The House of the Dragon Title Sequence Is a Targaryen History Lesson

Photo: HBO

The Targaryens love a tapestry. Usually it’s of the dragon-people-orgy variety, but a tapestry nonetheless! So, it’s fitting that House of the Dragon’s brand-new title sequence for season two quite literally weaves together important Targaryen history right as the impending Dance of the Dragons threatens to destroy the mighty house itself. As the passive, rotted, and now dearly departed Viserys Targaryen once told Rhaenyra about the Doom of Valyria, “If we don’t mind our own histories, it will do the same to us.� (If only Viserys listened to his own advice.)

As for the contents of the new title sequence — still set to composer Ramin Djawadi’s classic Game of Thrones theme, because some things are too sacred to change — we’re given a Crash Course–style retelling of Aegon’s (the OG, not to be confused with HOTD’s other two Aegons) Conquest alongside his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys, a reminder of the long and peaceful reign of Jaehaerys I and his wife Alysanne, and the events of season one, before the camera turns to a more unfinished tapestry in front of the looming shadow of an empty Iron Throne. We can only hope master embroiderer Helaena Targaryen is hard at work on the rest.

So why the change? Well, this is the Game of Thrones universe, where title sequences set the scene as much as the rest of the show. While the original show’s opening credits remained focused on a map of Westeros, the camera traversed new areas as the series went on. House of the Dragon, on the other hand, has had three significant changes. If you recall, the premiere episode didn’t even really have a title sequence, which was swiftly remedied by the second episode, with the rest of the season introducing sweeping shots of Viserys’ model of Old Valyria filling with blood and sigil-pressed cogs making up a bloody family tree. But bye, bye Viserys’s model! In more ways than one. It’s Westeros, after all: You shouldn’t get used to anything — or anyone — sticking around too long.

This article has been updated with video.