House of the Dragon: The Hour of the Wolf explained

❘ Published: 2024-07-15T14:35:54

HBO

In House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5, Daemon is awoken during the Hour of the Wolf, a time when everyone should be sleeping.

Game of Thrones has no shortage of iconic quotes that have found a permanent place in the cultural lexicon.

“A Lannister always pays his debts”, “You know nothing, Jon Snow”, “Chaos is a ladder”, and “Winter is coming,” to name a few. Notably, “My sweet, summer child” was popularized by the TV show.

House of the Dragon Season 1 had some incredible quotes (Viserys saying, “The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion” is a highlight), but Season 2 Episode 5 features a phrase many fans aren’t familiar with.

What is the Hour of the Wolf?

The Hour of the Wolf is the “blackest part of night,” according to George R.R. Martin’s A Dance With Dragons. As for a specific time, it’s said to be between 3am and 4am.

Ser Simon Strong wakes Daemon during the Hour of the Wolf.

In the book, Barristan Selmy recalls Tywin Lannister explaining the Hour of the Wolf, referring to it as the time of night “when all the world’s asleep.”

However, Martin didn’t coin the term – it originated in Ingemar Bergman’s 1968 movie of the same name.

“The hour of the wolf is the hour between night and dawn. It is the hour when most people die, when sleep is the deepest and nightmares the most vivid,” he explained.

“It is the hour when insomniacs are hunted by their worst anxieties, when ghosts and demons are at their most powerful. The hour of the wolf is also the hour when most babies are born.”

There is another Hour of the Wolf, but that would mean discussing huge spoilers from Fire & Blood (and the future of House of the Dragon), so we’ll hold off for now.

The named hours in order

There are six named hours in George R.R. Martin’s source material, all of which pertain to night rather than any time during the day. You can find them in order below, as per the Wiki of Ice and Fire: