe-prince’s maybe-birth, and it seems like these guys are really playing dice with the Old Gods and the New. The gore gets so intense, in fact, that a young squire on the sidelines vomits in the dirt—and I almost did too. In any case, it was all for nothing: It’s only minutes after the prince is born (and named Baelon by his stricken father) that he starts struggling for breath. Then everything goes fine and Aemma has a healthy baby boy, and the rest of the show is just the royal fam being happy-go-lucky sweethearts. Jaehaerys did this to prevent a civil war, because, as a voiceover warns us, “the only thing that could tear down the House Of The Dragon was itself.” The kingdom goes to the dude. Martin, is set 172 years before the overthrow of the centuries-long Targaryen reign that kicked off the events of Game Of Thrones.

The 'Game of Thrones' prequel series, 'House of the Dragon,' begins with a flailing king, his calculating brother, and a young girl thrust into power.

- Aefon Targaryen foresaw the "end of the world of man" via a "terrible winter" than can only be survived with a Targaryen on the throne. He is clearly undervalued in the court of Viserys, and his exhaustion with the state of the realm is evident. He recounts to Viserys an orgiastic party where Daemon appeared to be celebrating the death of Baelon, whom he called "The Heir For a Day." A seafarer, he is also known as the Sea Snake and the Lord of the Tides. Viserys declares he won't be naming Daemon as his heir, ordering him to return to the Vale. [Matt Smith](https://ew.com/person/matt-smith/), the perfect mix of caddish charm and teeth-gnashing malevolence), for instance. The maester tells Viserys that she's going to die, but that there's a chance to save the child. Viserys scoffs at the idea of Rhaenys sitting on the throne — she's older than him, after all — and this upsets her husband Corlys Velaryon ( He spends no time in the Vale, preferring to be close to the royal family in King's Landing. Viserys isn't pleased with his brother, and a tense argument reveals that Daemon despises his wife, Lady Rhea Royce, heir to Runestone in the Vale of Arryn. (Contrast his comfort with Viserys, who nurses multiple wounds from the throne, including a pus-oozing hole in his back that won't seem to heal.) Daemon believes he'll be next in line for the throne if Aemma's child isn't a boy. As such, a voiceover at the beginning of the premiere helps us get our bearings.

George R.R. Martin and Ryan J. Condal know it's horrific and disturbing. Here's why they say it was necessary.

It’s kicked off by him believing that he’s going to have a new male son after trying for years and years, and stillbirths and miscarriages, and all the hell that [his wife Queen Aemma] has been through as a mother. “A lot of people had things to say about the birth of Baelon, Prince Baelon,” Those two sentence have been expanded into a forced C-section, with Aemma screaming in anguish as she is held down and cut open by doctors and midwives who hope to save the breech baby even at the expense of her life. The death of the baby, and of the king's wife, Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke), during the botched birth, creates a void that other family members rush to fill, brandishing swords and fire-breathing monsters to gain the upper hand. [Fire & Blood](https://georgerrmartin.com/grrm_book/fire-and-blood/), which inspired the Game of Thrones prequel. The House of the Dragon pilot’s graphic birth scene caused a visceral response even at the show's gala premiere.

In the lavish Game of Thrones prequel, no one is immune to the toxic dynamics of the Targaryen family.

