Home of the Dragon: all the pieces that you must find out about Sky’s Recreation of Thrones spinoff earlier than it airs

What do we all know?

The love/hate sibling relationship between Daenerys and her brother Viserys was fairly dysfunctional (normal for Westeros, let’s face it) and it clearly has precedent. Home of the Dragon takes its inspiration from George R.R. Martin’s written historical past of Home Targaryen, particularly his account of the Targaryen civil battle, referred to as Dance of the Dragons. Happening 172 years earlier than Daenerys’ start, this story focuses on King Viserys I (Paddy Considine), who got here to the throne in 103 AC (after Aegon’s Conquest of Westeros), and the wrestle for energy that happens after his loss of life.

Scrapping it out for the Iron Throne are Viserys’ daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy; the character is performed as a younger lady by the Australian actress Milly Alcock), whom he named as his inheritor however comes up towards 100 years of precedent dictating that solely males might rule; his brother Daemon (Matt Smith), who’s each formidable and merciless, and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke; performed as a younger lady by Emily Carey), a noblewoman whose kids with Viserys additionally change into contenders for energy within the years after his loss of life.

Secure to say, it’s going to be messy.

What’s it primarily based on?

Whereas Martin hasn’t written any full books chronicling the lives of the characters we’ll be seeing on display, he has written an 80,000 phrase historical past of the battle as a part of his Hearth & Blood anthology, and a brief novella referred to as The Princess and The Queen, which he has beforehand described as “the true (largely) story of the origins of the Dance of the Dragons.”

Who’re the Targaryens?

The unique ruling household of Westeros doesn’t get a lot of a look-in throughout Recreation of Thrones (by the point Daenerys comes alongside, most of them have been brutally murdered), so we’ll be studying much more about this most fascinating (and incestuous) of households in Home of the Dragon.

The Targaryen household initially hails from Valyria, a land throughout the ocean, which rose to energy way back attributable to its peoples’ liberal use of magic and knack for taming dragons. Nevertheless, it fell simply as shortly (and mysteriously), leaving nothing behind however some ruins stated to be haunted by demons.

Thankfully, the Targaryens (together with the Velaryon household) fled Valyria to Dragonstone island earlier than the Doom, because it’s identified, and because the solely dragonlords left on the planet, shortly rose to energy. By the beginning of Home of the Dragon, they’ve been ruling Westeros for over 100 years.

“We’re 2 hundred years previously, however we had been on the top of the Targaryen empire, which was a time of decadence,” says one of many showrunners, Miguel Sapochnik. “By definition the peak of an empire often means the peak of its expertise, the peak of its hubris. We needed to present this concept that this was an opulent and decadent group of individuals. No battle for sixty years; I imply, they’re a contented bunch.”

Because of their penchant for marrying their very own family members, this household have managed to maintain energy concentrated within the fingers of some (whereas additionally creating some pretty unhinged traits). Now, it’s whispered, the one household with the flexibility to convey down the Targaryens are the Targaryens themselves…

The principle gamers

King Viserys I

Viserys is the fifth Targaryen king to rule the Seven Kingdoms, who has inherited the realm from his grandfather after fifty years of peace. “Viserys struggles with being the King. I feel Viserys feels an obligation to maintain peace,” Considine has stated. “[He] has an consciousness of simply how harmful it’s to sit down on the Iron Throne.”

Ser Otto Hightower

Because the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) is pragmatic, chilly and bold: not the perfect traits to have when making an attempt to remain standard at court docket. Thankfully, he has a secret weapon: his stunning daughter, Alicent.

Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen

The primary-born daughter of Viserys, Rhaenyra is pronounced inheritor to the Seven Kingdoms after the loss of life of her mom Aemma. Nevertheless, on her father’s loss of life, she’s about to seek out out that the trail to energy doesn’t run easy.

Prince Daemon Targaryen

Viserys’ youthful brother can safely be described as a wild card. Merciless, unpredictable and power-hungry, he’s lengthy been referred to as the inheritor to the Iron Throne – however Viserys is about to throw a spanner within the works, with harmful penalties.

Alicent Hightower

The daughter of Otto Hightower, Alicent is described as essentially the most comely lady within the Seven Kingdoms. With magnificence as her solely weapon, she’s a pawn within the fingers of her father, who has decided that she’s going to convey the Hightowers glory finally.

Princess Rhaenys Velaryon

In any other case referred to as the Queen Who By no means Was, Rhaenys (Eve Greatest) challenged Viserys for the throne after the loss of life of their grandfather, Jaehaerys, however a council of Westerosi Lords in the end selected Viserys as their King. Bitter? Who’s bitter?

Lord Corlys Velaryon

The husband of Rhaenys and a strong Valyrian lord in his personal proper. A member of one of many historical households to flee Valyria earlier than the Doom, Corlys has constructed a transport empire and is now one of many richest males in Westeros.

Who hates whom?

The place can we begin?

Daemon Targaryen resents his niece Rhaenyra for usurping his place as inheritor to the Seven Kingdoms, and has an advanced relationship along with his brother Viserys.

“Daemon has a fantastic affiliation and love and admiration for his brother,” Smith has stated. “However Daemon’s all swords and knives actually. I do assume on some stage he needs to trigger chaos. I feel he’s thinking about chaos, I feel he survives in chaos fairly effectively.”

Rhaenyra hates Alicent Hightower, who marries Viserys shortly after her mom, Aemma, dies in childbirth, and has a number of sons by him (who in the end change into rivals for the Iron Throne). Although Rhaenyra and Alicent had been childhood pals, it’s clear that this sense turns into mutual; in a single upcoming scene from Home of the Dragon, Alicent assaults Rhaenyra with a dagger.

To complicate issues, Rhaenys (aka The Queen Who By no means Was) hates Viserys for usurping her place as Queen of Westeros, however helps Rhaenyra as a feminine Targaryen ruler (it appears Rhaenys’s intercourse counted towards her when she was vying for energy); Ser Otto Hightower, in the meantime, hates anyone who stands towards his family’s rise (aka all the Targaryens, barring Viserys).

Anticipate these positions to, er, evolve.

Will it maintain a candle to Recreation of Thrones?

One of many nice joys of GoT was watching its characters’ schemes unfold throughout a number of seasons, and there are additionally loads of political machinations at play right here. Whether or not they’re Lannisters or Targaryens, individuals are nonetheless preventing for the Iron Throne – with typically deadly repercussions for his or her enemies (or themselves).

“The unique Recreation of Thrones was very a lot an epic that was weaving collectively varied completely different threads,” govt producer Sara Hess says. “It nonetheless has that scale and scope nevertheless it’s actually simply the story of 1 household, slowly tearing itself aside.”

“There’s a want fulfilment [list] for an viewers of issues they wish to see,” Sapochnik provides. “We’re not right here to not give it to them. We’re right here to offer them the factor that they need, simply not in the way in which that they’re anticipating.”

The enduring Iron Throne may even be making an look, however not as you recognize it: as a substitute, Home of the Dragon’s different showrunner Ryan J. Condal has described it as a “hybrid” throne, nearer to the model we see within the books, containing “1000’s of swords”.

The unique sequence courted controversy with its lavish and surprising violence, particularly sexual violence towards girls. Hess has stated that the brand new sequence won’t characteristic any sexual violence, however there’s loads of the opposite sort, and it’s nonetheless fairly surprising. In addition to one character dropping an necessary a part of his anatomy, there’s a medieval caesarian which is prone to trigger a significant stir.

How can I watch it?

Home of the Dragon begins completely on Sky Atlantic and the streaming service NOW on August 22, with new episodes touchdown weekly