House of the Dragon Season 2 Finale Fully Establishes the Targaryens' Secret Superpower

The Hosue of the Dragon Season 2 Finale dives into the secret superpower behind the Targaryen Dynasty - and it isn't dragons.

By Kofi Outlaw

(SPOILERS) House of the Dragon Season 2 ended by maneuvering its principal characters into the precarious places they needed to be in, as the Targaryen Civil Wars truly got underway. For characters like Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) that meant walking away from the war before the bodies piled too high; for others like Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), it was time to get off sidelines and decide whether he could truly support the reign of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy). 

Daemon's storyline was one of the most divisive elements of House of the Dragon Season 2, as the charismatic rascal was sidelined (literally and figuratively) at Harrenhal, trying to usurp the throne for himself. However, in HotD Season 2 Episode 8 "The Queen Who Ever Was" Daemon was finally moved by something greater than himself when he touched a Weirwood tree in Harrenhal's courtyard and saw a far-spanning vision of the future, and how the Targaryen bloodline (through Daenerys Targaryen) would stand against the darkness of the White Walkers. The vision has a profound effect on Daemon, instilling him with a sense of higher purpose. The vision is also the clearest depiction of "Greensight" or dream visions – the "superpower" that runs through the Targaryen line and first helped change the family's fate. 

The Legend of Daeney the Dreamer

Daeneys Targaryen was the daughter of Aenar Targaryen – aka "Aenar the Exile." Aenar and his family lived in Old Valyria; 12 years prior to the Doom of Valyria, Aenar's daughter Daeneys had a prophetic vision of the apocalyptic event. Aenar heeded the vision, selling off his holdings in Valyria and moving is family, slaves, wealth, and dragons to Dragonstone in Westeros. When The Doom of Valyria happened, all the families of Valyrian Dragonlords were wiped out – except for the Targaryens. In the era of chaos that followed (known as the "Century of Blood"), Aegon Targaryen expanded his family's empire, leaving Dragonstone to conquer all of Westeros (except for Dorne) and establishing the Targaryen Dynasty's rule for generations to come. 

The Dream Is the Song 

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(Photo:

Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen in "Game of Thrones" Finale

- HBO)

House of the Dragon has added some expansive dimensions to the idea of the Targaryens and their prophetic dreams – establishing the gift as one passed down through the family. In Season 1, King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) revealed to Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) that Aegon the Conqueror had the same kind of prophetic dreams of The Long Night that Daeney the Dreamer did of The Doom. Aegon's visions became "The Song of Ice and Fire" prophecy that foretold the coming of Aegon Targaryen/Jon Snow (Ice) and Daenerys Targaryen (Fire). 

"He [George R.R. Martin] told us very early on in the room – just as he casually mentions the fact that Aegon the Conqueror was a dreamer," Condal revealed in a previous interview. "He saw a vision of the White Walkers coming across the wall and sweeping over the land with cold and darkness. And but it never made the history book because [Aegon] never told anyone, or at least the people they told didn't tell the history to the history writers. So it's in George's head."

House of the Dragon Is A Link In The Chain of Destiny

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(Photo: HBO)

The Season 2 Finale of House of the Dragon has now expanded the power of Targaryen Dream Vision to include two characters from the series: Daemon and Queen Helaena Targaryen. 

Viserys and Rhaenyra heard about Aegon's visions second-hand through the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy that Aegon passed on to his descendants as a sacred mission: Daemon and Helaena experience it first-hand when Daemon touches the Weirwood – and Helaena has teased an ability to see the future since her introduction. The vision Daemon sees includes an Easter egg cameo from Brynen Rivers, the bastard son of a future Targaryen ruler, who became the first Three-Eyed Raven, as well as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. 

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That only further indicates how this secret ability guided the Targaryen bloodline over generations, and helped them make the moves that would eventually save Westeros from the Night King and White Walkers. It also gives legitimate credit to the Targaryens being an almost divinely blessed family, and therefore makes the blood shed in the "Dance of Dragons" even more tragic. 

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO and Max. 

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