The highly anticipated prequel to Game of Thrones (GoT), House of the Dragon, is finally out, and after two episodes, fans are seriously hooked. 

The series, based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, revolves around the history of the Targaryen family and their entire dynasty. Struggling to figure out who the different Targaryens and characters are? Here’s a chart on the Targaryen family tree to help you. 

If you’ve not seen any episodes, fret not; you’ve still got time to catch up. Before you catch the series, though, here are seven things you ought to know. 

Expect more dragons 

Unlike in GoT, House of the Dragon will feature way more dragons. Fans can expect to see 17 dragons in total, unlike the three in GoT. Even better, each dragon has their own personality quirks and characteristics. In the 11 years since GoT first appeared and since then, CGI technology has improved significantly, which means we can expect more realistic-looking firebreathing creatures. 

It’s focused (mainly) on one family 

House of the Dragon focuses mainly on the Targaryen family and their dynasty instead of several families vying for the Iron Throne. Compared to GoT, this focus on one family makes for a storyline that’s easier to follow. 

In addition to the Targaryens, the show also introduces two new families—the Velaryons and Hightowers—who were also featured in the original books but weren’t featured much in GoT. 

It’s unlikely that showrunners will go off topic

Thanks to the fact that George R.R. Martin is way more involved in the production of this series, and that the series is based on the Fire and Ice book, there should be a better roadmap for showrunners. 

One of the biggest concerns GoT fans have is whether the showrunners will go off topic. However, one key difference to GoT season five is that House of the Dragon has the guidance of George R.R. Martin’s book to guide them. 

The series is expected to have three seasons 

Given that Fire and Blood delves into a story that’s about 300 years long, fans are expecting that House of the Dragon will have at least three seasons. One thing to be most excited about is the possibility that the showrunners might explore other events and storylines from the book, too. 

Different ways of storytelling

Whereas GoT is told from a first-person perspective, House of the Dragon is told by an unreliable narrator (a septon who might have his own agenda) so, there could be more events that are open to interpretation. 

Battle scenes will be epic

Remember those epic battle scenes in GoT, like the ones in Hardhome, The Battle of the Bastards, and The Long Night? Well, it’s likely that we’ll see some of these epic scenes again in House of The Dragon because co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik was responsible for those scenes in GoT and it’s likely he’ll influence the fight scenes here, too. 

Plus, considering that HBO spent approximately $20 million per episode in season one, the scenes are going to have to be amazing. 

Major time jumps

While the show might be less complex because it focuses on just one household, it’s likely that viewers might experience some confusion because of the major time jumps in one season. It’s expected that the first season will span more than 10 years. As mentioned earlier, Fire and Blood itself spans 300 years long, these time jumps might get bigger. 

Excited to watch House of the Dragon? Currently, two episodes have already aired with new episodes showing every Sunday in the U.S. on HBO and for streaming on HBO Max.