After the events of House of the Dragon season 3, Rhaenyra and Daenerys Targaryen have a lot more in common than blonde hair and a love of all things dragons.
The current ruler on the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra, creeps into despot territory during the House of the Dragon season 3 ending, delivering a speech full of hubris – and mimicking Dany's centuries-later victory declaration outside the Red Keep as she aims to take the Iron Throne at King's Landing during Game of Thrones season 8.
As showrunner Ryan Condal reveals to Business Insider, those parallels were very much intentional, and acted as a means to connect the two HBO series.
"We're certainly aware of [the connection]," Condal said. "I think it's important that the show has echoes of the original series in it, in some ways, so that they remain connected. Because they are very much connected."
Condal continued, "This is the reason that Daenerys is begging for a crown across the Narrow Sea, and the dragons are all dead. Because of this story. So I think those connections are important to make to remind people that these two periods in history are intimately connected with one another."
So, the end cometh for one strand of the Targaryen family tree (something that Rhaenyra actor Emma D'Arcy agrees with) and provides a warning through history that will fall on deaf ears.
House of the Dragon season 4, meanwhile, is set to be the show's last.
For more, check out our guide on new TV shows currently in the works.
