‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 1 Ending Explained: Targaryens Will Find Themselves in the Civil War for the Iron Throne?

The long-awaited prequel series set in George R. R. Martin’s world of Game of Thrones is just around the corner, and we already had the privilege to experience the premiere episode first-hand, and in this article, we will uncover the ending of the first episode and how it’s setting up the upcoming episodes. You can check out our spoiler-free review of the first episode down below:

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for the first episode of the House of the Dragon. Read at your own risk.

As it was revealed ahead of the premiere, House of the Dragon follows the Targaryen house 200 years before the events of the original Game of Thrones series. To be precise, the series starts exactly 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. It is known from the source material that Targaryens were always trying to keep their dragon blood pure. At the beginning of the series, King Viserys I. Targaryen is the current ruler of the Seven Kingdoms and the fifth ruler of the Targaryen dynasty. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen is his firstborn child, while Prince Daemon Targaryen is his brother.

Since King Viserys has no male children, the heir presumptive to the Iron Throne is Prince Daemon, who the council doesn’t deem worthy of the Throne. Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, calls Daemon the greatest threat to the realm. Viserys’ wife Queen Aemma Arryn wanted to give her husband a male child that will become a truthful heir to the throne, but her latest pregnancy resulted in a tragedy for both her and her newborn son. After the funeral, Daemon celebrated the death of the Queen and her son, calling the newborn a “one day ruler”, which Viserys found offensive and decided that Daemon definitely won’t be his heir. Instead, Viserys decided to name Rhaenyra, his firstborn, to be the heir, which is the precedent since no woman has ever sat on the Iron Throne before.

The first episode ended with Viserys officially naming Rhaenyra his heir, but it’s obvious that Daemon doesn’t want to give up on something he finds rightfully his. With that, the new stage for the ultimate game of thrones is set to begin. With Princess Rhaenyra and her uncle Daemon on the opposite sides, it looks like the House Targaryens will soon find themselves in the Civil War for the Throne.

Following the closing credits, a teaser for the upcoming episodes has been revealed, showing that we’re about to witness the great battle for the Throne. The teaser is showing us what obstacles will be in front of Rhaenyra as the first female heir to the Throne, while Daemon certainly won’t give up on his right to sit on the Throne just like that. And since we’re talking about the House of the Dragon, of course, both Rhaenyra and Daemon are Dragonriders. We can only imagine how great will that look once Rhaenyra’s Syrax and Daemon’s Caraxes get the more important role in the coming episodes.

House of the Dragon is set to have its worldwide premiere on August 21.