So much happened in this epic episode that it was easy to miss some of the best references and callbacks! That's where we come in. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re scoping out the details, hints, Easter Eggs, and literary context that you might not have caught while watching Season Two, Episode Three of “House of the Dragon”.
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00:00And no war so bloody as a war between dragons.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo.
00:06And today we're scoping out the details, hints, easter eggs and literary context
00:10that you might not have caught while watching Season 2, Episode 3 of House of the Dragon.
00:14If you're afraid of spoilers, turn back now.
00:17There will be plenty.
00:19This is why you must act now, Your Grace.
00:22Loose the dragon's root coal out and burn him.
00:26Number 10. The main titles did change.
00:30After Season 2's premiere, we speculated that House of the Dragon's newly stylized credits might change over time.
00:36The Game of Thrones titles sure did.
00:38They gradually featured new geographic locations,
00:41and later openings even highlighted the map in blue to show the advancement of the White Walkers.
00:46Season 2, Episode 3 of House of the Dragon's intro includes the design of a boy and a bright red line tracing across his neck.
00:56It's almost certainly notating the death of Prince Jaehaerys.
01:02Images that materialize in the credits have traditionally been relevant to the plot's current events,
01:06almost like a subtextual previously on segment.
01:09Jaehaerys will do more for us now than a thousand knights in battle.
01:13It's interesting that we also spot an apparent burning city,
01:17which could be the legendary Doom of Valyria,
01:20or perhaps some catastrophe we have yet to see.
01:23My house survived the Doom, and a thousand tribulations besides.
01:28Number 9. Blackwoods vs. Brackens
01:31The Blackwoods are an ancient house with a formidable army.
01:34Episode 3 opens with soldiers from two houses,
01:37one garbed in red and the other in yellow, each on different sides of the war.
01:42These are members of House Blackwood and House Bracken, whose colors we've seen before.
01:46When young Rhaenyra was choosing potential suitors in Season 1, an adolescent Blackwood boy made a proposal.
01:52I, the Blackwoods, truly turn the tide on that one.
01:58He was taunted by a spectator from House Bracken, and their scuffle ended in violence.
02:03Both families are ancient names in Westerosi history,
02:06and their feud goes back so far that no one even remembers how it started.
02:11Soon they will not even remember what it was that began the war in the first place.
02:14A few characters drop lines that echo that idea.
02:18Once generational hatred begins, its origins soon become irrelevant.
02:22The schism between the greens and blacks is already unfolding the same way.
02:26The answer to that is lost in time.
02:32Sin begets sin.
02:34Number 8. A Feast for a Crow
02:36And we hit first, and hit hard, and leave a feast for the crows.
02:40We've pointed out that Season 1 gave a nod to the title of the fifth book
02:44in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire book series, named A Feast for Crows.
02:48King Viserys alluded to the phrase when insulting his small council.
02:52I will not sit here and suffer crows that come to feast on their corpses.
02:57The concept compares those fighting for power with ravens squabbling for carrion,
03:01among other possible metaphors.
03:03You might have missed a quick shot showing a crow that's perched on a deceased man's shoulder.
03:07The framing of a black bird against a red background is reminiscent of the cover for Martin's novel,
03:13and it's an allusion to feast that's done with visuals this time, rather than words.
03:22Don't listen to it. Crows are all liars.
03:26Number 7. The Curse of Harrenhal
03:29Greatest fortress ever built. Tallest towers, the strongest walls.
03:35The Great Hall had 35 halves.
03:37The great castle Harrenhal is shaping up to be an important location for the impending war.
03:42In episode 3, Daemon visits Sir Simon Strong, Harrenhal's current castellan,
03:47who makes mention of Targaryen ancestors setting its walls on fire.
03:50In something of a state of disrepair, since your forebear incinerated much of it with his dragon.
03:56Tywin Lannister also referenced the castle's history in Game of Thrones,
04:00detailing how Aegon the Conqueror and the Targaryen dragons brought down
04:03the seemingly invincible fortress.
04:06Much of the massive castle does remain desolate,
04:17as we see when Daemon first explores its empty halls.
04:20In Thrones lore, Harrenhal is dubbed Cursed,
04:23as any family that's commanded it has eventually fallen to ruin.
04:30Considering that Simon's nephew is the manipulative Larys Strong,
04:34that backstory might foreshadow ill fates for both of them.
04:50We get another glimpse of the colored dragon eggs that have appeared in other episodes,
04:54though we're still speculating if they have any connection to Daenerys' children in Game of Thrones.
04:59There are some young hatchlings too, but did you pay any attention to the dragon
05:03keepers helping to move them about?
05:05They haven't yet gotten the spotlight, but dragon keepers are an order of devotees,
05:10originally assembled by former King Jaehaerys
05:12and charged with the care and management of Targaryen's winged steeds.
05:25Their presence is a fine-drawn bit of world-building that indicates
05:28the showrunners have definitely done their homework.
05:31If you look closely, you'll even see scars on their faces,
05:34a result of their taxing assignment.
05:37It takes some thick skin to wrangle a baby dragon.
05:52Religion in Westeros is complicated.
06:01Various regions worship different deities, with the Lord of Light,
06:04the Drowned God, and the Many-Faced God among them.
