Warning: Contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 1, episode 8, "The Lord of the Tides." A shot of the catspaw dagger in Aegon's dream of the White Walkers. After House of the Dragon season 1, episode 8, that particular link is deeper than ever.
House of the Dragon season 1, episode 8 revisits Aegon's dream and The Prince That Was Promised, but turns it into a great misunderstanding. Included in that is a lingering and pointed shot of the catspaw dagger by Viserys' bed, accompanied by a spike in music highlighting its significance. It's a symbol of the prophecy itself - which is engraved upon its blade - and of the divisions between Rhaenyra and Alicent (including the latter attacking the former with it) that are now only going to get worse. The catspaw dagger, then, plays a key role in kick-starting the events of the Dance of the Dragons, much like it did the War of the Five Kings in Game of Thrones thanks to the assassination attempt on Bran Stark.
House Of The Dragon Makes The Catspaw Dagger Even More Important
As the blade that both helped to start the War of the Five Kings and ended The Long Night, the catspaw dagger already had an incredible history in Game of Thrones that makes it among the most important - arguably the most important - weapons in Westeros. House of the Dragon only adds to and deepens that legacy, by attaching it not only to The Prince That Was Promised prophecy, but also to how it factors into the Dance of the Dragons beginning. It gives a great sense of history repeating itself, which is a common theme in George R.R. Martin's works. It also ties into the notion of prophecies so often being self-fulfilling or misunderstood, which is again seen across A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones.
The Catspaw Dagger Connects The Biggest Parts Of Targaryen History
It's fitting that The Prince That Was Promised prophecy, and so it'd make sense if he learned of it (in part) via this dagger, which ultimately resulted in his and Lyanna Stark's marriage and the birth of Jon Snow, thus defining Game of Thrones too.
What Happens To The Catspaw Dagger After Viserys' Death?
Much of the catspaw dagger's history is still unwritten. It seems to have been ed down from King to heir since the days even before Aegon the Conqueror, explaining how Viserys has it, but it doesn't actually appear in Martin's Fire & Blood book, so there's a long period uned for - some of which House of the Dragon may actually be about to fill. With King Viserys dead and Rhaenyra back on Dragonstone, then it's possible the catspaw dagger will be given to Aegon to further bolster his claim to the Iron Throne.
In the book, this is done by giving him the Valyrian steel sword Blackfyre, which Viserys also has in the show but hasn't been given any prominence. Giving him Aegon the Conqueror's dagger, which connects to the prophecy Alicent now thinks her son fulfills, could be a replacement for that (or done in addition to it). It would also be a blow to Rhaenyra, who sees the dagger as a symbol not only for Aegon's A Song of Ice and Fire, but of the burden that her father ed on and her birthright to rule Westeros. After House of the Dragon, though, it's difficult to say what happens to the catspaw dagger or the prophecy, but it seems unlikely (given it's not been mentioned before) that both are continually ed down, and instead perhaps lost for some time.
House of the Dragon releases new episodes Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO.
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