The opening credits of House of the Dragon: Season 1 introduce each episode starting with "The Rogue Prince," the second episode.[1]
Description[]
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The House of the Dragon title card.
The opening credits for House of the Dragon shares the same aesthetic as that of its predecessor Game of Thrones. Instead of an entire map of Westeros, however, this sequence revolves entirely around a scale model of Old Valyria's capital city - a model which is featured prominently in the show itself. A stream of blood flows through the city streets while the camera follows its progress, branching off at various junctures to form a family tree of House Targaryen. Individual family members are represented by cogwheels, a feature borrowed from the Game of Thrones opening credits. Each cogwheel bears a token, an item of some significance to the individual character it symbolizes. When a character dies in the show, blood flows into their cogwheel and floods it, to represent them being blotted off the family tree. The Game of Thrones theme music by Ramin Djawadi also returns.
The original opening credits are overhauled for the second season, replaced by the weaving of a tapestry of Targaryen family history.[2]
Characters featured[]
| Legend | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| ● | Character is alive and appears in the opening credits with a close-up | Character appears in the episode | |
| · | Character is alive and appears in the opening credits without a close-up | ||
| ● | Character is deceased and appears in the opening credits with a close-up | ||
| · | Character is deceased and appears in the opening credits without a close-up | Character does not appear in the episode | |
| Character does not appear in the opening credits | |||
Season 1[]
| Character | Episodes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Total (appearances) |
Total (close-ups) | |
| Aegon I Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Visenya Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Rhaenys Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Aenys Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Aegon Targaryen | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 9 | 0 |
| Jaehaerys I Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Alysanne Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Baelon Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Alyssa Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 9 | 9 |
| Rhaenys Targaryen | · | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | 0 | |||
| Corlys Velaryon | · | · | · | · | · | · | 6 | 0 | |||
| Viserys I Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | 6 | 6 | |||
| Aemma Arryn | ● | ● | ● | ● | · | · | 6 | 4 | |||
| Alyrie Florent | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 9 | 0 |
| Otto Hightower | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 9 | 0 |
| Alicent Hightower | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | 9 | 2 |
| Rhaenyra Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | · | · | 9 | 7 |
| Daemon Targaryen | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | 9 | 3 |
| Laena Velaryon | · | · | · | · | ● | ● | ● | · | · | 9 | 3 |
| Baela Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Rhaena Targaryen | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Harwin Strong | · | · | · | 3 | 0 | ||||||
| Jacaerys Velaryon | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Lucerys Velaryon | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Joffrey Velaryon | ● | ● | ● | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Aegon II Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Helaena Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Aemond Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Daeron Targaryen | · | · | · | ● | ● | 5 | 2 | ||||
| Jaehaerys Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Jaehaera Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Maelor Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Aegon Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Viserys Targaryen | ● | ● | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Variation | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
Variations[]
Variation 1[]
- The opening credits begins with a relief carving of the Doom of Valyria, with three dragons depicted fleeing the cataclysm. The camera zooms out, revealing that this is the background image on the cogwheel representing Aegon I Targaryen. Aegon I's token is his iron crown. This cogwheel is flooded with blood, indicating Aegon I as deceased.
- Blood originates from Aegon's cogwheel and flows past a mural depicting the Field of Fire to reach Visenya and Rhaenys's cogwheels. Visenya's token is Dark Sister's hilt; Rhaenys's token is Meraxes's head with a scorpion bolt through her eyes. Both cogwheels are flooded with blood.
- Blood flows from Rhaenys's cogwheel to Aenys's cogwheel. His token is his crown with a dagger piercing through it. A stream of blood reaches this cogwheel from elsewhere (presumably representing Aenys's wife) before this cogwheel is flooded with blood.
- Blood flows from Aenys's cogwheel. The camera zips past a cogwheel seen extremely briefly (presumably representing Prince Aegon "the Uncrowned"). The blood reaches Jaehaerys I and Alysanne's cogwheels. Jaehaerys's token is his golden crown; Alysanne's token is her pouring water into two serving cups. Both cogwheels are flooded with blood.
- Nine streams of blood flow from Jaehaerys and Alysanne's cogwheels, representing the nine of their children who lived to adulthood. The center two streams reach Baelon and Alyssa's cogwheels, already flooded with blood, indicating that they died before their parents. Baelon's token is a Hand of the King pin; Alyssa's token is obscured by blood completely.
- Blood flows from Baelon and Alyssa's cogwheels, merging into one stream before splitting into two.
- The camera breaks away to show House Velaryon. Blood originates from Corlys and Rhaenys's cogwheels, with Corlys's being edged blue. Corlys's token is a snake rising up from sea waves; Rhaenys's token is indiscernible. The blood from them join and reaches Laena's cogwheel, edged blue.
