8 times House of the Dragon solved an unexplained Game of Thrones mystery

Game of Thrones told a tale thronged with mysteries, many of which remained unexplained when the grand finale aired. Years later, House of the Dragon, the critically acclaimed prequel to the HBO series, revived some of those puzzles and even solved a few of them.

Set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, House of the Dragon delves into the embellished tapestry of the Targaryen dynasty and their internal politics, complete with betrayal, usurpation, and kinslaying. In doing so, the show inadvertently or intentionally explains some elements from the original series. These revelations may come as lightbulb moments for the show-only viewers who haven't read the source books by George R.R. Martin.

Following are eight instances where House of the Dragon has provided clarity on an unexplained Game of Thrones mystery. For obvious reasons, they are mostly related to the Targaryens. Happy discovering and beware SPOILERS BELOW! This first item especially is a big spoiler for the end of House of the Dragon:

1. The identity of Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra Targaryen and the civil war with her family are mentioned a few times in Game of Thrones, but the series never elaborates on who she was or her significance. Joffrey Baratheon mentions her in season 3 when he somewhat spoils the ending of House of the Dragon in a macabre history lesson on the dragonlords to Margaery Tyrell. He tells his queen-to-be how Rhaenyra met her death inside the very castle they were in.

Rhaenyra is also referred to by Shireen in season 5 when she tells her father, Stannis Baratheon, about the Dance of the Dragons civil war. However, we never learn anything more about the character or why she waged a war against her half-brother for a throne that had never before been sat by a woman. House of the Dragon, being centered around her life and legacy, addresses the questions right away.

We now know who Rhaenyra is, why she felt entitled to the Iron Throne, and why she battled her kin to the bitter end for it. As the firstborn child of King Viserys I, she was pronounced the lawful heir to the Iron Throne by her father, challenging the patriarchal norms of royal succession. She was later usurped by her half-brother Aegon, whose immediate family members and counselors conspired to put him there.

2. The Curse of Harrenhall

Harrenhal, the largest castle in Westeros, is also one of the most mysterious places in the land. In Game of Thrones, we see Harrenhal in season 2 when Arya Stark arrives at the castle as a prisoner and proceeds to become Tywin Lannister's cupbearer. The two of them have a conversation about how the once-great castle fell.

The man who built the castle, King Harren Hoare, once boasted about its impenetrable walls. But that was before dragons flew across the skies of Westeros. When Harren refused to yield to Aegon the Conqueror, Aegon torched the high and supposedly invincible walls of Harrenhal with the blazing flames of his dragon, Balerion the Black Dread, killing Harren's entire line.

Ever since then, the castle was said to be a nesting ground for mystical elements, with claims that it may even be haunted. Multiple houses and their lords holding the castle at different points in history met grim fates. House of the Dragon offered some more insight into this notorious history.

In season 1, we see Lyonel and Harwin Strong being burnt alive within the walls of Harrenhal. While this would be in line with the castle's "curse," we also find out that it was orchestrated by their kin, Larys Strong. If Ser Simon Strong's dinnertime chat with Daemon Targaryen in "The Burning Mill" is anything to go by, Larys' conspiracy is not much of a secret either.

That raises the question: is Harrenhal truly cursed, or have people taken advantage of its history and reputation over the years to get rid of political enemies? As for any squeaks and creaks, I'm sure the structural disintegration caused by red-hot dragon fire would be to blame.

However, we also find out that Harrenhal is not entirely devoid of spooks. Spending the night at the castle, Daemon first experiences a rattling door with no one on the other side. Next, he sees a vision of a younger Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock, yay) sewing on the decapitated head of baby Jaehaerys before Alys Rivers warns him of an impending death.

In the next episode, "The Red Dragon and the Gold," Daemon continues to have strange visions, and Alys explains that Harren the Black desecrated a grove of sacred weirwood trees to build the castle on top of him; Daemon's bed is made of one such tree. So maybe the castle really is cursed, or perhaps the ambiguity is the point.

3. How many dragons the Targaryens (approximately) had

In Game of Thrones, the very existence of dragons is a miracle. It lends Daenerys Targaryen all the edge she needs an army and vie for the Iron Throne. Despite losing her dragons Viserion and Rhaegal, Daenerys was able to set all of Red Keep on fire with Drogon alone as her ride. So what was it like when almost every Targaryen alive had one of these creatures bonded to them?

