This list contains spoilers and graphic videos from House of the Dragon season 1 and Fire & Blood!
House of the Dragon has been a groundbreaking success for HBO in more ways than just its viewership as the revelation of Aegon the Conqueror’s dream recontextualizes the entire history of House Targaryen. Season 1 was seen to connect the fate of the dragonriding kings and queens of Westeros with the legendary “Prince That Was Promised” prophecy and the fight against the White Walkers, which added great depth to the subsequent actions of various characters (and whether they acted with this in mind or in opposition to it).
Dragon dreams and premonitions are actually a lot more frequent in House Targaryen than it might seem, and, as such, Aegon is not alone in foreseeing the future. Not every dreamer or prophet has sat on the Iron Throne, with some outright avoiding it on behalf of their visions (although all of them did impact the stability and future of their house). From both the books and series, there are many confirmed Targaryens who are known to presage the future in one way or another.
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Daenys Targaryen
Before the creation of Aegon’s prophecy, the most important dream from House Targaryen comes from young Daenys Targaryen. Long before the events of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, she foresaw the impending Doom of Valyria. Her father, Aenar – who was said to possess the legendary catspaw dagger – heeded her warning and decided they needed to leave Valyria (thus avoiding the destruction).
Thanks to Daenys the dreamer, the Targaryens became the last dragon-riding family in the known world. They traveled to the farthest outreaches of the Freehold and to the island of Dragonstone. There, she started a new life for her family until her great-great-great-grandson, Aegon, had a dream of his own. Hopefully, House of the Dragon or another spin-off could travel that far back in time to showcase Daenys’ dream and the Doom of Valyria.
King Aegon I Targaryen
Artwork by Magali Villeneuve.
It was a major revelation to book readers that Aegon’s conquest was born out of more than just ruthless ambition and self-righteousness, leading to the moment Viserys tells Rhaenyra about it (and created great House of the Dragon reactions on Twitter). Interestingly, the dream has not been shown explicitly. Instead, it’s been passed down from generation to generation – so there might be a case of reinterpretation by Viserys.
Aegon forged his prophecy into the catspaw dagger writing, “from my blood come the Prince That Was Promised, and his shall be the Song of Ice and Fire.” It gives incredible context to what his successors did in uniting the Seven Kingdoms – such as King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne creating the King’s Road, King Daeron I bringing Dorne into the realm, and King Aegon V’s desire to rebirth the dragons. Aegon’s conquest is a logical next step for House of the Dragons after the Dance of the Dragons is complete.
King Viserys I Targaryen
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King Viserys I Targaryen, played expertly by Paddy Considine in House of the Dragon, is a dreamer of sorts (although not as prophetic as Daenys or Aegon). His might be more like dreams of grandeur, hopes for glory, and a bright, peaceful future for his family. However, they are very important to him and have, so far, come true in House of the Dragon.
He told the young Queen Alicent Hightower of a dream about his son being born wearing the ruby-adorned crown of Aegon the Conqueror, amidst the clamor of dragon roars and ringing swords. Unfortunately, she misinterpreted this, taking it to believe it meant his son is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, when, in fact, it foretold of the war that would come by crowning him king (as shown in the penultimate episode of season 1).
Queen Helaena Targaryen
In addition to the expansion provided by Aegon and Viserys’ dragon dreams, Queen Helaena Targaryen also gets a deeply meaningful update in this regard. From the books, she is just an eccentric girl who prefers the company of bugs or her dragon, Dreamfyre, (who has only been seen briefly so far in House of the Dragon). However, this strangeness is due to her prophetic abilities.
It was a shocking and enticing moment to those familiar with the books when she said “he will have to close an eye first” in episode six about her brother Aemond. Whether explicitly in a sleeping dream or visions during the day, she foresaw him claiming Vhagar and what that would cost him. She is someone to pay close attention to whenever she’s on-screen because she could say anything to foreshadow the horrors to come.
