House Of The Dragon Season 3 Subtly Set Up Its Aegon The Conqueror Spin-Off

The night is dark and full of spoilers. Warning: This article discusses major plot details from "House of the Dragon" Season 3 Episode 5.

The "Game of Thrones" franchise knows a thing or two about leaving just enough room to set up future stories ... whether intentionally or not. The original HBO series made enough allusions and references (and occasional spoilers) regarding the bloody civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons to make "House of the Dragon" feel like an obvious successor. Both politically-minded shows created ample space for "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" to arrive on the scene and fully explore a story told from the perspective of the smallfolk.

But, in an odd quirk of timing, we're now watching one of these ongoing shows with the knowledge that another specific concept is reportedly in development — namely, that Aegon's Conquest spin-off that's either going to be a movie or another show. This gives "House of the Dragon" showrunner Ryan Condal and his writers a unique opportunity to lay the groundwork for what may or may not be on the horizon. Sure, one might argue it's already difficult enough to focus on doing justice to George R.R. Martin's source material, "Fire & Blood," let alone set up another project entirely. But the latest episode of Season 3 may have just found a clever way to have its cake and eat it, too.

Did you catch the significance of that exchange between Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and his young protégé Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth)? While expounding on the histories of Westeros, Ormund mentions Meria Martell as a Targaryen foe worthy of admiration. She happened to live during the time of Aegon's Conquest — and would undoubtedly appear in any adaptation of such, too.

Well, here's one deep-cut reference that even the biggest book-readers likely didn't see coming. While casual viewers may assume George R.R. Martin's source material is solely about the Dance of the Dragons, the truth is the writing covers centuries of Westerosi history. That includes the initial Targaryen invasion of the continent, led by the aptly-named Aegon the Conqueror and his two sisters/wives (you read that correctly), Visenya and Rhaenys. While some might claim this is a somewhat boring series of events to adapt, the coolest tidbit concerns the southernmost realm. Unlike the rest of the Seven Kingdoms, Dorne steadfastly resisted the Targaryens and never ended up in thrall to the dragonlords, as "Fire & Blood" lays out in fascinating detail.

"House of the Dragon" just revealed the biggest reason why. Meet Meria Martell, the so-called Yellow Toad of Dorne. It speaks volumes that even Ormund would set aside his raging misogyny over (as he puts it), "the only woman ever to be gifted with a truly military mind," and find common ground with the most stubborn Targaryen-hater in canon outside of himself. Although old, blind, ugly, and of considerable size, Meria accomplished what no other leader had ever done, telling Aegon and his sisters to get bent (in a manner of speaking) and living to tell the tale. She and her people repelled every attempt to invade Dorne, the first of which Ormund details at length to Daeron as an example of how "a cunning mind can resist the most savage of beasts."

While this works perfectly as a history lesson for two characters going up against the Targaryens themselves, might we actually see Meria in the flesh down the line?

No adaptation of Aegon the Conqueror would be complete without at least one chapter devoted to the woman who stood in the way of complete domination. Meria Martell, the Princess of Dorne, stands out in the annals of lore as one of the very few women in a ruling class overwhelmed by rich and powerful men. That alone makes her story a compelling one to tell, but the reputation she earned in the history books for her actions makes this a complete no-brainer. After standing up to Aegon's sister Rhaenys, Meria launched a guerrilla campaign with her followers ambushing Aegon's armies, poisoning water wells, and assassinating rival lords loyal to the Targaryens. After her death, her successor finally compelled Aegon to agree to a peace treaty — but her tactics would later be seen by the rest of Westeros as "dishonorable," dovetailing nicely with Daeron's question in "House of the Dragon" over whether she's a hero or villain.

Technically, this wouldn't be the first time we've seen a character from Aegon's Conquest factor into this prequel series. Paddy Considine's doomed King Viserys Targaryen mentioned Aegon himself countless times throughout Season 1, with the show even denying him a happy ending by having Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) mistake her husband's dying words about Aegon the Conqueror for a plea to install their son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) on the Iron Throne. Beyond that, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) actually rides a living and breathing testament to Aegon's rule: the dragon Vhagar originally belonged to Aegon's sister, Queen Visenya.

If Aegon's Conquest makes it across the finish line and Meria Martell appears, remember where you heard her name first. "House of the Dragon" airs new episodes on HBO every Sunday.