House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon, prequel television series to the popular HBO show Game of Thrones (2011–19). House of the Dragon adapts parts of Fire & Blood (2018), a faux history book written by George R.R. Martin that chronicles the reign of the Targaryen dynasty in the centuries leading up to the events of his A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Set in the fictional lands of Westeros, House of the Dragon depicts a savage succession struggle within House Targaryen and a resulting civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons. First aired in 2022, the show was created by Martin and Ryan Condal, with the latter serving as showrunner. The show will end its run with its fourth season.

Plot synopsis

House of the Dragon attempts to condense and dramatize the conflicting accounts presented in Fire & Blood—stitched together from testimonies and court chronicles—into a single authoritative narrative. The show concerns itself with events that unfold some 200 years before those shown in Game of Thrones.

Following the death of King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), family bonds fracture and sides are chosen as competing claims to the Iron Throne emerge. Before his death, Viserys I had officially declared as his heir Rhaenyra Targaryen (played as a young girl by Milly Alcock and as an adult by Emma D’Arcy), his daughter by his first wife. However, his second wife, Alicent Hightower (played as a young girl by Emily Carey and as an adult by Olivia Cooke), interprets his incoherent dying words as a change of heart in favor of her son, Aegon II Targaryen (played as a child by Ty Tennant and as an adult by Tom Glynn-Carney).

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Those loyal to Rhaenyra are referred to as the Blacks. They include Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), her uncle and husband; Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), her first cousin once removed; and great houses such as the Velaryons, Starks, and Arryns. Those who support Aegon II’s claim are referred to as the Greens. They include Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Alicent’s father; Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), an anointed knight and Rhaenyra’s jilted lover; Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), a scheming courtier; and great houses such as the Hightowers, Lannisters, and Baratheons. In the mix are also Rhaenyra’s and Alicent’s respective children, whose places in the line of succession hinge on defeating the other side. As the crisis worsens, it sets off a race to control as many of the roughly 20 dragons that exist in Westeros at the start of the Dance of the Dragons. Bred and ridden by the Targaryens, dragons have been the key to the house’s dominance for more than a century.

The succession struggle intensifies into full-blown war with the killing of Rhaenyra’s second son, Lucerys Targaryen (played as a child by Harvey Sadler and as a teenager by Elliot Grihault), by Alicent’s second son, Aemond Targaryen (played as a child by Leo Ashton and as an adult by Ewan Mitchell), who becomes increasingly vengeful and ruthless. Aemond, who controls Vhagar, the biggest known dragon in the series, later severely injures his elder brother, Aegon II, during a battle and rules in his stead while Aegon II is incapacitated. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra adopts a risky strategy: She encourages children of Targaryen descent born out of wedlock to claim riderless dragons in an effort to overpower the Greens.

Rhaenyra loses her firstborn son Jacaerys Velaryon (played as a child by Leo Hart and as an adult as Harry Collett) in a naval skirmish known as the Battle of the Gullet. As Alicent grows disillusioned with war and bloodshed, she betrays Aemond and secretly aids Rhaenyra to take control of the capital city of King’s Landing and ascend the Iron Throne when Aemond is preoccupied with battle elsewhere.

Production and reception

In April 2016, HBO began airing the sixth season of Game of Thrones and in July said that the series would conclude with its eighth season. The network started exploring spin-offs, and Martin pitched two ideas: one based on his Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas (see A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms) and the other on the Targaryen civil war. Other prequel ideas were also sought and considered at the time. Martin and HBO executives eventually decided that a series on the Dance of the Dragons held the most promise. After passing on a couple of creatives attached to the project early on, HBO handed the reins of the series to Ryan Condal, who was handpicked by Martin. Condal roped in Miguel Sapochnik, who had directed some of the best-received Game of Thrones episodes, and the two served as co-showrunners for the first season.

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House of the Dragon made a strong start with its first season, which was praised by critics and fans for restoring some of the sheen the franchise had lost after what many considered a disappointing end to Game of Thrones. An estimated 10 million people tuned in to the debut episode of House of the Dragon, making it HBO’s biggest premiere ever, and viewership remained broadly stable across the first season.

Martin, Condal, and Sapochnik’s creative partnership began to fray by the second season. Sapochnik stepped down as co-showrunner as the first season was airing. Although Sapochnik was vague about his reasons in his statement to the press, reports suggested that he had disagreements with HBO executives and Condal behind the scenes. The relationship between Condal and Martin also soured, with Martin criticizing the show’s creative direction from the second season onward and exclusion of specific characters, ultimately leading to a breakdown in communication with Condal. For his part, Condal said that, although he wanted Martin to have a hand in shaping the adaptation, the author had become “unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way.”

About 7.8 million people watched the opening episode of season two. That number jumped to 8.9 million for the season finale—a slight dip from the first season. The second season had 8 episodes, compared with 10 in the first season—a decision that pushed some climactic battles into the third season. As a result, some fans and critics felt that much screen time in the second season was devoted to the buildup to the third season. Still, reviews for the second season remained mostly positive, as critics praised the performances, direction, costumes, set design, and visual effects. Season three, which began airing on June 21, 2026, will also have 8 episodes. Early reviews suggest that the season will be more action-packed, featuring much-anticipated battles among dragons and their riders. Viewership remained strong, though it dipped slightly from the second season amid the FIFA 2026 World Cup.