Winter is coming to the hopes of fans who thought that HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones‘ prequel was going to explore the history of either the Targaryens or the rise of dragonkind. The prequel series which is not yet named but is rumored to be called ‘The Long Night‘ isn’t going to take place 10,000 years before the hit series as was initially proposed but will “only” be 5,000 years prior. The news came while George R.R. Martin was exploring the upcoming release of ‘Fire and Blood’ which is a historical account of the Targaryen dynasty. Due to the timelines we’ve been given, we won’t likely be seeing any of the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen on the new show.
The reason being is this is still thousands of years before the rise of Valyria from Essos which is where House Targaryen launched their dragon empire from.
According to Martin:
“… It’s closer to 5,000 years. But you’re right. Westeros is a very different place. There’s no King’s Landing. There’s no Iron Throne. There are no Targaryens — Valyria has hardly begun to rise yet with its dragons and the great empire that it built. We’re dealing with a different and older world and hopefully, that will be part of the fun of the series.”
While the Targaryen name likely won’t even be uttered on the show, this could firmly place us into seeing the rise of some of the great houses from Westeros royalty.
As to when the dragons did become the military might of House Targaryen, the family didn’t even gain their power until after Valyria was destroyed as only Dragonriders survived. As Westeros.org describes:
While Westeros was recovering from The Long Night, in Essos, the peaceful sheep-herding folk of the Valyrian peninsula find dragons lairing in the Fourteen Flames, an immense chain of volcanoes extending across the neck of the peninsula. The Valyrians tame the dragons with magic, which gives them the means to gain influence over the area. The Valyrian Freehold is established.
While we might see some of the great houses mentioned, the Dragonriders likely wouldn’t be among them. It could be feasible that a dragon would still appear in the series but if they do, it would probably only be briefly.
Do you feel that we could still get dragons in HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel series? Were you hoping that we’d be seeing the rise of the Targaryens shown on the small screen? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Entertainment Weekly
