House of the Dragon shines the spotlight on House Targaryen, and one scene in particular during the season premiere reframes everything we thought we knew about the powerful Westerosi family. Be warned: there are spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 1 ahead, so turn away now if you haven't seen the episode yet.
Towards the end of episode 1, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) passes on an important message to his daughter and heir, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock). He tells her that their ancestor Aegon the Conqueror foresaw "the end of the world of men", caused by a long winter from the North, which could only be defeated if a Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne. Aegon called this prophecy the 'Song of Ice and Fire', and it was passed down through the generations, from each ruler to their heir. This prophecy is also mentioned in Game of Thrones, when the red priestess Melisandre foretells the Prince Who Was Promised, AKA Azor Ahai, but we didn't know that the Targaryens passed it down the generations.
The long winter refers to the battle between the people of Westeros and the White Walkers of the North, which we see in Game of Thrones season 8. Jon Snow, who leads the charge, is the Prince Who Was Promised – it's revealed that he is actually half Targaryen and half Stark.
Premonitions run in the family for the Targaryens – the reason the House first came to Westeros was because Daenys Targaryen, one of Viserys' ancestors, foresaw the fall of Valyria, the former home of the Targaryens based in Essos. Daenys' premonition led to the Targaryens settling on Dragonstone before Valyria was completely destroyed, meaning the House – the last of the dragon riders – was safe.
As pointed out by Nerdist, we didn't previously know why the Targaryens under Aegon ended up staying at Dragonstone for almost 100 years before taking the Iron Throne. It left some Game of Thrones readers slightly baffled, especially as Westeros was prime to be taken over by a superior force. What changed for Aegon to finally unleash dragon fire on Westeros? Now we know: he had a vision of the long winter, and he knew a Targaryen needed to rule the continent, or everything would be lost.
