In Season 1 of House of the Dragon, allusions to its parent show, Game of Thrones, were few and far between. The prequel was at least a century removed from the events of the original HBO series, and seemed content to keep its storylines separate. But that’s started to change in Season 2 as House Targaryen launches into the Dance of Dragons, with occasional Easter eggs bridging the gap between the series. A recent House of the Dragon episode may have drawn a parallel between Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and another would-be Targaryen monarch, Game of Thrones’ Danaerys (Emilia Clarke).
In Season 2 Episode 3, Rhaenyra is gearing up for battle. She sends her youngest children to safety in the Vale, and charges her stepdaughter Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) with their protection. Rhaena’s understandably disappointed with this task, but since she doesn’t have a dragon like her family members, she can’t contribute much to the impending conflict. Rhaenyra does offer a consolation prize by entrusting her with two fledgling dragons and four dragon eggs. Three of those eggs may look familiar to Game of Thrones fans, as they look just like the eggs Danaerys receives in the show’s first season. Is it possible that the eggs Rhaena is guarding could hatch into Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal a century later?
The answer isn’t straightforward. According to Episode 3 director Geeta Patel, three of those eggs will eventually find their way to Danaerys. “Those are Daenerys’ eggs,” she told Mashable. “All of us who work on this show are big Game of Thrones fans, so it was very exciting to shoot that scene.”
Patel’s comments stirred a fandom debate. If House of the Dragon’s eggs are the same eggs Danaerys receives in Thrones, it would contradict George R. R. Martin’s writing. In his prequel text, Fire & Blood, Martin writes that the eggs were in Essos — and later, briefly lost — before the Dance of Dragons even took place. Though Fire & Blood is more of a fictional history book than an actual novel, and therefore prone to unreliable information, it would make sense not to fudge the established story.
Showrunner Ryan Condal seems to agree; though House of the Dragon has already taken plenty of liberties with Fire & Blood (particularly this season), this is one connection that isn’t set in stone. “I think the fun of the history as it was written is that there’s room for interpretation,” Condal told Entertainment Weekly. “I like to think of it as one possible future.”
Interestingly, Condal’s comments make it seem like the franchise’s future is still being written. House of the Dragon does have the power to tweak certain elements of Martin’s source material, and with Martin himself involved in production, there’s no telling what could change. Condal and his team have a century of lore to work with, so maybe a future episode will provide the concrete answers fans seek… or a twist no one seems coming.
