With House of the Dragon tells the story of the Dance of the Dragons – a hugely significant event in the history of Westeros – it’s no surprise that some events of the prequel show were referenced in Game of Thrones.

Of course, when they were creating GoT, the writers wouldn’t have known that HotD would ever be commissioned. And it may have felt a little odd if the story of how we arrived at the start of Game of Thrones was never mentioned.

One of the biggest features of Game of Thrones was the fact that it appeared no character was safe. Fans could never truly relax knowing that their favourite character was bound to stay alive just because they were popular or significant.

Naturally, with so much time passing between HotD and GoT, we can safely assume that everybody in House of the Dragon will be dead by the beginning of Game of Thrones.

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But one spoiler from Game of Thrones details what will be a huge moment in House of the Dragon – and kind of takes away the element of surprise. And who are we to blame for this act of betrayal that ruins a key plot twist that surely must feature in House of the Dragon at some point? Joffrey Baratheon.

In episode 4 of GoT season 3, Joffrey is showing Margaery Tyrell around the Great Sept and takes great pleasure in describing the gruesome death of Rhaenyra Targaryen who, he explains, was eaten by Aegon II’s dragon, Sunfyre, while her child looked on.

Of course, Rhaenyra’s death may have been leaked anyway, what with the series being based on George RR Martin’s books. But there has always been complete parity between the TV show and its literary source. This is one of the benefits of the books having unreliable narrators. The TV show is not bound to them in the same way that some other series might be.

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But when it comes to the death of Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons, while there may be some licence for the writers to alter things based on the fact that history is written by those that win wars, it also seems clear that this is a moment that will be signposted from a long way out.

But this is the common theme of prequels. So much of what happens is already known or has been alluded to. So, if you want to know how HotD pans out, you don’t need to wait until the end of the series. But does that really mean it’s not worth watching House of the Dragon? Absolutely not!