The dynamic between the adult Daemon and the 15-year-old Rhaenyra is immediately, grotesquely charged; they converse, intimately, in High Valyrian, and he looks at her with the loaded interest of a cat eyeing a bird. That seems to mean that, at least in the first six episodes made available to critics, virtually every plotline and motivation feels the same, and there may be no heroes, ultimately, to root for. By the end of the first episode, the grieving Viserys is also being comforted by Rhaenyra’s best friend, the teenaged Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), who has been compelled by her morose father (Rhys Ifans) to attend to the monarch despite her obvious reservations. On House of the Dragon, no primary relationship seems to be truly insulated from erotic desire, which is itself inextricable from the quest for power. An acknowledgment of the physically brutal and life-threatening reality of bearing children!) The show, based on a prequel history of the Targaryen family (which George R. It was present—most centrally in the sexual relationship between Jaime and Cersei Lannister, which Cersei justified by invoking the Targaryen tradition of marrying brothers and sisters—but not predominant until the final season, when Jon Snow and his aunt Daenerys made unfortunately literal the union of ice and fire. Or I will be”), and issue savage clapbacks (“And how have you served the realm, Lady Redwyne? Female characters school one another on patriarchal constraints (“Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend to the Iron Throne”), affirm their authority (“I am the crown, Ser Criston. What was striking was the bifurcated way the person described the show’s framing for a post-#MeToo moment: conceding that there was “way less sex” in House of the Dragon than there could be in the good old tits-and-trebuchets days of yore, but also boasting that producers had cleverly adapted to the times by replacing sexual violence with barbaric renderings of childbirth. Martin published as Fire & Blood in 2018), begins 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Stormborn, the platinum-haired dragon queen in Thrones, and is in large part about the obstacles that stand in the way of women achieving and exerting power. But it also seems to strain at times with the possibly cynical effort of countering Game of Thrones’s Such “discomfort,” she explains, “is how [women] serve the realm.”) Think about this statement for a moment—that sexual violence is so fundamental to a franchise’s ethos that it has to be replaced with some other portrayal of primal female pain and suffering lest viewers lose interest—and your head might spin.

Sunday's long-awaited premiere aimed to create investment in a new royal power struggle while assuring viewers that this was still “Game of Thrones.”

[an interview](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-ryan-condal-miguel-sapochnik.html)before the season, Sapochnik discussed the importance of making the dragons feel like real, organic parts of the world. “And the day grows ugly …” Rhaenys deadpanned as the crowd delighted in the brutality, which was one way to put it. That poor mid-coital couple frozen on the floor of the brothel. The scene was a somber counterpoint to the chaos and violent agony that had come before it, and Sapochnik wisely let the quietness build. But based on his unhealing lesions and their evidence that the throne doesn’t like him — as well as the fact that this is a succession story, and that monarchs need to die for games of thrones to go on — he seems unlikely to occupy it for long. Sapochnik, the director of “Thrones” spectacles like Martin](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/21/arts/television/george-rr-martin-house-of-the-dragon.html), the “Thrones” godhead, wanted to go with all along, which is what we got on Sunday, complete with the more hulking Iron Throne. Second: The patriarchal leaders of the realm will resist attempts to put a woman on the Iron Throne. [HBO’s efforts](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/10/arts/television/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-got.html), after the polarizing end of its biggest-ever hit, to keep the “Thrones” loot train going. “The childbed is our battlefield,” she said, and we saw how that turned out. (Though I admit that even in a more pensive register, the “duh-nuh-NUH-nuh” motif is very satisfying.) But it is fundamentally still the same ugly chair inspiring the same ugly feelings — anxiety, envy, power-lust, a willingness to betray friends and relatives.

We see a silver-haired woman gliding along on a dragon, introducing us to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter of King Viserys. After dismounting from her ...

"Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. The Grand Maester says that in these circumstances, it wouldn't be improper for the king to name a heir. He gets to choose which of the knights he wants to joust with, and points to a knight from House Hightower -- a knight that's the eldest son of Hand of the King Otto Hightower. "I made Daemon master of laws, but you said he was a tyrant," King Viserys barks at Hightower. "There is a chance we can save the child," but the resulting blood loss is likely to kill the mother. "Congratulations your grace," the maester says over Viserys' shoulder as the king weeps over his dead wife's body, "you have a son." After the funeral, the king finds himself at a Small Council meeting in which Otto Hightower, the Hand, implores him to immediately name a new heir. Daemon is obviously a troublesome guy, but he descends the throne and shows his niece a necklace with a pendant made with Valyrian steel. "There's a boy in the queen's belly, I know it. We see a silver-haired woman gliding along on a dragon, introducing us to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter of King Viserys. Instead, they begin to focus on the Heir's Tournament, a jousting championship held on the day of Viserys' child's birth. "It is now the ninth year of King Viserys I Targaryen's Reign.

