Editor's note: The below contains minor spoilers for Episode 1 of House of the Dragon.Game of Thrones starts in media res, leaving viewers with a lot of homework ahead of the pilot episode. Events such as the “Mad King’s” reign of terror and Robert’s rebellion are alluded to, but never actually seen onscreen. By comparison, House of the Dragon appears to be taking its time in setting up the story. Based on what we know of the series’ cast, the events of the pilot episode, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” takes place hundreds of years before the timeline of the overall series.

House of the Dragon keeps the political turmoil of the Seven Kingdoms contained to the titular House Targaryen. At the beginning of the series, King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) holds the Seven Kingdoms under his domain. Viserys expects the royal line of succession to pass to his firstborn male heir. He wholly anticipates that his wife, Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke), will give birth to a son. However, tragedy strikes King’s Landing when both the Queen and her stillborn son die during the birthing process. The line of succession would fall to Viserys’ brother, Daemon (Matt Smith), but the King is skeptical about passing the responsibility to his volatile sibling. After Daemon makes a cruel joke at the expense of the departed Queen and her son, Viserys decides to name his daughter as his new heir: Rhaenyra Targaryen is poised to be the first woman to sit on the Iron Throne.

House of the Dragon has cast two different performers in the pivotal role of Rhaenyra. Emma D’Arcy is set to portray the older version of the character, one which doesn't actually appear in the first episode. “The Heirs of the Dragon” focuses on a younger version of Rhaenyra, played by newcomer Milly Alcock. The episode revolves around a young Rhaenyra’s role at her father’s council, and why she is chosen as a more suitable candidate to ascend to the throne.

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Image via HBO

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Born in Sydney, Australia, Alcock first drew acclaim through her early roles in shows such as Janet King, A Place to Call Home, Fighting Season, Pine Gap, Les Norton, and The Gloaming. However, it was her role in the series Upright that announced her as a standout actress of the generation. Alcock’s role as Meg, a runaway teenager hiking across the Outback, earned her a nomination for Best Comedy Performance at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards.

Casting an unknown as one of the series’ leads was certainly a bold move, but it's a callback to the history of Game of Thrones. Emilia Clarke was a relative unknown before she was cast as Rhaenyra’s descendant, Daenerys Targaryen. Clarke became a worldwide star as a result of her performance, so hopefully, Alcock will find the same level of success. Her strong performance in the pilot certainly indicates that she can hold her own against veteran actors like Smith, Considine, and Graham McTavish.

Rhaenyra has an interesting role in the pilot. Although she simply serves drinks during a meeting of the King's Council, it's clear that Rhaenyra has more political awareness than she lets on. Being privy to her father's conversations allows Rhaenyra to learn about the nature of discretion, and the cruelty of men. She quickly proves to be a more level-headed ruler than her uncle; Daemon manages to thrust King's Landing into chaos after his violent leadership of the City Watch sparks outrage among the King's Council. The conflict that Daemon could spark as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms is unthinkable.

Although Alcock was back in Australia earlier this year filming the next season of Upright, she is expected to be one of the leading figures within House of the Dragon. HBO is certainly in a state of chaos right now, and several popular shows have been canceled. However, it seems unlikely that the network would cancel its flagship Game of Thrones spinoff; early viewing numbers for House of the Dragon were so high that the HBO Max service crashed.

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Image via HBO

Next week’s episode, “The Rogue Prince,” will introduce the older version of Rhaenyra. The early teaser trailers for the series have suggested that the primary conflict of the series will revolve around the relationship between Rhaenyra and her close friend, Alicent Hightower. A younger version of Alicent is played by Emily Carey in the pilot, with Olivia Cooke cast to play the older version. Conflict strikes the two young women when Alicent’s scheming father, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), plans to wed her to King Viserys.

Will these two close friends be turned into enemies? It will be interesting to see how Rhaenyra and Alicents’ relationship evolves in their younger years, and the strong performances from Alcock and Carey suggest that it will be a heartbreaking story. Game of Thrones attracted frequent criticism for its depiction of gender roles, so it’s exciting to see women at the center of House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon premieres new episodes every Sunday night on HBO and HBO Max.