Given the centuries that separate the events of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, it’s not a surprise that little details will happen in the former that set up something fans have already seen happen in the latter. A lot of this comes down to nitty, gritty details of the world itself, such as the ways that houses conduct and align themselves with all of the other great houses (the result of any reference to House Stark, of course, elicits nothing but cheers for fans). This is sure to be found in any prequel series, but given the historical nature of House of the Dragon, there’s a lot of weight to any reference that is clearly setting up a big deal down the road.
One of the biggest differences between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones is in the name itself: the dragons. In the events of the original series, dragons have been extinct for hundreds of years, until Daenerys Targaryen manages to get her hands on three petrified eggs that, thanks to magic, hatch and give her the three dragons that allow her to begin a war campaign toward Westeros. A major element that fans have speculated over for decades is…where did those three eggs come from? We know that in context they were a gift for her wedding, but what is their actual origin? Fans already had one theory about them thanks to House of the Dragon, but the HBO series has now offered another wrinkle that makes it even more confusing.
House of the Dragon Reveals Surprise Clutch of Dragon Eggs, Complicating Theories
This season of House of the Dragon has devoted a decent amount of time to one of its scariest locations, as Aemond Targaryen has been hiding out at Harrenhal after he made an attempt to find and kill Daemon. The result has been fine for him, though there have been repeat attempts on his life, as he’s found a new ally: Alys Rivers, a healer whose powers go a little beyond that descriptor.
This week’s episode of House of the Dragon not only deepens their relationship, but seems to reveal that Alys Rivers is angling to make herself a key asset in Aemond’s path toward claiming the Iron Throne for himself. She does this in a few different ways across the episode, but concludes it with her biggest reveal: She’s in possession of five dragon eggs. Assuming they all hatch and grow, these could no doubt help Aemond fulfill his destiny as a dragon lord and become king of Westeros thanks to the power he commands.
As Alys Rivers tells it, the eggs she has were previously laid by the dragon Dreamfyre, back when she was ridden by Princess Rhaena Targaryen. Alys goes on to reveal that when Princess Rhaena was in isolation at Harrenhal, her dragon laid these five eggs, and they’ve been there ever since…sitting there for decades.
House of the Dragon’s New Reveal Is Closer to Lore-Accurate Than You Think
Though obviously not a point of contention for the characters in the scene, who have no context of Daenerys Targaryen’s future, the moment is a big one for fans as it delivers a potential origin for the three eggs that will one day become hers and which could hatch and become Viserion, Rhaegal, and Drogon. Naturally, this reveal is meant to make fans connect the dots and assume as much, but the truth is that we may not ever actually know the truth, and THAT is what makes this reveal feel fully in line with George R. R. Martin’s established canon of A Song of Ice and Fire.
There are two things worth noting about this. The first is that Dreamfyre laid many, many clutches according to series lore. Fire & Blood, the book that House of the Dragon is based on, reveals a few different times that she did this. As for the second thing, the revelation that Dreamfyre laid eggs at Harrenhal in House of the Dragon is a detail not found in the book, making it a new invention for the show.
To that end, Fire & Blood also makes note of a moment of dragon egg theft, when Princess Rhaena’s friend/lover Elissa Farman steals three dragon eggs and flees to Pentos. The result of this is that many have assumed those three eggs would go on to become the dragon eggs owned by Daenerys, solving the mystery.
The truth, though, is that George R. R. Martin himself has long discouraged fans from assuming this to be 100% fact, and instead noted that it’s just one potential answer. In a comment on his blog about the book, Martin wrote, “There are a few bits and scenes and suggestions in the text from which one can extrapolate certain things and concoct theories… but in the case of things like Valyria and the dragon eggs, it is all possible answers, not meant to be definitive.”
As fans may recall, previous episodes of House of the Dragon have shown on camera even more dragon eggs, including a clutch of four eggs in Season 2 that were deliberately being sent away…and which haven’t been seen since. At the time, many assumed that these eggs would go on to become Daenerys’ hundreds of years later. But now, House of the Dragon has turned that into just another theory, and as a result, put things back in a more mysterious place, like Martin always intended.
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