House of the Dragon's New Opening Credit Sequence, Explained
When House of the Dragon debuted in 2022, some fans were disappointed by the show’s opening credits. While the animated blood did recount the history of the Targaryen family, even diehard fans had trouble deciphering the title sequence’s meaning. The sigils were so small it was hard to tell who they represented, and there was no helpful map like there was on Game of Thrones.
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That’s all changed in Season 2, which premiered on Sunday, June 16, with an entirely new set of opening credits (save for Ramin Djawadi’s theme music, which remains the same). The blood-on-stone sequence has been replaced with a tapestry that recounts the history of the Targaryens from the Doom of Valyria all the way through the current war between the Greens and the Blacks. Here's a rundown of what you might have missed on the first watch:
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House of the Dragon Season 2's opening credits, explained
HBO
The Doom of Valyria
The first tapestry depicts the Doom of Valyria, the ancestral homeland of the Targaryens and Velaryons. Valyria was destroyed by a volcanic eruption (known as the Doom), but the Targaryens escaped thanks to a well-timed prophecy by Aegon the Conqueror’s ancestor Daenys the Dreamer. Her father, Aenar Targaryen, moved his family to Dragonstone 12 years before the Doom, paving the way for generations of Targaryens after him. (The Velaryons, meanwhile, settled on Driftmark.)
HBO
Aegon the Conqueror
The credits then show Aegon I conquering Westeros with his sister-wives, Visenya and Rhaenys, on the backs of their respective dragons: Balerion the Black Dread, Vhagar, and Meraxes.
HBO
Bend the knee
After scenes of bloody battle, including what seems to be the burning of Harrenhal, another shot shows representatives from House Arryn, House Stark and House Tully bending the knee to Aegon and his sister-wives.
HBO
Queen Alysanne
The credits then go on to depict the history of Targaryen rule in Westeros. Following Aegon’s death, his sons Aenys and Maegor both had brief stints on the Iron Throne. After Maegor was impaled by the throne itself, Aenys’ son Jaehaerys became king, holding the crown for 55 years. Jaehaerys, whose wife was Queen Alysanne, was the longest-reigning Targaryen monarch. The credits show a young Jaehaerys and Alysanne as they appear in one of Doug Wheatley’s illustrations from George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood.
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King Jaehaerys
An older Jaehaerys briefly appeared in the series premiere of House of the Dragon, in the scene where he declared that his grandson Viserys would be his heir rather than his granddaughter Rhaenys, who would have inherited as the eldest of his descendants if she hadn’t been a woman. The new credits depict that same scene, showing Rhaenys and her husband, Corlys Velaryon, standing by Jaehaerys’ side at the Great Council where Viserys was declared the heir to the throne. Viserys and his first wife, Aemma, stand on Jaehaerys’ other side.
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HBO
The Greens and the Blacks
As HOTD viewers know, Viserys was king of Westeros for 26 years. He named his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir, but his second wife, Alicent Hightower, didn’t believe that her sons with Viserys should be passed over. This brings us to the later events of Season 1, which saw Alicent misinterpreting her husband’s dying words to think he meant that their eldest son, Aegon, should take precedence over his older sister for the throne.
The new credits show Aegon sitting on the Iron Throne in King’s Landing as his sister Rhaneyra sits on her own throne in Dragonstone. In case you’ve missed HBO’s omnipresent marketing for Season 2, this section is helpfully color-coded, showing that Aegon and his mother, Alicent, are the leaders of the Greens, while Rhaenyra is the leader of the Blacks.
HBO
Lucerys' death
Finally, right before the title appears on the screen, the tapestry’s last scene depicts the Season 1 finale moment where Aemond, riding Vhagar, chased his nephew Lucerys out of Storm’s End. Vhagar attacked Lucerys’ dragon, Arrax, causing them both to fall to their deaths and kicking off the civil war that book readers know is called the Dance of the Dragons.
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