(HBO)
Winter is coming once again, except this time it’s more dragon fire than snow.
HBO has just (finally) released their very first teaser trailer for their upcoming “Game of Thrones” spin-off/prequel “House of The Dragon”, which is currently still in production in Europe and looking toward a 2022 premiere. As reported previously, the show, based on parts of George R.R. Martin’s book Fire and Blood, is set 200 years before the events of GoT and revolves around those wacky Targaryens as cruel and bloody civil war breaks out amongst two factions fighting over (what else?) a claim to the Iron Throne, dubbed The Dance of the Dragons.
On one side, you have the “Blacks”, supporters of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, whose father King Viserys named her his heir despite women inheriting the Throne being a big no-no, but peeps seemed generally okay with it because she was popular. But then Viserys remarries his Hand of the King’s daughter, Alicent Hightower, and she bares him a son, who now, many people think, has a legitimate claim over Rhaenyra. These are the “Greens”, the faction who support Alicent’s male children as the rightful rulers of Westeros. Let the chaos ensue!
The trailer opens with voice over from Matt Smith, who plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, Viserys’s brother and known rogue throughout the Seven Kingdoms and beyond.
Here are some other notable highlights from the trailer:
00:18 – The only dragon we see in this entire trailer for a show that’s supposedly LOUSY with dragons is here, which is the huge skull of what is likely Balerion The Black Dread, the largest known dragon ever to exist.
00:21 – A look at the familiar Hand of the King pin we came to know from “Game of Thrones”, adorning the clothes of King Viserys’s father-in-law, Otto Hightower.
00:23 – Here we see King Viserys gripping the hilt of the famed Valyrian steel longsword, Blackfyre, wielded by Aegon The Conqueror himself, who was the founder of House Targaryen on the Westerosi shores.
00:29 – Now we see a glimpse of Princess Rhaenyra when she was a child, and perhaps the most significant thing about this shot is confirmation that, just like “Game of Thrones”, “House of the Dragon” will still not be giving us the signature Targaryen purple eyes. Sigh…
00:37 – More sword p*rn for y’all, as here we see Prince Daemon wielding another famed sword, Dark Sister, during a tourney melee.
00:39 – A good look at House Velaryon, whose family has been intertwined with the Targaryens for generations and will continue to be here…
00:40 – A quick shot of Mysaria, AKA The White Worm, AKA The Mistress of Whisperers. She is basically the female version of Varys. She was the facilitator of one of the most gruesome and horrible events during the entire Dance of the Dragons, in my opinion… which may or may not make it onto the show. We shall see…
00:41 – Our first good look at Olivia Cooke as Queen Alicent, wielding what appears to be the notorious Valyrian steel dagger which got around quite a bit in “Game of Thrones”. There is speculation as to whom she is charging at with that knife and why, but it’s pretty spoileriffic so I will remain mum for now!
00:42 – Stark banner alert, woo-hoo! The Starks played a brief role in the Dance of the Dragons when Rhaenyra's son Prince Jacaerys enlisted the then Lord of Winterfell Cregan Stark's help in his mother's cause. Think of Cregan as a much more stern and dour Ned Stark... I love him. I really hope he doesn't get cut from this series.
00:43 – A shot from behind Rhaenyra and Alicent during a tourney. Now, this is most likely the Tourney at King’s Landing (though, judging by the House Tarly banners in the background, it's been moved to Horn Hill), but if that were the case, then Rhaenrya should be wearing black, as it was this event where the terms “Blacks” and “Greens” sprang from… Of course, tourneys are a dime a dozen in Westeros so this could be a completely different one, like the Tourney at Maidenpool; but the King's Landing Tourney had more plot significance, and in a TV series where time and money are (sort of) limited, I would go with that one.
00:49 – Last but not least, we get our first look at a re-vamped Iron Throne… sorta. It is the same throne used on GoT, yes, but they have clearly modified it to look more like the version in the book, with an actual thousand melted down swords. It’s certainly an improvement, but it makes one wonder how faithful this show is going to be toward canon from the book(s) versus the canon from GoT. Showrunner Ryan Condal has previously stated that he joined this project not because he was a fan of "Game of Thrones" but because he's a fan of Martin's books, so perhaps he is just trying to strike a balance between what's canon and what's familiar to audiences...
And there you have it! All the Targs and dragons you could possibly want, hitting our TV screens next year!