There is no series more anticipated in the world of television than House of the Dragon, the long-awaited prequel/spin-off of Game of Thrones, the HBO juggernaut which is approaching the two-year anniversary of its series finale. Set three centuries before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will chronicle some of the earlier tales that revolve around House Targaryen, based on George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood.
As a highly anticipated series (and one HBO is banking on majorly for 2022), House of the Dragon comes with immense anticipation – and expectation. Questions that pertain to both the actual content of the series, in addition to the larger cultural narrative, are prevalent throughout fans. Hopefully, the series will readily answer each of them.
The Long Night
Before HBO gave the full green light to House of the Dragon, it seemed like their basket was full of “Long Night” flavored eggs. The Naomi Watts-starrer was slated to bow for the Age of Heroes before HBO nixed it before it could get to the series stage.
Is this story gone completely? Yes, House of the Dragons will focus on a specific period, but any show can dabble in time jumps. Even if it doesn’t double back to a long-ago prequel, House of the Dragons could still exist as an HBO tent pole to set up future Westeros spin-offs, as The Mandalorian seemed to do for Disney Plus.
Capturing The Zeitgeist
House of the Dragon will undoubtedly be a massively popular series and, in all likelihood, the most-watched series of 2022. (That is, unless that Chris Evans project is meant to be a streamer.) But can it recapture the same magical zeitgeist as Game of Thrones?
Thrones was a water cooler juggernaut by its conclusion. The smart money is on House of the Dragon‘s immense success. But the zeitgeist moves quickly. By 2022, AMC could deliver the next Mad Men/Breaking Bad combination? One just never knows.
Thrones Cameos
One easy way to ensure some Game of Thrones-themed clout on House of the Dragon would be to pull from some of what fans loved most about the previous series, including some actors potentially. Yes, it’s set three hundred years prior, but the Targaryens are at the heart of it.
Will Emilia Clarke return in any capacity, for example? Will there be any direct tether? If there are to be flash-forwards in the show, some familial history could lend more understanding to the future of this family line.
Madness, Madness, Madness
One potential example of that would be to demonstrate the source of Targaryen madness. Yes, there is plenty of incest in House Targaryen, but it has to be more than this because there’s incest abound throughout Westeros, and not every product of it is absolutely insane.
It’s well-established that the Targaryens are mad. But why? Madness could be at the core of this series, whether it faces its inception or a perpetual domino effect. It would be worthwhile thematic territory to explore and perhaps even provide more context for Dany’s eventual breakdown.
Septon Barth
The story of Aerea Targaryen has been a fan-favorite (and, granted, a tragic one) that came out of Fire & Blood. One of the key figures in her tale of parasite-ridden escapes and dalliances with death is Septon Barth.
If one is familiar with that name, it’s because he is the Westerosi author of “Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History,” a book sought by a few characters, including Tyrion. As a low-key beloved figure by fans, many are wondering if Septon Barth will make an appearance on Fire & Blood.
West Of Westeros
Again, full caveats that it is understood where and when House of the Dragon will take place. But considering that audiences will still be journeying into some uncharted territories (especially for more mainstream fans), there’s room to explore beyond what is already known.
Will House of the Dragon explore what is west of Westeros? There’s been a few details here and there, but it’s never really been a major focus on screen. It would be ambitious for House of the Dragon to branch out and could help win over some skeptics of the prequel restraints.
Prequel-Itis
Speaking of problems with prequels, a major question fans have revolves around the idea of House of the Dragon bucking the prequel trend. The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars – each of these has had lukewarm to outright bad prequels.
Will Game of Thrones be yet another victim of this tedious pattern? There’s reason to trust in the creative direction of the show (even if Bryan Cogman will be missed) and going back three centuries will help provide some distance. But the danger still remains of a franchise being too afraid to venture forward, rather than backward.
The Presence Of Dragons
One lesson fans also hope the show running team keeps in mind is that the dragons aren’t everything. Yes, Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal were thrilling and cornerstones of Game of Thrones, but the fun of the show was in the political intrigue and the character interactions.
House of the Dragon will obviously have dragons. It’s in the name. But fans are wondering how intrinsic to the series dragons will be. How many will there be? Will we see anyone grow and age? And yet, one aspect of the dragons is even more key.
Dragon Colors
What color will they be? This may seem like a fairly innocuous question, but it is one that has been long teased by Martin, which makes fans think that the color is important, specifically in terms of Vhagar, who has been teased solely as “pale.”
Vhagar is another fan-favorite character, but obviously, occupies the dragon side of affairs. Artistic interpretations of Vhagar have split into multiple directions, meaning the eventual look of her will be quite the reveal.
Beyond The Books
Of course, a significant question on many fans’ minds is: Can it stick the landing? The fan reaction to the final season of Game of Thrones was largely negative, due to the show going beyond Martin’s books.
Considering Fire & Blood was the first in a planned two-volume series that has not seen a follow-up published in over two years, the same danger exists here. But the major question looming over House of the Dragon is, undeniably, what happens when it goes beyond the books?
