House of the Dragon spoilers follow.
House of the Dragon provides Game of Thrones fans with a brand-new journey into Westeros, but it's only new if you haven't read the books that it's based on. For those who have already devoured George RR Martin's Fire & Blood, every death and betrayal was outlined in full long before this prequel reached our screens.
But, actually, wait. Scrap that. Even if you haven't read the source material, House of the Dragon has still been ruined anyway for fans who actually paid attention to Game of Thrones back in season three.
The events depicted in House of the Dragon occurred 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, but that didn't stop King Joffrey from revealing Rhaenyra Targaryen's fate in the episode titled 'And Now His Watch Is Ended'.
Final House of the Dragon spoiler warning.
The episode in question, episode four, includes a scene where that loveable monarch Joffrey Lannister, strolls the Sept with Margaery Tyrell, his betrothed. During their walk, Joffrey stops at one point to show her the final resting place of Rhaenyra Targaryen, who's now long dead.
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"Rhaenyra Targaryen was murdered by her brother, or rather his dragon," says Joffrey. "It ate her while her son watched. What's left of her is buried in the crypts right down there."
Ouch. So is that what's really going to happen to Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon one day? Or is the king just exaggerating?
Unfortunately for Rhaenyra stans everywhere, that's exactly how the princess is going to die. And the man who ends up killing her has just shown up for the very first time in House of the Dragon episode three.
Yep, Alicent Hightower's cute little baby, young Aegon Targaryen, will one day grow up to order his half-sister's death. And Rhaenyra's son, who hasn't been born yet, will watch his mother die at the hands of Sunfyre, Aegon's dragon. Annoyingly enough, this son is also called Aegon too, so you have that to look forward to.
Technically though, we're a long way off from these events, even with the show's fondness for random time jumps. But one day, beyond perhaps even the second season, Rhaenyra will eventually take the Iron Throne during a Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons. Her reign won't last long though as King's Landing will turn against Rhaenyra in a betrayal that directly leads to her death.
Aegon, being the savage monarch he is, goes on to decree that the history books should never refer to Rhaenyra as a true queen of Westeros. Instead, she should forever be referred to as a princess despite her legitimate time on the throne.
Ironically enough, it's possible that the dragon egg Rhaenyra rescued back in episode two could turn out to be none other than Sunfyre's, which means the princess might have set her own death in motion already on the show. That's just guesswork on our part though.
What we do know though is that Game of Thrones also spoiled some more details around the Dance of the Dragons during a scene where Shireen Baratheon explained how they ended to Ser Davos Seaworth:
"It's the story of the fight between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon for control of the Seven Kingdoms."
"Both of them thought they belonged on the Iron Throne," Shireen continued. "When people started declaring for one of them or the other, their fight divided the kingdom in two. Brothers fought brothers. Dragons fought dragons. By the time it was over, thousands were dead. And it was a disaster for the Targaryens as well. They never truly recovered."
Sounds pretty ominous... but there is a very small chance that some of these spoilers might not come to pass. House of the Dragon has already made some minor alterations to the source material in just the first three episodes alone, so who's to say bigger changes aren't afoot?
For now though, the only people who know what lies ahead for certain are the showrunners who have already planned the entire show out from beginning to end. What remains to be seen is whether they were inspired by Joffrey or took matters into their own hands.
House of the Dragon season one airs weekly the US on Sundays on HBO, and on Mondays in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Season 2 has been announced. Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available on DVD and Blu-ray.
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HBO/Warner Home Video Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 - The Complete Series [DVD] [2019]
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Columbia For The Throne (Music Inspired by the HBO Series Game of Thrones) [Explicit]
Michael Joseph Game of Thrones: A Guide to Westeros and Beyond: The Complete Series
Penguin Random House George RR Martin's A Game of Thrones Leather-Cloth Boxed Set
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
