The “Game of Thrones” spinoff series, “House of the Dragon,” premieres Sunday, Aug. 21 at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max
Set around 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” it follows the Targaryen family (Daenerys and Jon Snow’s ancestors) through a civil war
The prequel also sheds some light on why Dany and Jon end up as the last Targaryens left standing, and why Dany’s trio of dragons were the final three in a world that used to be full of them
This show is based on George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood,” which chronicles the (fictional) history of the Targaryens. This gives the show more leeway to fill in some character motivations
If you want to find out how these characters will each eventually die (or in some cases, vanish to be presumed dead) we won’t spoil their fates
The basic story is a civil war between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother, Aegon II, over which one of them will succeed their father, Viserys I, to the throne
Just like “GoT,” this is a conflict over who will sit on the uncomfortable pointy chair. But this pits sister against brother, and dragon against dragon
Expect a lot of palace intrigue and political scheming. And expect it to cover a bigger span of time than “GoT” did, with more time jumps than the former show had