While House of the Dragon begins 200 years before Game of Thrones, George RR Martin is said to have gone even further back in Targaryen’s history.
House of the Dragon has rekindled interest in the Game of Thrones franchise, slipping back into the history of the Targaryen family, many years before Daenerys and her three dragons attempted to claim the Iron Throne. However, if thrones author George RR Martin given the choice, we could have seen even more Targaryen history, time jumps and re-casts in the HBO series.
House of the Dragon is based on Martin’s own book, Fire and Blood, which charts some of the history of the Targaryen dynasty when they ruled from the Iron Throne. Even though the series starts 200 years earlier Game of ThronesMartin would have liked the show to start another 40 years earlier and have an extra time jump. During a conversation with Penguin Random Houseexplained Martin:
“One of the big problems with all these writers was where to start. [‘House of the Dragon’ showrunner Ryan Condal] started in [Episode 1] with the Great Council where the Lords vote that the heir of Jaehaerys – he has just lost his son Baelon, who died of appendicitis – so who is his heir now? And the gentlemen vote to choose Viserys over Rhaenys.
I would have started it like 40 years earlier with the episode I would have called “The Heir and the Spare,” in which Jaehaerys’ two sons, Aemon and Baelon, are still alive. And we see the friendship, but also the rivalry, between the two sides of the big house. You know, Aemon accidentally dies when a Myrian crossbowman accidentally shoots him at Tarth and then Jaehaerys has to decide who will be the new heir. Is it the daughter of the eldest son who just passed away or is it the second son who has sons of his own and is a man and she is just a teenage girl? You would have had 40 more years and you would have had even more time jumps and you would have had even more re-casts and yes, I was the only one who was really excited about that.
What happens in House of the Dragon season 2?
House of the Dragons the first season spent a lot of time developing the characters, while the show is a prequel to Game of Thrones there are no crossover characters due to the time difference between the two shows. When it comes to the show’s second season, the intentional slowness of the first season will give way to war and the kind of action that Game of Thrones fans are used to from the fantasy franchise. Co-showrunner Ryan Condal recently explained:
“We will get to the spectacle. But you have to understand the complexities of these people before they are thrown into the war. Series two will hit rhythms that people expected from the Game of Thrones mid-series, but it will be deserved, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work into it.”
House of the Dragon season one is currently streaming on HBO Max.