House of the Dragon: What Is The White Stag? Explained

HBO’s latest hit series House of the Dragon, has been taking Game of Thrones to the next level. The series had some pretty big numbers for their first three episodes with no signs of slowing down. House of the Dragon focuses on a time in Westeros over a hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, when the Targaryen dynasty reigned. Fans and critics alike believe that the series is a worthy successor to the original, and that it even makes the bad seasons of Game of Thrones worth it. During the third episode of the series we get to see the second name day of King Viserys’ son Aegon, as well as a Royal hunt. King Viserys kills a regular brown stag but is hoping to slay the legendary white stag. Instead, Princess Rhaynera sees the white stag and the implications are pretty significant.

In Westeros mythos, if King Viserys was to capture and kill the white stag, his followers would believe that it would imply that his son, Prince Aegon Targaryen, would be the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. But instead Rhaynera sees the white stag and let’s the beast walk away safely, which implies that she is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. It also could mean that the creature acknowledges Rhaynera as the rightful ruler.

HBO has been developing a bunch of series set in the Game of Thrones universe alongside the soon-to-launch House of the Dragon. Also among the projects said to be in development is a Tales of Dunk and Egg prequel series and a spin-off surrounding Jon Snow. So, it looks like Warner Bros. and HBO will be in the Game of Thrones business for a long time.

“We developed a lot of ideas, we were still developing a lot of ideas, and I think we’re really excited about the one that will air later this summer,” HBO VP of original programming Kara Buckley said of Game of Thrones earlier this month. “But, we don’t feel the need to make another one unless it feels really creatively exciting to us. That’s my job, at least. And the team that I’m on, that’s what we’re told to focus on.”

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