Warning! Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 1
Aegon Targaryen’s White Walker dreams described in House of the Dragon episode 1 originally came from George R.R. Martin. The fantasy-drama show is based upon author Martin’s fantasy book Fire & Blood, which recounts the history of House Targaryen. Set approximately 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the new spinoff series will center on the silver-haired, dragon-riding Targaryen family and chronicle the events leading up to the familial conflict known as the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war that served as the beginning of the end of their control over Westeros.
At the end of episode 1, King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) names Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) as his heir to the throne following the death of his wife and son, as well as the banishment of his brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). Prior to the ceremony, Viserys reveals to his daughter that Aegon the Conqueror had a prophetic dream about a great winter coming from the North and bringing a threat that can only be defeated with a Targaryen in place on the Iron Throne. This refers to the growing threat of the White Walkers as depicted in Game of Thrones, resulting in a great battle between multiple armies and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and her dragons. Viserys claimed that Aegon called his dream “The Song of Ice and Fire.” Although theorized by readers, this dream was never mentioned in Martin’s original source material.
While at a roundtable in which Screen Rant attended, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan J. Condal reveals that Aegon’s dream was provided by Martin himself. While creating the show, Condal wondered how the story would resonate with future events. As the series takes place nearly two centuries prior to Daenerys’ birth, the writer struggled with establishing a weighted element that carries throughout the years and into the Game of Thrones timeline. According to Condal, Martin was the one who disclosed that Aegon had a dream that revealed to him the threat of White Walkers, motivating his conquest of Westeros. Read what Condal says below:
That actually came from [George]; at least the origin of that point. He told us very early on in the room, as he does. He just casually mentioned the fact that Aegon the Conqueror was a Dreamer who saw a vision of the White Walkers coming across the wall and sweeping over the land with cold and darkness. But it never made the history books, because he never told anyone. Or at least the people that he told didn’t tell the history writers. So, it’s in George’s head, and at some point, it will come out.
With his permission, of course, we infused that into the story. Because it was such a great way to create resonance with the original show. One of the things we struggled with is that there’s a 170-year gap between our show and the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, as you’re told in the opening titles. How do you create that resonance? You don’t have any characters that survive, but [there’s] the idea of this existential threat to Westeros that we know as fans and watchers of the original show is coming. If we seed that into this world and make them aware of it, and give them this higher purpose to ascend to as sovereigns and rulers, [we see] that the Iron Throne isn’t just a seat of power. It’s a seat of responsibility and a burden to carry forward.
This idea sounds crazy if you talk about it, because what happens if Rhaenyra just tells somebody? “There’s this prophecy, and that’s the reason that I can’t actually go in and intervene in this problem that’s happening elsewhere in the realm. Because if I create war, then I unsteady the realm.” You sound nuts, or you sound like you’re trying to avoid a problem. It gave us a lot of interesting, dramatic stuff to play with.
As Condal explains, the revelation of Aegon’s prophecy adds weight to the responsibility of the throne that will be carried for generations. Being a Targaryen ruler is more than just a position of power – with knowledge of Aegon’s dream, it becomes a responsibility to all of Westeros as protector from enemies more powerful than anyone has ever faced. Although yet to be revealed in the books, the prophecy shared by Martin inexorably links House of the Dragon with its predecessor, Game of Thones.
Aegon’s dream adds another layer of meaning to the title of Martin’s fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, with Ice representing the Long Night and its undead dangers and Fire representing the Targaryen lineage and their dragons. Although Queen Daenerys never took the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones, she was instrumental in protecting Westeros against the White Walkers and the Night King in season 8. Without her and her dragons, the combined armies at Winterfell would not have survived the Night King’s invasion. With Aegon’s prophecy revealed to Rhaenyra, audiences will have to wait and see how she will use the information in the coming episodes of House of the Dragon.
