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

house of the dragonHBO’s new follow-up show game of Thrones, is all about the Targaryen family, so it’s no surprise that it digs into their past. But even in the first episode, the series jumps beyond its source material, Fire & Bloodto reveal previously unknown details about one of the key characters of A Song of Ice and Fire. And according to the showrunners, the revelation comes straight from George RR 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.]

house of the dragonThe first episode revolves around King Viserys’ decision to appoint his daughter Rhaenyra as his successor to the Iron Throne of Westeros. This contradicts the precedents of the empire, particularly the decision of the Great Council of AD 101, which became entrenched in the minds of most, that male heirs had precedence over female heirs. None of this is new to viewers familiar with the history of the prequel series, but what King Viserys tells his teenage daughter should come as a welcome surprise to die-hard A Song of Ice and Fire fans.

In the Red Keep, Viserys tells Rhaenyra a little about Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen king of Westeros and the man who united the continent’s seven warring kingdoms into one to rule. Most importantly, Viserys reveals that Aegon first attempted to conquer Westeros because he had a vision of the end of the world:

And just as Daenys saw the end of Valyria, Aegon saw the end of the human world. It begins with a terrible winter descending from the far north. Aegon saw absolute darkness riding these winds, and whatever dwells within will destroy the world of the living. When that great winter comes, Rhaenyra, all of Westeros must stand against it. And if the human world is to survive, a Targaryen must sit on the Iron Throne. A king or queen strong enough to unite the realm against cold and darkness. Aegon called his dream “A Song of Ice and Fire”. This secret has been passed from king to heir since Aegon’s time. And now you have to promise to keep it. And to wear it.

This prophecy is both unique and important to its place in the series. While prophecy in modern fantasy tales, particularly A Song of Ice and Fire, is often used ironically or as a misnomer, this one is handed down to us as almost unequivocally true.

Positioning it alongside Daenys’ correct prophecy of the end of Valyria, which saved the Targaryen dynasty from the doom that destroyed Valyria and sent them to Dragonstone and Westeros first, gives Aegon’s dream a little extra credence. We also know it’s true (mostly) because… we’ve already seen the ending. We know that returning a Targaryen to Westeros and her dragons is vital in fighting the White Walkers and saving the humans from the Long Night. We even know it’s a Targaryen named Aegon who saves – because that’s Jon Snow’s real name. (As a fun tidbit, this also gives us our second explanation of the series’ A Song of Ice and Fire name, which most fans usually assume refers to Jon as the child of a Stark and Targaryen – representing Ice and Fire. )

While this all sounds like it could be a convenient topping-up by showrunners Ryan J. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, that’s not the case. In an interview with Polygon in advance house of the dragon‘s premiere, Condal confirmed that this particular dream came directly from Martin.

Image: HBO

“It actually came from [Martin], at least the origin of this point,” said Condal. “He told us very early in the room – just like he only casually mentioned the fact that Aegon the Conqueror was a dreamer who saw a vision of the White Walkers coming over the Wall and bringing cold and darkness over the land swept […] Of course, with his permission, we built that into the story because it was such a great way to resonate with the original show.”

This is already a big reveal about one of the most important characters in the A Song of Ice and Fire universe, but with a bit of speculation it’s also easy to see how this might give us a clue as to how Martin’s book might end for the series differ from what we’ve seen on HBO game of Thrones.

According to Viserys, in order to save the world, all of Westeros must unite against the threat from the north and a Targaryen must sit on the Iron Throne. Both are vaguely hinted at by the HBO series, but aren’t actually true. Neither Dany nor Jon are actually on the throne when the Long Night comes, and the final battle at Winterfell really only involves a small force and not all of Westeros.

If Aegon’s prophecy is correct – and proves to be in the books – then it’s possible we could see Jon or Dany (note that Viserys says King or Queen) take King’s Landing and the Iron Throne long before the Long Night comes. It also means we could see the Army of the Dead marching much further south and threatening far more of Westeros than in the series.

For now though, as with most A Song of Ice and Fire questions, we’ll just have to wait for the books to find out if any of this comes out. But at least this tiny dialogue proves it house of the dragon has more new information to share with viewers and hardcore fans than its status as a prequel and a Fire & Blood Adaptation might suggest.