Although as the seasons of ‘Game of Thrones’ progressed, the series began to drop more and more from the original material, it began quite closely linked to the story of ‘Song of ice and fire‘ and from time to time we had flashes of where the books of GRR Martin.
For now it seems that ‘The house of the dragon’ is staying more faithful, and that it is also taking advantage from time to time to unite the two series, especially by re-introducing the prophecy of ‘The prince that was promised’.
Here are some spoilers for ‘The House of the Dragon’!
Aegon’s Dream
We have to go a few centuries back with a past Targaryen: Aegon the Conqueror. The king had a prophetic dream that he called ‘the song of ice and fire’, and that was about a future Targaryen who would sit on the iron throne and who would unite all of Westeros to defend it from the cold and darkness of a devastating winter. .
This prophecy has been secretly passed from each monarch to his successor, and in the fourth chapter Viserys reveals it to Rhaenyra showing him a dagger where they are inscribed “From my blood comes the prince that was promised and his will will be the song of ice and fire”
If in the fourth episode Viserys already told this prophecy to Rhaenyra by establishing her as his successor, the end of chapter eight reminds us of her again with his ending. In her last moments, the king remembers the prophecy again and assures that he believes that it is real and that it refers to his daughter.
Melisandre enters the field
On television we heard this prophecy for the first time thanks to Melisandre in the second season of ‘Game of Thrones’. For those who follow the Lord of Light, the “prince” is also a very important figure because it is said that “will be born between salt and smoke” and will wield the sword of Light Owner of fire to end the darkness. So the prince that was promised would also be the reincarnation of Azor Ahai.
At first, Melisandre is dead sure that Stannis Baratheon fits this prophecy, but once he dies, the priestess quickly changes her mind and believes that he actually means Jon Snow.
Both prophecies have a lot in common, they also have some slightly different points, since Azor Ahai’s prophecy doesn’t say anywhere that it refers to a Targaryen, and Aegon’s doesn’t mention anything about salt and smoke. So it can be said that agree on vital information but the details are left up in the air for interpretation.
The possible “princes”
Nearly two hundred years later, we come to the timeline of ‘Game of Thrones’, where indeed we had a very long winter in sight and a horde of white walkers led by the night king willing to take all Westeros ahead.
They were finally defeated thanks to (almost) all Westeros agreed and was unified under the command of Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow. So who is the “prince”?
Both Jon and Daenerys have Targaryen blood and are descendants of Aegon the Conqueror. She directly for being the daughter of King Aerys II and he for actually being Aegon Targaryen, the son of Rhaegar and Lyanna Stark. Both fit well into different aspects of the prophecy of ‘The Prince That Was Promised’, and also the one of Azor Ahai’s reincarnation.
Daenerys was born between smoke and salt, but Jon also has more connection with the prophecy of the Lord of Light, with which the combination of the two prophecies could refer to the two and the fact that they come together for the good of Westeros, or so Melisandre seems to believe.
The problem comes because who finally kills the Night King and ends the Long Night is Aryaso he could have been a surprise “prince” even though he’s not blood related to Aegon at all.
This debate has been going on for years, and it will hardly be settled until Martin confirms it in the books.if that ever happens. For starters, the word “prince” in the High Valyrian in which the prophecy is written is gender-neutral, so it could refer to either a man or a woman.
In fact, for a long time it was believed that he might even have been the prince Rhaegar Targaryensbecause like Daenerys, she was also born between “smoke and salt”.
Viserys seems to believe that he is referring to his daughter Rhaenyra and that she will unite the Seven Kingdoms, but knowing everything that happens next in ‘Game of Thrones’, for now it seems pretty unlikely unless the series hits us with a very big surprise. very big.