Whether the premiere of House of the Dragon lived up to your expectations or not, you cannot deny the thrill of being back into the intricately written world of Game of Thrones!
As a spin-off, House of the Dragon majorly concentrates on the Targaryens who are enjoying their century-long reign since Aegon first conquered the land. As such, the story isn’t all too connected to GOT, but the showrunners have made sure to fill it up with enough tribute to the show that started it all.
Don’t worry if you didn’t manage to catch all the Easter Eggs in House of the Dragon Ep 1. I’ve listed them here for you, so sit back and enjoy!
1. Ties to Daenerys Targaryen
Daenerys is referenced several times during House of the Dragon, and with good reason — Throughout Games of Thrones, she was the face of House Targaryen and the one who made it so popular.
As the opening sequence gives us a brief history of Aegon conquering Westeros and establishing the current timeline, it also mentions how these events take place 172 years before Daenerys’ birth. So we go right from the first Targaryen king to the last surviving one.
You may also think of the Khaleesi when you see Queen Aemma taking a bath in warm water, with Viserys talking about how Targaryens can withstand heat. This mirrors Daenerys taking a bath in boiling hot water in GOT Ep 1, and of course, how she’s known to emerge from fire unscathed.
Another major call back to Daenerys was when Rhaenyra gave Syrax the command, “Dracarys.” High Valyrian for “dragon fire,” it’s one of Daenerys’ most iconic dialogues.
2. Of Swords and Daggers
It’s only episode 1 and we’ve already seen three legendary weapons on the show!
- Blackfyre – Although Viserys I currently wields this, it once belonged to Aegon the Conqueror himself.
- Dark Sister – Similarly, Dark Sister is now in Daemon’s possession but was formerly used by Aegon’s sister-wife, Visenya. However, both these swords go missing during GOT. Maybe we’ll get an explanation for how that happens in HOTD.
- The Catspaw Dagger – Later in the episode, Viserys is seen sporting yet another weapon. You cannot miss this one — It’s the Catspaw dagger that was once used to murder Bran, and later used by Arya to kill the Night King.
3. A Nod to a GOT Spin-off
Other than establishing that Alicent loves to read (and can use it as her charm to woo princesses and kings alike), the chapter she read about Nymeria is quite a cheeky Easter egg.
HBO is working on the development of a GOT Spin-off with the working title “10,000 Ships” about Nymeria, the infamous warrior who led the Rhoynar to Dorne and built House Martell from the ground up.
Yes, Arya’s direwolf is also named after this character!
4. The Weirwood Tree
The Weirwood Tree has white bark with red leaves, usually with a face carved on it to signify the worship of the Old Gods. It is commonly associated with the North, because the Andals chopped down most Weirwood trees, except for those in the wintery lands.
While the show has confirmed that what we saw was indeed a Weirwood tree in King’s Landing (during the same Alicent-Rhaenyra reading scene), how did this tree get here? More importantly, who is going to destroy it? As we know, 172 years later in GOT’s timeline, this tree does not exist.
5. The Gold Cloaks
To keep Daemon off any major roles in the King’s council, he was sent off to be Commander of the City’s Watch, all cleverly devised by his adversary, Otto Hightower. Of course, this backfires because Daemon wins over the favor of his watchmen and makes them dangerously loyal to him.
This is also the origin of the Gold Cloaks, who are simply used as puppets for the highest bidder in GOT.
6. The Tourney of The Heir
The Tourney of The Heir is another scene that may give you deja vu. The jousting tournament is similar to the one depicted in GOT S1 when it was held in honor of Ned becoming the new Hand of the King. The only difference is that in HOTD, the scale seems somewhat grander.
Here is also where we get glimpses of the sigils of different houses like Baratheon, Lannister, Tarly, Cole, and others.
7. Targaryen or Baratheon?
During the Tourney, a Baratheon jouster asks for Rhaenys Targaryen’s favor. Although he does snide at her by addressing her with the title of “The Queen Who Never Was,” he is also there to pay his respects as she is part of his house.
How? Well, because she’s the daughter of Aemon Targaryen and Jocelyn Baratheon. In the books, Rhaenys has black hair denoting this Baratheon bloodline, but that has been changed for the sake of the show.
PS: The Baratheons married into the Targaryens quite a bit, so inevitably Robert and his line also had Targaryen blood in them.
8. The Handsome Dornish
Christian Cole’s introduction as the handsome swordsman from Dorne is not a big Easter Egg in itself, but an important thing to remember is that during this time in Westerosi history, Dorne is still an independent kingdom.
Also, as implied, Cole will have quite the tryst with Rhaenyra.
9. The Prophetic Dream
The Song of Ice and Fire was the greatest (if at times, misconstrued) prophesy ever told. Turns out, just like Daenys who had a dream about the end of Valyria, Aegon too dreamt about the Long Night.
A bit of fun fact is that while this was not mentioned in the books, this key detail was provided by George R R Martin while he was being consulted for House of the Dragon.
This dream also served as motivation for Aegon to conquer Westeros, since he thought the Long Night would come soon. As he grew older, he realized that couldn’t predict when this catastrophe would hit, so he entrusted this prophecy to his next in line, as he believed that only a Targaryen on the throne could defeat this monstrosity.
As Viserys is explaining this to Rhaenrya we also get a call back to Ned Stark with the dialogue, “Promise me, Rhaenrya.” These are the same words invoked by a dying Lyanna to her brother Ned, as she gives him the possession of her son, Jon.
In this same scene, you also cannot miss the monumental skull of Balerion, the most legendary dragon in my opinion. Not only was he the mount for both Aegon and Viserys, he was also the last dragon who saw Valyria before its doom.
10. GOT Sound Track
The most poignant GOT Easter egg will be in the notes of music that you will hear throughout the episode.
GOT’s composer is Ramin Djawadi is back, and along with using the theme as it is during the end credits, he also composed different pieces that adopt the main melody and are played during crucial scenes.
If this doesn’t make you sob with nostalgia, I don’t know what will!
11. About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
No Comments on House of the Dragon Ep 1 Easter Eggs Will Blow Your Mind!