To ease family strife, Rhaenyra proposes Jacaerys marry Helaena, Alicent's daughter, which Alicent rejects since she believes Jacaerys is a bastard. When Game of Thrones first premiered in 2011, it came with a pre-existing fanbase thanks to the Song of ice and Fire novel series. With over 100 interviews, the series provides four and a half hours of exclusive behind-the-scenes content, documenting the cast and crew’s 10-month-long production journey across four countries. Nielsen measures linear viewership in number of viewers while streaming shows are measured in number of minutes. Director Geeta Vasant Patel, Paddy Considine (Viserys Targaryen), Wil Johnson (Vaemond Velaryon) and more dive into the motivation behind Vaemond challenging Luke’s claim to Driftmark, and Viserys’ attempt at bringing his family together in Episode 8.

House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season (Steelbook/4K House of the Dragon: The Complete First Season (Steelbook/4K

Among the various people with plans for life after Viserys are his wicked brother Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), his determined daughter Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy, Milly Alcock), the shrewd Hand of the King himself Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), and the Hand's daughter, the comely Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke, Emily Carey). Before the premiere, Martin stated that the series is similar to a Shakespearean tragedy with each character being morally grey with no "character everybody's going to love". His brother, Ser Vaemond, petitions King's Landing to name him Corlys' heir, proclaiming Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys, illegitimate. The book covers around 150 years of Westeros history, with the Dance of Dragons only covering the final moments of the novel. Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon (season 1): The younger brother of Lord Corlys Velaryon, and a commander in the Velaryon navy.He is known as the "Crabfeeder" for his practice of crucifying and feeding his captured enemies to crabs. To continue the true Velaryon lineage, Princess Rhaenys suggests that Lord Corlys pass his title through his granddaughter, Baela by marriage to Prince Lucerys, as Laenor has not sired any children.

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In July 2021, Emily Carey and Milly Alcock were added to the cast as younger counterparts of Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen, respectively.Peterson stated that, unlike Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon features scene-long dialogue in High Valyrian. Lucerys meets with Lord Borros Baratheon and discovers Prince Aemond is also there to secure the Baratheons as allies for Aegon II. In the series, High Valyrian is spoken by both Targaryens and Velaryons, requiring cast members to learn the language.