Will Daenerys Targaryen Appear in ‘House of the Dragon’?

House of the Dragon is less than two weeks away, and many fans are still holding out hope that the character Daenerys Targaryen will somehow make an appearance. Dany was one of the main characters on Game of Thrones, where she was played by Emilia Clarke, but her story was one of the most reviled parts of the show’s controversial ending. There’s no sign that Clarke or Dany will make an appearance on House of the Dragon, and it does not seem very likely.

House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones, and it begins about 200 years before the events of the main series. Obviously, that means Dany won’t be a main character as she hasn’t been born yet. However, some fans have developed a hope that she could appear in dream sequences or flash-forwards because of the show’s approach to prophecy. The trailers and other promotional elements have made it clear that House of the Dragon will focus much more on the mystical elements of Westeros, and will explore the Targaryens’ penchant for prescience.

For those that don’t know, Game of Thrones severely downplayed the magical aspects of the story in the original books, A Song of Ice and Fire. The page version of Dany puts a lot of faith in magical signs and portents, and she herself sometimes seems to have important dreams. The books also explain that many members of House Targaryen have had prophetic dreams – “dragon dreams” – for generations, and that might be the very reason they survived “The Doom of Valyria.” The trailers have already mentioned dreams many times, and star Paddy Considine told comic-con attendees that his character, King Viserys, is haunted by a prophecy he is trying to fulfill.

It’s not unreasonable to think that the show would use some shadowy vision of Dany to represent these prophecies since fans know that they likely refer to the return of the White Walkers. However, Clarke herself has made it pretty clear that she is not interested in returning to Westeros. Back in June, the BBC asked Clarke if she would consider appearing in any of the spinoffs and she said: “No I think I’m done.”

Still, Dany fans can expect some level of vindication for their favorite character in this series, as explained in a report by Screen Rant. House of the Dragon tells the story of arguably the most destructive internal war ever to ravage Westeros, with dragons fighting on both sides. That war was essentially a battle for the Iron Throne, with one side fighting for the right of a Targaryen queen to rule rather than her younger brother. In that sense, the show will contextualize Dany and the way the other lords might have thought of her considering their realm’s history with queens, misogyny and dragons.

House of the Dragon premieres on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. It is based on the book Fire & Blood, which is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.