House of the Dragon is the new HBO show that is the prequel series to the network’s epic fantasy hit, Game of Thrones.
It will tell the story of House Targaryen and a moment in time when they were at their glory in Westeros.
King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) rules over the seven kingdoms in the new TV show but who will succeed in his place is apparently up for question, according to the latest trailer.
While his brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), seems the likely contender merely because he is male, Viserys seems intent on his first-born daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), ruling in his place.
This new series is based on author George R. R. Martin’s book, Fire and Blood, meaning there is already an established storyline to base the series on.
However, before things could really get started, the author insisted on three things moving forward in House of the Dragon.
George R. R. Martin wanted 3 things for House of the Dragon
According to Insider, George R. R. Martin wanted three things to occur in House of the Dragon.
First, the author wanted to see more colorful dragons than what appeared in Game of Thrones.
There is a very good reason for this, too. In Game of Thrones, the three dragons were very similar in color and style and were sometimes hard to identify when they were flying overhead. Martin wants House of the Dragon fans to be able to recognize each dragon instantly.
In addition to this, Martin also wanted to see more bright heraldry than what was portrayed in the original TV show.
According to co-showrunner Ryan Condal, there are a variety of symbolic colors associated with the Houses in both shows; this should be portrayed in House of the Dragon.
“It’s such a time of high decadence and peace and wealth and prosperity for the realm,” Condal said. “Everybody would really festoon themselves in their house colors and be proud of them as they marched into the tournament.”
Finally, the author wanted King Jaehaerys Targaryen II to appear as a rightful king in House of the Dragon.
Why was King Jaehaerys Targaryen II left out of Game of Thrones?
In Game of Thrones, King Jaehaerys was omitted from the line of successorship. As pointed out on Reddit, this king was positioned between Aegon V and his son Aerys II, who was known as the Mad King in the TV series.
Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. “Dan” Weiss opted out of including this character, placing Aegon and Aerys as ruling one after the other when spoken about.
The current showrunners of House of the Dragon explained why the previous showrunners left out this important character from the timeline of kings and why it was important to rectify that in the new series.
“David and Dan and skipped over Jaehaerys for reasons of clarity that [George R. R. Martin] really didn’t understand,” co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said. “He had a bee in his bonnet about it. He wanted us to right that wrong.”
Season 1 of House of the Dragon will premiere on August 21 on HBO Max.