By tradition, Entertainment Weekly magazine has exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon universe. And today, it published exclusive studio photos and scenes from the firsts episodes.

Awesome, of course. And reveal some details.

One of the most important revelations – which we already suspected – is that we will see the Great Council of Harrenhal, where fans know that the conflict that would come to be known as The Dance of Dragons, a civil war between the claimants to the Iron Throne, began.

Before he died, King Jaehaerys Targaryen (Michael Carter) tried to determine his succession peacefully. With no male heirs, his daughter Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), already wedded to Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), was the direct option. However, as she herself speaks to her cousin in the trailer years later, men will kill each other before letting a woman rule them. The council decides that the next King will be Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), changing the order of succession. At the time he was married to Aemma Arryn, who was pregnant. The couple’s daughter, Rhaenrya (Milly Alcock) is with them as well and was already riding her dragon, Syrax.

In this great Council of Harrenhal, we will also meet other important characters, such as Viserys’ younger brother, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) whose personal ambition to one day reach the throne will influence much of what happens afterwards. Rhaenyra’s best friend Alicent Hightower (Emila Carey), daughter of the Hand of the King, Otto Highthower (Rhys Ifans), is also at the event.

Her father, by the way, is one of those who votes against Rhaenys as Queen, something that is important to remember later when Viserys, already a widower and without a male heir, displeases many people, especially Daemon, when he chooses his daughter Rhaenyra to succeed him as Queen of Westeros when the time comes. At this point, Otto supports the choice, as he fears the possibility of a kingdom under Daemon more than the princess. And of course, he’s already working behind the scenes to stop Viserys’ plans from coming to fruition.

Daemon is not the most popular Targaryen among the nobles, but beloved by the people and close to his niece, Rhaenyra. In one of the images of the trailer we see the famous duel against Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), a swordsman of Dornish origin, and they say, the princess’s passion.

In the fight Daemon is in a beautiful armor with the designs of the dragons of the Targaryens, as well as his famous sword, Dark Sister. And he beckons to his dragon, Caraxes, which we haven’t seen yet but is one of the most feared in Westeros. There are images of Daemon with a dragon egg as well, as well as the one that confirms the good marriage between Corlys and Rhaenya.

However, in the future, we know that the obedient Alicent enters her father’s plans and marries Viserys I, giving him sons, but the King does not rescind his decision to leave the throne to Rhaenyra. A final image shows the two former friends, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) as enemies.

There’s a lot to cover in this 1st season and the showrunners remind us of three important things: 1) Many historians weren’t present when reporting the events that later caused the conflicts; 2) the narrative changes perspective depending on which side you are on and – the main thing – 3) the story is written by men. The last factor has a 100% impact on the disagreement between Rhaenyra and Alicent, but we will see that little by little.

Anxious?

The final trailer of House of the Dragon should be shared soon!