Warning! SPOILERS ahead for House of the Dragon's season 1 premiere.House of the Dragon introduces a different Iron Throne than the one seen in Game of Thrones, and the changes made to its design are deeper than you may realize. As a prequel series to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is exploring the reign of House Targaryen many years prior to the story HBO introduced to audiences back in 2011. Set 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen, House of the Dragon is beginning with the reign of her ancestor, Viserys I, as it sets up events that will come to be known as the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war within the Targaryen family.
In the season 1 premiere of House of the Dragon, the Iron Throne appears in multiple scenes. Often and expectedly, King Viserys is seen sitting atop it, but his brother, Prince Daemon, also sits on the throne in a scene between him and his niece, the king's daughter, Princess Rhaenyra. At the very end of the episode, Viserys names Rhaenyra as his heir during a ceremony in front of the Iron Throne, and it can be seen towering behind her, a not-so-subtle symbol of the immense duty she's just inherited. Unlike the Iron Throne seen on Game of Thrones, this throne is larger and more chaotic in its design, with swords sticking out at odd angles and more spilling over onto the stairs.
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The design for House of the Dragon's Iron Throne is quite different from that seen on Game of Thrones, but the changes have been made for more than just aesthetic purposes. These changes reflect the different setting of the show and will be a larger part of the story itself. The changes to the Iron Throne also better match how A Song of Ice and Fire author, George R.R. Martin, has always imagined it.
The Iron Throne in House of the Dragon is bigger and more impressive than on Game of Thrones because it is still a fairly new throne, roughly only 100 years old at this point. Famously forged from the swords of those who surrendered to Aegon Targayen when he conquered Westeros, this version of the Iron Throne still retains most of its swords. Opinions vary over how many swords were used in the throne's construction, ranging from the hundreds to a thousand, but House of the Dragon's throne certainly suggests it was nearer the high end of estimations. In the interim 200 years, though, many of the Iron Throne's swords were removed, resulting in the smaller, more toned-down version seen on Game of Thrones.
This change likely comes about as a response to how impractical a throne constructed of actual swords clearly was, but the shift to a more diminished throne would also have reflected the declining power of House Targaryen. This decline comes as a direct result of the forthcoming civil war, and similarly to the death of the dragons, the Iron Throne's change in appearance represents the beginning of the end for House Targaryen. In House of the Dragon season 1, however, the Targaryens are still at their most powerful, and their massive and imposing Iron Throne helps to illustrate that.
The Iron Throne seen in House of the Dragon is also a more dangerous throne. Not just because to sit the Iron Throne is to take on the responsibility of ruling, but in the literal sense. The act of sitting on the Iron Throne is not enjoyable, and in some cases, actually painful if one were to be cut by its many sharp blades. The choice to have the Iron Throne be such a deeply uncomfortable seat was intentional, too, with Aegon I wanting a throne in which "a king should never sit easy." In a sense, the throne is a test for its kings, and only those who remain calm and don't become complacent will avoid being cut.
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Being cut by the Iron Throne gets referenced in the season 1 premiere of House of the Dragon when King Viserys blames the throne for a wound on his back that's refusing to heal, and again when he cuts his hand on the throne after banishing Daemon. Symbolically, the Iron Throne has always had a somewhat villainous role in Game of Thrones. Those who sought it were often corrupted either by its power or the pursuit of it, but in House of the Dragon, the Iron Throne's role is even more active. It judges those who sit upon it, and doles out punishment when they are found lacking.
Compared to how the Iron Throne is described in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, House of the Dragon's version comes close, but it's still not an exact reproduction. The best representation of how Martin describes the throne comes in a painting by French artist Marc Simonetti, who Martin worked with on an official illustration for The World of Ice and Fire book (above). The Iron Throne of the novels is much, much larger than what has been created for either show. It looms over the throne room, and those who sit on it are made nearly 10 feet taller than anyone else. It's also much easier to believe a thousand swords of Aegon's conquered foes went into it.
Creating a true-to-the-book Iron Throne wasn't feasible or practical for Game of Thrones and the same is true for House of the Dragon. Their version does come closer, however, as it includes far more swords and lines the steps up to the seat with them. This at least evokes a similar ominous presence as Martin's Iron Throne, even if it's still lacking the true scale of the monstrosity described in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels.