The Targaryen family had a rough time of it in Game of Thrones, but they never had to fight each other. But that’s exactly what will happen in House of the Dragon, HBO’s prequel to the hit fantasy series, which depicts the civil war which erupted in Westeros 200 years in the past over the rule of the Seven Kingdoms — and this latest trailer shows just how messy this war will be. (Mainly because of all the dragons.)
The show chronicles what known in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire lore as the “Dance of the Dragons,” when King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) tried leaving the Iron Throne to his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Unsurprisingly, in the medieval patriarchy of the setting, that doesn’t sit well with the men in charge of things — particularly the king’s brother Daemon (Matt Smith), who would normally have been named successor. The other members of the Targaryen family and various Houses of the realm are forced to choose sides and war engulfs the Seven Kingdoms.
House of the Dragon premieres on August 21 — just one more month to go.
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