House of the Dragon viewers spot ‘subtle homage’ to Game of Thrones character

‘A small subtle way the creators put her on the same pedestal of Aegon the Conqueror himself,’ viewer noted

House of the Dragon debuted Monday (22 August) with a nod to Game of Thrones.

The show, which is the first of HBO’s planned spin-offs, is set almost 200 years before the events of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen.

The first episode of the new series opened with King Jaehaerys Targaryen choosing his successor to the Iron Throne.

Jaehaerys chooses his son Viserys (played by Paddy Considine) over his daughter Rhaenys (Eve Best) thus introducing the family dynamics that will shape this series.

The screen fades to black, and viewers are shown a message that pays homage to Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Game of Thrones.

Noting that time has skipped forwards from the previous clip, the message reads: “It is now the ninth year of King Viserys I Targaryen’s reign.

“172 years before the death of the mad king, Aerys, and the birth of his daughter Princess Daenerys Targaryen.”

After a few seconds, most of the words vanish and the only ones that remain onscreen are: “172 years before... Daenerys Targaryen.”

The moment was picked out by one fan account, which wrote: “Homage paid to Daenerys Targaryen. A small subtle way the creators put her on the same pedestal of time that Aegon the Conqueror himself is upon while acknowledging her impact on House Targaryen’s adoration.”

You can read a full breakdown of the Targaryen family tree here.

Viewers might also have missed another reference to Daenerys during the first episode.

In a scene between Viserys and the pregnant Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke), the latter tells her husband: “After this miserable pregnancy, I wouldn’t be surprised if I hatch an actual dragon.”

Emilia Clarke as Daenerys in Game of Thrones (PA Media)

This seemed to be a reference to the season one finale of Game of Thrones, in which Daenerys earned her moniker “the Mother of Dragons”: after emerging from a fire, she stands, naked, with the baby dragons she’s just hatched.

House of the Dragon airs weekly on Sundays in the US, with the UK premiere arriving 2am on Monday on Sky. The episode will then be repeated at 9pm on Monday, and will be available to stream on Sky and NOW after its initial airing.

Find The Independent’s verdict on the series here.