Before the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryens were at the height of their power, with more dragons alive in Westeros than ever before. In the first season finale, Daemon reveals that they have 13 dragons in Team Black whereas the Greens only have "three adults." The Blacks are now down to 11 after Vhagar decided to rip Arrax apart last season, killing his rider Lucerys while at it. Vhagar struck again when he killed Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon Meleys.

As for the rest, Syrax (Rhaenyra), Caraxes (Daemon), Vermax (Jacaerys), and Moondancer (Baela) are the dragons that currently have a rider. Tyraxes is bonded with Rhaenyra's young son Joffrey Velaryon, but he is now packed and sent away to the Vale. He is also just a baby. However, the Blacks also have Laeonor's old ride Seasmoke shrieking around over Driftmark. King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne's dragons, Vermithor and Silverwing, have tucked themselves away somewhere on the island. We see Daemon luring Vermithor with a Valyrian tune at the end of season 1. Daemon also mentions "three wild dragons," but the show has not yet revealed their names.

The three adults on the Green side would be Aegon's Sunfyre (now out of commission after the Battle of Rook's Rest), Helaena's Dreamfyre, and big bad Vhagar, ridden by Aemond. With Viserys I and Alicent Hightower's third son, Daeron, now mentioned in season 2, his dragon Tessarion would also be there. Helaena's surviving child Jaehaerya must also have been paired with one, but is likely to be a baby just like Tyraxes, if it's hatched from its egg at all.

4. Do dragons always obey the Targaryens?

In Game of Thrones, we see Drogon disobey Daenerys a couple of times early on. It made fans wonder whether it was because she had no one to guide her in the ways of dragon-taming or because dragons can never fully be tamed. We also hear Daenerys say, "A dragon is not a slave." But that could just be something to intimidate the slavemaster she burns two seconds later and not something she believes.

House of the Dragon not only answers the question but shows how the delusion fuels the domino effect that leads to the Dance. In the first season, Viserys tells Rhaenyra that the idea that Targaryens control their dragons is nothing but an illusion. While it certainly helps to keep the kingdom in control, the old king believes that dragons represent a kind of power that "men should never have trifled with." He blames this misconception for the Doom of Valyria and warns that if history is not heeded, it will repeat itself.

While no dreamer, Viserys seemed to have intuited a prophecy here out of common sense, and it looks like it's coming true.

The season 1 finale well and truly shatters the illusion, as neither Lucerys nor Aemond has any say over their dragons' actions in the heat of the moment. In one of the most brilliantly horrifying sequences on fantasy television, the 10-times larger silhouette of Vhagar looms over Arrax and Lucerys. Aemond eggs his dragon on, enjoying the thrill of the chase. Scared, Arrax breathes fire at Vhagar over Lucerys' protests.

Nearly two centuries old, an ancient weapon of war and conquest, Vhagar goes beyond any control at that moment. All attempts by Aemond to keep the beast on a leash fail as Vhagar retaliates with a death blow, ripping Arrax in half and killing Luke. Aemond is horrified at how his fun little game ends, and even more so at the realization that he may have drawn the first blood of a war.

In the Battle of Rook's Rest, Aemond displays better control over Vhagar, but the possibility that the dragons could go rogue at any moment is always there.

5. What started the Targaryen Civil War?

The Targaryen Civil War is mentioned sporadically in Game of Thrones, including in the conversation between Shireen and Stannis Baratheon where she speaks of Rhaenyra. She says the "Dance of the Dragons" is a poetic name for the war, but the original series does not explain further. In House of the Dragon, we watch the events unfold one tragedy at a time.

It is, of course, hard to tell what exactly started the war. The rift between these rival branches of the Targaryen branches was widened when Aegon usurped the throne follwoing the death of King Viserys, but there was lots of built-up even before that, like a young Lucerys Velaryon dashing out Aemond's eye or Criston Cole beating Joffrey Lonmouth to death at Rhaenyra's first wedding, driving a wedge further between Rhaenyra and Alicent. But a full-blown war could perhaps have been avoided from what we are seeing in the second season of House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra seemed to have done almost everything possible to avoid the war including taking the risk of sneaking into King's Landing to have a tête-à-tête with Alicent.

Despite Rhaenyra losing a son and Alicent a grandson, neither side has used dragons in combat at this point, a sign of restraint from a family known for madness. That changed in "The Red Dragon and the Gold," and there's no going back. The horrific deaths of the dragons and their riders alike is inevitable. However, since the TV show continues to change certain details from Fire & Blood, it would be interesting to see how each tragedy is handled.

