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Warning: This post contains spoilers from House of the Dragon‘s premiere.
Gods be good, I missed Westeros.
The House of the Dragon premiere Sunday brought us right back into the realm, kicking off a prequel that focuses on House Targaryen just ahead of its historic decline. Prior to watching, I wasn’t sure how seamlessly Game of Thrones’ prequel spinoff would mesh with the original series, which I loved — yes, even the final season — and covered in full for TVLine. But the moment Rhaenyra’s dragon swooped over King’s Landing, I was as pleased as Tyrion in his own bed, with a belly full of wine and a… well, you get the gist.
All of the major action in the premiere is covered in our recap, which you can read here. But now that we’ve all had a few hours to digest this latest foray into Thrones-dom, I’d like to focus on one small, albeit unavoidably noticeable, detail from Episode 1:
What’s the deal with the giant sculpture-in-progress in King Viserys’ bedroom? You know, the one he’s working on when Alicent shows up to “comfort” the grieving monarch?
From what I remember of Fire & Blood, the book from which House of the Dragon draws heavily, there’s no mention of Rhaenyra’s dad having a hobby. I have questions:
* Is that King’s Landing he’s carving? Dragonstone? It’s got to be somewhere important to House Targaryen either in the present or the past, right? And if it is of King’s Landing, how accurate will it be? I don’t get the sense that Viserys spends a lot of time in the city’s streets.
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* Is he actually good at carving? Or, once the king has dressed and left the room for the day, do a team of highly skilled artists sneak in, undo the subpar work he put in the night before, and leave the miniature landscape in better shape than they found it?
* Or maybe it’s the opposite: He’s a frustrated art student who wants nothing more than to spend the hours whittling and dreaming, but things like “familial duty,” “governing the kingdoms” and “naming a successor” got in the way?
* When did Viserys start carving it? When does he think he’ll finish? And, like all the crafters I know (including myself), does he have a highly delusional sense of the latter? (I’m a cross-stitcher who’s been working on an intricate advent calendar for MORE THAN TWO DECADES, so I know of what I speak.)
* How do the other characters unwind? Is Otto Hightower into puzzles? Is Rhaenys a knitter? Does Daemon do decoupage?
Anyone else intrigued by this impressive, if unwieldy, hobby of the king’s? Was there anything else small — or serious! — that stuck in your head after the premiere? Hit the comments and let me know!
My thought had been its Valyeria that he is carving. Just because he seems to be the last Targaryean who likely had a sense of history and of the prophecies that follow the family. And that that was the last sharing between king and heir of it because I know what happens and it seems likely Rheynara won’t have a chance, which is sad, and certainly wouldn’t tell her half brothers. And makes Dany,s brother’s obsession so much sadder because if the secret had continued, then his marriage to Lyanna might have been planned and celebrated.
Thanks for the spoiler for those of us who haven’t read the source material.
why are you on some random comment section if you want to avoid spoilers…
It is common courtesy to tag your post with a SPOILER ALERT if you are going to include insider knowledge from the source material.
Which part were you considering a spoiler? The “likely” part? Which, maybe, but seems speculation. The characters from the books as laid out in the previous tv show? I mean the books are quarter of a century spoilers. You’ve even had 11 years to read the last book.
Why does Daemon sound like Ramsay? Is it just me or….
Thank you!. I thought it was just me.
Maybe he’s building the model that was used in the opening credits of GoT and we’ll see some moving parts later. 😁
That was my thought
That was my immediate thought and also what I hope it turns out to be. I think a king who has soared over the land on a dragon’s back at one time has seen the land and landmarks from that perspective.
We know he rode a dragon, but no longer wants to ride one. Seeing an aerial view of his kingdom and becoming obsessed with recreating this view without having to climb on another dragon’s back would be an appropriately kingly obsession – it gives him a fatherly vibe like the guy who gets hooked on toy trains and hopes his kids will someday take over the model. His heirs could benefit from using such a model to make agricultural, architectural, and military plans. Expanding the kingdom, managing the kingdom, and feeling a connection to faraway places in the realm could be a great use of his “leisure time.” Also, this is strategic proprietary knowledge that few people could get hold of. One dragon ride around the realm is worth years of studying at the Citadel from this perspective!
From a visual perspective the money that has gone into the show really shows. Everything from the sets to the costumes is a step up from what you’d expect from a typical fantasy series. Its clear this is HBOs new mothership series and one everyone expects to overshadow Lord of the Rings.
I assumed it was King’s Landing but now I’ll need to rewatch so I can take a closer look. Really any reason to rewatch is a good excuse, so happy to be back in to the Game of Thrones world – I really missed it!!
I’m in the same boat..thought the layout and keep at the top was King’s Landing, but now I need a second look.
Daemons a scrapbooker for sure
I was just waiting for Matt Smith to do his “Milo” dance during the brothel scenes. I want to see it so badly!
Huh. I had a comment on how excited I was that we’d be getting two posts a week from Kimberly Roots on the show, and I was down for that, and it never posted. Weird.