While we're at it, let's meet the other major players on Viserys' council: Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), who's married to Viserys' cousin Rhaenys, and ...

Meanwhile, Daemon is at a brothel and goes on a rant about Viserys and his dead son, who was the “heir for a day.” His insolence makes it back to Otto Hightower, who then tells Viserys, who is, understandably, not happy. He also namedrops their ancestor Aegon Targaryen, the upcoming Long Winter that may lay ruin to Westeros and “a song of ice and fire,” which is basically the entire plot of “Game of Thrones.” After officially naming Rhaenyra as next in line for the Iron Throne, the council and other lords of Westeros pledge fealty to her and Viserys. Also, her best friend is Alicent Hightower (played as a teen by Emily Carey), who’s the daughter of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand to King Viserys. Desperate for a male heir, Viserys tells the maesters to operate on Aemma and remove the child. While we’re at it, let’s meet the other major players on Viserys’ council: Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), who’s married to Viserys’ cousin Rhaenys, and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), Viserys’ trouble-making younger brother who rides dragons, leads the city watch and kills criminals in the streets. This time, instead of a sprawling tale across different families and cities, “House of the Dragon” mostly centers on the royal Targaryen family in King’s Landing.

Introducing Rhaenyra Targaryen, another platinum-blonde, dragon-riding princess, and her entire dysfunctional royal family.

Only in the wake of her mother and brother’s death does Rhaenyra finally allow herself to voice the rage she’s felt toward her father, and his inability to see her as worthy of the Iron Throne: “I wonder if during those few hours my brother lived, my father finally found happiness.” Just as a mystery knight named Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) bests Daemon at the height of the tournament, tragedy strikes House Targaryen, when both Aemma and her child die in Viserys and his beloved wife Aemma (Sian Brooke) are due to bring a new child into the world, and Viserys is convinced it will be a boy, thanks to a dream, “clearer than a memory.” The king is so sure of his son’s imminent arrival that he throws a lavish tournament in the baby’s honor, an event that quickly descends into typical Thronesian bloodshed, both on and off the battlefield. With the end of his life in sight and without a clear heir to his name, Jaehaerys Targaryen summons a council to untangle the matter of succession between two choices: his eldest heir, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), and his eldest male heir, Viserys (Paddy Considine). (The erstwhile Eleventh Doctor’s introduction to the world of House of the Dragon, in which he leads the gold-cloaked City Watch through a fire-and-bloody raid of King’s Landing, immediately ranks among the most violent in the entire Thrones franchise.) There are legitimate concerns about this man ascending to the throne, most repeatedly raised by Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Hand of the King. Up in the sky, a platinum-blonde princess rides her dragon over the streets of King’s Landing.

The 10-part Game of Thrones prequel takes us back 172 years to tell the story of Daenerys Targaryen's ancestors. Plus, Disability & Abortion.

Zuu is at his best here, opening his foodie world to Big Narstie – who has a new restaurant in Tenerife, so spicy, wrinkled potatoes are the dish of the day. And how do governing bodies tackle the matter in a meaningful way? In this complex documentary, actors Ruth Madeley and Ruben Reuter – who both live with a disability – listen to a range of perspectives.

The long-awaited Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon premiered Sunday, August 21 on HBO and HBO Max. Based on books written by George R.R. Martin, ...

Based on books written by George R.R. House of the Dragon streams on HBO Max and Hulu. The long-awaited Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon premiered Sunday, August 21 on HBO and HBO Max.

We see a silver-haired woman gliding along on a dragon, introducing us to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter of King Viserys. After dismounting from her ...

"Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. The Grand Maester says that in these circumstances, it wouldn't be improper for the king to name a heir. He gets to choose which of the knights he wants to joust with, and points to a knight from House Hightower -- a knight that's the eldest son of Hand of the King Otto Hightower. "I made Daemon master of laws, but you said he was a tyrant," King Viserys barks at Hightower. "There is a chance we can save the child," but the resulting blood loss is likely to kill the mother. "Congratulations your grace," the maester says over Viserys' shoulder as the king weeps over his dead wife's body, "you have a son." After the funeral, the king finds himself at a Small Council meeting in which Otto Hightower, the Hand, implores him to immediately name a new heir. Daemon is obviously a troublesome guy, but he descends the throne and shows his niece a necklace with a pendant made with Valyrian steel. "There's a boy in the queen's belly, I know it. We see a silver-haired woman gliding along on a dragon, introducing us to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter of King Viserys. "It is now the ninth year of King Viserys I Targaryen's Reign. [House of the Dragon](/culture/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-will-let-you-love-game-of-thrones-again/) dropped, setting the stage for a Targaryen clash.

