The Targaryens were once a powerful family in Westeros, but their influence looks different in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Though the story centers on Dunk and Egg, it also reveals a side of House Targaryen away from the royal court of King’s Landing. Instead of focusing on King Daeron II himself, we see the lives of his children and grandchildren, ranging from the noble Baelor to the cruel Aerion.
The main reason for this development is that Aegon is actually a Targaryen – a truth revealed in Episode 3. But the show also emphasizes that times have changed for the Targaryen family, and this is clear even before the big reveal. During the tourney, when Aerion acts cruelly by killing his opponent’s horse, the common people openly protest. They rush onto the field and even throw things at the prince, hilariously knocking his helmet visor down. While we’ve seen unrest in both House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, this bold and direct attack on a royal demonstrates how much power the Targaryens have lost.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Shows The Targaryens Without Any Dragons
The biggest challenge for House Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is the absence of dragons. When Aegon Targaryen first conquered Westeros, he didn’t rely on political strength – he had three massive dragons: Balerion, Vhagar, and Meraxes. This is how he united most of the kingdoms under his rule (Dorne being the exception). The Targaryens’ power came from their dragons, essentially holding a devastating force – similar to nuclear weapons – over anyone who might oppose them, which made it easy to maintain control.
The Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons and depicted in House of the Dragon, marked the start of the decline for dragons as a species. Though many dragons clashed in battle, only four remained when the war concluded. The very last dragon was small and weak, and it died about 20 years later, meaning dragons disappeared for roughly 150 years until Daenerys Targaryen somehow brought them back to life.
Although the last dragon died roughly 130 years before the Targaryen dynasty fell during Robert’s Rebellion, the Targaryens didn’t completely lose control. Their long-standing rule, combined with periods of peace and wealth, and strategic marriages – especially with the Reach and Dorne – allowed them to stay on the Iron Throne.
The Targaryens have lost their aura of power and are no longer seen as godlike. Over the years, they’ve dealt with multiple rebellions, including one relatively recently. People like Raymun Fossoway now openly express their dislike for them, showing they don’t command the same respect or fear from either nobles or commoners. This decline partly explains Aerion’s behavior; he’s ashamed of how much the Targaryens have weakened and tries to restore their former glory, but instead, he only draws attention to their current vulnerability.
New episodes of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms usually come out on Sundays at 10 pm Eastern Time on HBO. But because of the Super Bowl, episode 4 will be available early on HBO Max starting Friday, February 6th, at 12:01 am Pacific Time / 3:01 am Eastern Time.
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2026-02-04 21:51