House of the Dragon: Everything you need to know before premiere

It’s been a long wait, but the premiere of House of the Dragon is almost here. Here are the key points you need to know before we all head back to Westeros.

More than three years after the final episode of Game of Thrones aired, we’re about to head back to Westeros to get swept up in the action, drama and bloodshed all over again.

House of the Dragon, the Thrones prequel series focusing on the Targaryen dynasty, will premiere in Australia on Binge and Foxtel today, Monday, August 22.

Fans have already been treated to a few teasers and a gripping, full-length trailer – and you can read a full breakdown of that here.

Here’s everything we know so far about Foxtel’s highly-anticipated new show.

The plot

House of the Dragon is set almost 200 years before Game of Thrones, and is based on George R.R. Martin’s spinoff book Fire & Blood.

Basically, the Targaryens are set to get into a vicious family feud which results in a bloody civil war, aka “The Dance of the Dragons”, and, ultimately, the decline of their dynasty.

A dragon flies over King’s Landing. Picture: Supplied

King Viserys starts off on the Iron Throne as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and the trailer offers a very large hint at the initial source of the drama.

“I will not be made to choose between my brother and my daughter,” he declares during a meeting with his advisers.

However, that is exactly the choice he needs to make, with his brother, Prince Daemon Targaryen, and his supporters attempting to stake his claim over Viserys’ daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, due to the fact she’s a woman.

“Rhaenyra’s succession will be challenged,” another member of the family, Rhaenys Targaryen, is heard telling her husband Corlys Velaryon in the trailer.

Daemon represents one such challenge. As the story progresses, you’ll find he isn’t alone.

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Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Daemon Targaryen. Picture: HBO

The GoT connection

Don’t expect to delve too deeply into the stories of the ancestors of your favourite Game of Thrones characters. The Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons, Tyrells, Arryns and other families all exist at this time and play important roles in the plot, but this is a show first and foremost about the Targaryens and their internal divisions.

House Targaryen’s history obviously played a pretty huge role in the original series, so fans have already learned a few significant details about their past – despite their already-diminished numbers dwindling further as the seasons progressed.

Viserys (played by Harry Lloyd) was the first to meet a gruesome end, when Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) poured molten gold over his head after he threatened “Khaleesi”, aka Viserys’ sister Daenerys (Emilia Clarke).

Also in the show’s first season, viewers learned that the kindly old Maester of the Night’s Watch, Aemon, was in fact a Targaryen, and a brother of the infamous “Mad King” Aerys II.

As we got to the pointy end of Game of Thrones – and when Daenerys thought she was the only surviving Targaryen – the all-seeing Bran Stark revealed that Jon Snow (Kit Harington), initially thought to be a bastard of Ned Stark, was actually the legitimate son of Daenerys’ older brother Rhaegar Targaryen and Ned’s younger sister, Lyanna.

Jon’s real name, it emerged, was Aegon Targaryen.

That detail, of course, technically positioned Jon as the true heir of the Iron Throne and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms – which created a fair bit of drama towards the finale.

Daenerys and her dragon Drogon.

The cast

Like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will feature a very large ensemble cast.

The first official cast member to be announced was Paddy Considine, who will play King Viserys I. The identity of his successor is behind much of the tension in the story.

Paddy Considine stars as King Viserys Targaryen. Picture: HBO

Apart from Considine, key characters include Prince Daemon Targaryen (played by The Crown star Matt Smith), Alicent Hightower (played as a child by Emily Carey and as an adult by Olivia Cooke), and Princess Rhaenyra (played as a child by Australian actress Milly Alcock and as an adult by Emma D’Arcy).

Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra and Emily Carey as young Alicent. Picture: HBO/BINGE

Also included in the ensemble is Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, known as “The Sea Snake”, Rhys Ifans as King Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, and Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon.

The timeline

The first season will consist of 10 episodes, which is the same format as season one of Game of Thrones.

Beyond that, HBO has yet to officially give House of the Dragon a season two renewal, but creator Ryan Condal confirmed during the recent San Diego Comic-Con panel that the show’s production team is already working on new dragons that weren’t featured in season one.

House of the Dragon premieres on Binge and Foxtel on August 22.