House of the Dragon opening credits feature an interesting Rhaenyra Easter egg

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Rhaenyra's symbol is linked to another major character

Matt Smith and Milly Alcock in House of the Dragon
(Image credit: HBO)

House of the Dragon episode 2 finally unveils the show's opening credits, and the sequence is just as intricate as Game of Thrones'. This time, though, instead of traversing a map, the credits take us through the Targaryen family tree, which is drawn in blood.

While the gears that make up the tree aren't labelled, it's possible to make out which symbol represents which character. The very first gear that we see is Aegon the Conqueror, who won Westeros for the Targaryens – which we now know is because he foresaw the end of humankind with a winter from the North, which ties to a familiar prophecy from Game of Thrones. 

As Rhaenyra is currently the last of her line, the final symbol to be revealed belongs to her. Fans have spotted that this particular design of interlocking swirls is also on the necklace that Daemon gifts her in episode 1. 

still_cant_get_over_the_fact_that_rhaenyras from r/HouseOfTheDragon

Rhaenyra and her Uncle Daemon have a complex relationship so far in the series. The duo often speak to each other in Valyrian and the necklace is a genuine gift, but things are complicated by the fact that  King Viserys disinherited Dameon by naming Rhaenyra the new heir, and Daemon openly mocked the death of Rhaenyra's new born brother. How that relationship plays out across the rest of the show remains to be seen (we won't get into book spoilers here), but the opening credits make it clear that Daemon is very important to Rhaenyra. 

As for the rest of the Targaryens, this Twitter video handily breaks down who's who on the sprawling, bloody family tree. 

The HBO show drops a new episode weekly, and you can see our House of the Dragon release schedule to find out exactly when the next installment arrives in your time zone. In the meantime, see our roundup of the best Netflix shows to fill out your watchlist. 

Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.