The second episode of the Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon has revealed new opening credits for the show, after last week’s premiere opened with a title card only.
The credits sequence takes viewers on a blood-soaked journey through a series of passageways. But what does all the blood mean and where do those passages lead?
SPOILER WARNING:
This article covers details from the first two episodes of House of Dragon, so if you haven’t seen it yet, now’s your chance to click away.
House of the Dragon trailer
What do the new credits show?
To the familiar tune of the theme song that played throughout the eight Game of Thrones seasons, House of the Dragon’s opening titles depict a stream of blood flowing through a number of passageways and golden symbols.
At the end of the sequence, the passages open up to what appears to be a large version of King Viserys’ model of Valyria that he’s been building.
What is Valyria?
Valyria (or Old Valyria as some characters refer to it) was an ancient city in Essos that was home to the Targaryens and Velaryons, among other powerful families, before they crossed the sea to Westeros and started doing a bit of light conquering.
It was considered the pinnacle of civilisation at the time, led by dragonlords who practised all kinds of incredible magic and had riches beyond comprehension. Remember Valyrian steel swords?
But the city isn’t what it once was.
What happened to Valyria?
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After thriving for nearly 5,000 years in Essos (the continent Daenerys was stuck on for six seasons), something terrible happened.
It’s known as the Doom of Valyria — arguably the most cataclysmic event to ever happen in the world of Game of Thrones.
The cataclysm was so terrible that all recorded history and knowledge in Valyria was lost, as were nearly all of its people and scores of dragons.
We don’t even know what caused the Doom, so complete was the destruction. There’s speculation it was a natural disaster, other legends say the mages of Valyria were tinkering with dark magic related to the dragons themselves.
What does it have to do with House of the Dragon?
King Viserys, played by Paddy Considine, in House of the Dragon. (Supplied: HBO)
A century after the Doom, and fleeing the resulting collapse of civilisation as they knew it, some surviving Targaryens and their allies House Velaryon made their way to Westeros, led by a plucky dragon rider called Aegon (who went on to forge a famous chair, unite the Seven Kingdoms and so on).
Old Valyria is considered a cursed place, where all fear to tread. In fact, during the rule of King Jaehaerys I (the fourth king, our current king Viserys is the fifth) a Targaryen princess supposedly rode a dragon back to Valyria.
Eventually, the severely wounded dragon returned with the dying princess on its back. So horrific were her wounds and so awful the manner of her protracted death that King Jaehaerys made it punishable by death to even visit the ruins where Valyria once stood, lest whatever led to the Doom make its way to Westeros.
Where have I seen it before?
Episode 1 of House of the Dragon also shows Valyria in the form of a full-scale model that King Viserys is building. (You could be forgiven for assuming that was King’s Landing.)
In Game of Thrones, Stone Men, or people who catch the disease Greyscale, which makes their skin tough and crackly, are exiled from society to live in ruined cities like Valyria.
Has Video Duration: 3 minutes 56 seconds.
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