The big news in the A Song of Ice & Fire fandom is HBO has chosen to follow up Game of Thrones' end of the Iron Throne with that of its beginnings. The new show, House of the Dragon, starts with the arrival of Aegon and his dragons in Westeros in 2 BC. These House Of The Dragons theories suggest some of what the show might also cover.
House of the Dragon has a 10 episode order. Game of Thrones Season 1 also spanned 10 episodes, covering the whole first book in the A Song of Ice & Fire series, A Game of Thrones. But Game of Thrones had five books of material to go and hoped author George R.R. Martin would finish the next two before they were done. House of the Dragon has much less source material. Fire & Blood spans two volumes, and only one of those is published.
But Fire & Blood covers quite a bit of ground:
- "The Targaryen Conquest"
- "The Peace of the Dragon"
- "The Sons of the Dragon"
- "Heirs of the Dragon"
- "The Dying of the Dragons"
- "Aftermath — The Boy King and His Regents"
Fleshed out, these should provide material to cover maybe five or six seasons. It also frees the new show from having to concern themselves with Martin's schedule. They have plenty to work with, even if Martin never gets around to Volume 2.
Book readers have long debated Martin's avatar in A Song of Ice & Fire: Sam or Tyrion? But there's no question in Fire & Blood. Archmaester Gyldayn, the last maester to serve at Summerhall, is the book's in-world author. Chances are that means Gyldayn will eventually show up in House of the Dragon, along with scenes at the Citadel as well.
Fire & Blood is comprised of six major sections. These take the story through the Civil War, known as "The Dance of Dragons," through to Aegon III's reign. Chances are, House of the Dragon will divvy up these six stories, and use the first, "The Targaryen Conquest," which covers Aegon's arrival in Westeros, as Season 1.
Aegon's Conquest has been covered from multiple angles, from A Song of Ice & Fire to The World of Ice & Fire, and now in Fire & Blood. But fans should still brace for surprises. Martin loves to say the written histories aren't as accurate as one assumes. That was going to play a significant role in the now-canceled "A Long Night" prequel. Don't be surprised to see it turn up here instead.
One of the more startling changes, when Game of Thrones moved from page to screen, was the ability to see events in the third person, instead of colored by "point of view" characters. Fire & Blood doesn't use POV characters, but one should expect the show to backfill stories. The biggest will probably be the Targaryen's greatest enemies, House Gardener, who fought the invaders to the bitter end.
Fans of the Starks will probably be disappointed by this. But up until Ned Stark's dad traveled to King's Landing and was burnt to a crisp for his efforts, the Starks rarely crossed paths with the Targaryens if they could help it. Everyone should expect, once Torrhen Stark kneels to Aegon and his dragons, for the Starks to retreat to the North and stay there.
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