Everything You Need to Know Before 'House of the Dragon' | GAME OF THRONES Recap

Game of Thrones is back! 200 years before the war of the 5 Kings, we now get to see the fall of House Targaryan in House of the Dragon. But even if you haven't seen Game of Thrones, this show is a great way to visit the world of Westeros for the first time. In this video we give the history of the continent, the Targaryan family, and explain how this series connects to the original show.

Written by Adam Lloyd
Edited by Ian Dugan

#houseofthedragon #GameOfThrones #Recap

This is a prequel series that takes place about 200 years before Game of Thrones. It shows us how the Targaryen dynasty went from this invincible ruling class, to this,

So, if you haven;t read the books or even seen the original series, that’s okay! This is a new series, and we’re here to explain a few key moments that make Westeros, Westeros, and those fiery Targaryens their powerful, weird, and crazy selves - all in the hopes of catching you up before the August 21st premiere.

Before we dive in, let's state the obvious. Game of Thrones and The House of the Dragon are based on novels written by the (respectfully slow writer) George RR Martin

Game of Thrones is based on a series of half written books called A Song of Ice and Fire, and The House of the Dragon is based on his prequel novel Fire and Blood, which gives us the detailed history of the famous Targaryen family.

What some viewers may not be aware of, is that prior to the events of Game of Thrones Season One, there are almost 13,000 years of history that has only been depicted to the audience through character dialogue in the original series. The white walkers, the children, the wall, dragons, and magic, are all a part of Westeros’ long and complicated timeline.

We need to establish that in this world, geographically, two massive islands are separated by one narrow sea. The island to the east is called Essos; a land of men, horses, and the thriving capital city of Valyria - which we’ll have more on in a minute.

The island west of Essos was dubbed, you guessed it - Westeros.

At the beginning of time, before men ever stood foot on Westerosian land, the only creatures in existence were known as the Children of the Forest. Now luckily, we have already had the pleasure of meeting these sassy self-sacrificing wood elves.

About 12,000 years ago the children lived in the northern forests and villages of Westeros. They possessed great magic and lived harmoniously to please their nameless and faceless gods. To the children, their religion was their lavish wooded environment.

These creepy faces carved into the huge white Weirwood trees of the north were carved by The Children to reflect the gods they lived to serve. These faces represent the gods watching over all who cross into the woods, rivers, and mountains of the north.

Now as The Children were minding their own business, living their best lives, along came The First Men. Literally, these were the first humans ever recorded in Westeros' history. Coming from Essos, the first men were quick in an attempt to claim the forests and lands from the children by hacking, burning, and conquering the northern forests.

But The Children put up a massive fight and after centuries of fighting and dying, both sides decided to call a truce and formed what was famously referred to as The Pact. This pact was an understanding that the first men could have dominion over all the southern lands, coasts, mountains, and seas - but the north, their gods, and its magic would forever belong to the Children. And for a time, there was peace.

Until roughly around 8000 years ago, while the first men were in the age of heroes, developing Westeros into a sprawling kingdom, the children lost control of a creepy, ice-warrior-zombie race known as The White-Walkers.

These beings crave nothing but death and disorder and even brought about the period of time referred to as The Long Night. Which you might remember as Bran’s favorite bedtime story. [CLIP]

So the first men and the children of the forest united, pushing the white walkers back into the frozen depths of the north.

Oh, not only did they build a wall, my friend. They built THE wall. A massive 300-mile wall of ice meant to keep anything from marching into the southern kingdoms of Westeros.

[emilyk]

I really wish Doug written season 8 and it was all about how the dragon was mad at that chair. Much better ending.

[snailorgy]

just a few bits. the giants lived side by side with the children of the forest in the dawn age, the children werent the only creatures there. how Westeros was actually connected to Essos until the children shattered the Arm of Dorne during the war to stop the first men coming over. that the children making the others is 'thus far' is only tv cannon, (bit weird that the children would make them after 1000 years of peace with the first men, if you ask me). the first men actually kept the peace and the two races got along pretty well until the Andals came (you say the pact meant nothing, but the children helped and intermarried with the first men all throughout the age of heroes).
no mention of the connection of old Valyria to the faceless men and their fondness for slavery, the wars against the Ghiscari and Rhoynar, and the Valyrian colonies. thanks to said colonies the Targaryen's werent the last Valyrians, plenty of white haired people in Essos, but they were the last dragon lords.
it wasnt just the swords of the defeated in battle, but also those willingly sent to Aegon by those who surrendered peacefully. lastly would be good to mention that the incest caused a huge and repeated conflict with the faith of the 7, as its becomes pretty important for the line of succession and the dance.

