The ‘Jon Snow’ guide to understanding and enjoying House of The Dragon, streaming on Showmax

They may be ancestors of Game of Thrones protagonist, Daenerys Targaryen, but you don’t require any GOT knowledge to enjoy House of the Dragon. It certainly helps, but new viewers should be able to get by with a little breakdown, and this story does just that.

House of the Dragon is the prequel to Game of Thrones. The first episode explains this by saying the happenings in the new series occurred 175 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Daenerys was the dragon queen in Game of Thrones that fought hard to win back her birthright – the Iron Throne.

They called her “Daenerys of the House Targaryen, the First of Her Name, The Unburnt, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Queen of Meereen, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Protector of the Realm, Lady Regent of the Seven Kingdoms, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons”.

This list below is the ultimate guide to understanding the new series, House of the Dragon, available on Showmax:

1. House of Dragon is still set in Westeros, away from the Free Cities, with its capital being King’s Landing.

2. The Starks (from which Jon Snow came) are still referred to as the lords of Winterfell and live in the cold North.

3. The Targaryens are constantly renaming their kids after people who have left great legacies. Hence, their family tree has about a dozen Aegons, a half-dozen Aemons, a slew of Viseryses, and so on.

4. The Targaryens have an infamous tendency to marry each other — a fun Targaryen trait House of the Dragon fans will get a glimpse of in episode 4. They do this to protect their white hair and keep it in the lineage.

5. House of the Dragon lands in the middle of the family tree, about halfway between the time the first Aegon Targaryen, known as Aegon the Conqueror, united all of Westeros and the final fall of Daenerys Targaryen in the series finale of Game of Thrones.

6. House of the Dragon begins what will be known as the dance of the dragons, where the Targaryens will fight each other to sit on the Iron Throne. This would lead to the thinning of the already thin Targaryen bloodline and the near-extinction of the world’s dragons.

7. House of the Dragon will explore the house of Targaryen’s downfall from one that conquered almost all the major houses under one king to one consisting of a brother and sister in hiding. The real issue the show will cover is whether their society can accept a woman taking the Throne and under what conditions it would be acceptable.

8. House of the Dragon is full of bloody graphic battles, awkward sex scenes, and all the nasty ailments that come with living in an age without proper medicine or science. The show is only suitable for adults 18 and over who are into fantasy series and don’t have a problem with gore and blood like the first three episodes have an abundance of.

The debut season of House of the Dragon is only in its fourth episode, and the story is still building up. Hopeful viewers who are yet to start watching the series can catch the first four episodes of Showmax as they await new episodes every Monday at 2 am.

You can also binge-watch the complete season of Game of Thrones, as well as other Showmax Nigeria originals, including BBNaija S7: The Buzz, The Real Housewives of Lagos, Journey of the Beats and Ghana Jollof.

Sign up for Showmax today on www.showmax.com or dial *447*2*2# from an MTN line for Showmax mobile.

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