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House of the Dragon | |
---|---|
Season 1 | |
Showrunners | |
Starring | See List of House of the Dragon Characters |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Release | |
Original network | HBO |
Original release | August 21 October 23, 2022 | –
The first season of the fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon premiered on HBO on August 21, 2022, in the U.S. and concluded on October 23, 2022. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately 1 hour. The series is based on Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.
The first season received highly positive critical reviews, with praise going towards its character development, writing, score, and performances (particularly Considine, Smith, D'Arcy, Alcock, and Cooke). However, the pacing, specifically of the time jumps, and the lighting of some scenes were criticized. The series premiere was watched by over 10 million viewers across the linear channels and HBO Max on the first day, the biggest in HBO's history.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) | |
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1 | "The Heirs of the Dragon" | Miguel Sapochnik | Ryan Condal | August 21, 2022 | 2.17[1] | |
With both his sons dead, old King Jaehaerys I Targaryen convenes a Great Council to choose an heir. The Westerosi lords select Jaehaerys' eldest grandson, Prince Viserys, over Princess Rhaenys, the eldest grandchild. Nine years into his reign, King Viserys organizes a tournament to celebrate Queen Aemma Arryn's pregnancy, confident she is carrying his long-awaited male heir. The Small Council disregards Master of Ships Lord Corlys Velaryon's warning that the Triarchy, an alliance of Essos' Free Cities, threatens to cripple Westerosi shipping lanes. Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower, criticizes Viserys's brother and heir, Prince Daemon, for his brutality as the City Watch commander. At the tournament, the young, handsome Ser Criston Cole, a common-born knight, outcompetes Daemon. Meanwhile, Viserys sacrifices Aemma in childbirth, performing a C-section Aemma pleads against, and their newborn son, Baelon, dies shortly after. Viserys refuses the council's pleas to appoint a new heir until Otto reveals that Daemon mockingly styled Baelon as, "The Heir for a Day." Outraged, Viserys banishes Daemon from King's Landing and appoints his only living child, Princess Rhaenyra, heir to the Iron Throne, revealing to her Aegon the Conqueror's dream that inspired him to unify Westeros. | ||||||
2 | "The Rogue Prince" | Greg Yaitanes | Ryan Condal | August 28, 2022 | 2.26[2] | |
Six months after Rhaenyra is named as heir, Daemon has illegally occupied Dragonstone, supported by loyal City Watch guards. When Prince-Admiral Craghas Drahar, known as the Crabfeeder, menaces the Stepstones archipelago at the Essos Triarchy's behest, Rhaenyra suggests showing force. The Small Council dismisses this and Rhaenyra is instead relegated to appointing a new Kingsguard knight. Ignoring others' advice, she chooses Ser Criston, the only knight with actual battle experience. Ser Otto sends his teen-aged daughter, Lady Alicent, to privately console the grieving king; she advises that Viserys and Rhaenyra should discuss his kingly duty to remarry. Lord Corlys and his wife, Princess Rhaenys, propose that Viserys unite their Valyrian houses by marrying their twelve-year-old daughter, Laena. Meanwhile, the Small Council learns that Daemon, proclaiming himself the true heir, stole a dragon egg and intends to marry his mistress, Mysaria, as a secondary spouse. Otto and a small detachment sail to Dragonstone to retrieve the egg. Rhaenyra follows on her dragon, Syrax, and forces Daemon to renounce his false claims and give her the egg. Viserys weds Alicent, angering Corlys, who approaches Daemon to propose an alliance. | ||||||
3 | "Second of His Name" | Greg Yaitanes | Gabe Fonseca & Ryan Condal | September 4, 2022 | 1.75[3] | |
