House of the Dragon takes place nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, but one decision made by Alicent Hightower helped shape the future of Westeros in ways she could never have imagined. While Alicent never met Bran Stark, the chain of events that began with her actions eventually led to Bran being chosen as king at the end of Game of Thrones.
Alicent Hightower’s misunderstanding started the Dance of the Dragons
The turning point came during King Viserys I Targaryen’s final moments. In the HBO series, Viserys spoke about Aegon’s dream, also known as A Song of Ice and Fire, believing he was talking to his daughter and chosen heir, Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Instead, Alicent heard only part of his final words. She believed Viserys wanted their son, Aegon II Targaryen, to inherit the Iron Throne. Acting on that belief, she supported Aegon’s claim instead of Rhaenyra’s.
Although members of the Green Council were already preparing to place Aegon on the throne, Alicent’s misunderstanding gave the move a personal justification in the show’s version of events. That decision helped trigger the brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons.
The Dance of the Dragons changed House Targaryen forever
The civil war devastated House Targaryen. Dragons fought dragons, many members of the royal family died, and most of the living dragons were wiped out.
While the Targaryens continued to rule Westeros for more than a century after the Dance, they never fully recovered their former strength. Their greatest advantage over the rest of the realm—their dragons—was effectively gone.
Without dragons, the Targaryen dynasty became far more vulnerable to future rebellions and political struggles. Historians within George R.R. Martin’s world often describe the Dance as the beginning of the family’s long decline.
How Alicent Hightower’s actions eventually led to Bran Stark
The connection between Alicent and Bran stretches across generations rather than direct cause and effect.
A simplified timeline looks like this:
- Alicent backed Aegon II after misunderstanding Viserys’ final words.
- The Dance of the Dragons broke the Targaryen family and nearly wiped out its dragons.
- House Targaryen slowly lost the power that had kept it on the Iron Throne for centuries.
- Generations later, Robert’s Rebellion ended Targaryen rule.
- That opened the way for the events of Game of Thrones, including the War of the Five Kings, the return of Daenerys Targaryen, and the fight against the Night King.
- After those conflicts, the surviving lords of Westeros chose Bran Stark as king instead of restoring the Targaryen dynasty.
From that perspective, Alicent unknowingly set off the first domino in a long chain of historical events.
Bran Stark becoming king was the end of a centuries-long chain
It would be unfair to say Alicent alone put Bran on the throne. Many major events happened between the Dance of the Dragons and the end of Game of Thrones. Characters such as Aegon III, Aerys II Targaryen, Robert Baratheon, Eddard Stark, Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister all played major roles in shaping Westeros.
Still, Alicent’s decision remains one of the earliest turning points in that history. If the Dance of the Dragons had never happened—or if Rhaenyra had taken the throne peacefully—the Targaryen dynasty might have remained far stronger, potentially changing everything that followed.
That idea has become a popular topic among fans because it shows how one misunderstanding echoed across nearly two centuries of Westerosi history. While the connection is indirect, it highlights one of George R.R. Martin’s recurring themes: small personal choices can have consequences that last for generations.
One misunderstanding during House of the Dragon ended up becoming one of the earliest links in the long historical path that finished with Bran Stark sitting on the Iron Throne.
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