House Of The Dragon Admits Its Entire War Was Caused By A 13-Year-Old Game Of Thrones Complaint

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 and George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, on which the show is based!

A long-standing complaint about Game of Thrones has ironically now had major consequences in House of the Dragon, as the franchise nitpick is partially to blame for causing the Dance of the Dragons. As House of the Dragon season 2 progresses, both sides of the war have begun to assess the root causes of the Dance. While Rhaenys argues that the real instigating event no longer matters as the realm will use their own reasons to fight, such as the cause of the Battle of the Burning Mill, Rhaenyra is more concerned with whether her father actually chose Aegon to replace her as heir on his deathbed.

In House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3’s ending, Rhaenyra sneaks into King’s Landing disguised as a septa to speak with Alicent face-to-face. After they each deny involvement in the deaths of Prince Jaehaerys and Prince Lucerys, Rhaenyra asks Alicent about the dying Viserys’ last words. Alicent states that Viserys spoke about “Aegon” and the “Prince That Was Promised,” which she misunderstood as meaning that he wanted their son Aegon to succeed him on the Iron Throne. As the show itself admits, Alicent’s reason for usurping the throne from Rhaenyra was based on a confusing trait that has long been complained about in Game of Thrones’ franchise.

Game Of Thrones’ Families Constantly Reusing The Same Name Led To House Of The Dragon’s War

Game of Thrones fans don’t have to feel so guilty about mixing up the numerous Aegon Targaryens

After being a source of annoyance for viewers for well over a decade, the habit of House Targaryen’s family tree often reusing the name “Aegon” has come back to bite them. As Aegon is the name of the Targaryen who conquered Westeros, his moniker has been reused throughout nearly every subsequent Targaryen generation as a tribute to the powerful, long-gone king. In House of the Dragon, the confusion of so many Aegon Targaryens has become so extreme that a mix-up of the name inspired a full-scale Targaryen civil war.

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Alicent finally learns the truth about Aegon’s dream and her mistake with Viserys’ final words, but isn’t willing to change her mind in HOTD season 2.

As Rhaenyra now finally informs Alicent, when Viserys was speaking about “Aegon” and the “Prince That Was Promised,” he was actually referring to Aegon the Conqueror’s A Song of Ice and Fire dream – not his son. Considering there’s yet another Prince Aegon Targaryen alive in House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra’s elder son with Daemon, Alicent’s mistake becomes all the more frustrating. With Viserys’ last words also mentioning “what [Aegon] saw in the North,” it’s all the more absurd that Alicent thought he was speaking of their son, who likely has never been anywhere close to the North.

Would The Dance Of The Dragons Have Happened Without Alicent’s Name Mix-Up?

The Dance had arguably already begun long before Alicent’s mistake

While it is almost comically ironic that Alicent’s justification for crowning Aegon is based on mixing up his name with Aegon the Conqueror, it isn’t the sole reason for the Dance of the Dragons. Alicent claiming that Viserys wanted Aegon on the Iron Throne helped speed along Team Green’s usurpation of the throne by boasting a “legitimate” claim from Viserys himself, but the war likely would have happened regardless. Otto had laid the seeds of usurpation ever since Aegon’s birth, and the feuding between the Greens and Blacks for around two decades meant some conflict was inevitable after Viserys’ death.

In fact, when Otto is removed as Aegon’s Hand of the King in House of the Dragon season 2, Alicent’s father implies that he never believed Viserys wanted Aegon to be king. Alicent’s claim about Viserys’ last words meant Otto and the Green Council had less convincing to do to other noble houses, but he would have found reasons to undermine Rhaenyra’s claim and seat Aegon either way. Viserys’ inability to crush the Greens and Blacks’ feuds before the new generation of Targaryens was born meant war was always coming, regardless of Alicent’s grave mistake.

Game Of Thrones’ Biggest Twist Proves House Targaryen Never Learned Its Lesson

House Targaryen doesn’t stop using the name Aegon after the Dance of the Dragons

Despite the fact that this trait leads to a devastating civil war, by the time the timeline reaches Jon Snow, aka Aegon VI Targaryen, there are actually 12 known Aegon Targaryens in Game of Thrones history. It’s clear that House Targaryen never learned its lesson after Alicent’s Aegon mix-up had such catastrophic consequences, but it’s also possible that neither Alicent nor Rhaenyra ever told anyone the truth about her mistake. Alicent will be intent on protecting her ego despite her mistake in House of the Dragon, whereas Rhaenyra would have to disclose the secret of Aegon’s Song of Ice and Fire dream in order to explain Alicent’s mistake.

Following Rhaenyra’s son Aegon the Younger, there are at least five more Aegon Targaryens in the family’s lineage, with the fnal one being Jon Snow as Aegon VI Targaryen. Of course, Jon could always choose to begin going by his birth name after Game of Thrones‘ ending, and, if so, could later have a son who he names after none other than Aegon Targaryen. But, if there’s another wheel that the Targaryens should have broken for good in Game of Thrones, it’s their obsession with the name Aegon. Since Jon Snow’s Game of Thrones sequel show is no longer happening, whether another Aegon Targaryen is ever born may never be known.

Why House Targaryen Reuses The Name “Aegon” So Much In Game Of Thrones History

House of the Dragon gives a new reason for this tradition

The simple explanation for why House Targaryen often uses the name Aegon is that it’s tradition to name their children after legendary figures in their lineage. This isn’t just a tradition followed by House Targaryen, as House Stark’s family tree includes several Rickons, House Lannister has a few Tyrions, and House Greyjoy even has multiple Theons. The names that are often repeated are ones that date back to a figure with incredible influence and importance in a house’s history, with the names of kings typically being the most frequent monikers passed down.

However, House Targaryen’s use of Aegon is far more recurrent in their family tree than other Westerosi houses’ repeated names. This is because Aegon is a name associated with the greatest power, strength, and influence the family has ever known under the exploits of Aegon the Conqueror. Perhaps partially based in superstition, the Targaryens with the name Aegon are expected to have a certain amount of power and strength worthy of bearing the Conqueror’s moniker, which is why so many kings call their firstborn sons Aegon. Furthermore, by continually passing down “Aegon,” each new Westerosi generation is reminded of the Conquest and strength of House Targaryen.

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How Aegon’s Dream Just Changed Game Of Thrones History (Again) Is What I’ve Been Waiting 2 Years For

House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 makes another mention of Aegon the Conqueror’s A Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, and it’s a very smart choice.

Given the context of Aegon’s A Song of Ice and Fire dream, there’s yet another reason for using his name so much. Aegon had a dream that a Targaryen sitting the Iron Throne would unite humanity against the dead and the cold deep in the North, but had no idea whether that would come during his generation or after his death. With each Targaryen heir being told the dream and its importance, they likely believed that the name Aegon would be integral to fulfilling the prophecy.

House of the Dragon‘s Viserys names his son Aegon, his heir Rhaenyra names her son Aegon, her son Viserys names his son Aegon, and the cycle goes on. Several generations later, the Prince That Was Promised turns out to be Aegon VI Targaryen in Game of Thrones, as Jon Snow fulfills Aegon’s prophecy and unites the realm against the White Walkers to save humanity. Though there are still debates about whether Daenerys, Jon, or both are the Prince That Was Promised, it doesn’t seem coincidental that the prophecy was at least partially fulfilled by a Targaryen bearing the Conqueror’s name.

New episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 release Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.

House of the Dragon

Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Seasons

2

Directors

Miguel Sapochnik , Clare Kilner , Alan Taylor , Greg Yaitanes , Geeta Vasant Patel , Andrij Parekh

Showrunner

Ryan Condal

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