The BATTLE FOR SUCCESSION reaches its climax in the final episode of the Game of Thrones prequel showdown EPIC
THE SPECTACULAR FINALE to Sky Atlantic’s House of the Dragon will swoop on to our screens in a storm of fire and fury this week.
Following the death of King Viserys (Paddy Considine), many expected his heir Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’arcy) to inherit his crown. Yet as he lay upon his deathbed, his final words convinced his wife Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that he wanted their son Aegon (Tom Glynn-carney) to be his successor.
Aegon was crowned King of Westeros last week, yet the episode ended in spectacular fashion when Viserys’ cousin, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), gatecrashed the coronation astride her mighty dragon, making it clear she hadn’t forgotten being passed over as queen many decades before.
With Princess Rhaenyra set to return with her husband Prince Daemon at her side to reclaim her birthright, this week’s finale promises the beginning of a bloody civil war that could bring down the Targaryen dynasty…
DAEMON IN BATTLE
The heroic charge by Viserys’ brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), against the Crab Feeder during episode three’s Battle of the Stepstones was a pivotal event in his bid to gain influence.
‘He wanted to get his brother’s attention and fought in the same way he lives, which is, “I don’t care if I die,” but it was the making of him,’ says Smith.
RHAENYRA’S WEDDING
Rhaenyra finally acceded to her father’s wishes and married Laenor Velaryon in the fifth episode. However, with rumours rife of the bride’s night of passion with her knight Ser Criston Cole, his rival Joffrey Lonmouth set out to learn the truth, but came to a sticky end, which sealed Ser Criston’s future as Alicent’s servant.
‘The people at the top table had been trying to control their kids and manipulate them,’ says the episode’s director, Clare Kilner. ‘This was the result of that!’
KING AEGON’S PROPHECY
After Viserys told Rhaenyra of King Aegon’s prophecy of ‘the end of the world of men’ beginning with a terrible winter, he said the world would be doomed without a strong Targaryen on the Iron Throne.
Fans believe that prophecy refers to the White Walkers’ arrival in Game of Thrones. But Alicent’s misunderstanding of her husband’s final words also puts the prophecy at the centre of the civil war.
‘It’s important to show that this is the same world as Game of Thrones,’ says co-showrunner Ryan Condal. ‘These legends have been passed down through the generations.’
AEMOND CLAIMS HIS DRAGON
Alicent’s son Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) had been longing for a dragon for years, so when Prince Daemon’s wife Laena died in childbirth, he claimed her dragon Vhagar. This infuriated Rhaenyra’s sons Jacaerys and Lucerys,
and in the ensuing fight, Lucerys blinded Aemond in one eye.
‘When he gets that dragon, he feels like he can do anything he wants,’ says Leo Ashton, who played Aemond in that episode. ‘And that’s where that villain comes into play!’
RHAENYRA MARRIES DAEMON
Rhaenyra strengthened her claim to the Iron Throne when she married her uncle Prince Daemon in episode seven, yet the romance had been brewing for some time.
Years earlier the pair had shared a charged moment in a brothel. The event was a nod to the Targaryen tradition of marrying within their own family to keep their bloodlines pure.
‘This night paved the way for their marriage,’ says coshowrunner Miguel Sapochnik.
‘With Daemon by her side, Rhaenyra becomes more formidable.’
ALICENT DRAWS FIRST BLOOD
The rivalry between Rhaenyra and her stepmother, Alicent, came to a head in episode seven. Furious at her husband Viserys for failing to stand up for her children after Aemond was blinded, Alicent charged at her stepdaughter with a dagger, making the two women enemies for ever.
‘That moment showed how the Targaryens had been blown apart,’ says Condal. ‘But it also showed the adult Rhaenyra is much more thoughtful and calculating in the way that she approaches things.’