- The camera follows the left branch of blood flowing from Baelon and Alyssa's cogwheels. It reaches Viserys I's cogwheel. Aemma's cogwheel is next to it. Viserys's token is his (and formerly Jaehaerys's) golden crown; Aemma's token is the Arryn sigil—a falcon and crescent moon. Aemma's cogwheel is flooded with blood; Viserys's is not. Blood flow from them and merge into one stream. A separate stream of blood also flows from Viserys's cogwheel to somewhere unseen.
- The camera breaks away to show House Hightower. Blood originates from Otto and his late wife's cogwheels. Otto's wife's cogwheel is already flooded with blood; Otto's is not. Otto's token is a Hand of the King pin; his wife's token is indiscernible. The blood from them join and reaches Alicent's cogwheel. Alicent's token is the Hightower sigil—the Hightower—with a seven-pointed star in the background. All Hightower cogwheels are edged green.
- The camera follows the stream of blood that flows from Viserys and Aemma. It reaches Rhaenyra's cogwheel. Rhaenyra's token is the Valyrian steel pendant that Daemon gave her. Two streams of blood flow from Rhaenyra's cogwheel to unseen destinations.
- The camera goes underneath an archway depicting the sigils of Houses Baratheon, Hightower, Blackwood, Dustin, and Peake on the left, the sigils of Houses Lannister, Stark, Velaryon, Greyjoy, and Arryn on the right, and the Iron Throne in the center.
- The opening credits concludes with a top-down view of the family tree.
Variation 2[]
- Blood now flows from Alicent's cogwheel, and another stream of blood joins it.
Variation 3[]
- Joined blood from Alicent and Viserys now flows to an unseen destination.
Variation 4[]
- Joined blood from Alicent and Viserys now splits into two streams.
Variation 5[]
- Joined blood from Alicent and Viserys now splits into four streams.
- Instead of following the left branch of blood flowing from Baelon and Alyssa's cogwheels, the camera now follows the right branch. It reaches Daemon's cogwheel. Daemon's token is his Valyrian steel helmet. Two streams of blood flow from Daemon's cogwheel.
- Laena's cogwheel is seen up-close for the first time, showing her token to be a braid of rope. Blood flows from Laena's cogwheel to join one of the streams flowing from Daemon. Daemon and Laena's joined blood splits and reach Baela and Rhaena's cogwheels. Their tokens are a dragon egg each.
- The camera follows one stream of blood flowing from Rhaenyra's cogwheel, zipping past Harwin's cogwheel. Harwin's token is a stylized profile of a man wearing a helmet and golden cloak, made to also resemble the three forks of the Trident. Blood originating from Harwin's cogwheel join the blood flowing from Rhaenyra's. A mural depicting House Velaryon attending Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding is also shown.
- Rhaenyra and Harwin's joined blood splits and reach Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey's cogwheels, all edged blue. Jace's token is Dragonstone with a Velaryon sigil—a seahorse—etched into it; Luke's token is a dagger; Joff's token is a plain Velaryon seahorse.
Variation 6[]
Variation 7[]
- Viserys's cogwheel is now flooded with blood, indicating him as deceased.
- Laena's cogwheel goes back to only being shown from a distance, as it was in variations 1–4. It is, however, now flooded with blood, as in variation 6.
- The camera follows the stream of blood connecting Viserys to Alicent for the first time. The four streams of blood flowing from Viserys and Alicent are shown to reach Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron's cogwheels. Aegon's token is a wine goblet with a stem shaped like a naked woman; Helaena's token is a spider; Aemond's token is a sapphire; Daeron's token is a cup.
- Blood flows from Aegon and Helaena's cogwheels, merging and splitting into three streams that reach Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor's cogwheels. Jaehaerys's token is two overlapping hands with one being six-fingered; Jaehaera's token is two overlapping hands; Maelor's token is indiscernible.
- Daemon's previously unfollowed blood stream is now shown to merge with Rhaenrya's previously unfollowed blood stream before splitting to reach Aegon the Younger and Viserys's cogwheels. Aegon's token is Dragonstone; Viserys's token is Dragonstone with a dragon egg placed upon it.
Behind the scenes[]
- The series premiere, "The Heirs of the Dragon," features no opening credits.
Gallery[]
Concept art[]
The following concept art for the House of the Dragon opening credits was drawn by Rustam Hasanov.
References[]
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Alan Sepinwall (June 6, 2024). ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Repeats Same Thrills — and Mistakes — as Season 1. Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 7, 2024.