Brynden Rivers
The Bloodraven in Game of Thrones
There’s not much to be known about dragon dreamers in House Targaryen for the century following the Dance of the Dragons, but eventually, there’s a spark of new seers during the time of the Blackfyre Rebellions. One such Targaryen is Brynden Rivers (aka Bloodraven), one of King Aegon IV’s many bastards, who will eventually become the great Three-Eyed Raven far in the North beyond the Wall.
Brynden Rivers is different from his brethren as he is not a dragon dreamer, but rather a greenseer like Bran Stark. It’s said he has “a thousand eyes, and one” leading to theories that he could also warg, presumably into rats, crows, and dogs to eavesdrop on allies and enemies alike. He, therefore, served as the Master of Whispers and then Hand to the King for Aerys I and Maekar I before Aegon V sent him to the Wall, where he rose to be Lord Commander until he disappeared.
Daemon II Blackfyre
The Blackfyre Rebellions started because in his final moments King Aegon IV legitimized all his bastards, including Brynden Rivers. Daemon Waters renamed himself Daemon Blackfyre and declared himself the rightful king. However, they didn’t end with him for his son, Daemon II Blackfyre, led a second rebellion.
Daemon II was a dragon dreamer, foreseeing his own brother’s deaths and the ascent of Duncan the Tall to the Kingsguard. He dreamed of a dragon hatching, taking that to mean that he was the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. Unfortunately, his rebellion was also unsuccessful, and he made a fool of himself, becoming dubbed, “the Brown Dragon” by his enemies. There is hope for the Blackfyre Rebellions to be a focus in future seasons of House of the Dragon or a Dunk & Egg spin-off.
Daeron Targaryen
While many dragon dreamers took their dreams as signs of their glory and forged paths to make them come true, others ran from their visions as in the case of Daeron Targaryen, the eldest son of King Maekar I. He is remembered now as Daeron the Drunken because he was plagued by prophetic dreams, so he used alcohol to curb their effects.
He saw the arrival of Duncan the Tall and even the eventual return of the dragons. His younger brother, the future King Aegon V, tragically believed he would bring that about so at Summerhall he experimented with wildfire in hatching his dragon egg, causing the hall to explode, killing him, his son, and his retinue.
Maester Aemon Targaryen
While Aegon V didn’t explicitly have prophetic dragon dreams like Daeron, another of his older brother’s did – Aemon Targaryen (who would eventually become the Maester for the Night’s Watch and the last Targaryen in Westeros in Game of Thrones). His dreams are more of the past, the power of the dragons, and of Daenerys, with him lamenting that he couldn’t help guide her and show her the way.
Interestingly, he chooses to go North and serve in the Night’s Watch, but he isn’t alone as Brynden Rivers joins him. This presumably leads to the idea that they were both aware of Aegon’s dream, so whether they saw the growing signs of the White Walker’s return or not, they decided that their best plan was to have some Targaryens close up north to keep watch.
King Aerys II Targaryen
The Seven Kingdoms would certainly have been different if Aemon Targaryen became king, but that burden instead passed on to his brother and from him, all the way to King Aerys II Targaryen, the Mad king. Like Daeron the Drunken, the visions Aerys saw were a curse, rather than a gift, abating his descent into darkness and the doom of House Targaryen.
Given the actions and beliefs of his son, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, King Aerys II must’ve known about Aegon’s dream, but they took it differently. Rhaegar, a kind yet prideful young man instantly thought it must be about him or his children – hence why he would name two of them Aegon – but Aerys might’ve rejected the dream wholeheartedly. Alternatively, some believed it was Bran who broke Aerys II’s sanity by traveling back in time and inadvertently showing him the future.
Queen Daenerys I Targaryen
Daenerys I Targaryen saw the future in various ways, whether in actual dragon dreams or through magical montages like when she visited the House of the Undying in Qarth. In her dreams, she foresaw the birth of her dragons, Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion, eventually finding strength and new hope in them. However, after they arise, her dreams turn dark and more prophetic.
Her dreams were taken out of Game of Thrones, but, if they remained, she would’ve been more eager to help Jon and the North fight against the invading White Walkers right from the start. She dreamed of enemies clad in icy armor and defeating them with her dragons. As fans wait for The Winds of Winter and then The Dream of Spring, perhaps she will see more of the dark war to come.