‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 opening credits, explained

House of the Dragon switches things up in Season 2, debuting a brand-new opening credits sequence right out of the gate.

The new titles take the form of a tapestry spelling out the history of House Targaryen, from the Doom of Valyria all the way to events of House of the Dragon Season 1. The first season’s credits took a somewhat similar approach, using gears, blood, and a backdrop of Old Valyria to take us through the Targaryen family tree. While these credits tied into the show’s focus on bloodlines and succession, they were also dimly lit, with barely legible symbols representing each member of House Targaryen. Because of this, the tapestry in Season 2 is already a step up — plus, it’s just as thematic as its predecessor!

The tapestry imagery has its roots in episode 7 of the House of the Dragon Season 1, when Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) utters the following strange prophecy: “Hand turns loom; spool of green, spool of black; dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread.” It’s a clever bit of foreshadowing to the Dance of the Dragons (the name for the royal succession civil war between between Aegon II and Rhaenyra), as well as a nod to Helaena’s prophetic dreams. But the references to looms, spools, and weaving also play into the idea that House of the Dragon‘s story will one day be viewed as history, a concept rendered literal in the new Season 2 opening credits.

From great conquests to times of prosperity, this title sequence is filled to the brim with details from House Targaryen’s past, all drawn from George R.R. Martin’s Targaryen history Fire and Blood. Let’s break down what each section of this massive tapestry means — and why it matters.

The Doom of Valyria

The Doom that started it all.
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

House of the Dragon‘s new titles open with foreboding images of erupting volcanoes, dying dragons, and a city on fire that looks just like King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) Old Valyria model from Season 1. That can only mean one thing: This is the Doom of Valyria, the cataclysmic event that wiped almost all the dragonriders from the face of the earth.

The only dragonriding family to survive was, of course, House Targaryen. That’s because 12 years before the Doom even happened, Daenys Targaryen — a dreamer like Helaena and Aegon the Conqueror — told her father Lord Aenar Targaryen of a vision she’d had of the end of Valyria. He heeded her warning and moved the family to Dragonstone. Basically, the Doom and its destruction of all the other dragonriders is why the Targaryens are in Westeros in the first place. It’s also why their connection to dragons is so rare and gives them so much power.

Aegon’s Conquest

Behold, the Field of Fire!
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

Next up on our House Targaryen history lesson is Aegon the Conqueror’s invasion of Westeros, which takes place about a century after the Doom. The opening credits tapestry shows us Aegon as well as his two sisters/wives Rhaenys and Visenya flying on their dragons. While Aegon’s Balerion and Rhaenys’s Meraxes are gone by the time House of the Dragon rolls around, Visenya’s Vhagar is still very much around. At the start of Season 2, her rider is Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell).

The credits continue Aegon’s Conquest with an image of Vhagar and Balerion breathing fire over a castle and crowds of dying soldiers, which collapses several key battles into one tableau. The castle is Harrenhal, which, despite being considered impenetrable, proved no match for Balerion’s fire. Meanwhile, the hordes of charred corpses represent the casualties in the Field of Fire, a massive battle during which the three Targaryen armies laid waste to the hosts of House Lannister and House Gardener. If you look closely in the credits, you can make out the sigils of both Houses — a hand for the Gardeners, a lion for the Lannisters — on shields on the battlefield.

In the face of the sheer might of dragons (think of them as the nukes of Westeros), it’s no surprise the Great Houses bent the knee to Aegon. The opening credits represent these pledges of fealty with kneeling figures decked out in the colors and sigils of some familiar families: the blue and white falcon and moon of House Arryn; the black and white direwolf of House Stark; and the silver, orange, and blue trout of House Tully. In a bit of history repeating, all three Houses could be players in Season 2 as well, as Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) will seek their allegiance in the war to come.

Maegor the Cruel

What a way to go.
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

Aegon the Conqueror was a tough act to follow, and neither of his sons quite lived up to his name during their successive reigns. Aenys I was viewed as indecisive and weak, while Maegor I, aka Maegor the Cruel, was a total tyrant. We’re talking executions, kinslaying, and tons and tons of burning. He also oversaw the completion of the Red Keep, after which he had everyone who worked on it beheaded in order to keep its secrets. Overall, not a great dude!

Maegor did go out in memorable fashion though, earning him a spot in House of the Dragon‘s new title sequence. We pan down from the Red Keep to see him seated on the Iron Throne, impaled through the neck by one of the throne’s swords and with his wrists cut. Fire and Blood keeps whether Maegor died by suicide or murder ambiguous. However, the death sets a pattern of Targaryen Kings being hurt or killed by the very Iron Throne they rule from. Remember how Viserys kept getting cuts from sitting on the Iron Throne? Turns out deadly furniture is a leading cause of death among Westerosi monarchs.

Jaehaerys and Alysanne

Incest aside, these two were a pretty good pair.
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

Where Maegor was a tyrant, his successor and nephew Jaehaerys I came to be known as the “Conciliator.” His reign of 55 years is the longest in Targaryen history, which certainly merits him a section of the Targaryen tapestry.

