House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (2025)

House of the Dragon

House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (1)

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House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (5)

An expert breaks down House of the Dragon season 2's major battle scene. The sophomore season of the Game of Thrones spinoff series raised the drama once again as Alicent's son Aegon rose to power to be king. While a war-like battle between various Targaryen groups was hinted for the entire season, the biggest battle erupts in season 2, episode 4, "The Red Dragon and the Gold." This episode sees Aegon's brother, Aemond, target the king with dragonfire, giving him life-threatening wounds.

Speaking with Insider, military historian Roel Konijnendijk provides his interpretation of the accuracy of a key House of the Dragon scene. The historian has a lot of good things to say about season 2's Rook's Rest sequence, complimenting the army's positioning and the use of the king on the front lines. He takes greater issue, however, with how House of the Dragon depicts archers "shoot[ing] in volleys." While Konijnendijk admits this is oft-used in cinema and television, the trope bothers him. He gave the sequel a 6 out of 10. Check out the full quote below:

It's actually a really interesting clip, like it's got some really accurate features of how to approach a fortified position. Like the attacking force is really quite spread out. They've all got their shields in front of them. They're trying to use screens to maintain in cover while they're advancing. So they're trying not to make themselves into too much of a target, which is really good.

So the command, I mean I've talked about this before. Movies and TV shows just love doing this over and over. They want their archers to be musket men. They want them to follow a fixed sequence to fire in volleys. But archers didn't historically do this. There's no evidence that archers would shoot in volleys. It's just something they made up for the movie because it looks good to have them all do it at the same time and do it at the word of command. Some of these bows, they might have a draw weight of 60 pounds or more. A longbow has a draw weight of 120 pounds. If you're waiting for the command and you have to just hold it there and weight for the guy to tell you to lose, your arm's going to go numb, you're going to give that up. And after a volley or two, you're gonna be exhausted.

So the defenders here are using the most basic tactic of course that you can use, which is to try and shoot the people who are operating the engines. If you can get rid of those, then the engines themselves are just wood. The obvious response to that was to try and protect the ram itself with some kind of roof or screen, which is what something that has happened since ancient times. I think it is supposed to be the kind of ram that you might use either the batter against the walls, like you can roll it back and forth and smash it into something, or to pry apart the stones of the wall.

Throughout history you use musical instruments or flags or fire to kind of signal to other people, to make sure that they play their part in the battle. Having something really loud like a trumpet that you can hear over the noise of the battle and you can hear it a long distance is a really basic way to do that. The one thing that I'm slightly questioning in this scene is that the signal seems to be just a simple, single trumpet blast. So it's really simple, it's really straightforward. That could be mistaken for a lot of things. That could be a signal to attack for the main force, it could be a signal to retreat. And if this is the signal they use to summon the dragon, it implies that they have absolutely no other signals.

Roman army units would have had like much more complex signals. They had a whole set of them that they were able to use in battle to indicate different maneuvers. So for instance, Roman armies, you'd see these trumpet players with each unit. And they would be able to give orders specifically. If you read tactical manuals from the Helenistic and Roman period, these authors still think the most reliable way to convey an order is to just, you know, use your voice.

Aegon and the other sort of leaders are actually getting directly involved in the fighting, and they've become this kind of sort of symbol for their side riding these dragons. And that is fundamentally really historical. There is a particular leadership style that is leading by example, which is very common throughout history for these kings to demonstrate their worth as leaders. People follow them because they're willing to take the same risk as the troops. Alexander the Great, for instance, was really renowed for this like leading from the front, being the first into the enemy. But there's also the other consideration, which like already it forms the other opposite pole of that kind of problem of leadership, they often die. So it's something that a lot of leaders consider to be unwise because you end up losing a lot of generals or even, you know, monarchs that are royal figures, in battle. You want to avoid that, well you want to make sure that you keep them out of harm's way. I would give it a 6. I have a personal grudge agaist the arrow commands. Like at this point, I have to get them to stop it at some point, so they have to lose points for that. And also, where's my ditch, I need one, that's bad. But otherwise, there's a lot of stuff here that's actually really good.

What This Means For House of the Dragon

House Of The Dragon Is Historical Fantasy, Not Historical Fact

While House of the Dragon's setting is based on a two-decade civil war in 12th century England, it is important to note that House of the Dragon is not a piece of historical fiction. Given the Targaryens and their followers live in a world wherein dragons and other mystical elements are real, it makes sense that the series would not adhere to historical truth as strictly as one might hope. When faced with a question of accuracy, House of the Dragon often opted for a more cinematic approach.

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It seems that the House of the Dragon battle also stripped down some elements to their simpler form visually and sonically, in order to make the battle more legible to the audience. Konijnendijk would have liked the dragon call to be more complex, for example, but adding a noise more involved than a trumpet summoning may have led to more questions. Audiences may have begun wondering whether different dragons have different calls or what that specific pattern means, rather than just understanding a more simple cause-and-effect of "trumpet sounds, dragon awakes."

Our Take On This House Of The Dragon Scene's Historical Accuracy

House Of The Dragon Maintains Some Key Elements

House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (7)

While fabricated elements are more allowable in a historically inspired fantasy, it is still good to know that some of the scene's central elements are well-founded. Aegon insisting on fighting in the war is a point of tension in House of the Dragon season 2. It is good to know that this hubris represents historical kingly behavior and is not just melodrama made up for the Game of Thrones spinoff fantasy universe. It seems that House of the Dragon has struck a good balance between fantasy and fact.

Source: Insider

House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (8)

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House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (9)

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House of the Dragon

TV-MA

Drama

Action

Adventure

Fantasy

Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.

Release Date
August 21, 2022

Main Genre
Adventure
Franchise(s)
Game of Thrones

Network
HBO Max
Cast
Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Jefferson Hall, Sonoya Mizuno, Paddy Considine, Ryan Corr, Eve Best, Gavin Spokes, Graham McTavish, Bill Paterson, Matthew Needham, David Horovitch

Character(s)
Prince Daemon Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, Ser Otto Hightower, Arilon, Rhaenyra Targaryen, King Viserys I Targaryen (uncredited), Ser Harrold Westerling, Queen Aemma Arryn, Grand Maester Mellos, Lord Lyman Beesbury, Lord Lyonel Strong, King Jaehaerys Targaryen, Lord Hobert Hightower, Ser Erryk Cargyll, Ser Arryk Cargyll, Ryam Redwyne, Boremund Baratheon, Lord Rickon Stark, Captain Randyll Barret, Mickon, Master of Revels, High Septon, Dragonkeeper, Dragonkeeper Acolyte

Producers
Ryan Condal, George R. R. Martin, David Hancock, Miguel Sapochnik, Sara Hess, Vince Gerardis, Jocelyn Diaz, Greg Yaitanes, Ron Schmidt, Alexis Raben, Charmaine DeGraté, Angus More Gordon, Karen Wacker, Ira Parker, Danny Gulliver, Alan Taylor, Melissa Bernstein, Trina Siopy, Loni Peristere, Kevin De La Noy

Seasons
4

Story By
George R.R. Martin
Writers
George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal
Streaming Service(s)
MAX

Directors
Miguel Sapochnik, Clare Kilner, Alan Taylor, Greg Yaitanes, Geeta Vasant Patel, Andrij Parekh
Showrunner
George R.R. Martin
  • House of the Dragon
  • Game of Thrones
  • A Song of Ice and Fire

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House Of The Dragon Season 2's Major Battle Has Some Historical Accuracy But 1 Major Detail Bugs The Expert (2025)

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