For three years, Lord Corlys and Prince Daemon have battled Craghas Drahar and his pirates in the Stepstones without the Iron Throne's support. Meanwhile, King Viserys plans a great hunt to celebrate his and pregnant Queen Alicent's son Aegon's second birthday. Rhaenyra resents her father's excessive attention towards her half-brother, Aegon. The ailing king insists that Rhaenyra, now seventeen, must marry to form a strong alliance and protect their lineage. Many suitors are considered, including two-year old Prince Aegon. Lord Lyonel Strong recommends Ser Laenor Velaryon, Lord Corlys' son, as a potential match to mend the rift between the two houses. Overcoming previous doubts, Viserys assures Rhaenyra she remains his heir and can choose her consort. Meanwhile, brothers Hobert and Otto Hightower secretly scheme to make Aegon the successor, furthering their family's power and prestige. After Ser Vaemond Velaryon pleads for the king's help, Viserys agrees to send aid to the Stepstones. Seeing his brother's support as ending his chance to prove himself, Daemon acts as bait to ambush the Triarchy warriors, killing the Crabfeeder and winning the ensuing battle before the crown's forces arrive. | ||||||
4 | "King of the Narrow Sea" | Clare Kilner | Ira Parker | September 11, 2022 | 1.81[4] | |
After an unsuccessful months-long tour to choose a consort, Rhaenyra returns to King's Landing. Daemon also returns after conquering most of the Stepstones. Now named "King of the Narrow Sea", Daemon swears allegiance to Viserys and hands over his crown. As the reunited brothers celebrate, Alicent and Rhaenyra reconcile. After dark, Daemon and Rhaenyra sneak out to explore King's Landing, drinking, attending a bawdy play, and visiting a brothel. Daemon seduces a willing Rhaenyra, but unable to consummate their affair, he abandons her there. Returning to the Red Keep, Rhaenyra utilizes her position to coerce Ser Criston into having sex. Informed by the White Worm's spy, Ser Otto tells the king about Daemon and Rhaenyra's carousing. Alicent overhears and privately questions Rhaenyra, who swears against the accusations. Viserys confronts Daemon who, hungover and disheveled, seemingly confirms the rumors and proposes he wed Rhaenyra. Viserys claims Daemon only wants the crown and exiles him to the Vale. To avoid scandal and strengthen the throne, Viserys orders Rhaenyra to marry Ser Laenor Velaryon. Viserys dismisses Otto as his Hand after Rhaenyra accuses Otto of manipulating him for his personal gain. Grand Maester Mellos gives Rhaenyra a precautionary abortifacient tea at Viserys' request. | ||||||
5 | "We Light the Way" | Clare Kilner | Charmaine DeGraté | September 18, 2022 | 1.83[5] | |
In the Vale, Daemon murders his wife, Lady Rhea Royce. Rhaenyra and Ser Laenor Velaryon are betrothed, mollifying Lord Corlys. Understanding Laenor's homosexuality, Rhaenyra proposes fulfilling their royal duties to produce heirs, while being free to pursue their own lovers. Ser Criston is humiliated when Rhaenyra declines his proposal to elope to Essos and assume new identities; she prefers their current sexual liaison. Before departing King's Landing, Ser Otto warns Queen Alicent that Rhaenyra becoming queen makes Alicent's children a threat to the crown, for they are the King’s sons. Alicent questions Criston about Rhaenyra and Daemon, but misunderstanding, he confesses to being Rhaenyra's lover. During Rhaenyra and Laenor's betrothal celebration, Alicent enters, interrupting Viserys' speech, wearing a green gown, the signal color for House Hightower's call to arms. Daemon also unexpectedly attends. Confronted by Rhea's cousin, Daemon denies murdering her and wishes to assert his claim to inherit her lands. Laenor's lover, Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, surmises Criston is Rhaenyra's paramour. When Criston believes Joffrey is threatening blackmail, he brutally kills him, devastating Laenor and horrifying guests. Rhaenyra and Laenor are privately wed late that night. Viserys collapses after the ceremony. Meanwhile, Alicent intervenes as a disgraced Criston is about to commit suicide. | ||||||
6 | "The Princess and the Queen" | Miguel Sapochnik | Sara Hess | September 25, 2022 | 1.86[6] | |
