The One Big Edge A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Dragons Have Over House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones
Eagle-eyed viewers spotted a proper Targaryen banner in the new A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms trailer — a sign this spinoff may finally be getting the lore right where Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon stumbled, answering George R.R. Martin’s long-standing complaints.
If you paused the new A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms trailer and zoomed in on those banners, you probably spotted it: the Targaryen dragon finally has two legs again. It is a tiny tweak, sure, but for George R.R. Martin, this one has been a long-running sore spot. And yes, he noticed.
The sigil finally matches the books
Martin has been banging this drum on his Not a Blog for years: in his lore, the Targaryen sigil should be a two-legged dragon. Not four. Not sometimes four. Two.
"Ergo, in my books, the Targaryen sigil has two legs, as it should. Why would any Westerosi ever put four legs on a dragon, when they could look at the real thing and [count] their limbs?"
Game of Thrones famously flubbed this late in the run. In Season 6, Episode 10, when Daenerys sets sail for Westeros, her fleet is flying sails with a four-legged Targaryen dragon. Martin called that out as sloppy and chalked it up to someone half-remembering a heraldry rule and applying it where it did not belong.
House of the Dragon kept the four legs, which only wound him up more. Showrunner Ryan Condal said the team chose that design on purpose and that it was not meant to be locked to Game of Thrones continuity anyway. That did not make Martin any happier; he posted a long complaint, and he has not exactly been shy about it since.
The new spinoff seems to be listening
Cut to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: the banners in the trailer show the two-legged Targaryen sigil, full stop. It is a small correction with big symbolism: the production is paying attention to the fussy, nerdy details that matter in this world. That is a good sign for an adaptation built from Martin’s novellas.
Even better, Martin says he has already seen all six episodes — the last two in rough cut form — and he loved them. If the guy who created the place is happy, that is usually a solid indicator fans will be, too.
Why this quibble actually matters
When a show leans hard into accuracy on the little stuff, it usually means the bigger choices are coming from a place of respect, not convenience. Thrones and HotD took heat for drifting away from the page in ways both big and small; creative liberty is fine, but you do not need to reinvent the family crest while you are at it. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms starting off with the right sigil reads like a mission statement: stick to the text unless there is a strong reason not to.
Quick facts
- Title: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
- Showrunner: Ira Parker
- Release date: January 18, 2026
- Where to watch (USA): HBO
Spotted any other details in the trailer I missed? And yes, I am counting dragon legs like a maniac — this time with a smile.