House of the Dragon Episode 4 explores the relationship between Aegon’s dream and the GOT’s Prince That Was Promised prophecy. House of the Dragon, HBO’s new series, focuses more on the importance of prophecy and dreams. This was a shift that was relatively overlooked in Game of Thrones. As a result, the importance of Melisandre’s role in finding the Prince That Was Promised is emphasized. At the same time, the Targaryens of House of the Dragon are shown to be motivated by Aegon’s prophecy.
House of the Dragon’s premiere saw King Viserys revealing the secret of Aegon’s dream to Rhaenyra Targaryen. He called it the Song of Ice and Fire. According to the dream, a Targaryen must sit on the Iron Throne to unite the realm to save the living from the dark and cold. The burden of this knowledge will be passed to each Targaryen king or queen and their heir. House of the Dragon’s prophecy was fulfilled several centuries later when Game of Thrones concluded with Targaryen descendants Jon Snow and Daenerys becoming King of North and Queen of Westeros, respectively.
Viserys discovers Rhaenyra’s sex scandal with Daemon. The scandal ruins her perception of her heir. As a result, he reveals to her more about Aegon’s prophecy. The King takes out the Valyrian dagger from Game of Thrones, inscribed with Aegon’s dream in High Valyrian.
“From my blood come the prince that was promised, and his will be the song of ice and fire.”
The phrase’s first part refers to Game of Thrones’ seemingly forgotten vision of the Prince That Was Promised prophecy, preached by Melisandre and the followers of Lord of Light.
Melisandre (a.k.a. The Red Woman, Game of Thrones season 2) introduces The prophesied Prince. She says he will be born from salt and smoke, would pull the sword Lightbringer out of the flames, and use it to end the darkness. He will be the savior of those following the Lord of Light.
Melisandre initially believes that this person is Stannis Baratheon. However, after he dies, she discovers it to be the resurrected Jon Snow. After being exiled from the North and learning about Daenerys’ dragons, the Red Woman travels to Dragonstone to inform Daenerys she is the Princess Who was Promised. The High Valyrian term for “prince” is gender-neutral. Melisandre also mentions Jon Snow playing an important role in the prophecy. It suggests that Melisandre came to understand that the prophecy wasn’t just about one person. This is yet another point that aligns with House of the Dragon’s newly revealed prophecy.
Aegon’s dream now entails the prophesized Prince as a Targaryen with “songs of ice, fire.” These two sources have the same result of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen defeating the White Walkers. It seems that the Aegon’s Song of Ice and Fire dream and R’hllor’s Prince That Was Promised prophecy may be the same. The two prophecies differ slightly as the Prince That Was Promised prophecy is based upon Azor Ahai’s connection to Lightbringer and the Lord of Light. Game of Thrones prophecy doesn’t mention that the Prince must be a Targaryen to sit on the Iron Throne. Although they share the same vision, some sources contain vital information that others don’t.
The Lord of Light followers believed that the Prince That Was Promised was “born amid salt and smoke” and would wield Lightbringer. However, Aegon’s dream does not seem to include these points. These details support the notion that the Prince is Targaryen and, more specifically, that two Targaryens will play a part in fulfilling the prophecy. Jon is closer to the Lightbringer aspect, while Daenerys was raised in salt and smoke. Furthermore, both prophecies are in High Valyrian language, so Aegon’s dream is likely an extension of the Prince That Was Promised vision. This further clarifies that the Targaryens will fulfill the long-held prediction. We expect more revelations about the prophecy in the upcoming episodes of House of the Dragon.