Ten years later, Rhaenyra has given birth to three sons—Jacaerys, Lucerys, and newborn Joffrey. All lack the Valyrian platinum hair, but King Viserys rejects Queen Alicent's assertion that Ser Laenor is not their father. Alicent tells Aegon he must prepare to one day dispute Rhaenyra’s claim for the Iron Throne, as he, Viserys’s firstborn son, will always be a threat to her claim, and his life would not be safe if she were to take the throne. Daemon and his wife, Laena Velaryon, visit Pentos with daughters Baela and Rhaena. The prince offers them a lordship in exchange for an alliance against a resurgent Triarchy. Unable to give birth after an agonizing labor, Laena commands her dragon Vhagar to incinerate her. Ser Criston, now serving Alicent, goads Ser Harwin into attacking him by implying that Harwin fathered Rhaenyra's children. To ease family strife, Rhaenyra proposes Jacaerys marry Helaena, Alicent's daughter, which Alicent rejects. Shortly after, a disgraced Ser Harwin bids Rhaenyra and her sons farewell before his father, Hand of the King Ser Lyonel Strong escorts him to Harrenhal castle. Alicent confides to Ser Lyonel's younger son, Larys, that she wishes her father, Ser Otto, was still the king's Hand. Larys recruits three criminals to set a fire at Harrenhal, killing Lyonel and Harwin. Rhaenyra moves her household to Dragonstone, also bringing Laenor's lover, Ser Qarl Correy. | ||||||
7 | "Driftmark" | Miguel Sapochnik | Kevin Lau | October 2, 2022 | 1.88[7] | |
King Viserys and his court attend Lady Laena's funeral in Driftmark. Rhaenyra and Daemon reunite and are physically intimate. Meanwhile, Viserys fails to reconcile with Daemon. Prince Aemond claims Vhagar as his dragon, causing an altercation with his cousins and nephews in which Lucerys slashes Aemond's eye with a knife. Seeking justice, Queen Alicent lunges at Lucerys with Viserys' Valyrian steel dagger to gouge out his eye. Rhaenyra blocks Alicent, but injures herself in the process. After claims that Rhaenyra's sons are bastards, Viserys decrees anyone questioning their legitimacy will have their tongues removed. Later, Hand of the King, Otto Hightower assures Alicent they will prevail, while Rhaenyra and Daemon unite against Alicent and her family. To continue the true Velaryon lineage, Princess Rhaenys suggests that Lord Corlys pass his title through his granddaughter, Baela by marriage to Prince Lucerys, as Laenor has not sired any children. Ser Qarl appears to murder Laenor, with an overwhelmed and inconsolable Rhaenys and Corlys believing a charred body to be their son's. Daemon and Rhaenyra privately marry in the old Valyrian Dragonlord tradition to perpetuate the Targaryen bloodline. After faking his death, Laenor secretly escapes Driftmark with Qarl. | ||||||
8 | "The Lord of the Tides" | Geeta Vasant Patel | Eileen Shim | October 9, 2022 | 1.73[8] | |
Six years on, Lord Corlys Velaryon is severely wounded fighting in the Stepstones. His brother, Ser Vaemond, petitions King's Landing to name him Corlys' heir, proclaiming Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys, illegitimate. Rhaenyra and Daemon return to the capital to defend Lucerys' claim. King Viserys is now bedridden, disfigured, and mentally muddled. Queen Alicent and the king's Hand, Otto Hightower, oversee all royal matters. Alicent covers-up Prince Aegon raping a handmaiden. Rhaenyra proposes two marriage arrangements with House Velaryon to gain Princess Rhaenys' support. She implores Viserys to defend her succession, quoting Aegon the Conqueror's dream about the Prince That Was Promised. As Vaemond's petition is presented at court, Viserys, barely ambulatory, enters and declares Lucerys the Driftmark heir. Daemon beheads Vaemond when he denounces Rhaenyra as a whore and her children bastards. The family appears to reconcile during a feast, but after Viserys departs, Aemond incites a fight by insinuating Rhaenyra's three eldest sons are illegitimate. Meanwhile, Alicent's lady-in-waiting, Talya, regularly provides Daemon's former mistress, Mysaria, with information. Viserys, near death, mutters parts of Aegon the Conqueror's dream, which Alicent believes refers to their son, Aegon. | ||||||
9 | "The Green Council" | Clare Kilner | Sara Hess | October 16, 2022 | 1.56[9] | |
After Viserys' death, Ser Otto and the Small Council plot to crown Prince Aegon. Ser Criston kills Lord Beesbury, who opposed the scheme. Kingsguard Lord Commander Harrold Westerling resigns in protest. Otto keeps Viserys's death a secret to fortify the council's position, then coerces the noble houses to switch their allegiance to Aegon. Those resisting are imprisoned or hanged. Otto and Alicent discuss on whether to kill or exile Rhaenyra and separately rush to find and influence the missing Prince Aegon: Otto sends Kingsguard brothers Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk Cargyll, while Alicent tasks Criston and Prince Aemond. The Cargylls find Aegon first, but