But none like this. Aemma Targaryen (Sian Brooke), the queen and wife of Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), is in her seventh labor. The king's consort has ...

And yet, both Alcock and Carey note the seeds of that relationship’s destruction are also laid in the first episode. “I will say transparently that I got a huge amount of backlash from saying at the panel that Alicent is not the villain of the story,” Carey reveals when we sit down with her and Alcock. And one of the most useful creative tools for Carey during the making of the show is how she began creating a journal written from Alicent’s perspective about the events in the series. “We kind of leant into the confusion,” Carey says of developing that scene with Ifans and director Miguel Sapochnik, including how they filmed it four different ways. What does she actually want from life in the kingdom and what are her pure ambitions?” But the road to perdition becomes explicit at the end of the first episode. It also adds to the unexpected timeliness of House of the Dragon, both for the viewers and the cast. For instance, the book Fire & Blood, on which House of the Dragon is based, is written as a medieval historical text from the perspective of a male maester. “I think people are expecting her to be this scheming woman, and I haven’t seen the episodes that [Olivia Cooke’s] in, but the Alicent I play, when we meet her, is a young girl, a product of the patriarchy being pushed and pulled by these men around her, and she’s confused. Often in history, we read “she died in childbirth.” But in a way more heinous than almost any death scene on Game of Thrones, we actually see what “death in childbirth” can mean when Aemma’s labor becomes a forced birth, and her demise takes on the connotations of a murder. Aemma Targaryen (Sian Brooke), the queen and wife of Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), is in her seventh labor. [House of the Dragon’s first episode](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/house-of-the-dragon-episode-1-review-the-heirs-of-the-dragon) when during a difficult labor, a maester informs His Grace that they can save either the mother or the child—who is apparently male.

American fantasy drama television series, House of the Dragon, a prequel to the television series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) has just kicked off.

“Aegon foresaw the end of the world of men. The Grand Maester says that in these circumstances, it wouldn’t be improper for the king to name a heir. He gets to choose which of the knights he wants to joust with, and points to a knight from House Hightower — a knight that’s the eldest son of Hand of the King Otto Hightower. Shortly after this, the Grand Maester implies that Daemon may plot to kill Viserys and take the throne. After the funeral, the king finds himself at a Small Council meeting in which Otto Hightower, the Hand, implores him to immediately name a new heir. In the very next scene, a funeral is being held for both Aemma and Baelor. Daemon is obviously a troublesome guy, but he descends the throne and shows his niece a necklace with a pendant made with Valyrian steel. “There’s a boy in the queen’s belly, I know it. You get to see a silver-haired woman gliding along on a dragon, introducing us to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the daughter of King Viserys. Instead, they begin to focus on the Heir’s Tournament, a jousting championship held on the day of Viserys’ child’s birth. “It is now the ninth year of King Viserys I Targaryen’s Reign. Not content to allow a woman to rule, the council conferred the crown onto Visyrs.

Never let it be said that a Game of Thrones property isn't going to deliver big, brutal events.

When Rhaenys remarks at the tournament that all the fighters have, as Best puts it, “their hands full of steel and none of them have ever known real war,” it’s a reminder that King’s Landing has been under Targaryen rule for centuries, leaving the empire rather lax and soft. “It was the biggest source of shame in Rhaenys’ life, and the fact that it’s constantly being referred to is really, really annoying.” By the end, he says, “you’re hopefully able to canter and hold some kind of sword in your hand.” “It’s not my natural habitat to be on a horse,” Smith says, adding that he and Frankel would pop into the scenes after the doubles took their falls. It was just shooting on the studio backlot, but Carey says doing that scene was the first moment where she was really reminded that, “Hey, this is Game of Thrones. Whee!—or they can roll the dice and risk the deaths of both his wife and the baby.

