House of the Dragon season 1 has set up the show’s biggest time jump yet, as 10 years will pass between episode 5 and episode 6. Along with this time jump comes the introduction of new actors to the show, as Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke are set to replace Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, respectively. Though House of the Dragon season 1 has already featured a few massive time jumps, which includes the 3-yr jump between House of the Dragon episode 2 and episode 3, this can be the show’s largest time skip yet, in spite of so many significant moments taking place in House of the Dragon’s modern-day episode in the course of the celebrations for Rhaenyra’s wedding
ceremony with Laenor Velaryon. How this 10-yr time bounce will have an effect on the narrative flow of the show stays to be seen, however it is secure to mention that the audience may be moving into a one of a kind version of Westeros than they were left with in House of the Dragon episode 5.
That civil struggle is the reason House of the Dragon’s timeline is so expansive. House of the Dragon will cover almost 3 decades really well worth of time, in the course of which family conflicts and divisions will have festered and spread. The first 5 episodes of House of the Dragon season 1 have carefully set up the beginnings of these conflicts, laying out the characters’ motivations and the reasoning behind their distaste for Rhaenyra being named as Viserys’ heir to the Iron Throne. Though it is unlikely that House of the Dragon season 1 will adapt the Dance of the Dragons in full already, as season 2 has been confirmed, there are lots of narrative details left to showcase before the civil struggle that rips House Targaryen apart can definitely take place. House of the Dragon episode five has laid the groundwork, however, and episode 6’s expansive 10-year time jump will in addition expand on those particular plot lines – despite the fact that it can also in the end leave a few others in the dust because of the time scale involved.
Why House Of The Dragon Will Have A 10-Year Time Jump
Though having a 10-year time jump in House of the Dragon season 1 seems drastic, and the casting changes will likely be jarring at first, the show has good cause to hire this type of large jump forward in time. The first 5 episodes of House of the Dragon have finished a solid job of putting in place the 2 warring sides in the Dance of the Dragons, specifically the “greens” and the “blacks.” The “greens” help Alicent Hightower’s claim that hers and Viserys’ firstborn son, Aegon Targaryen, need to inherit the Iron Throne, a plot which was confirmed when Alicent walked into Rhaenyra’s and Laenor’s celebratory feast wearing a vibrant Hightower-green get dressed as opposed to her husband’s Targaryen colors. The “blacks” side of the struggle help Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne as Viserys’ named heir. The casting changes for Rhaenyra and Alicent emphasize the growing chasm in their relationship – those new versions represent the massive changes their characters have undergone between episodes 5 and 6, for better or for worse.