6. History of the THE Valyrian steel dagger

Valyrian steel weapons were a rare sight on Game of Thrones and eventually became highly coveted for their ability to strike down White Walkers. But one played a bigger role than the rest. First used in an assassination attempt on Bran Stark in season 1 that indirectly started the War of the Five Kings, the famed Valyrian steel dagger helps Arya Stark save all of Westeros when she uses it to stab the Night King. She also used it to slit Littlefinger's throat.

But we don't find out much about a weapon of such importance. House of the Dragon fills us in.

VKing iserys is see wearing the dagger on his side throughout the show. After naming Rhaenyra his heir, he tells her about Aegon the Conqueror's vision and his prophecy about the Song of Ice and Fire. He also shares with her the story of the dagger: it once belonged to Aenar Targaryen, who fled Valyria before the Doom and settled down in Dragonstone. It passed onto his descendant, Aegon I, who instructed the last of the Valyrian pyromancers to carve the prophecy into the blade of the dagger. The message is only revealed when the steel is exposed to fire, and it reads, "From my blood will come the Prince That Was Promised, and his will be the Song of Ice and Fire."

Alicent later unsheathes the dagger from Viserys' side to threaten Rhaenyra in front of everyone after Aemond loses his eye. The interaction did not go well for her and it may have been one of the earliest Ls for Team Green. Recently, Aemond has the dagger after his brother Aegon II goes down on his dragon during the Battle of Rook's Rest. So the dagger is still in play.

7. Why Aegon Targaryen went on his Conquest

The fabled Aegon Targaryen, aka Aegon the Conqueror, looms large in Game of Thrones lore. The white-haired prince who rode Balerion and became the first-ever ruler of the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros is a legend in his own time. It is widely believed that he conquered the Seven Kingdoms because he wanted to. "And because he had dragons," as Daenerys reminded Ser Jorah Mormont. But there was more to it than that.

In House of the Dragon, Viserys tells Rhaenyra, "Ambition alone is not what drove him to Conquest. It was a dream." Aegon I seemingly had a vision where he saw the White Walkers invading Westeros. It made him believe that the Targaryens (and their dragons) would need to be in power when the time came, and thus was born the prophecy of the Song of Ice and Fire.

The foretelling has been passed down for generations in the Targaryen family. Ironically, it also became the accidental cause of their demise, although one can always blame Alicent's tendency to jump to conclusions for that as well.

8. Origin of Daenerys' dragon eggs

This may have been one of the biggest Game of Thrones mysteries that House of the Dragon solves, especially since it is not explicitly resolved in any of the books either.

There have been many theories about the true origin of the three eggs that later hatched into Daenerys Targaryen's dragons Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal. The eggs first appeared in the Game of Thrones pilot "Winter is Coming" when Illyrio Mopatis gave them to her as a wedding gift.

The most common and widely accepted fan theory up until now claimed that the eggs came to her via a series of events kickstarted long before Rhaenyra's time. A woman called Elissa Farman stole Dreamfyre's eggs when the beast belonged to her sister-in-law and secret lover, Rhaena Targaryen (and no, this is not the Rhaena Targaryen we meet in House of the Dragon. If only the Targaryens could stop reusing names, right?) The eggs were sold to the Sealord of Braavos and then were lost to history.

However, after the third episode of season 2 of House of the Dragon, we now have a different version of the story. It that episode, Rhaenyra hands over four dragon eggs to Rhaena as she sets off for the Vale alongside Rhaenyra's young children. Between three of the eggs looking similar to the ones Daenerys received and Rhaenyra calling them the "hope for the future," fans began to wonder if they were one and the same.

Geeta Patel, the director of the episode, confirmed that indeed they were. "Those are Daenerys' eggs," she said. "All of us who work on this show are big Game of Thrones fans, so it was very exciting to shoot that scene." So if we didn't know for sure before, now we do.

The reveal is a slight change in canon, but that has been the case for many elements in House of the Dragon. Its source material, Fire & Blood, is in itself a likely inaccurate telling of Westerosi history written from the perspectives of the individual narrators. Anything mentioned in it can be taken with a grain of salt. In the book, Rhaena takes three eggs to the Vale and one of them hatches into her dragon, Morning. It could be that the fourth, silvery blue egg in the barket ends up being Morning, leaving the other three to find their way somehow to Essos. We have the rest of the season to figure that out.

And just to deepen the mystery a bit further, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal later walked back Patel's comments a bit. “I think the fun of the history as it was written is that there’s room for interpretation,” he said when asked those eggs end up with Daenerys. “I like to think of it as one possible future.”

So maybe there are still a few mysteries left to solve.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.