[taraeasley]

What an exceptionally helpful video. As someone who's never read the books, this was very educational. Thanks!!!

[jentalksbooks]

"Dragon mad at that chair!" 🐕😅
🐉🔥🪑

[VOX_Games]

I was definitely stoked to hear this series would focus on Valyrians, but I really wanted to see Valyria before the doom and see what it actually was

[josearellano]

GOT still left a sour taste in my mouth the finale was just so disappointing

[pabloa]

It’s very creative how the author sprinkled hints of actual myths and dabs of actual history inside the whole series.

[ZombicidalMadMom]

Great job, in my humble opinion all the necessary info is there! Regarding small things that could be corrected but are not necessary; the only one worthy of note that I saw is that the Targaryens weren't the only Valyrians left, but they were the only dragon riders/owners. House Velaryon & Celtigar were of Valyrian descent too, as well as ppl from Lys in Essos. The hair & eyes always give it away, and I'm really digging how House Velaryon is portrayed.

In the books, Dornish ppl are described as largely being either "Stoney" or "Salty", the Stoney Dornish were more fair-skinned/lighter-haired. Living in the mountainous/Stoney region they integrated w/ the Andals.
Salty Dornish are darker-skinned/haired from residing near the coast of Dorne and in the surrounding desserts. Thus, not having much interaction w/ the Andals farther inland.

So, long story long, the show's portrayal of House Velaryon is right on point w/ the book's worldbuilding so it works. Long as you have silver/blonde hair and some shade of blue/purple eyes you're Valyrian. Fun fact, which also makes you eligible to be a dragon rider, Valyrian =s Dragon rider, not only Targaryens, as some may understand it.

[fredastaire]

Man this was really well done Ryan!

The editing was funny and the story actually kept me engaged

[wanggaard]

The children of the forest lived all over Westeros, not just in the North. When the Andals conquered the continent they cut down the weirwoods in the south so the children moved North. There are still weirwoods in the south and people of first men heritage, but I don't think that was covered in GoT. There is so much detail in the books its insane, it is like someone told GRRM "Man that Tolkien guy really goes into detail." and he said, "Hold my beer."

[tylerdurden]

Subscribed after watching this video. Finally someone told the entire history to GOT and HOTD, without spoiling a bit of it. Really thank you man. Why the hell is that, everyone else who is making such videos on YouTube, have been going crazy about giving spoilers for this entire 1st season of HOTD. Thank you brother.

[MarcioHuser]

Tehre's actually a third large mass of land "bellow" Essos: Sothoryos. But we barely know anything about it, the maps on the books only show the northern coastline of it

[filipeamorim]

That little cough after "Aenys" just made my day

[karencoyle]

This was super interesting and informative! Great job, and thank you!

[denisgauthier]

Well done sir! Thank you for setting the context for this new chapter of the Game of Thrones; and you made me laugh several times:))

[chrissneed]

I am so here for these reference videos in this. It’s everything.

[Ryan-gzxg]

Where do babies come from
“The pointy end” 😂😂

[lakeflaccid]

Jaherys pushing bran out the window had me laughing so hard

[veselsvocal]

"the pointy end" is the best answer to where babies come from ever 🤣

[XaloGunner]

Pretty dang good.

I guess if I had one thing to point out, it's that Fire & Blood is *technically* a novel, but is written basically like a biased history review of the Targaryens between Aegon's conquest and the reign of Robert Baratheon. The "narrator" is a Targaryan-aligned maester (scholar/historian) named Gyldayn who lived around the time Dany's batshit crazy father reigned and died. Fire and Blood covers only HALF of the years from Aegon's conquest to the start of the Game of Thrones book/show story. There's supposed to be second book coming out for that - but that's also the case for a lot of what GRR Martin has made.... :/