**Warning: Contains spoilers for Game of Thrones and the first two episodes of House of the Dragon.**
House of the Dragon is currently in the middle of taking the world by storm. The series, starring Milly Alcock, Emily Carey, and Matt Smith, has broken viewership records in the UK and the US.
The story follows Rhaenyra Targaryen (Alcock), the daughter of King Viserys (Considine), after she is named as heir to the Iron Throne, much to the chagrin of her older brother, Daemon (Smith).
The Targaryen family prequel takes place nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, which picks up shortly after Aerys Targaryen, ‘The Mad King’, is overthrown and his family’s dynasty is destroyed.
House of the Dragon has begun to inform viewers about how and why the Targaryens first came Westeros, and a large sculpture in King Viserys’ chambers is providing viewers with a deeper look into House Targaryen’s tragic history.
What is the Doom of Valyria?
The Targaryens first came to Westeros 100 years before the events of House of the Dragon. Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen king, who built the Iron Throne and established House Targaryen’s dynasty, ruled over the continent with his dragon, Balerion the Dread.
Aegon conquered Westeros roughly a century after a cataclysmic event had destroyed House Targaryen’s homeland, Valyria. That event is known as the ‘Doom of Valyria’. Nobody is entirely sure what happened, but history says the entire region collapsed into the sea after a series of massive volcanic eruptions.
At the end of House of the Dragon’s premiere, Viserys explains to Rhaenyra that the Targaryens only survived thanks to one of their ancestors, Daenys. She dreamed that Valyria would collapse, and told her father to flee for Dragonstone. Thousands of years of history were lost forever in the destruction.
The structure (which has been designed by Beth Phillips and Jim Clay of the HBO show’s production team) is a scale model of what Valyria is said to have looked like at its height, according to historical records.
Why is Viserys’ sculpture so important?
With such a dark history, you’d be forgiven for wondering why Viserys would want to build Valyria. But to Viserys, Valyria represents a moment in time when House Targaryen was truly prosperous in its homeland. Dark thoughts have been plaguing him during his reign, and the model of Valyria appears to comfort him.
However, as we were informed in episode two, The Rogue Prince, Viserys isn’t building the ginormous structure on his own. He has employed a team of stonemasons to assemble the sculpture based on plans and historical records that Viserys has provided to them as a guide.
He then explains to Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) that, at its height, ‘the Valyrian capital was built into a volcano. The dragon lords – the highest of the nobility – lived here, the volcanic face, closest to the source of their magic and power.’ Perhaps building cities inside volcanoes was what caused the Doom?
Did Valyria appear in Game of Thrones?
Believe it or not, Valyria did appear in Game of Thrones. In the fifth episode of season five, entitled Kill the Boy, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Ser Jorah Mormont (Iain Glen) sailed through the ruins of the abandoned freehold. Tyrion spotted Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) dragon, Drogon, flying overhead.
The duo were then attacked by a group of stone men – people forced into exile after contracting the disease known as ‘greyscale’. Jorah contracted the disease and spent nearly all of the rest of his life attempting to cure himself, which he eventually did with the help of Samwell Tarly (John Bradley-West).
Before they are attacked, Tyrion and Jorah recite a poem that explains the events of the Doom: ‘The city of a thousand years, and all that men had learned; The Doom consumed it all alike, and neither of them turned.’
Many fans believed that after Daenerys Targaryen was assassinated by Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in the series finale, Drogon flew Daenerys’ body to Valyria – either to restore her magic, or to lay her body to rest in the lands where her family were at their most powerful.
When is the next episode of House of the Dragon out?
Each new episode of House of the Dragon will air every Monday morning on Sky Atlantic at 2am. The episode will then be repeated on Sky Atlantic at 9pm every Monday night.
Every episode will then be available to stream on demand on SkyGo or Now TV.
Watch House of the Dragon on Sky Atlantic and Now TV.
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