Warning: spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 1.
While House of the Dragon might be set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, a trailer may have hinted that certain ‘plot holes’ in the original series could be resolved, particularly regarding the prophecy of ‘the prince that was promised’.
Following the release of episode 1, which featured tragedy aplenty and a ‘horrific’ childbirth scene, a new teaser has been launched offering fans a glimpse of what’s to come in the season in the weeks ahead.
Near the start of the footage, the young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) reads a prophecy she was told about by her father, King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), which came from a dream experienced by their ancestor King Aegon I Targaryen and has since been passed down from monarch to heir.
‘From my blood come the prince that was promised and his will be the song of ice and fire,’ she says.
The prophecy saw Aegon predict the events of the original series, when an endless winter from the North would threaten the world of men, and the only way to stop it would be if a Targaryen was sitting on the Iron Throne as the prince that was promised (this person being either a woman or a man).
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, some believe that a prophesied individual – a reincarnation of a warrior called Azor Ahai – would become the world’s saviour.
The various elements of the prophecy led many GOT fans to assume that this person would turn out to be Jon Snow (Kit Harington), who was born Aegon Targaryen as the offspring of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, meaning he was conceived from a union of ice and fire.
Others thought Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) could instead be Azor Ahai, as the Valyrian word for ‘prince’ is actually gender-neutral, and so the reference to ‘the prince that was promised’ could have been speaking about a woman.
Game of Thrones never gave a definitive answer as to who the reincarnation of Azor Ahai or the prince that was promised could be, as although Daenerys and Jon’s partnership helped defeat the White Walkers, it was Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) who ended up destroying the Night King (Vladimír Furdík).
However, there is a heavy emphasis on the prophecy in House of the Dragon, what with Viserys explaining it to Rhaenyra and composer Ramin Djawadi creating a song literally called The Prince That Was Promised for the first episode.
Following the release of the new trailer, which shows Rhaenyra saying the prophecy’s contents, several fans have speculated that the ‘plot hole’ of Game of Thrones, where the prophecy wasn’t fulfilled how they would have expected, could be addressed in future… particularly as a Jon Snow sequel spin-off is on the way.
‘By mentioning the prince that was promised (and his story being A Song of Ice and Fire) I think the main purpose of #HouseoftheDragon is to try and fix all the plot holes in the last season of Game of Thrones,’ one person tweeted.
‘After watching #HouseoftheDragon, I’m even more upset that Dan [Weiss] & Dave [Benioff] fumbled the Prince that was Promised in GOT #ASOIAF,’ someone else said.
Speaking about how Jon’s upcoming return could play out, one fan speculated: ‘They have set up that upcoming Jon Snow series and I am sure we will witness the actual story of Long Night and The Prince Who was Promised.’
‘LOTS of prophecy Prince that was promised talk!’ someone else said excitedly.
Considering George RR Martin is yet to publish the completed A Song of Ice and Fire book series, perhaps it’ll turn out that the answer is solved in a way that could be portrayed on screen in future?
House Of The Dragon is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW, with new episodes released at 2am on Mondays.
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