Whatever about the confusing time jumps and the lack of certain characters (kudos to Baela and Raina), "House of the Dragon" succeeded in its goal: HBO's "Game of Thrones" prequel was a disappointing finale to the original series (2 Two words: King Bran) sucked us all into Westeros, a place many (myself included) vowed never to return to. Thanks to the revived memories of how the early seasons built the world, some fans may be thinking about re-watching "Thrones."

A warning before diving back into HBO Max again: there are spoilers for "HotD" still unfolding in "Thrones". Because centuries have passed between series, "Thrones" treats the "Dance of Dragons" (the Targaryen civil war that makes up the remaining seasons of "HotD") as historical fact and refers to it in conversations between characters The biggest spoiler that foretells the most important death in the future of HotD is that everyone most hated by the King of Westeros, Joffrey Baratheon. Spoilers for "Thrones" Season 3 and "House of Dragons" precede it.

"Thrones" Season 3, Episode 4, "And Now His Watch Ends," is famous for containing the pivotal Daenyth scene (opens in new tab) in which we see the young Targaryen command the Unsullied and show his true colors as a leader for the first time (opens in new tab). There is also a scene in which the baby Drogon dracarys a slaver); HotD spoilers came early in the episode in a scene (opens in new tab) in which Joffrey shows his new fiancée, Margaery Tyrell, around the cathedral. The highlight of his strangely happy talk about the history of Westeros is the graveyard of the Targaryen queen, who was eaten alive by her own brother's dragon while her son looked on. That queen and her brother are the warring monarchs of HotD, Rhaenyra and Aegon II.

Back in 2013, no one knew that "Thrones" would span a record-breaking prequel and end with the same events that Joffrey kept anecdotal with his bizarre courtship attempt. But in fact, this is not the only mention of Lenila and Aegon II. It is also mentioned in a conversation between Shireen Baratheon and Ser Davos Seaworth in episode 9 of season 5. (Two things about this episode: it is literally titled "Dance of the Dragons" and it is the episode in which Shireen is burned at the stake of sacrifice by her father.)

"It is the story of the battle between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her half-brother Aegon for control of the Seven Kingdoms," Shireen explains. They both believed that they should be on the Iron Throne. Their battle split the kingdom in two when people began declaring their support for one or the other." Brother fought brother. Dragon fought dragon. By the time the battle was over, thousands were dead. It was a disaster for the Targaryens. They never truly recovered."

So, "Thrones" fans with photogenic memories already know this ending (and so do you now that you've read this article to the end.) It will be very difficult to avoid spoilers during the run of "HotD," because the story will be told in the same way that "Thrones" was told in the first episode of "The Throne. Unlike "Thrones," the entire story is already complete before the show begins. As fans of the show's original story, "Fire & Blood," have pointed out, the point of the series is not how "Dance of Dragons" ends, but how it unfolds.

For those who have never read George R. R. Martin's work (fans of the show rather than book fans), "Fire & Blood" reads like a very interesting history book, whereas the "Thrones" series is a traditional narrative novel. The book's narrator is a scholar whose source material is rumors and lies from people who were alive during the events and obviously trying to make themselves look good, often not directly involved in the events themselves. It is as if the history of the royal family was written based on tabloid articles and no other research was done. Fans who read "Fire and Blood" never got to see the details of the epic dragon-dragon confrontation sequence in the finale. The fun is in seeing all the decisions and misunderstandings of the characters until Renilla and Aegon II sit on the Iron Throne.

So don't worry if I accidentally spoil it for you. The fun will remain in watching the civil war unfold. (Don't get mad at Joffrey yet. Joffrey always sucks.)