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This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 8 and the Game of Thrones series finale.
HBO has fanned the flames of intrigue, and as House of the Dragon season 2 comes to an end, the fires have truly been lit beneath the Targaryen civil war. While House of the Dragon vies to tell its own story a century before Game of Thrones, it seems the prequel can’t help but tie itself to the mythos of its bigger brother.
This season has been littered with more prophecies than usual, but thanks to Daemon Targayren’s (Matt Smith) trippy weirwood tree vision, it’s not just Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) who’s looking to the future. The writers like meddling in the past more than Bran Stark, with the House of the Dragon season 2 finale potentially teasing a major Game of Thrones retcon involving the Prince That Was Promised.
Having been camping out at the haunted house of Harrenhal all season, things finally came to a head for Daemon when Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) takes him to the Godswood and gives him a glimpse into the future. Alongside visions of the Three-Eyed Raven, White Walkers, and what could be the Blackfyre Rebellion, there was the return of Daenerys Targaryen – although seemingly without Emilia Clarke. Recreating the Game of Thrones scene where Dany’s dragons are born from the fire of Khal Drogo’s funeral pyre, it puts an emphasis on her role in the Song of Ice and Fire.
Game of Thrones never gave us a clear answer to who the Prince That Was Promised was, although the reveal that Jon Snow (Kit Harington) was a Starkgaryen who ultimately ended Dany’s reign of terror implied that he was the fabled Azor Ahai. Game of Thrones added an interesting twist in season 7’s “Stormborn”, with Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) noting that the Valyrian word for “prince” is gender-neutral. This means the Prince That Was Promised could also be the Princess That Was Promised. As the series never confirmed who Azor Ahai was, others think Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) fit the prophecy because she killed the Night King and ended the Long Night.
House of the Dragon tries its hardest to make us believe Daenerys is the Prince That Was Promised, and if you remember that the legendary figure was supposedly born under a “burning star,” the fact we cut from a red meteorite to Dany suggests the two are linked. The vision clearly alludes to the Prince That Was Promised, so if it was Jon or Arya, then some form of their likeness would’ve surely appeared. Daemon wouldn’t have paid much attention to some floppy-haired Northern man or scrappy Northern girl, but by showing Dany and her dragons as someone who’s clearly Targaryen, it imprints the importance of saving the dynasty.
The vision at least causes Daemon to bend the knee to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), with him warning that a long winter is destined to bring death and destruction to Westeros, he adds, “The realm’s only hope is a leader who can unite it, and my brother chose you.” It’s true that Dany rallying the Northern forces, Unsullied, Dothraki, and more helped defeat the Night King at Winterfell, so to a degree, she did help save the Seven Kingdoms. Having Dany as the reincarnated Azor Ahai might also explain why she’s fireproof, especially as no other Targaryens seem to have this ability. Still, can she really be counted as the official Prince That Was Promised?
This isn’t the first time we’ve had the Prince That Was Promised mentioned, with Aegon the Conqueror seeing it in a dream and Viserys (Paddy Considine) passing it down to Rhaenyra. Daemon is now in on the prophecy, Rhaenyra told Jace (Harry Collett), and with Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) holding the catspaw dagger that had it inscribed, he could also find out about it. Unfortunately, the fates of the above make it unclear how things eventually get passed down through the generations.
House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal previously discussed the importance of Aegon’s dream to Polygon, explaining how George R.R. Martin himself came up with it and the writers used it to “create resonance with the original show.” The idea of a Targaryen sitting on the throne to save the day doesn’t quite work, as Game of Thrones ends with Dany dead, Bran becoming king, and the Iron Throne being melted by Drogon.
It’s important to note that while Melisandre (Carice van Houten) eventually thinks Jon Snow is Azor Ahai, the Lord of Light’s servants in Essos claim it’s Dany. Although Game of Thrones’ ending is notoriously divisive, it feels like House of the Dragon is trying to retcon some of this negativity and make dangling plot threads like the Prince That Was Promised relevant again.
We’ve already seen the writers and showrunner disagree over whether Dany’s three eggs featured in House of the Dragon, and much like Aegon’s dream, some things are getting lost in translation. Whether Daenerys is the Prince That Was Promised or not, all roads are leading to Clarke’s silver-haired Mad Queen.
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