Descend into madness: How 'House of the Dragon' tracks the Targaryen's dragon-taming empire

Shove off, Starks. Beat it, Baratheons. Get lost, Lannisters. In “House of the Dragon,” HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel, it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad Targaryen world.

Instead of the "Thrones" mass of warring clans, the much-awaited "Dragon" (premiering Sunday, 9 EDT/PDT) concentrates on one family, the blond, dragon-riding Targaryens. The 10-episode prequel to the Emmy-winning, megahit fantasy finds the royal house at its peak, nearly two centuries before the heyday of "Thrones" favorites Jon Snow, Tyrion Lannister and Targaryen descendant Daenerys, but cracks already are appearing in its foundation.

As “Thrones,” which concluded in 2019, chronicled an epic war for dominance between competing families, “Dragon,” based on George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood,” hints at an upcoming battle within the ruling clan, ensconced on Westeros' Iron Throne by its mastery of dragons but destined to be hobbled by infighting and, eventually, madness.

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What story is 'House of the Dragon' based on?

Executive producer Ryan Condal, who created the series with Martin, sees “a spiritual connection” between the two shows – not to mention blood, sex and skullduggery – which otherwise vary in time and scope.

“This world exists in a place that continually explores the same themes in a different way: pride and power and ambition,” he says. “It’s a succession story within this very powerful house. It’s more of a King Lear story than it is a sprawling epic, the way the original series was.”

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How many dragons are in 'House of the Dragon'?

Here be plenty of dragons too. The prequel's squadron is nearly six times the size of the “Thrones” trio nursed back from apparent extinction by Daenerys, whose own insanity destroyed her hope of dynastic restoration. Control of the flying infernos is key to Targaryen dominance, says executive producer and director Miguel Sapochnik.

"There are definitely more dragons, as the (show’s) name would suggest,” he says, explaining that the mythic creatures vary in age, size and personality.  “We wanted to get into dragons as almost a domesticated beast. In the era we’re talking about, dragons were … omnipresent. Each Targaryen had a dragon, with a few exceptions.”

“Dragon” opens with a fateful choice, as ailing King Jaehaerys Targaryen chooses his nephew, Viserys (Paddy Considine) as his heir, passing over his older and more capable niece, Rhaenys (Eve Best), because she is a woman, centering themes of misogyny and patriarchy that will be woven throughout the series.

Viserys is a good and decent man, traits that may hamper his ability to be a strong ruler, Best says.

“He’s a really lovely guy, but he’s clearly ill-suited to being an effective ruler. (It’s) an interesting question about leadership: What makes a good leader? And can you be a really nice guy and be a good leader?” she asks.

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Doubt about his authority is only one of Viserys’ problems in the story of how Westeros was lost. Targaryen succession issues persist, as Viserys has no male heir. Potential successors include his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock), although tradition would block her path, and his younger brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), an able warrior with unstable tendencies.

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Brothers at odds

The relationship between the brothers is “hugely complicated and really simple at the same time,” says Smith, who recently played a very different royal, Prince Philip, in Netflix’s “The Crown.” “I'm his annoying younger brother. There is a lineal thing between us that is unbreakable but thrown into all that is the politics and the madness of the Targaryen empire that he has to deal with. And I push all his buttons as he's dealing with it.”

Daemon, commander of the powerful but brutally violent City Watch of King’s Landing, acts impulsively, causing headaches for Viserys, Considine says. “On top of his duties, Viserys has to defend his brother constantly against the (king’s) council because (for) every opportunity Daemon is given, he manages to mess up or corrupt in some way." Viserys is "Daemon's only ally, and (he) can't be a brother and a king in this situation. And toward the end of the first episode, Viserys behaves like a king toward his own brother."

That isn’t the only complex Targaryen relationship. Rhaenyra and Daemon, although potential rivals for the Iron Throne, share a close bond.

“I think a lot of that has to do with his relationship with his brother,” Smith says. “In many ways, his brother is the great love of his life and, therefore, so is Rhaenyra. But it’s complicated.”

Other relationships promise palace intrigue too. As “Dragon” moves forward in time – there’s a time jump in the sixth episode – the friendship between Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy as the grown-up version) and her friend, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), daughter of top Viserys adviser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), becomes fraught.

Two women at center of 'Dragon'

“This series is built around these two women, who start in childhood as one another’s only true friendship,” says D’Arcy. “They're both in such a unique situation. … There is no one else in the court who can understand what it means to be here as a woman. And then as the series goes forward, it's the patriarchal structure that looks to pull apart this relationship, because that's how men consolidate power.”

The two young women are “put into their political chess match, their game of thrones, so to speak,” leading to intergenerational rivalry and strife, Condal says. “They grow up and have children of their own. And then those children grow up and they’re the ones that are charged with carrying forward the war and the cause for their mothers, who are standing on opposite sides of the playing field.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'House of the Dragon': Targaryens center of new 'Game of Thrones' show