Milly Alcock as Young Rhaenyra, Emily Carey as Young Alicent in "House of the Dragon." The following contains spoilers about the premiere episode of " ...

contained in Martin's writing and the earlier series. Martin's struggles for the Iron Throne, the producers were clearly mindful of early criticisms of "Game of Thrones." Her husband, King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), is desperate for a son in order to secure a male heir to the throne, in accordance with tradition. That included incorporating people of color into the "House" cast and, as , fueling fierce debate about issues of forced birth and women's freedom to make their own healthcare choices. As

'House of the Dragon' Season 1 premiere: We have questions about King Viserys' sculpture hobby in Episode 1.

And, like all the crafters I know (including myself), does he have a highly delusional sense of the latter? I don’t get the sense that Viserys spends a lot of time in the city’s streets. Prior to watching, I wasn’t sure how seamlessly Game of Thrones’ prequel spinoff would mesh with the original series, which I loved — yes, even the final season — and covered in full for TVLine.

While House of the Dragon takes place 200 years before Game of Thrones, it's very much in keeping with that show's sex scenes. And Matt Smith is the actor ...

That is the world of House of the Dragon. [Matt Smith is the star who](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/23058669/house-of-the-dragon-cast-characters-story-fire-and-blood-targaryens), in the pilot of [House of the Dragon](http://voxmediapartner.go2cloud.org/aff_c?offer_id=2&aff_id=1&source=Polygon&aff_sub=HouseDragonsMattSmith082222&aff_unique1=https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GYsYeoAxKH8LCwgEAAAOR), gets saddled with helming two sexposition scenes, in very different ways. And such a strange moral compass — which is warped, but it is a moral compass, in his own way.” The brothel scene is certainly one way of showing how devoted Daemon’s men are, and how much their relationship is, in some ways, built on mutual respect. Though the showrunners have said [they plan to “pull back”](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/house-of-the-dragon-news-1235184887/) over time on prolific sex scenes that earned [Game of Thrones a certain reputation](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/2019/5/7/18535611/game-of-thrones-sansa-stark-hound-season-8), the first chapter of House isn’t a huge break from the tradition. [House of the Dragon](https://www.polygon.com/e/23051786) has little choice but to follow suit.

The prequel arrives more than three years after the last episode of “Game of Thrones.”

in New York, just as “House of the Dragon” was released. [release](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-01/stranger-things-4-finale-netflix-crashes-after-fans-overwhelm-streaming-service) of the season finale of “Stranger Things” sent [Netflix](https://fortune.com/company/netflix) Inc.’s platform crashing. [Discovery Inc.](https://fortune.com/company/discovery), the parent of HBO, said in a statement.

It's crazy to think that three years have already passed since Game of Thrones' final season swept in and … crashed head first into a mountain of ...

In order to stop the long winter from destroying the world of men, Viserys continues, the entire world of Westeros must be united and a Targaryen must be seated on the throne — King or Queen. Otto instructs his daughter to go to the King — in his chambers — and offer comfort. The King commands Daemon to return to his wife in Runestone. He also saw the end of the world of men, to be brought on by a terrible winter … A mystery knight — a Cole, of the Stormlands — knocks another off his horse and heads to the sidelines. The King is called to his wife. Dameon chills in the brothel, the nonstop sex, and debauchery doing nothing to calm his thoughts. Rhaenyra has obviously seen the recent Prey and longs to break free of her “royal obligations” and fight as a knight in combat on the back of a dragon. Without any sons to claim the throne, the King is in a pickle. The King announces his wife has gone into labor, causing the crowd to cheer. so, let’s focus on Season 1 Episode 1 of House of the Dragon and hope for the best. And yet, I’m here, enormously excited for House of the Dragon, the first in a purported million Game of Thrones spinoffs planned by HBO and George R.R.

HBO Max crashed repeatedly for many viewers during the premiere of the streaming platform's highly anticipated “Game of Thrones” prequel on Sunday night, ...