The House of the Dragon credits show Jaehaerys alongside his sister/wife Alysanne, as well as an image of a pot of gold and a seven-pointed star, representing the Faith of the Seven. The former points to Westeros’s prosperity during his reign, and the latter to how Jaehaerys mended the contentious divide between the crown and the Faith that started during Aenys’s reign. They don’t call him the Conciliator for nothing!

The Great Council

This looks familiar.
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

After showing Jaehaerys and Alysanne, the House of the Dragon opening credits dive into territory we’ve already covered in Season 1. First up is the Great Council of Harrenhal, where Jaehaerys and the lords of the Seven Kingdoms chose his successor from a crop of 14 possible heirs.

Viserys ended up on the throne, with the Council passing over Jaehaerys’s granddaughter Rhaenys (Eve Best). The decision set a precedent for women not being permitted to rule, leading to Viserys’ initial hesitation about making Rhaenyra his heir. Imagine all the mess we could have saved had the Council just gone with Rhaenys.

The Greens and the Blacks

It’s Targaryen smackdown time!
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

Next, House of the Dragon‘s new opening credits jump right into the conflict between Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). We see Alicent standing at one end of a banquet hall, resplendent in a green gown that calls back to her fashionable power move at Rhaenyra’s wedding. (Also, notice how the torches flanking her resemble House Hightower’s fiery sigil). On the other end of the hall is Rhaenyra, equally glorious in a black dress.

The banquet tables on opposite side of the hall lay out the members of Team Green and Team Black. On Team Green, we see Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Aemond, Aegon II, and Helaena. Notice how Helaena wears gold instead of green, distancing her from the rest of her family. On Team Black, we see Daemon (Matt Smith), Rhaenys, Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), Jacaerys (Harry Collett), Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), and Joffrey (Oscar Eskinazi).

Rhaenyra and Aegon II on their separate thrones

Two rulers enter. One ruler leaves.
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

In the richest tableau these credits have to offer, Aegon II and Rhaenyra take their places as dueling rulers of the Seven Kingdoms. Aegon sits atop the Iron Throne, while Rhaenyra sits on the throne at Dragonstone.

The two are surrounded by a frame of red and gold — a nod to House Targaryen’s colors and house words, “fire and blood.” Hands emerge from beneath both of their thrones to send messages to prospective allies. Ravens flock from the green hand under Aegon II, representing Otto’s diplomatic tactics at the start of the war. As we see in the Season 2 premiere, this approach already chafes the war-ready Aegon.

Aegon and Otto’s green hand and ravens contrast with the black hand and dragons extending from Rhaenyra’s section of the tapestry. Of the several dragons at Rhaenyra’s disposal, only three are pictured here. The smaller ones resemble Jacaerys’ Vermax and Lucerys’ Arrax, corresponding to the young princes’ missions to secure allies in the Season 1 finale. The longer red dragon is likely Daemon’s dragon Caraxes.

Rounding out this tapestry is a border of sigils framing Rhaenyra and Aegon. Based on placement, we can tell which of the Great Houses have declared for which side. Of the major Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon players, Houses Lannister, Baratheon, and Hightower are on Team Green, while Houses Arryn, Stark, Tully, and Velaryon are on Team Black.

Lucerys Velaryon’s death

RIP.
Credit: Screenshot: HBO

It’s only fitting that these new credits close with the tragedy that closed out Season 1: the death of Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys. Here, we see the intertwined figures of Aemond, Vhagar, Arrax, and Lucerys, reminding us all of one of the first casualties of the Dance of the Dragons.

From here, the now-blank tapestry unfolds towards the ominous silhouette of the Iron Throne. The message is clear: For the past minute and a half, we’ve witnessed centuries’ worth of bloody battles and the devastating power of dragons, all unleashed in the name of ruling Westeros. And with the schism between Rhaenyra and Aegon, these events — mostly tragedies — won’t be stopping anytime soon. The Targaryen history is still being written; the tapestry is far from done.

Jaehaerys’s murder and the death of the ratcatchers

As of House of the Dragon‘s third episode, the opening credits tapestry replaces the image of Lucerys’s death with new additions based on the events of Season 2’s first two episodes.

First up is the funeral procession of Jaehaerys Targaryen, who was brutally beheaded by assassins at the end of the season premiere. We see the infant prince lying on a bier lined in green, a bloody gold thread weaving across his neck to represent both the nature of his murder and the way in which his head was sewn back on for display to the public.

From there, the tapestry transitions to the fallout from Jaehaerys’ loss, showing us all the Red Keep ratcatchers Aegon had hanged in order to kill the one who had a hand in murdering his son. Blood seeps from their feet towards the Iron Throne, a reminder of the many casualties to come as the war between Rhaenyra and Aegon continues.

New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.

UPDATE: Jun. 30, 2024, 9:43 p.m. EDT This article has been updated with additions to the opening credits sequence.