House of the Dragon’s time jumps and timeline, explained

House of the Dragon episode 6 takes a major 10-year time jump in the action — and however it plays out in the long run, it’s exactly the kind of move the show should be making.

It is one of the most beautiful parts about House of the Dragon, HBO’s so-far-so-good Game of ThronesGeorge R.R. was the co-creator of prequel series. Martin and showrunner Ryan Condal reaped storytelling philosophy from Netflix’s The Crown. Peter Morgan, creator of that series, knew it was impossible to linearly chart every beat of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign (RIP), so from the first season, the drama bounced from significant moment to significant moment, with each hour playing like a stand-alone film.

House of the Dragon’s time jumps make Martin’s “history” of Westeros from the book Fire & BloodWith equal importance, they come to life. Knowing that each episode will propel viewers ahead by just a few months, if not years, episodes can only deliver the good stuff. Game of ThronesIt found an incredible scale in the map, which it sometimes had to make compromises to chart fully. House of the DragonThis same scope can be found in the same time.

The worst part of House of the Dragon is that I am but a feeble man who often needs to be told exactly where and when things are happening in a story of this scale, and yet there’s no hand-holding. Consider me a big fan of when David Fincher used screen-filling WordArt to scream things like “FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA,” in Mindhunter. Although the drama contained in this film is filmed at locations that are not recognizable, House of the Dragon are fairly easy to follow (although who doesn’t love a map?), I’ll admit that I’ve never been five minutes into an episode and felt confident that I knew WhereThings were going according to plan. The Crown It has the benefit of being based, on what you know. Real history, with Morgan often winding his way to “aha!” realizations of what each episode will focus on. House of the Dragon drops you headfirst into Targaryen history, and while the show’s backstabbing pleasures require no real context, I can’t help but want that foundation.

For anyone who is still enthralled by the adventure but could use some historical context, this chart shows how far the characters have come since the premiere.

Episode 1, ‘The Heirs of the Dragon’ cold open

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Martin uses a B.C./A.D. to record time in A Song of Ice and Fire text. equivalent called “AC,” an abbreviation for “After the Conquest.” In 1 AC, Aegon I Targaryen was crowned king after conquesting his way through Westeros.

House of the Dragon It opens at 101 AC. This is 197 years after the events that took place in Game of Thrones’ first season. One scene is featured in this period. King Jaehaerys the I Targaryen announces his choice for his next heir after his son Baelon has passed away. It will not be Princess Rhaenys as his genealogical choice, but instead his eldest grandson.Son, Prince Viserys. What we don’t see is Jaehaerys die — in 103 AC, according to Fire & Blood — and pass the crown to Viserys.

Later in episode 1, aka most of ‘The Heirs of the Dragon’

It’s tough to say This is exactlyWhere House of the Dragon gets going, but a title card explains that the show picks up nine years into King Viserys’ reign. Do the math, and we’re at around 112 AC.

Episode 2, ‘The Rogue Prince’

The show’s first time jump leaps ahead by six months, as tensions with Daemon Targaryen — not to mention the factions in the Stepstones — begin to escalate.

Episode 3, ‘Second of His Name’

Three years later — so, around 115 AC — shit is getting real in the Stepstones. Talk of war in episode 2 turned to violence. Prince Daemon defeated the Crabfeeder by using Lord Corlys Velaryon. This is also when Alicent Hightower is quite pregnant with her and Viserys’ first kid, who we’ll eventually see as more of a worthy heir to the throne after the next time jump.

Episode 4, ‘King of the Narrow Sea’

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

The time jump in episode 4 is a bit murky, but we know that Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen has been urged to find a husband, and has spent at least a couple of months since Daemon’s triumph looking for someone worth her while. Daemon and Rhaenyra also have a brief fling. Here, the show diverges from Martin’s Fire & Blood Timeline, in which Daemon was proclaimed King of the Narrow Sea at 109 AC.

Episode 5, ‘We Light the Way’

House of the DragonIn episode 5, Daemon continues to fight with its source material. Most of Daemon’s exploits in Fire & Blood are taking place around 115 AC, but when we pick up with the troubled fella, likely around 114 AC on the show, he’s already staging his new-ish wife Lady Rhea Royce’s untimely death. We also see Rhaenyra’s wedding to Ser Laenor Velaryon, which has been slightly shifted up in time from when it occurs in the books. Condal has made history easier to digest for the jump.

Episode 6, ‘The Princess and the Queen’

This is the halfway point House of the Dragon’s first season makes a 10- to 15-year time jump (according to Olivia Cooke, who now plays Alicent) to around 124-129 AC. As anyone who has flipped through Martin’s Fire & BloodYou will hear it: When shit gets ugly. And it’s already been pretty ugly. We do know what the worst is.