Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon‘s showrunners say that the series is about the patriarchy’s perception of women. Today, Empire Magazine gave fans a brand new look at the fantasy series. Miguel Sapochnik explained how putting two women at the center of the story just made sense. Rhaenyra is the clear heir to the throne of Westeros, and her best friend Alicent Hightower is the daughter of the King’s right hand man. Despite their friendship, the two find themselves at odds with each other over the course of the show. Power is kind to some and harsh to others. Of course there would be friction when one side of a friendship sees some of the kingdom’s monarchy for what it is.
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“One day, she said, ‘This would be much more interesting if it was about the two main female characters, rather than the male characters,’” Sapochnik remembered. “‘If you really focused in on the patriarchy’s perception of women, and the fact that they’d rather destroy themselves than see a woman on the throne.’ That wasn’t a perspective I have ever told before. I think it made this show feel more contemporary too.”
“They grow up in the same backyard, which happens to be the royal court,” the duo added. “But Alicent is better at conforming to the requirements of court manoeuvres, and Rhaenyra is humming with the fire of old Targaryenism. It’s like an ally that lives inside her, and she has to learn when to dampen that fire and when to trust it. She’s surrounded by a trail of ashes”
In a recent sit-down with the showrunners for the series, they told Entertainment Weekly that they could see the future of the franchise being an anthology style approach.
“Absolutely. I think that’s one of the interesting things about the Targaryens,” Sapochnik said when asked about the gravity of the Targaryen lineage. “We’ve chosen a story that’s almost like Star Wars: Episode IV. It’s the [New Hope]. We can go backwards, we can go forwards. There’s a lot of opportunities there. I hope we’ve been given the opportunity to set up something.”
House of the Dragon lifts off on HBO and HBO Max on August 21.
Are you excited for House of Dragon? Interested in this friendship at the center of the story? Let us know down in the comments below!
