WARNING! Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 3 AND Fire & Blood!House of the Dragon season 1’s time jumps have continued to increase with each episode, but this is for good reason as it approaches the series’ core story. Game of Thrones wasn’t known for time jumps, as the story was told primarily linearly with infrequent visions to depict past events. House of the Dragon, however, has included a notable time jump between every episode, with each gap becoming larger as season 1’s conflicts progress.
House of the Dragon’s second episode picked up six months after the premiere, skipping over the grieving period of King Viserys and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. House of the Dragon episode 3’s time jump then saw the plot begin three years after the end of episode 2, revealing Alicent and Viserys to be married with a 2-year-old son and another child on the way. While House of the Dragon episode 4’s time gap is so far undisclosed, it’s already been revealed that a massive 10-year jump will occur around season 1’s midway point, at which time young Rhaenyra and Alicent’s actors will be recast with Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke for their adult versions.
House of the Dragon’s numerous time jumps may seem somewhat confusing, but they’re happening so frequently for good reason. The key story for House of the Dragon is the Dance of the Dragons – the civil war between the Targaryens over the succession of the Iron Throne – which sees brother and sister dividing the realm as they press their claims. House of the Dragon season 1 thus explores 30 years’ worth of tension that builds up before the Dance of the Dragons breaks out, giving the context needed to understand why House Targaryen split from within. House of the Dragon season 1 has plenty of ground to cover in only 10 episodes, which needed to begin with the Great Council of 101 AC to establish the male primogeniture, and conclude in 129 AC when King Viserys dies and the bloody Dance commences. However, once Aegon and Rhaenyra are separately crowned and House of the Dragon season 2 begins, there aren’t expected to be many more significant time jumps.
Is House Of The Dragon An Anthology? What Will Season 2 Be About?
House of the Dragon showrunner Miguel Sapochnik (who is leaving the series after season 1), discussed the possibility of turning House of the Dragon into an anthology-style series. This would mean telling the story of House Targaryen throughout the rest of Westerosi history, following how the rest of the story is laid out in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book. However, this has yet to be confirmed and wouldn’t come into play until several seasons from now, as the Dance of the Dragons is far from over.
With the way season 1 has progressed, House of the Dragon season 2 is expected to follow the Targaryen Green and Black parties recruiting the houses of the realm to their sides by forming important pacts. As such, a few key battles will certainly break out as the tension has already built, but the Dance of the Dragons likely won’t fully commence until the very end of House of the Dragon season 2.
The lead-up to the Dance of the Dragons and its more immediate aftermath only cover about 30-35 years in Targaryen history, with the actual battles only lasting from 129 AC until 131 AC. Since the battles will likely begin in season 2, House of the Dragon’s series being based around this era is only expected to last about 4 seasons. There are plenty more interesting stories left in the Targaryens’ history after House of the Dragon, but none quite as bloody or devastating as the Dance of the Dragons. Should HBO eventually turn House of the Dragon into an anthology series, it’s already laid the groundwork for a prequel surrounding Aegon the Conqueror.
New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.
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