George RR Martin wanted 'House of the Dragon' to accurately showcase these THREE key details from book
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel ‘House of the Dragon’ will be globally released on August 21, 2022, on HBO and HBO Max. In an interview, co-showrunners Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal finally opened up about the three key ideas novelist George RR Martin wanted to be presented accurately in the prequel.
According to Insider, these included colorful dragons, more emphasis on bright heraldry and inclusion of Jaehaerys Targaryen II. Sapochnik said Martin did not like it when the ‘Game of Thrones’ showrunners David Benioff and DB "Dan" Weiss decided to leave Jaehaerys II out of the listed line of rulers when it came to historical Targaryen kings within the fictional universe. Shedding some light on same, Sapochnik said, “David and Dan and skipped over Jaehaerys for reasons of clarity that he really didn't understand. He had a bee in his bonnet about it. He wanted us to right that wrong.”
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Martin’s second key idea that he wanted to be showcased authentically in the prequel matching the vision of his book had been related to colorful dragons in diverse shapes, sizes and color. One main difference here is that in ‘Game of Thrones,’ Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragons had unique coloring. Whilst Drogon (named after Khal Drogo) had black and red scales, Viserion (named after her brother Viserys) was cream and gold followed by Rhaegal (named after her other brother Rhaegar) which was green and bronze. But as Daenerys dragons got larger, their coloring became just more subtle among dark black and gray scales.
But this is not going to be the same case scenario for ‘House of the Dragon.’ As in the prequel, each creature should be different and clutter breaking enough for people on the ground to know exactly which Targaryen is flying above them based simply on the color of the dragon's scales.
Martin’s third main idea that he wanted to be shown realistically on screens in prequel series based on his novel was that there be an inclusion of symbolic colors especially related to all the major and minor houses of Westeros. Giving more details on the heraldry that Martin spoke about with Condal and its importance in history, Condal shared, “It's such a time of high decadence and peace and wealth and prosperity for the realm. Everybody would really festoon themselves in their house colors and be proud of them as they marched into the tournament.”
The plot of the series revolves around the nastiest civil war which sparks off in entire Westeros within the supreme House Targaryen, the moment ruling King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) officially announces Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock / Emma D’Arcy) as the next potential ruler and his successor to the coveted iron throne. It’s a story of Rhaenyra who fiercely vows to gain that iron throne and become the queen of Westeros thereby wanting to challenge traditionalist norms which angers all the people including her stepmother Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) who marries Rhaenyra’s father King Viserys and gives birth to three sons. Alicent had once been her bestfriend but they turn foes later. It’s a story which chronicles the dramatic fall of House Targaryen from its pinnacle where the entire Targaryen family gets pitted against each other with even dragons fighting it out with humans and one another.