WARNING! This post contains major SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 1 AND George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood!


House of the Dragon will take a different turn next week, as the trailer for episode 6 hints at a massive time jump to welcome new characters and cast members. The HBO series is a prequel to Game of Thrones and is based on the section of George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood book about the Targaryen war of succession. The first five episodes, which GoT fans have widely praised, laid the foundation for the impending Targaryen family drama. They star Paddy Considine as King Viserys, Matt Smith as his brother Prince Daemon, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, and Eve Best as Rhaenys Targaryen. They also featured Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as the young versions Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent, respectively.

Sunday's episode 5, entitled "We Light the Way," showed Rhaenyra finally agreeing to a marriage of convenience with her cousin, Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate). King Viserys throws a wedding feast for the young couple, which ends in gruesome bloodshed. Rhaenyra's Kingsguard and lover Ser Criston Cole, marred by guilt and frustration, brutally murders Laenor's secret lover Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod) in front of all the guests. Rhaenyra and Laenor are then forced to continue their wedding vows just moments after the tragic incident. It's a fitting closing ceremony to the first part of the series, as House of the Dragon changes gear halfway through the season.

HBO's trailer for House of the Dragon episode 6, shared to the Game of Thrones YouTube channel, confirms that the second half of the series will begin some 10 years after and introduce a string of new cast members. Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke will make their debut as the older Rhaenyra and Alicent, and the trailer begins with the former friends having an icy square-off at the King's small council. The teaser proceeds to focus on the two women's children, who will play key roles in the impending civil war. Prince Aegon II is now a teenager, played by actor Tom Glynn-Carney. Laena Velaryon is also now much older and is played by Swedish actor Nanna Blondell. She is also seen having a child of her own and riding a dragon (presumably Vhagar) alongside Prince Daemon. Watch the trailer below:


Interestingly, Considine has shown great acting skills portraying the passage of time and what politics and family drama have done to age Viserys. The current Targaryen king is shown in the new trailer looking more frail and exhausted than ever. It is unknown how long Viserys has before he dies and prompts the Targaryen war of succession, but it seems that House of the Dragon is now diving straight into the events that will lead up to the pivotal civil war.

With the arrival of the new cast members, fans will have to bid goodbye to some of its remarkable actors. Alcock's performance as young Rhaenyra has been nothing short of stellar, and D'Arcy is expected to make the character even more compelling. That said, fans who have enjoyed watching conflict unfold in medieval Westeros can expect that things will get more exciting starting next week. Unlike Game of Thrones, the prequel series aims to take a faster pace in terms of storytelling. House of the Dragon has featured time jumps in between its first five episodes, but episode 6 will be its biggest one yet. As the show welcomes its new characters, viewers will surely see more deaths, drama, and dragons in the coming episodes.