9 Easter Eggs You Probs Missed In House Of The Dragon's Opening Credits
In case you were too distracted by the theme song.
The Game of Thrones opening credits sequence is an icon of TV history, a brilliant way to overview Westeros’ complex world and reduce it to a 90-second geography lesson. How House of the Dragon could top it seemed quite a mountain to scale. But once again the new opening credits took one of the show’s most complex parts and reduced it to a 90-second Targaryen history lesson, complete with House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones easter eggs for fans to catch upon multiple rewatches.
Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 2 follow. House of the Dragon brought back the same composer who scored Game of Thrones’ eight seasons, Ramin Djawadi. Rather than top himself, Djawadi decided to carry over the same theme he used in the first series, tying the two shows directly to each other. It also sets the same baseline as the world of Westeros in both series, with heavy use of strings, focusing on cellos.
But it’s not just the music in the title sequence that references the original series and winks at details in the new one. Here’s a full rundown of all the easter eggs in the House of the Dragon opening credits.
1. The Castle
The opening of House of the Dragon’s credits begins with a castle adorned with the Targaryen house sigil of a three-headed dragon. From the castle, blood spills forth in a flowing river.Considering the Targaryen house motto is “Fire and Blood,” and Danaerys used to go on about being “the Blood of the Dragon,” it makes sense as an image. But it’s not just about the blood; that castle should also be recognizable to viewers. It’s the same one Viserys created in his chambers when Alicent stopped by with her condolences in the premiere. It’s the castle of Old Valyria, where the dragons (and House Targaryen) were born.
2. The Bloodlines
The most complicated part of Game of Thrones was remembering all the different houses and what part of Westeros they ruled. The Game of Thrones credits, therefore, started with a map that laid out where everyone was, even changing over the course of the seasons as houses rose and fell.
But House of the Dragon’s most complicated aspect isn’t all the different houses; it’s the incestuous family tree, the Targaryen kings who have come before, and the precedent they establish. At first blush, the rushing blood may seem like a foreshadowing of the blood to be shed in the fight for the Iron Throne. But it’s also a depiction of bloodlines and the Targaryen family tree.
3. The Targaryen Insignia
The insignia that the bloodlines run through as the trailer rolls on are the sigils of the prominent figures in the Targaryen ruling family since Aegon I. That’s Aegon I’s sigil at the 4-second mark, the crown of the Targaryen kings that would follow. The blood then runs to his two wives, Rhaenys and Visenya. Note that their sigils are different colors. Rhaenys, through whom the royal lineage passed, is gold. Visenya’s is steel-colored. Even though her son, Maegor, attempted to usurp the throne, it’s a sign she is not considered the ruling queen. Instead, the blood follows Rhaenys’ line to Aenys I and then to Jaehaerys I and Alysane, where the trouble began.
4. The Great Council Spilt
The House of the Dragon premiere began with the Great Council of 101 AC, which put Viserys on the throne. It said 14 claimants to the throne were heard; that split is the extensive branching out in the center of the credit sequence, which also (notably) looks a lot like a weirwood tree.
5. The Queen Who Never Was
The blood flows follow to the sigils representing Baelon and Alyssa (Raenys’ parents), indicating Raenys should have been the true heir, which is then redoubled by running to Corlys’s symbol as well and then splits to their children, Laena and Laenor. Only then does the bloodline switch views to Viserys and Aemma (with the familiar Arryn symbol). But note, Aemma’s symbol is not gold, representing the mother of the next ruler, but rather silver.
6. The Hightower Blood
The blood doesn’t then flow directly to Rhaenyra. Instead, the camera flicks to a wall and the Hightower symbol, where a new rush of blood begins and intersects, representing Alicent and her father’s push to make her the second queen.
7. Daemon’s Gift
Only then does the blood run to Rhaenyra. Notably, the symbol chosen to represent her is three interlocking rings, a representation of the Valryian steel charm Daemon gave her.
8. All The Houses Under The Dragon
Perhaps the most telling easter egg in the credits is the one over the rushing bloodline just before it spills out of the castle. It’s a mosaic of the Targaryen dragon, its wings spread wide, under which all the other house symbols are arrayed under it as if they are protected. It represents Viserys’ warning to Rhaenyra in the premiere: All the houses must be united under the dragon to survive.
9. The Fall Of The Targaryens
Then the blood spills out, soaking the land of Westeros below. However, it’s not the castle in King’s Landing, but rather Viserys’ model of Old Valyria again. It represents the Targaryens’ continuing to cling to their old blood as proof of their superiority, despite their ancestral home being long gone.
The idea of the Targaryens still live in the past perhaps suggests why, in the end, Robert’s Rebellion succeeded. And with that image, the story is brought full circle.
House of the Dragon Season 1 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max.
