Everything you wanted to know about House of the Dragon but were afraid to ask

The Targaryens, one big happy family in House of the Dragin, coming to Sky's Soho and Neon on Monday.

Where does House of the Dragon fit into the Game of Thrones world?
The events of this show are set roughly 200 years before the events of GoT. Which yes, makes it a prequel.

Is much different?

A much spikier Iron Throne sits in the Red Keep, the White Walkers are stuck well behind The Wall, and unlike the original series, which saw the various Houses all scheming, shuffling and sword-slashing for supremacy, here House Targaryen is the stable ruler of the Seven Kingdoms - with the exception of sandy old Dorne, unpopularly depicted in GoT, which remains independent from the dragon-riding Targaryens.

Are we going to see the return of old favourites like the Starks, Lannisters, Baratheons and all that lot again?

While those Houses all exist in this period, the House of the Dragon zeroes in on the Targaryens as the main one we focus on, alongside the powerful Hightowers and the Velaryons. Ancestors from those other Houses should, however, play key roles later on in the series.

So, who are all these new characters?

The main Targaryen is King Viserys I, played by Paddy Considine. Having no sons he'd previously named his brother Daemon, played by Matt Smith, as his heir. However as is a King's wont he has a change of heart early in the series to instead favour his daughter, Rhaenyra, played here by Milly Alcock as the young princess and Emma D'Arcy when the show leaps forward 10 years in time.

Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen in The House of the Dragon.

That seems important. Is it important?
In a word, yes. The king's decision marks a big change for Westeros, as a woman has never sat on the Iron Throne before and her ascension makes a lot of people very upset, not least the closest members of their own family.

*gets popcorn* Go on.

It wouldn't be GoT without political intrigue and infighting. The violently-minded Daemon is hugely miffed when his claim to the throne gets pulled out from under his feet. And while a woman has never ruled before, one should have. King Viserys' cousin Rhaenys, played by Eve Best, would have been the first - and arguably should have been the first - but the Westerosi lords opted to keep the patriarchy intact and chose Viserys instead after listening to both of their claims to the throne.

Was she cool about it?

No. It's something she's still resentful about. While she doesn't rule, Rhaenys does nonetheless wields a great deal of influence as she is married to Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), aka "the Sea Snake" due to his commanding the world's largest naval fleet. A vital and key thing to control in a nation surrounded by water.

Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, "The Sea Snake", and Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen.

Okay, got it.

There's also the Hightowers.

The who now?

Ser Otto Hightower, played by Rhys Ifans, is the Hand of the King, basically King Viserys' Chief of Staff. His daughter, Alicent, played by Olivia Cooke with Emily Carey starring as the younger version, has grown up in King's Landing and is besties with Rhaenyra. This will be a key plot point as the series begins but her allegiance may be swayed and outside alliances may be formed ...

Great, more character names to remember…

Don't forget the 17 named dragons that will feature on the show!

Are any of them called Drogon at least?

Sadly not. Expect roll-off-the-tongue names like Caraxes, the mount of Prince Daemon, and Syrax, Rhaenyra's dragon, to show up on most popular baby name lists next year - Cannibal and Sheepstealer though, probably not.

Some good news is that the dragons here should be very easy to tell apart - unlike Daenerys' copy/pasted dragons, each one will look distinct.

Cut to the chase; are we going to see dragons in combat?

As the show progresses, yes. House of the Dragon will eventually cover the Dance of the Dragons, a ferocious civil war that sees the different factions of the Targaryen family clash over the Iron Throne in a bloody and fiery war.

Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen in The House of the Dragon.

It sounds like this is Succession but with dragons?

Pretty much. Expect more of the back-room scheming and palace intrigue this season though rather than airborne fights to the death. They'll come later.

But it's Westeros, we need fighting and bloodshed!
Violence and action are never far away in Westeros, but TimeOut predicts a revival of the original GoT playbook for this first season – scheming, monologues and backstabbing, with the odd brutal sword fight or tourney scattered in, for most of the season, before ending with a big action sequence that blows up the internet.

Still not a family show then?

Depends on the family. The Targaryen's would be fine with it. Don't forget that this is an HBO show, after all, so also expect nudity aplenty. However, one of the showrunners, Miguel Sapochnik, has said House of the Dragon will "pull back" on the sexual content. Another producer and writer, Sara Hess, has added that there will not be onscreen sexual violence – something that copped GoT some well-deserved criticism during its tenure.

Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen in The House of the Dragon.

GoT really hopped around a lot - am I going to need to consult a map to keep up with where everyone is?

Unlikely. Most of the action in House of the Dragon will centre around King's Landing – the capital city of Westeros destroyed at the end of Thrones – and Dragonstone – the nearby island ruled by Stannis Baratheon, and later Daenerys, in GoT.

Who's running this show behind the scenes?

Ryan J. Condal, best known for co-writing the 2018 monster movie Rampage, and director Miguel Sapochnik, the Emmy-winner behind GoT's biggest battles, including The Battle of the Bastards and the destruction of Kings Landing – are co-showrunners, The pair have received plenty of guidance from the creator himself, George R.R. Martin. David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, who guided GoT for all eight seasons, are not involved.

Do we know the ending already, or will the showrunners have to guess again?

House of the Dragon is based on chapters from Fire and Blood, a fictionalised history book about the Targaryen's reign that Martin published in 2018, so the new writers have a clearer idea than Benioff and Weiss did of how the story plays out and how things should end.

However, as with any adaptation, expect deviations from the source material, so don't feel the need to read up beforehand – unless you want to taunt your friends with spoilers.

So what exactly is going to be covered in the first season?

That, dear reader, you'll have to tune in to find out!

* House of the Dragon begins on Monday on Neon and Sky Go and on SoHo at 1pm and again at 8:30pm.