Its second season House of the Dragon HBO and Max are roaring to life this Sunday, with more royal Targaryen plots to unravel.
With such a large cast of characters and a significant amount of time having passed since the first season — which returned in the fall of 2022 — it’s understandable if you’re heading into the season two premiere with some trepidation. only WHO What are all those kids again? Which “side” is green and which is black in the unfolding battle for succession?
If you want a refresher on the entire main cast, check out our introduction to the first season with a full rundown of the drama’s main players. As established by George RR Martin A Song of Ice and Fire The book series on which this franchise is based, the first season basically served as a slow slide into the inevitable conflict between the two camps: “Blacks” and “Greens”, each supporting a different Targaryen heir and their claim to the throne. As we head into season one, we’ll reach a terrifying crossroads: This is where the war begins. The second season draws the battle lines and brings together an assortment of characters who declare their allegiance to one side or the other.
Here’s what to know about Sunday night’s opener.
Black vs. Green
In one corner: The Blacks, led by Rhyner (Emma D’Arcy), whose father, the late King Viserys of Westeros, named her his successor despite the fact that the top spot in the tradition is reserved only for male Targaryen heirs. She’s joined by her husband-slash-uncle (sigh), Viserys’ rambunctious brother Damon (Matt Smith), and his three sons, Jacerys aka Jace (Harry Collette), Lucerys aka Luke (Elliott Grihalt), and Joffrey (Oscar Eskinazi). . Reynara’s children are a good bunch, but they’re almost certainly illegitimate, the sons of a non-noble who we met in the first season before being mysteriously dispatched. (More on that in a minute.)
As the eldest direct heir, Rhaenyra represents a straightforward path to the throne, and she reflects this through her commitment to the traditional Targaryen colors of red and black. Hence, “blacks.” Yet Rainara’s efforts to remove his notably brunette sons as royal heirs undermined his already-weak claims to the throne. There are many at court who prefer to bend the knee to a legitimate direct male heir instead.
Enter the Greens, led by Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), Viserys’ second wife. Alicent was Reynera’s childhood friend until fate threw them into permanent conflict. Feeling trapped by her vulnerable position as the young wife of a dying king, Alicent takes her fate into her own hands in season one and announces her intention to challenge Rhaenar’s claim to the throne by promoting the claim of her son Aegon (Tom Glynn-). Carney) instead. She did this through a strategic fashion choice; Hence, Aegon’s supporters are known as “Greens”.
At the end of the first season, Viserys, who had been ill for a long time, finally died while the Rhaenyra were away in King’s Landing, giving Alicent a narrow window of opportunity to be Aegon anointed king instead of Westeros. The move leaves control of the city in the hands of the Greens while Rhaenyra and Daemon retain control of the Targaryen family seat of Dragonstone.
In this battle, both women are fighting for their own existence; But remember, greens and blacks basically break down along protofeminist and sexist lines which then get complicated and messy. Support for the Greens — for Alicent and her son — represents the widespread traditionalist belief that a woman should not be able to inherit the crown. Alicent is deeply religious, so his alignment with the more traditional patriarchal view of the government is understandable, but his sympathies with Renara mean he often finds himself at odds with his own party, so to speak. Meanwhile, support for blacks, namely for Raina, is a demonstration of support for women’s equality at a fundamental level. That said, Rhaenyra is still constantly challenged and sexualized by the men around her, including her own husband, Damon. In order to press his claim to the throne, Raheni initially only wanted autonomy over his own life, but he may have less of it than before.
The battle that ensues between the two factions is known as the “Dance of the Dragon”. It’s only just begun, but it’s already taken a big toll. In the first season, Alicent’s second son, Amond (Ewan Mitchell), who has been quietly growing up in the shadow of his very loud unhinged brother King, loses his eye while fighting the sons of Raynara. The incident created a deep thirst for revenge in Amond. In the gruesome finale of the first season, he satisfied himself by completely destroying the son he felt was responsible — Raynara’s middle child, Lucaris. The mighty dragon Vhagar, he hunted Lucaris and his tiny dragon Arrax and slaughtered them both, a moment that marked the point of no return for both sides. When we last left him, Jace was meeting with the lords of the land to drum up support for Rahena. Time to pose is over; It’s time to choose sides.
Who is for whom? again?
By far, the Blacks’ most notable followers are Rhaenyra’s aunt-slash-cousin Rhaenys and her husband Corlys Velarion, the powerful “sea serpent” known to guard the southern borders of Westeros. Corliss nearly died in battle last season but recovered, barely. Rainer has strong ties to him and Rhaenys through the daemon, who married their late daughter, but neither of them fall for fools easily, and Rhaenys doesn’t get into other people’s wars for no reason. Meanwhile, their grandchildren, Damon’s daughters Bayella and Rhena, were mainly background characters until season two; But if the show continues to follow the book’s trajectory, they’ll have a much bigger part to play in the years to come.
