Without a doubt, Game of Thrones was HBO’s most popular program since The Sopranos. No show since its lackluster ending in 2019 has been able to replicate its popularity but since the world of Westeros is so dense even without the release of George R.R. Martin’s long anticipated sixth book, The Winds of Winter, HBO is once again returning to the Game of Thrones with House of the Dragon set to premiere on August 21st. A recent teaser trailer offered the biggest and best glimpse so far of the new series and there is a lot to break down.
For starters, the show is set roughly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones so there is no Ned Stark, Jon Snow, Daenarys Targaryen, Khal Drogo, Robert Baratheon, Cersei Lannister or Samwell Tarly to show but there is Rickard Stark and Bormund Baratheon who we can presume are ancestors of their respective houses pledging fealty to King Viserys and his heir, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen.
The Targareyen family were conquerors of Westeros having ridden three dragons to defeat the Seven Kingdoms and uniting the continent under one crown. The Iron Throne is supposedly built from the swords of the leaders who surrendered to the Targaryen conquerors. However, their family was large and rife with conflict thanks to years of inbreeding, infighting and violence that would ultimately lead to their downfall. House of the Dragon is setting up its own strife with King Viserys naming Rhaenyra as his heir by showing other Targaryens seething at this action. We can certainly expect to see the backstabbing and plotting that heightened the drama of the early seasons of Game of Thrones.
While the majority of the trailer is full of short vignettes, we can see a dragon flying around King’s Landing and another that appears to be freed from an underground cave, an apparent funeral scene featuring a stone coffin being dropped into the sea, a Targeryen (played by Matt Smith) holding a dragon’s egg and other dragon eggs being gifted in a box similar to how Daenarys received her dragons in the very first episode of the original series. There is also blood and knights suited up to go into battle so it is entirely possible that Viserys’ decision to name Rhaenyra as the Queen Regent is setting up a civil war in House Targaryen. We will know more when House of the Dragon begins its ten episode season on August 21st.
Featured Image Credit: IMDb
