Dragon House Rhaenyra Targaryen John Snow Daenerys Targaryen
The Game of Thrones canon is back, and with it comes a tangle of family relationships. Dragon House, a recently released miniseries, travels back in time nearly 200 years to when the white-haired Targaryens ruled the lands of Westeros. To say they’re thriving might be an overstatement, given how often they’re on each other’s necks, but hey, that’s the real beauty of this one.
Despite the fact that the episodes of the prequel are set centuries in the future of Game of Thrones, the protagonists have a deep connection with those of the main program via their common ancestry. Let’s explore the ancestry of our new protagonist, Rhaenyra Targaryen, who happens to be a distant relative of Mother of Dragons and John Snow.
The relationship between Daenerys and Jon
We must first recall how Daenerys and Jon are related to each other in order to fully understand how the protagonists of the latest HBO show share the same lineage.
Sometime before the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, Jon Snow learned that his true identity was Aegon Targaryen. Eventually, he found out that Daenerys was his aunt since his father shared the same blood as Daenerys’ father, Rhaegar. Fans may think such a revelation would put a strain on their relationship, but where they’re from, incest isn’t taken as seriously as it is everywhere.
Let’s talk about Rhaenyra’s relationship with the aunt-nephew couple. Dragon House centers on teenage queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, who is entitled to the Iron Throne at a time when the identity of the kingdom’s future leader is far more contested than ever.
Audiences will likely see parallels between Rhaenyra and Dany, another of her headstrong offspring. So it’s safe to say that Daenerys is Rhaenyra’s great-great-great-grandmother.
She’s not the only one to share the same lineage
Dany and Jon have other famous relatives in the House of the Dragon beside the First Queen of Westeros. John and his short-term lover can trace their ancestry to Rhaenyra’s uncle, Daemon Targaryen. Keep in mind that I’ve argued before that incest isn’t a major concern in Westeros. The Targaryens are in that category, that’s for sure.
Rhaenyra fell in love with her manipulative uncle Daemon during all of the conflicts for control of Westeros, and later bore Aegon III and Viserys II. Thus, Daenerys and Jon are distant from Viserys II via their common ancestry. Remember that HBO’s Game of Thrones miniseries departed from the novels in essential ways; it’s possible the events of House of the Dragon will do the same.
However, the series seems to set up the romance between Rhaenyra and Demona partnership that spawns both Daenerys and Jon Snow, so it seems likely that this relationship will transition from literature to television.
As a bonus, Rhaenyra’s fierce personality is reminiscent of Daenerys.
