GoT: Three Ways to Get Ready for ‘House of the Dragon’

Dragon’s are coming, time to get ready.

This weekend Game of Thrones returns with its prequel show House of the Dragon. Set about 200 years before the events of the hit, turned fiasco, show, House of the Dragon focuses on new characters and new conflicts. At the heart off the story is a brewing conflict between different members of the ruling Targaryen family. This is a show with a ton of internal history. It’s one that focuses a lot of political maneuvering and families. So if you don’t want to jump into the show cold turkey here are a few things you can do to prepare for the show.

Read Fire & Blood

House of the Dragon is based on Martin’s faux history book Fire and Blood. In particular, the last half of the book covers events related to the show. We don’t know when the show will end so it’s not clear just how much is being drawn from the book, but at least 200 pages will likely be covered. So maybe the most obvious way to get ready for House of the Dragon is to read the book it’s based on. But what about spoilers, you might ask.

via HBOMax

Well, Fire and Blood is told from several unreliable sources. They are often conflicting. So while it might spoil the general plot of the show, lots of events are going to be different. But if you really want to avoid being spoiled on stuff, just read the first half. In the hardcover edition, this would have you ending on page 352, halfway through the chapter “Heirs of the Dragon”. This is about the place where the show seems to be starting. All the backstory and little spoilers.

Youtube is Your Friend When Getting Ready For House of the Dragon

There are a lot of great YouTubers out there covering Game of Thrones and now House of the Dragon. Checking them out can be one of the best ways of getting ready for House of the Dragon. Preston Jacobs has long been one of the best YouTubers covering Game of Thrones. He’s got some amazing theory video’s on GoT.  Over the last few weeks, he’s been doing a deep dive analysis of the part of Fire and Blood leading up to when the show starts. This is a great way to get a lot of background detail.

If you want something a little less in-depth there are plenty of other video options out there. Alt Shift X has a good video on the subject to check out.

Just Gorge Yourself on Game of Thrones Before House Of The Dragon

Are you a completionist? Well, you’ve got 8 Seasons of TV, 5 main books, the supplementary books Fire & Blood and the World of Ice and Ice, the Dunk and Egg novellas, and a host of videos and forum posts to read. If you want to really rekindle your GoT fandom now is the time to devour just everything. There’s a lot out there to read, watch, and catch up on. Bits and pieces of the story are mentioned and spread out in just about everything Martin has written. You can really dig into this story. Of course, if you are trying to get ready for House Of The Dragon before it comes out… well hopefully you started a few months ago!

Let us know how you are getting ready for House of the Dragon, down in the comment! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.