This HOTD Theory Says You Can Ignore The Final 2 Seasons Of GOT

It was expected that House of the Dragon would contain references and Easter eggs to Game of Thrones. Not just for franchise ties and continuity, but because one of the showrunners and the composer are direct carryovers from the original show. Miguel Sapochnik and Ramin Djawadi went from one show to the next. However, some visual similarities have inspired a theory rythat House Of The Dragon wants to alter the order of watching Game of Thrones.

Warning: Mild spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1’s premiere follow. The series premiere of House of the Dragon set the scene for this new Westeros-based story set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Directed by Miguel Sapochnik (from a script written by co-showrunner Ryan Condal), the series introduced not only an entire battalion of Targaryens, but their dragon rides. One of the significant introductions is Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Milly Alcock), who will end the hour as the heir to the Iron Throne.

The first shots of Rhaenyra are of her on dragonback, flying into King’s Landing after going for a joyride. Her assigned Kingsguard is relieved at her return; as the only living child of the current king, she’s precious to her father.

However, it’s the opening shot of her dragon, Syrax, flying into the castle grounds that had fans sitting up and taking notice. As Redditor u/CruzAderjc noted in his post, it is almost a perfect echo of Daenerys’ arrival at Dragonstone at the end of Season 6.

The overlay of these two shots has started a theory that House of the Dragon is visually suggesting that viewers should go from the end of Game of Thrones Season 6 and pick up immediately with House of the Dragon, skipping over Seasons 7 and 8. That means the story goes to the point that Daenerys arrives in Westeros. Then viewers rewind to 200 years before, creating a Westerosi version of Lucasfilm’s infamous “Machete Order,” where prequels are treated like built-in flashbacks. Exactly how that “erases” Seasons 7 and 8 isn’t precisely clear unless you’re supposed to just never go back to them, but it is an interesting idea.

But the truth is probably much more mundane. Game of Thrones Season 6, Episodes 9 and 10, were directed by Miguel Sapochnik. After becoming a household name among Game of Thrones audiences, they were the first two he did for his direction of Season 5, Episode 8’s “Hardhome.” That final shot is one that was a gorgeous and memorable moment. Sapochnik recycled it to open the new series, perhaps meaning for it to be an Easter egg image for fans to call back to Season 6 and the two episodes that were some of his best work.

However, Sapochnik meaning for the series to hint at skipping the last two seasons of the original series seems a little farfetched. Perhaps before jumping to that conclusion, viewers should wait until there’s an entire first season of House of the Dragon (and maybe another show set in the world of Westeros) before playing around with different ways to consume them.

House of the Dragon Season 1 continues with new episodes every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.