06:07In Alicent's attempt to comfort a mourning Helene,
06:10she mentions the Stranger, referencing her realm's most common belief system.
06:19She's talking about the incarnation of death according to the Faith of the Seven,
06:23a creed you might remember being taken up by Tommen Baratheon
06:26towards the end of Game of Thrones.
06:31We announce a new age of harmony,
06:36a holy alliance between the crown and the Faith.
06:42It's often represented by a seven-point star,
06:44which you'll also catch on set pieces like windows and golden coins.
06:48We don't seem to have met anyone as devout as Jaqen H'ghar or Melisandre,
06:52but there's potentially some groundwork for religion
06:55to play a bigger part in the story ahead.
06:58Number four, Masters of Whisperers.
07:00As Eamond studiously points out,
07:03it takes more than dragons to win a war.
07:05Successful rulers of the Red Keep also arm themselves with advisors
07:09and, less glamorously, spymasters.
07:11These consultants are in the business of rumors and lies,
07:14equipped with knowledge unknown to most others
07:17and obtained through a network of mysterious espionage.
07:20In Game of Thrones, those players were Peter Littlefinger Baelish
07:23and, more famously, the enigmatic Lord Varys.
07:27He has heard what I'm about to tell you.
07:29Off comes my head.
07:31And who would mourn poor Varys then?
07:34House of the Dragon has its own version of these characters,
07:37namely Ser Lara Strong and the Lady Mysaria.
07:40By this episode, Mysaria in particular has solidified
07:43her surreptitious spot on Rhaenyra's council.
07:45I know the workings of the Red Keep
07:47and the movements of those who serve there.
07:51That is worth more than gold, you know.
07:53She's also known as the White Worm,
07:56whereas Varys was called the Spider.
07:58It seems secret-keeping doesn't beget favorable nicknames.
08:02My father always said he had no use for a master of whisperers.
08:08And yet, I find myself wanting one.
08:14As Daemon spends more time in Harrenhal,
08:16he begins to behave increasingly paranoid.
08:19While he uneasily stalks through the castle,
08:21he stumbles across a courtyard housing a white weirwood tree.
08:25This appears to be a heart tree,
08:27which was meaningful flora for Game of Thrones characters
08:29like Jon Snow and Bran Stark.
08:31Heart trees are places of prayer for believers who observe the Old Gods.
08:35They are presumed to be sacred sites where men cannot lie
08:39because they are in full voracious view of divinity.
08:42All these years and I still feel like an outsider when I come here.
08:48You have five northern children.
08:51You're not an outsider.
08:53I wonder if the Old Gods agree.
08:54Daemon surely has some issues to work through,
08:57and the tree's significance here may suggest his need for confession
09:00or of judgment.
09:01Look for me.
09:09Beneath the tree.
09:11At the very least, it means that the supernatural folklore of this universe
09:15is never too far away.
09:17You will die in this place.
09:22No.
09:31Number two.
09:32Return to the Sept of Baelor.
09:34Much has happened since the last time Rhaenyra and Alicent saw each other face to face,
09:38and episode three gives us their complicated reunion.
09:41To meet with Alicent, Rhaenyra infiltrates the Great Sept of Baelor,
09:45a major center for religious observance in King's Landing.
09:48We've actually been here before with the two of them
09:50back when they were still young friends.
09:52An earlier scene in season one saw Alicent encouraging Rhaenyra to pray,
09:56and showed both girls taking comfort in each other.
09:59I want him to see me as more than this little girl.
10:05My own father does not know the language of girls either.
10:07Here, as adults, Rhaenyra makes a final desperate plea
10:11to end the brewing war between their families.
10:13You can prevent this, Alicent.
10:17A terrible war is looming,
10:19and even victory may be so bloodiest to be counted a loss.
10:22Do not let your pride blind you to blood.
10:24No mistake.
10:26Both are kneeling in the same positions again,
10:28and it is a bitter parallel that calls back to their former sisterhood.
10:33Thank you.
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10:50Fans have been itching for some cool dragon fighting,
10:53and we're probably going to get it soon.
10:55There are reasons that more beast clashing hasn't happened yet, though,
10:58aside from just dramatic build-up.
11:00Counselors of both sides understand that dragons are a controlled chaos
11:04that could bring about disaster if used unwisely.
11:07Rhaenyra has dragons as well.
11:08Mine are bigger.
11:09If we loose the dragons to war, there'll be no calling them back.
11:11We must proceed cautiously.
11:13Game of Thrones showrunner D.B. Weiss once said,
11:16Given their explosive power and erratic instability,
11:20dragons can certainly be called the atomic bombs of Westeros.
11:23If dragons begin fighting dragons, we invite our own destruction.
11:28Fear of it is in itself a weapon.
11:31The greens will make the same calculation.
11:33Hesitance to unleash them is somewhat allegorical
11:36for the fear of mutual assured destruction.
11:38It's not as if we're going to fight dragons,
11:40but we're going to fight dragons.
11:42Are you ready for the dance of dragons?
11:44What signs, easter eggs, or dramatic foreshadowing did we miss?
11:48Comment below.
11:49It's too late, Rhaenyra.
11:50I was...
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