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Game of Thrones is back. The world of the Song of Ice and Fire returns, this time with HBO’s House of the Dragon, a prequel based on George R. R. Martin's book, Fire and Blood, which narrates the rise and fall of the empire the Targaryens built, about 200 years before the events of the series.
The task of creating the musical accompaniment to this new chapter of the history of Westeros went again to composer Ramin Djawadi, who showed his musical talents for this universe with the original series. So far, I can only write about the first episode, and as the season goes on, I will keep writing a short analysis on each episode, breaking down all the new themes, as well as the returning ones.
Warning: There might be some SPOILERS for the episode and some small spoilers from Game of Thrones ahead.
SHORT DISCLAIMER: The transcriptions are not always in the same key as the pieces I put as example, and sometimes they are simplified to make it clearer and more concise
This first episode was filled with new characters in familiar locations, emotion and tragedy, and a stunning closing to the episode, which promises a lot to come.
During the opening minutes, Djawadi relies on old themes to establish this new storyline, starting with, obviously, the Targaryen theme. It’s one of the most well-know themes of the original show, and it represents the House Targaryen and their dragons. In the first seasons of Game of Thrones, it started soft and fragile to accompany Daenerys at the beginning of her journey, and her growing relationship with the dragons. Check it out at 1:43 of "Love in the Eyes".
But as the seasons went on, and she acquired more power, and the dragons grew stronger, the theme did as well, to represent the full power of this ancient house. You can check it out at 1:01 of "Reign":
In the episode, Djawadi plays a couple of variations of the theme, first mysterious as a voice gives us some context on what has happened before the events of the show, and then a full-blown statement of the theme, coupled with a motif known as the Breaker of Chains motif (sometimes also know as the Dragon Flight motif), as Rhaenyra and her dragon, Syrax, soar above King’s Landing.
Through the whole episode, we can hear hints of the Game of Thrones theme, and the Ostinato, the Main Titles of the original show, which made some appearances there to represent the changing dynamics of power between houses and characters, and here has a similar mission, playing a couple of times in the prologue, and at the final scenes of the episode (more on that later). It’s also interesting to note that in this prologue, we hear two familiar themes from the original series.
The first one is a vague hint to the ascending notes of the Night's Watch Theme, which plays briefly as we see the king opening the chest that contains the name of his future heir. It's a bit confusing what this theme means in here but my theory is that is linked to the secret the Targaryen family is keeping, the danger that lies north of the wall. It's quite a stretch but it's the only possible explanation I can think of. Or perhaps, you know, it's just three notes that sound like the Night's Watch theme but are not meant to represent that, I don't know. Anyway, you can hear a clear statement of the theme at 0:38 of "The Night's Watch" for reference.
The other familiar melody it's the Baratheon theme, or what could also be called as the Iron Throne theme. In the first seasons was strongly associated with House Baratheon, as they were the ones sitting on the Iron Throne, first Robert, and then his heirs, Joffrey and Tommen ("The King's Arrival").
Since they are strictly not Baratheon, the theme then was revealed to be a theme for the Iron Throne, and for the ruler who sits there, even playing in Season 8 in the scene where Sam reveals to Jon his true heritage, thus making him the true heir to the Iron Throne ("Heir to the Throne").
The rest of the episode is sparsely scored, and travels mostly through new territory, with a couple of moments worth mentioning. Rhaneyra’s arrival at King’s Landing is scored with a cello melody, which maybe will become a theme for her, or perhaps for the city? This early into the show it’s soon to figure out what the themes represent, but I’m sure we will slowly figure it out as the season goes on.
Daemon’s introductory scenes present dark ambiences and soundscapes, but not quite an identifiable melody, at least yet. This is really fitting as he is meant to be a menacing and dubious character, with perhaps some darker intentions lying within, which I’m sure will be the source of conflict in coming episodes.
Withouth doubt, one of the most important moments of the whole episode is the sequence that cuts back and forth between the tournament and Queen Aemma giving birth, underscored with tragic string melodies, which I think might be derivated from “The Prince That Was Promised”, which I will get into in a minute (EDIT: for clarification, I must add that after going a bit further into the season, I realized this scenes also introduce the Viserys Theme, which will be explored and explained in episode 3. The melody is greatly developed right before Queen Aemma dies). The queen dies, as well as the newborn who was meant to be the heir to King Viserys, and the emotional funeral is scored with more gorgeous string passages, and a couple of statements of the Targaryen theme, to signify the hard blow the King and his family have just received.
The episode then culminates with a really great montage, where Rhaenyra is named heir to the Iron Throne by her father, the king. As the truth is revealed to Rhaenyra, the track "The Prince That Was Promised" starts to play, and right away we can notice an unusual instrument for the show, the piano. It has only been used a couple of times in the series, to signify a game-changing event, such as Cersei’s act of revenge at the Sept of Baelor, in "Light of the Seven", or during The Long Night, as the remains of the living army made one final stand against "The Night King" and his Army of the Dead.
Here Djawadi uses it to signify the start of the problems that are yet to come after Rhaenyra becomes heir to the throne, and he reinforces this concept with a brand-new theme, which I think it’s going to represent the fight for power between the Targaryen family, so I will call it for now the Heir Theme.
It has two different sections that develop beautifully during the last minutes of the episode, joining the piano with a cello, and intermingling it with fragments of the Game of Thrones theme, which then closes the episode as Rhaenyra realizes the problems that are yet to come.
One thing of interest is that cue that plays in the episode also has a statement of the Targaryen theme, absent from the released track, right as Viserys reveals to Rhaenyra the darkness that lies north, beyond the Wall, and gives her the valyrian dagger that will many years later be of extreme importance to decide the outcome of the war against the Army of the Dead
And that’s it for the first episode. It was a great return to the world of Game of Thrones, and Djawadi delivers with emotion where it’s needed, and with a beautiful new theme that I’m sure will be developing a lot more in coming episodes. I’m planning on doing this for the following episodes, so stay tuned, share it with someone you think might like it, and enjoy!
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