Raenyra is not without true loyalists. Because Daemon was formerly the commander of the King’s Watch, he still has a loyal following among the soldiers in King’s Landing. Then there’s Eric Cargill (Elliot Titensor), the twin of his brother Eric (Luke Titensor). In the first season, the brothers were loyal members of the Kingsguard, but after spending time around Aegon and seeing what a formidable king he would be, Eric swore allegiance to the rebel, Rhaenyra, and moved to Dragonstone to join the Queensguard. He leaves his twin Eric fighting in opposite directions at the Red Keep — setting the stage for a tragic split that will become legendary and pass through game of thrones-Era Westeros.
Alicent’s most notable adherent to the cause is her own father, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), a man whose cold ambition to secure the throne for his family is perhaps the main reason we’re here. He returns to his familiar role as Hand of the King — this time serving his grandson, Aegon. It is not clear whether this development has fulfilled its ambitions, but it seems unlikely.
He is joined by Ser Kristen Cole (Fabien Finkel), who embarks on a journey to recover from his youthful love of Rhoynera, only to be recruited in his weakest moment to become Elicent’s trusted ally and the new commander of the Kingsguard. Ser Christon is not Alicent’s only eccentric lover who joins the Greens at least in part because of his fascination with the Queen Mother. Larry Strong (Matthew Needham) is the creepy brother of Raynera’s late ex-boyfriend (and father of her sons) Harwin Strong. He basically offered himself to Alicent in a tragic dish last season and then proved his devotion by burning Harwin and their father alive. yes As a one-man spy network, Larris may be inspired by Alicent, who rejects him, but he’s clearly playing a long game known only to himself – at least for now.
Larris isn’t the only player who’s something of a wild card: we also have Mysaria, aka the White Worm. Posing as a brothel owner, he controls a powerful spy ring in King’s Landing, making him one of its most powerful yet overlooked citizens. She was previously loyal to Daemon, with whom she once had a relationship. But that was long ago. We’ve seen him sell secrets to Otto Hightower and supply Alicent’s maid with a special mystical potion, but Alicent returns the favor by burning down Myseria’s brothel at the end of the first season in an apparent attempt to kill Myseria and, as she puts it, “cut the head off the snake. ” Clearly he believes that Myseria is a threat, and his move to try to destroy Myseria signals that he and his father are not as aligned as they appear. But getting rid of mysaria will not be so easy.
Helena’s Prophecy
Desperate to strengthen her legitimacy and that of her heirs, Alicent married Aegon his own sister, Helena (sigh). Married to a lustful sadist and tasked with raising their children, Helena (Fia Saban) understandably has a lot of mental and emotional problems, but she also seems to be a seer, dropping prophecies that no one understands or pays much attention to. But you, the audience, certainly should. We have heard at least four of his utterances so far, usually while playing with invertebrates. At various points in the first season, he appears to have predicted the loss of his brother Amond’s eye, the arrival of the Dance of Dragons, and the end of the entire game. game of thrones succession cycle
One of his most ominous season predictions, however, is still fruitful. In episode eight, he mutters, “Beware of the beast below the board.” It’s not clear what this means, but it probably refers to the arrival of two sinister characters we’ll meet soon, known only as “Blood” and “Cheese”. Suffice to say it’s a prophecy that doesn’t bode well for her or Aegon.
“The Prince That Was Promised”
Helena is not the only prophet. The phrase appears in a secret, centuries-old prophecy carved into a dagger that was quietly passed down through the line of Targaryen rulers. It is known as A Song of Ice and Fire. as game of thrones Viewers, we know that this promised prince was probably Jon Snow, aka the seventh Aegon Targaryen in the family tree — but this era of Westeros took place centuries ago, and no one has any idea who this fairytale prince might be. Viserys believed that Rhaenyra could fulfill the prophecy through his descendants – he presented her with the dagger before his death – but Alicent misunderstood his death and believed he was referring to his son, Aegon II.
The problem with this, of course, is Aegon of Alicent a nightmare. In terms of sadism, he makes game of thronesPrince Joffrey is positively angelic in appearance. (We learned in the first season that Aegon sires countless numbers of illegitimate children to use as fodder for the barbaric human dogfights, and that’s just one Casual aside.) Meanwhile, her temperament of recklessness makes her completely unfit to rule, and Alicent has already begun to regret all her life choices by the end of the first season.
Could there be any other contenders for the prince who was promised? Perhaps we will see.
