House of the Dragon: The Explanation Of The Opening Theme? Who Is Missing From The Roll Call?
Fire and blood is the Targaryen motto. The great lineage of ancient Valyria has never failed in these two words, able to seal their history from beginning to end. House of the Dragon – available on HBO Max – goes right into one of the darkest periods of this house, at the beginning of the Dance of the Dragons, a long and violent fratricidal war. The immense power of the dragons mingles with palace plots, love and betrayal. The Game of Thrones spin-off has already broken all records at HBO, sweeping away any doubts about the series. The world created by George RR Martin is back, and fans realized how much he missed it.
In the first episode of House of the Dragon, it felt like something that, along with the rest, made the parent series iconic. We are talking about the theme song and the iconic musical theme. A soundtrack that has now entered the collective imagination, to the point that it is difficult for us to imagine the HBO intro without the music created by Ramin Djawadi. Everything is corrected with the second episode, where we can finally see the new theme created specifically for the spin-off. The basic format is the same as Got, like the theme, but the rest is completely new. Columns of the gray stone give way to a river of blood, rushing through the corridors of Targaryen history. The banners of the Houses of Westeros alternate with flames and sparks as the rush of violence progresses.
The new abbreviation reminds us that we are faced with an expanded, shared universe; similar to Star Wars. But what does this intro tell us? In Game of Thrones, it served as a prologue to what we would see in the episode, showing us geographically the cities touched by history. For House of the Dragon instead, we opt for the Targaryen dynasty, the past and future kings who have sat on the very uncomfortable throne of swords. But let’s see in detail the various elements of these images.
House of The Dragon And The Targaryen Dynasty After The Fall Of Valirya
The theme song for House of the Dragon begins with Aegon the Conqueror and the three dragons, underlining the hold of Westeros after the fall of Valyria. Blood begins to gush from Aegon’s seal and then moves towards two others, those of his two sister wives, Visenya and Rhaenys. However, the Targaryen lineage continues with Rhaenys, as his son, Aenys I, later became king. Aegon and Rhaenys’ nephew Jaehaerys I Targaryen is represented through the crown and directly connected to his wife-sister Alysanne. Nine bloodlines branch out from here, indicating the nine children born of this union.
The story of the Iron Throne, closely linked to that of the Targaryens, continues until the union between Baelon and Alyssa and continues with their children. However, Baelon will never ascend the throne, unlike his son Viserys I. We have therefore arrived at the present of House of The Dragon and the current king played by Paddy Considine. Next to the symbol of Viserys we also briefly see Daemon (Matt Smith). But the passage of time gives us no respite and rushes to the union of the king with his cousin Aemma Arryn (seen in the first episode). Their marriage leads to the birth of Rhaenyra Targaryen, now the designated heir to the Iron Throne. Yet, as we know from the finale of the second episode, another marriage is about to be celebrated, the one between Viserys and Alicent Hightower.
From the seal of Viserys, we see another streak of blood moving to underline the new lineage of the Targaryen. For fans who have read Martin’s novels, it is no mystery what will happen next, while for newbies it is a story waiting to be discovered. The bloodline born with Aegon the Conqueror ends with Rhaenyra, symbolized by the column that Uncle Daemon gives her. According to this reconstruction, as history progresses there will be various changes within the acronym, which will show subsequent generations.
Who Is Missing From The Roll Call?
The opening credits of House of the Dragon only show the direct line of the kings who sat on the Iron Throne. All others are eclipsed by the flow of blood, time and the Targaryen dynasty. One of the many missing figures from the series is Maegor Targaryen, who usurped the throne after the death of Aegon the Conqueror. This is the son of Visenya, Aegon’s second wife-sister. Maegor died under mysterious circumstances without leaving heirs, which is why the series continues with Jaehaerys. Many others have not been shown in this particular family tree, and that’s for the best.
However, in the distance, we can glimpse some of the protagonists of the series, including Rhaenys Targaryen and her husband Corlys Velaryon. The two team up to create a new bloodline, and in the next few episodes of House of the Dragon, we’ll find out why they matter. In the distance, we also see the seal with the King’s Hand, a symbol depicting Otto Hightower and the closeness of him and his daughter to the crown.
If you are very careful you will notice a small detail. Whenever the river of blood reaches the seal of a deceased character, he is submerged. This expedient is much more evident when we reach Viserys I, his seal remains intact unlike that of his wife Aemma, who died in the first episode of House of the Dragon. Not only that, the Old Valirya model in which the blood flows appears to be the same one that Viserys is trying to rebuild in her rooms.
