Rejoice, Game of Thrones fans! After much speculation and debate, House of the Dragon is officially here to take you back to Westeros, and the Red Keep has never looked better.
The first episode didn't disappoint and it was absolutely filled to the brim with Easter Eggs (dragon's eggs?). Now, have a look below and check out every last important detail that even diehard GoT fans likely missed in the first episode.
This building was most definitely not around by the time Game of Thrones begins — at least not entirely. In House of the Dragon, this is the famed dragon pit.
This is also the location where Queen Cersei is made to see the truth of the White Walkers' existence, by Jon Snow and Ser Davos.
The last time that audiences saw a Targaryen on dragon-back, flying over King's Landing, was when Daenerys Targaryen stormed the Red Keep.
Without getting into too much detail, Corlys mentions a rebellion known to history as the "Triarchy Alliance" forming in the free cities.
While the scene is brief and fleeting, these two pieces of information could become increasingly significant as time goes on — especially if House of the Dragon remains true to George R.R. Martin's book, "Fire and Blood."
Jaehaerys announces that Viserys will become his heir at Harrenhal. You may recall that Harrenhal is the ruined castle where Arya Stark meets Tywin Lannister and becomes his cupbearer.
The original Iron Throne was forged with a thousand swords surrendered to Aegon I during his conquest of Westeros. The blades were melted down by the fire of Aegon's dragon, Balerion the Black Dread.
Not only have hundreds of swords been seemingly swept away, but the blades and barbs that remain are far less sharp, making the sitting monarch less likely to cut themself and contract an infection.
While soaking in the bath, Aemma jests with her husband about how she wouldn't be surprised if she were to hatch an actual living dragon.
The sorceress Mirri Maz Duur tells Danaerys that her child was born with scales and wings. It might also be a metaphor for when Daenerys walked into the fire and birthed three living dragons.
When Aemma is visited by her daughter, Rhaenyra, she informs her spirited daughter that a woman's battlefield is the birthing bed. The brutal and graphic birth of her son, Baelon, and consequently her own death affirms this fact.
While studying outside on the castle grounds, Rhaenyra and Alicent mention a woman named Nymeria — a warrior princess who led the Roynar refugees to freedom during the expansion of the Valyrian Freehold.
Also, Nymeria is the same warrior princess whom Arya Stark names her direwolf after in Season 1 of Game of Thrones.
If you look carefully, you'll be able to see that all the sigils of the prominent houses of Westeros are displayed — reiterating the fact that all Seven Kingdoms are unified.
Maegor I was better known as "Maegor the Cruel" and was one of the most bloodthirsty Targaryen kings to ever sit upon the Iron Throne.
When Alicent enters Viserys I's bed chamber, she sees him puttering away with a stone model. This to-scale structure is a model of Old Valyria, before the Doom.
Deep beneath the Red Keep, Viserys I is seen waving his hand over a candle's flame. As Game of Thrones fans will likely recall — "Fire cannot kill a dragon."
In House of the Dragon, this is where Viserys I announces his intention to make Rhaenyra queen. We also see Balerion's skull several times in Game of Thrones, most memorably when Cersei tests her anti-dragon weapon.
The knife that Viserys I keeps in his belt is made from dragon bone and Valeryian steel. It's the same one that the assassin uses when he attempts to kill Bran Stark and the very same which Arya eventually wields to kill the Night King.
Viserys I informs Rhaenyra of the prophecy passed down from Targaryen kings since the time of Aegon's conquest. It foretells of an eternal winter, where the dead rise to conquer the living.
This is an allusion to Lyanna Stark's dying wish, wherein she makes Ned Stark swear to protect her son, Aegon aka Jon Snow — whom many believe is "The Song of Ice and Fire."
