Are those dragon eggs in “House Of The Dragon” the ones from “Game Of Thrones?”

There’s a very important, ahem, Easter Egg (or three) in its final episode House of the Dragon on HBO. Spoiler ahead.

Part of the third episode, “The Burning Mill,” Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) sends her stepdaughter Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) to the Vale along with her younger children. He will take them first to the Vale to Lady Jeyne Arryn and from there across the Narrow Sea to Pentos.

Pentos, you may recall, is where Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) was in the beginning. Game of Thrones when Master Illyrio Mopatis (Roger Allam). He gives Daenerys a very special wedding gift on the eve of her wedding to Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa): Three dragon eggs.

Along with her children and the two newborn dragons, Tyraxes and Stormcloud, Rhaena is about to pick up another precious cargo: Four dragon eggs – all of which may well have been turned to stone when taken from Dragonstone. Three of these eggs look awfully familiar: one is gold, one green, and one dark reddish-black. The fourth is light blue.

When I saw this, I wondered if HBO was changing the story of how Daenerys got her eggs from the book Fire & Blood where it was strongly implied that the three eggs reached Pento much earlier during the reign of Rhaenyra’s grandfather Jaehaerys I.

I didn’t mention that these could be Dany’s eggs in my review because the book’s recollection – which is correct by the way – was that these eggs were stolen from Jaehaerys I by a noble named Elissa Farman, the lover of Princess Rhaena Targaryen (not Rhaena from this time period). When the two lovers’ relationship ended rather badly, Elisa stole the eggs and sailed across the sea to Braavos where she sold the eggs to the House of Braavos, using the money she earned to pay for her subsequent travels.

The theory—never confirmed by George RR Martin, except largely—was that these eggs eventually made their way to the wealthy Illyrio on Pentos, and from him to Daenerys.

However, it seems like the show is making a significant (if entirely understandable) change from the book. “These are Daenerys’ eggs” The episode’s director Geeta Vasant Patel told Mashable. “All of us who work on this show are adults Game of Thrones fans, so it was really exciting to shoot that scene.”

Rhaena is at first bitter about being sent away, continuing to stew about the lack of a dragon (though there are four eggs, remember, and only three turn to stone and make it to Daenerys hundreds of years later). When Rhaenyra shows her the eggs and tells her that they are the hope for the future of the Targaryens – should the war destroy them all, and their dragons too – Rhaena realizes how important her mission is, though unfortunately the preservation of these eggs finally ends in the deaths of thousands of innocents at the hands of the Mad Queen and Drogon.

Clearly, Rhaena’s story will take a very different turn than in the book, though it’s possible she’ll play the same role and have another character steal her eggs instead of her great-grandfather. Works to link this show directly to Game of Thrones? After all, I doubt HBO will make another show about Jaehaerys I. He’s one of my favorite Targaryen kings, but if they make another Targaryen show, it makes more sense to make one about Aegon the Conqueror and his exploits . Jaehaerys, after all, ruled in a time of great peace and prosperity. Where’s the fun in that?

Read my review of Episode 3 here.