House of the Dragon director confirms major Game of Thrones Easter egg in episode 3

Did you catch that literal Game of Thrones Easter egg in this week's House of the Dragon?

The prequel series just delivered a major plot point for Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), 200 years in the making. In Sunday's third episode of season 2, GOT's Mother of Dragons' story begins in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that has now been confirmed by the House of the Dragon director.

In the episode, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) makes the decision to send her youngest children away for their safety as the threat of war looms. She tasks Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) with accompanying her sons Aegon and Viserys to the Vale, along with their young dragons Tyraxes and Stormcloud, as well as four valuable but fragile dragon eggs. Rhaenyra hopes that by sending the young away, they can eventually travel to Pentos, but Rhaena is not happy with her new mission.

However, Rhaena has no idea just how important her trip will be — because the dragon eggs she's helping keep safe will eventually end up in the hands of Pentoshi merchant Illyrio Mopatis (Roger Allam), who will then give them to Daenerys in the pilot of GOT. And we all know what happens next: Three of those eggs will ultimately hatch into the formidable trio of Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion.

"Those are Daenerys' eggs," episode 3's director Geeta Vasant Patel revealed to Mashable. "All of us who work on this show are big Game of Thrones fans, so it was very exciting to shoot that scene."

Fan speculation online points to the fourth egg hatching into a dragon that will participate in the events of House of the Dragon.

This origin story is different from how author George R.R. Martin implied in Fire & Blood. In the book, it's suggested that Daenerys' eggs took a different route, landing in Essos long before the Dance of the Dragons began thanks to noblewomen Elissa Farman, who stole three dragon eggs from Dragonstone after her relationship with Princess Rhaena Targaryen (different from House of the Dragon's Rhaena) ended badly. Elissa then sold the eggs in Braavos. Where the eggs travel from there is vague in the source material, and it's never been confirmed.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

But Daenerys herself likely won't see her own dragons' origin story play out onscreen, as GOT alum Clarke previously revealed she won't watch House of the Dragon — even though the prequel series is all about her family line, the Targaryens. "It's too weird," Clarke said. "I'm so happy it's happening. I'm so over the moon [about] all the awards."

The actress also gave a shout out to Miguel Sapochnik, the co-showrunner on House of the Dragon season 1 who worked with Clarke directing some of the most beloved episodes of GOT. (Sapochnik has since stepped down from showrunning duties on season 2 and beyond.)

"Love him. Brilliant. Wonderful," Clarke said. "I just can't do it. It's so weird. It's so strange. It's kind of like someone saying, 'You want to go to this school reunion that's not your year? You want to go to that school reunion?' That's kind of how it feels. I'm avoiding it."

New episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 drop on HBO and Max on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.