The Hidden Meaning of House of the Dragon Credits Got Even Creepier in E9
Oh yes, there was a hidden meaning all along — at least according to eagle-eyed fans.
Have you been watching the intro to House of the Dragon closely, or have you been skipping it this entire time? Because it looks like it's getting different with every episode, explicitly hinting at the way things change in the show.
The intro credits make a complicated mechanism of sigils that are triggered into movement by rivers of blood that end up flowing into the House Targaryen sigil. However, according to the intro breakdown by Instagram account geeksofthrone, things seem to be even more complex than we thought.
If you look closely into the way blood flows move and divide in episode 9 intro, you can spot a certain pattern. It looks like blood rivers reflect the character's fate and their family expansion throughout the episodes.
For instance, King Viserys' sigil appears to be flooded with blood, even though it wasn't in previous intros. Queen Alicent's sigil becomes clearer, and from her there are three separate blood flows that go to the sigils of Aemond, Aegon and Helaena, her kids. Helaena's sigil is a spider, while Aemond has a blue sapphire (the one he has inside of his damaged eye).
The intro even shows a glimpse of Aegon's and Helaena's family continuation, depicting three separate blood rivers as their children. The same works for Daemon, even though his family tree does not receive as much attention in the credits — which is reasonable because episode 9 was largely dedicated to the Greens.
It is also clear that the intro's way of indicating characters' death is showing their sigils overflown with blood. It's true not just for Viserys, but also for Baelon and Alyssa Targaryen, the parents of King Viserys, who were dead in the show.
This leads to a simple conclusion that one needs to carefully watch the intro credits for the upcoming tenth episode, because they can easily give us a hint at who is going to die in the finale. Or don't watch them on purpose if you want to keep it a mystery until the very end.
House of the Dragon finale is set to premiere on HBO Max this Sunday, October 23.