The prequel, helmed by different directors than its predecessors, could provide a comeback of sorts for HBO. “House of the Dragon is being successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers this evening,” HBO said in a statement provided to multiple media outlets Sunday. The crashes introduced a technical hiccup into one of HBO’s most hotly awaited shows in years.

House of the Dragon introduced House Stark with Rickon Stark swearing fealty to Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Here's what to know about Rickon Stark.

Cregan will likely become Lord of Winterfell by the time of the civil war. It’s fitting that House Stark is shown swearing fealty in this moment; House Stark and House Targaryen will eventually unite to defeat this threat, the Starks' past loyalty to the Targaryens perhaps one small signal of this future alliance.) [ 200 years before Ned Stark is named Hand of the King](https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a40896343/house-of-the-dragon-setting-time/)—the first season of Game of Thrones. We, of course, know this threat to be the White Walkers and the (One house swearing fealty before Stark: “Baratheon,” the surname of King Robert who rules the Seven Kingdoms at the start of Game of Thrones.) The name “Rickon” will also seem familiar, as this is the name of Eddard (Ned) and Catelyn Stark’s youngest child, who died at 11 during the Battle of the Bastards.

The Game of Thrones prequel shows patriarchy at its most dehumanizing — but in a post-Roe world, it was effective.

Last night was the premiere of House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel series that has brought back George RR Martin into the fold, but not the ...

They were fun, I suppose, but it wasn’t really why people fell in love with Game of Thrones in the first place. The main conflict is already clear here, an vicious uncle pitted against an anointed princess as they compete for the crown and the future of the family. It also goes back to what made Game of Thrones so interesting in those first few seasons, the struggle for power mainly through court drama and personal betrayals. It’s just a tighter, more focused cast, and what appears to be a main central storyline as opposed to 8-12 threads weaving in and out of each other. Over time, those groups fractured, and by the end, it was not uncommon to be watching a season with pairs of characters scattered across eight cities on two continents, with many disappearing for weeks or even entire seasons at a time, in some cases. I wasn’t really quite sure what to expect from House of the Dragon, other than I knew the barebones concept that it was about Targaryen family drama.

The Doom of Valyria sparked the Targaryen Conquest, changed the fate of Westeros, and led to the creation of the Iron Throne, eventually lost by Mad King ...

Viserys clearly sees the Doom of Valyria as a punishment for his ancestors trifling with the magic of dragons and stripping the volcanoes of their natural resources. Aerys was the father of Prince Rhaegar (the secret father of Jon Snow), Prince Viserys, and Princess Daenerys. That prompts her nephew/lover Jon Snow to kill her and ensure Westeros is spared the reign of another mad Targaryen. [their three dragons](https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/house-of-the-dragon-introduce-17-new-dragons-game-of-thrones-world/) were one of the few Valyrian families to remain after the Doom because prior to it, their family had relocated west to Dragonstone, a volcanic island off the coast of Westeros. This ignited the spark of Robert’s Rebellion, during which Hand of the King Tywin Lannister betrayed Aerys and joined the revolt. Closer to the mythological story of [Atlantis](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/atlantis#:~:text=The%20legend%20of%20Atlantis%20is%20a%20story%20about%20a%20moral,immoral%20pursuits%2C%22%20Orser%20says.), Valyria was destroyed by a natural disaster known as ‘The Doom of Valyria’. The loss of their family’s former empire later inspired Aegon to conquer the continent of Westeros. It’s not just the language, the steel and the sigil that the Targaryens have brought to Westeros with them, but also the city of Valyria – after a fashion. [Game of Thrones](https://www.denofgeek.com/game-of-thrones/), and where Dany gets the deadly fire-breathing dragon command “Dracarys”. He loves the history of the old world. It’s the language Daenerys Targaryen speaks to the surprise of the slave masters in Viserys, Daemon, Aemma and Rhaenerys are fluent in Westeros’ Common Tongue (aka English), but slip between that and the family’s native High Valyrian (a dying-out language only used by the time of Game of Thrones in religious ceremonies, which we might equate to, say, our Latin).