After the release of the 1st episode of “House of the Dragon,” many wondered why there were no opening credits. Well, soon after the release of the 2nd episode, all doubts were cleared. “House of the Dragon” has come up with the opening credits in its second episode, and for obvious reasons, it has attracted a lot of eyes. Unlike “Game of Thrones,” the opening credits of “House of the Dragon” do not show the seven kingdoms. It only talks about the Targaryen family and its history; from this, it is evident that this series will talk about the civil war of the Targaryen dynasty. But why did the first episode not have the opening credit? The show’s creators, in interviews, have said that it was a creative call as they were giving more importance to the story. Whatever the reason, the opening sequence is done with many details, just like we have seen in “Game of Thrones.” So, let’s find out what has been told through the opening credits.
The opening credits of “House of the Dragon” Episode 2 primarily focus on the Targaryen bloodline and all the important members of the family. There was also a mention of the bloodlines that had ended with time. Valyria’s history, as well as its doom, is well known. The blood streams represent the bloodlines that indicate marriages between houses and the children who sat on or will sit on the Iron Throne. The whole structure represents old Valyria. We have seen a glimpse of the structure in Episode 1 after Aemma died and Viserys was in mourning. Alicent Hightower came to console him, wearing her mother’s green gown, as suggested by Otto Hightower. Viserys was sitting in front of Old Valyria’s miniature, which he was crafting in his leisure hours to help the upcoming generations remember their past. The structure is seen in white. But here, in the opening credits, we see the structure in black. Why? Well, this will be the least interesting thing for you in the upcoming few minutes.
The Structure Towards Which The Bloodstream Flows
We understand the structure is black because of the black rock. The city of Valyria was built on the rocks of the volcano. In 114 BC, twelve years before Valyria’s doom, the Targaryen fled to Dragonstone, believing Daenys the Dreamer, who dreamt of Valyria’s destruction after a volcano’s eruption. So, this goes without saying that just like Dragonstone was created from black rock after a volcanic eruption, Valyria was created in the same way. Then, we see the blood flowing towards different icons that symbolize different members of the Targaryen family ending in Rhaenyra’s icon. There are some moments where we see blood coming and mixing up with the mainstream. This is done in order to represent the families that married into the Targaryen bloodline. Just like Corlys Velaryon married Rhaenys Targaryen. So, let’s now follow the bloodstream more closely.
The Beginning of the Bloodstream: Aegon Targaryen’s Reign
The opening credit starts with the image of the doom of Valyria. The blood starts to flow after that. It is perceived, without a doubt, that Targaryen supremacy came into the act right after the doom of Valyria. The blood shows Aegon’s conquest following his first day on the Iron Throne. Besides the bloodstream, we see how Aegon has spread the Targaryen dynasty with the help of his will and his Dragon, Balerion, the Black Dread. Next, we see the blood flow to two icons symbolizing the two sister wives of Aegon Targaryen. One was Visenya Targaryen, born (in 29 BC) and died (in 44 AC) in Dragonstone, and the other was Rhaenys Targaryen, the younger sister, born in Dragonstone (25 BC or 26 BC) and died in Hellhole (10 AC). Later, we follow the stream to Aenys Targaryen, son of Rhaenys Targaryen.
The Later Stages of Jaehaerys Targaryen
To complement the events in the series, the bloodline now follows into more modern times. We are now introduced to two symbols of Jaehaerys and Alysanne Targaryen. Maegor the Cruel was not introduced into the timeline since her mother, Visenya, was dead. Soon, the bloodstream branches into almost nine different streams. At that point, historically, the Targaryen bloodline was also divided. Later, the camera follows the upward movement of the bloodstream only to find out that it is the dead son of Jaehaerys, Baelon, and his wife, Alyssa Targaryen, who also happens to be Jaehaerys’s daughter. Next, the blood flows in the foreground, while in the background, we see a logo in blue. It represents the realm of Corlys Velaryon, the Sea Snake. He was the king who controlled the seas of ancient Valyria; thus, the reason behind the color blue. On the side of the blue logo, we see the blood touching a logo, which, for obvious reasons, points at Rhaenys Targaryen, cousin sister of Viserys Targaryen. Corlys Velaryon married Rhaenys, and his bloodline was now established as a Targaryen bloodline. Rhaenys’s symbol did not have the sign of the helm as she was “the queen who never was.” From there, the bloodstream is divided into two different streams, mentioning the son and daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys, Laena, and Laenor Velaryon.
The Present Reign Of Viserys Targaryen
Finally, the blood stops flowing when it hits the current ruler of the Valyrian dynasty, that is, King Viserys Targaryen. Besides his logo sits a significant icon of his late wife, Aemma Arryn. Viserys’s line of kings stopped for a while because Aemma couldn’t have a child. But the flood soon began when their firstborn daughter Rhaenyra was named queen of the Iron Throne. At the beginning of the Viserys bloodline, we can find in the background, the presence of a green wall where the bloodline is curving up. Green symbolizes faith which represents the Hightowers. Soon we find out that Viserys’s bloodline gets separated into two bloodstreams. One is Rhaenyra, and the other flows towards the green wall symbolizing his marriage with Alicent Hightower, daughter of Otto Hightower. Then we are introduced to the House Hightower representing Alicent as well. Later, the blood showed the reign of Rhaenyra, whose icon was identical to the locket gifted to her by Daemon. Later, we see a lot of icons of valuable houses over which there was a projection of a dragon carved out in black stone. This adds sense to the remark once made by Viserys in the first episode. He said that the idea of them controlling the dragons is just a myth.
The Final Blood Flow: The Targaryen Civil War
Lastly, we see the whole structure again and the bloodstream representing the marriages through the ages that helped the Targaryen dynasty grow stronger. Some bloodlines remain unfinished as the future is yet to be settled as so many people have their eyes on the throne. Just like in “Game of Thrones,” it can be assumed that the opening sequence will change as the story progresses. If anyone comes up with an heir, there is a high chance that the bloodstream will start to flow again. At last, we see the doom of fire, where the Targaryen logo is shown, and blood flows into the fire, prophesying the death of many family members due to the civil war. So, the detailing is vibrant, and we are yet to explore so many bloodlines as the series progresses.