Did ‘House of the Dragon’ Just Reveal the Identity of Azor Ahai?

One of the biggest critiques when Game of Thrones ended was that it did not answer many of its biggest mysteries, leaving fans unsatisfied. They hoped to see mysterious prophecies like the return of Azor Ahai answered definitively, but it was not that cut and dry. Now some believe that the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale has answered that question – for better or worse.

Fair warning: there are spoilers for House of the Dragon ahead! Season 2 wrapped up Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) time in the haunted castle Harrenhal with one last vision – a prophetic glimpse of the future, including the White Walkers. He sees the comet that passes over Westeros at the beginning of George R.R. Martin’s books, then three dragon eggs sitting in a fire. Finally, he sees Daenerys Targaryen herself rising from the ashes with her three newly-hatched dragons.

Some fans took this as a direct confirmation that Daenerys – played by Emilia Clarke on Game of Thrones – was Azor Ahai, and/or the prophecied “Prince That was Promised.” Early in the week when parts of the episode leaked online, some fans even interpreted this scene out of context, and complained that it was trying to retcon the main series or redeem it in some way. They pointed out that Daemon did not see any of the other characters suspected to fulfill the Azor Ahai prophecy, such as Jon Snow (Kit Harington) or Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).

Still, there are some issues with this interpretation of the episode and the story as a whole. For one thing, Daemon’s vision was not a comprehensive view of the future – it was fragmented and impressionistic, and apparently didn’t show him how exactly humanity would face the Long Night, only that they “must.” On top of that, the vision was clearly curated for Daemon in particular by Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) and perhaps by other spirits within the Weirwood trees. In fact, many fans speculate that Greenseers like Bran Stark can cast their influence backwards in time, and Daemon did see the future Greenseer known as Bloodraven in his vision.

Beyond that, the idea that a single person has been or should be identified as Azor Ahai might be too simplistic for this story. HBO’s Game of Thrones did little with this prophecy but in George R.R. Martin’s books A Song of Ice and Fire, Azor Ahai is a mythical figure known by different names around the world and interpreted differently by each culture. Many fans doubt whether a specific character will ever be identified as Azor Ahai, and that instead many characters will embody the mythic hero at different times. Daenerys fulfilled the prophecy in many ways – including by killing her husband Khal Drogo to hatch her dragons, which could be a metaphorical stand-in for Azor Ahai’s magic sword. However, Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister, Brienne of Tarth and many other characters have checked some boxes as well, hinting the complex web of internal symbology Martin’s writing weaves.

As for the Prince That was Promised, some fans believe that this prophecy is the same as Azor Ahai, and others believe they are two separate figures. If so, then Dany and Jon each have a prophecy to fulfill, but if they’re the same, then the roles may be split up among several people. In the books, prophetic dreams and visions often remind us that “the dragon must have three heads,” indicating that it may take the united effort of several people or groups to stand against the Long Night.

There are a wealth of insightful analyses and fan theories about prophecy in George R.R. Martin’s book, and one of the best things about House of the Dragon is its faithful allusions to those prophecies. You can find deeper discussion of these topics on Reddit and other forums, and you can find Martin’s books in print, digital and audiobook formats. House of the Dragon Season 3 is now in pre-production, and the series is streaming on Max.