House of the Dragon experienced a 10 year time jump in the latest episode with another flash forward coming in the near future….
When the first draft for a concept that would later become House of the Dragon, the series started with the death of King Viserys I Targaryen — an event that led to the infamous Dance of the Dragons, which was a long and bloody Targaryen civil war to determine who would sit on the Iron Throne.
When Ryan Condal came on board as a co-showrunner in the earliest days of production, he realized rather quickly that there was just way too much backstory that had to be told to truly understand what led to the war among the most powerful family in the history of Westeros.
Because the events leading to the Dance of the Dragons take place over decades, Condal decided he had to tell the story in sections, which would require several actors to play the same part along with massive time jumps over the course of the first season. The biggest advance in time kicked off episode 6 this past Sunday night with 10 years passing as the show said goodbye to younger actors Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, who had portrayed Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Queen Alicent Hightower through the first five episodes.
Emma D’arcy and Olivia Cooke took over those roles in the latest episode — and both will stick around through the remainder of the series.
As difficult as it was to say goodbye to those original actors, Condal explained that it was just necessary in order to advance the story as the lead characters got much older while starting families of their own.
“I’m excited about the pace and the structure of the story that we’re telling in the first season,” Condal told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s very complex. It happens over a long period of time because children need to get married off and then grow up themselves and then have children of their own who grow up in order to tell the story of this generational war that is fought. HBO gave [showrunner Miguel Sapochnik] the creative latitude to tell this incredibly complex story in a really patient and character-driven way that sets up a first season so that it launches you into one of the most famous and bloody conflicts in the history of Westeros — if not the most.
“It’s what makes this premium HBO content versus the thing we would have been forced to make at a different outlet. Most other places would not have had the patience and boldness to allow us to tell the story we’re telling. But this is how you tell this story correctly. We’re telling a story of a generational war. We set everything up so by the time that first sword stroke falls, you understand all the players — where they are and why they are. All the history is there instead of being told to you in exposition. This way you get to see it all happen.”
The time jumps aren’t finished yet because many of the conflicts that happen during The Dance of the Dragons occur after King Viserys and Queen Alicent’s son Aegon II Targaryen comes of age. In the latest episode, Aegon is portrayed by Ty Tennant but he’s still barely a teenager.
Tom Glynn-Carney will eventually take over the role for the remainder of the series but not before another advance of the story over several years, which then sets up the deadly Targaryen civil war.
Condal understood the risks he was taking by setting up so much backstory, which would require all these different time periods along with various actors portraying the same role across many years. It’s expected that the next time jump will be the last but everything that’s unfolding now serves a greater purpose once the Dance of the Dragons actually begins.
“There’s a real advantage to taking the time to get to know the characters because the investment is worthwhile,” Condal said. “House of the Dragon season 1 is a slow burn. And it’s worth it because there’s enough in there to keep everybody interested, but we have purposely tried to move away from doing spectacle so that when we return to the spectacle we can do it properly.”
With four episodes remaining in the first season, it’s unknown when the next time jump will happen but don’t be surprised to see a few new faces before the finale airs later this year.
House of the Dragon will return with a new episode on Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
