9 details you might have missed in the latest episode of 'House of the Dragon'

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9 details you might have missed in the latest episode of 'House of the Dragon'
  • Warning: Spoilers ahead for "House of the Dragon" season one, episode six.
  • In the newest episode of HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel, we see a new generation of Targaryens.
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The opening credits were changed slightly to reflect Daemon's marriage to Laena, using his dragon-helmet as a personal sigil.

The opening credits were changed slightly to reflect Daemon's marriage to Laena, using his dragon-helmet as a personal sigil.
A scene from "House of the Dragon" season one, episode six.HBO

Like "Game of Thrones" before it, "House of the Dragon" is changing the opening credits to keep up with the storyline in the upcoming episode. Before, we could see things like a new house sigil on a castle after battles were won. Now we see new marriages and children through the channeling of bloodlines in a miniature of Valyria.

Daemon never had children with his first wife, Rhea Royce. In episode five, he murdered Rhea before returning to King's Landing for Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding celebrations.

This episode jumps forward 10 years, and Daemon is revealed to be married to Laena Velaryon (Laenor's sister and the daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys). Together, Daemon and Laena have had two children, a development now included in the opening credits as we see the updated family tree.

Alicent's dig at Laenor about the boys not looking like him is straight out of "Fire and Blood."

Alicent's dig at Laenor about the boys not looking like him is straight out of "Fire and Blood."
A scene from "House of the Dragon" season one, episode six.HBO

"Fire and Blood" is the fictional Westerosi history book that serves as the basis for "House of the Dragon." George R.R. Martin outlined the major events in House Targaryen's history, which means there's very little direct character dialogue. People like Queen Alicent are quoted every now and then in "testimony" from people at court, and this line is one of those times.

As is revealed over the course of episode six, Alicent has grown up and taken charge as queen — but few people seem to want to openly discuss the growing evidence that Rhaenyra is having children with a man who is not her husband.

"Do keep trying, Ser Laenor," Alicent says to Rhaenyra's husband. "Sooner or late you might get one that looks like you."

Virtually everyone else at court besides Ser Criston Cole and Queen Alicent seem content to feign ignorance about this flouncing of societal duties and customs. By including this line in the episode, the "House of the Dragon" writers are emphasizing how Alicent's direct barbs helped lead to Ser Harwin and Lyonel Strong's deaths in the final minutes of the episode.

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You may need a refresher on the names of all the new kids, starting with Aegon II.

You may need a refresher on the names of all the new kids, starting with Aegon II.
Ser Criston Cole and Prince Aegon II in "House of the Dragon."HBO

Back in episode five, little Prince Aegon Targaryen II was a toddler.

Now Aegon is a teenager around 14 years old, the same age his mother Alicent and his half-sister Rhaenyra were in the pilot episode. He's played by Ty Tennant (son of "Doctor Who" actor David Tennant, in case you're wondering why he looks familiar).

Then Alicent's other two children are Helaena (the middle) and Aemond (the youngest).

Then Alicent's other two children are Helaena (the middle) and Aemond (the youngest).
Queen Alicent and Princess Helaena in "House of the Dragon" season one.HBO

Helaena Targaryen was an infant in episode five.

She would now be about 11 years old at this point in the story, while Aemond is a couple years younger.

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Rhaenyra has three sons at this point in the timeline: Jacaerys ("Jace"), Lucerys ("Luke"), and baby Joffrey.

Rhaenyra has three sons at this point in the timeline: Jacaerys ("Jace"), Lucerys ("Luke"), and baby Joffrey.
Luke and Jace in episode six of "House of the Dragon."HBO

Jace is the oldest, and next in the line of succession for the Iron Throne after Rhaenyra (according to King Viserys' decision). Luke is her middle child, and is a few years younger than Jace.

The newborn baby in this episode is named Joffrey after the man Laenor was in love with as a teenager. Joffrey was killed by Ser Criston in the middle of Laenor and Rhaenyra's wedding welcome feast last episode.

When Aemond sneaks into the dragonpit's dungeons, he gets scared by Dreamfyre.

When Aemond sneaks into the dragonpit's dungeons, he gets scared by Dreamfyre.
Aemond Targaryen sparring with Ser Criston Cole in "House of the Dragon."HBO

This episode introduced us to three new dragons onscreen. Dreamfyre was the large dragon who spouted flames over Aemond's head in the caves.

This dragon is different from Rhaenyra's own she-dragon, Syrax, who was mentioned in the episode by Rhaenyra at the Small Council meeting when she offered to give Aemond one of Dreamfyre's next dragon eggs.

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Then we saw Vermax, the dragon who is being bonded with Jace (Rhaenyra's oldest son).

Then we saw Vermax, the dragon who is being bonded with Jace (Rhaenyra's oldest son).
A scene from "House of the Dragon" season one, episode six.HBO

Vermax is still pretty small for a dragon, likely just a few years old judging by their size (if Dany's dragons in "Game of Thrones" are meant to be analogous to these ones).

And Laena Velaryon is riding Vhagar, the last of the original three dragons who helped the Targaryens conquer Westeros about 200 years before the events in "House of the Dragon."

And Laena Velaryon is riding Vhagar, the last of the original three dragons who helped the Targaryens conquer Westeros about 200 years before the events in "House of the Dragon."
Laena Velaryon, now married to Daemon Targaryen, in "House of the Dragon."HBO

Vhagar is the oldest and largest living dragon known to the people of Westeros.

Back in episode two, when Laena was just 12 years old, she asked King Viserys what he knew about Vhagar and where she had gone after her last rider died in Westeros. In the intermittent years between episodes, Laena not only found Vhagar but bonded herself to the she-dragon.

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Laenor's advice about fleeing "the storm" is similar to what his father Lord Corlys once told King Viserys.

Laenor's advice about fleeing "the storm" is similar to what his father Lord Corlys once told King Viserys.
A scene from "House of the Dragon" season one, episode six.HBO

Back in episode two, and more than 13 years ago in the timeline of "House of the Dragon," King Viserys spoke with Lord Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys about the turmoil that could plague Westeros if House Targaryen did not shore up its line of succession.

Viserys wanted to delay remarrying after Aemma's death, but Corlys told him that waiting any longer could be risky.

"To elude a storm, you can either sail into it, or around it," Corlys said. "But you must never await its coming."

All these years later, Corlys' son Laenor is now married to Rhaenyra — but she's been having children with Ser Harwin Strong, making her children "bastards" in the eyes of the realm and therefore invalid successors to the Iron Throne. More attention is being brought to this "rumor," leading to Rhaenyra's decision to leave King's Landing and take up residence in Dragonstone, the first home of Targaryens in Westeros.

"The wise sailor flees the storm as it gathers," Laenor told her before she made her choice.

But we'll have to wait for next week's episode to see how sage this advice really was. Can Rhaenyra really get around this storm? Or will she need to sail straight into it soon?

For more on "House of the Dragon," read our analysis of episode three's stag hunt scene and other details you might have missed this season.