Criston and Aemond forcibly take him. Lord Larys tells Alicent that spies, including lady-in-waiting, Talya, are within the Red Keep. Alicent approves eliminating the head spy. Alicent persuades a resistant Aegon to claim his birthright. King's Landing citizens are herded into the Dragonpit to witness Aegon's coronation. Princess Rhaenys, refusing to support Aegon’s claim, is held captive. Erryk frees her and she enters the Dragonpit caverns. Astride her dragon Meleys, she violently breaches the grand hall underneath the oblivious civilians, causing mayhem and deaths; Meleys roars at the onlooking royals before Rhaenys flees King’s Landing on dragonback. | ||||||
10 | "The Black Queen" | Greg Yaitanes | Ryan Condal | October 23, 2022 | 1.85[10] | |
Princess Rhaenys arrives on Dragonstone to announce King Viserys's death and Prince Aegon ascending the throne; the news shocks Rhaenyra into premature labour and a stillbirth as Daemon pressures Rhaenyra to take to war. When Ser Erryk brings Viserys' crown, Rhaenyra is declared queen. Ser Otto Hightower presents King Aegon II's generous terms for Rhaenyra's concession, amongst them her rights to retain her title as a Royal Princess, her sons their rights to inherit Driftmark, and her rights to retain Dragonstone; Daemon is angered when Rhaenyra considers conceding to unify the realm against the Northern threat foretold by Aegon the Conqueror's dream. Enraged, he chokes Rhaenyra, realizing Viserys never told him about the dream when he was his heir. Lord Corlys pledges House Velaryon's allegiance to Rhaenyra's "Black" faction; Daemon plans to recruit more dragonriders and awakens a large dragon, Vermithor, hibernating in a cave. Princes Jacaerys and Lucerys are sent as envoys to secure Houses Arryn, Stark, and Baratheon as allies. Lucerys meets with Lord Borros Baratheon and discovers Prince Aemond is there. King Aegon II has offered Borros a political alliance through marriage between his daughter and Aemond. Borros asserts Rhaenyra has offered nothing. Lucerys flees on his dragon, Arrax, but Aemond pursues him on Vhagar. The fractious dragons defy their riders; Arrax burns Vhagar; Vhagar then devours Lucerys and Arrax, stunning Aemond. Rhaenyra is devastated and enraged upon receiving the news. |
See also: List of House of the Dragon Characters |
Casting began in July 2020.[18] In October 2020, Paddy Considine was cast as Viserys I Targaryen.[11] By December, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy were cast as Alicent Hightower, Daemon Targaryen and Rhaenyra Targaryen.[19] In February 2021, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best and Sonoya Mizuno were added to the main cast.[20] By April, Fabien Frankel joined the cast as Ser Criston Cole.[21] In May, Graham McTavish was spotted on set in full wardrobe.[22] Emily Carey and Milly Alcock were added to the cast in July 2021.[23]. In March and August 2022, more casting announcements were made.[12]
Principal photography on the ten-episode first season of the series began in April 2021.[24] The series was filmed primarily in the United Kingdom.[25] During the last week of April 2021, filming took place in Cornwall.[26] According to Production List, additionally, parts of the first season were filmed in Spain and California.[27] House of the Dragon was the first production to be shot at Warner Bros. Leavesden Studios' new virtual production stage.[28] On July 18, 2021, production paused for two days because of a positive COVID-19 case.[29]
The Spanish publication Hoy reported that House of the Dragon would be filmed in the Province of Cáceres in western Spain between October 11–21, 2021.[30] From October 26–31, the series was being filmed in Portugal at the Castle of Monsanto.[31] In February 2022, HBO confirmed that House of the Dragon had finished in production.[32]
Main article: House of the Dragon: Season 1 (soundtrack) |
House of the Dragon premiered on HBO and HBO Max on August 21, 2022.[33]
See also: List of HBO international channels |
In New Zealand, the series will be distributed by Sky's SoHo TV channel and Neon streaming service.[34] In India, Disney+ Hotstar is set to distribute the show.[35] In the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the series will air on Sky Atlantic.[36] In Canada, House of the Dragon will be available on Bell Media's Crave streaming service and its HBO linear channel.[37]