Summary
HBO’sHouse of the Dragonstirred up anticipation by releasing the first teaser trailer for its upcoming season. The impressiveGame of Thronesprequel returns with season 2 in the summer of 2024, and it will dive head-on into the civil war waged by two scions of House Targaryen, that is, the Black Queen Rhaenyra (played by Emma D’Arcy)and her younger half-brother, Aegon II (played by Tom Glynn-Carney).
In the trailer, Eve Best’s Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, who previously convinced her husband,Lord Corlys Velaryon aka, the Sea Snaketo declare for Rhaenyra, gives quite a description of this kin-dragon warfare:
There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin and no war so bloody as a war between dragons.
With that thought, the honorable Princess Rhaenys takes the moral high ground, as she and her seafarer husband prepare to serve the Blacks in the upcoming brutal civil war known inGame of Throneslore as the Dance of the Dragons. Two political factions, viz, the Greens and the Blacks were formed for control over the Iron Throne towards the end ofHouse of the Dragonseason 1, and the season 2 teaser trailer is all fire and blood.
This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2.
7Rhaenyra Targaryen Mourns The Death Of Prince Lucerys Velaryon
Right off the bat, Rhaenyra, consumed by the grief of Lucerys' death, stands alone on the shore with the Baratheon seat of Storm’s End in sight. The Blacks are in mourning as Queen Rhaenyra’s secondborn son, Prince Lucerys Velaryon (fondly known as Luke) and his mount, Arrax, were killed midair after riding away from Storm’s End by his half-uncle, Aemond Targaryen, atop Vhagar. InHouse of the Dragonseason 1, episode 10 “The Black Queen,” Prince Jacaerys, and his younger brother, Prince Lucerys Velaryon were dispatched by their mother as messengers to Winterfell and Storm’s End, respectively:
If you take this errand, you go as messengers, not as warriors. You must take no part in any fighting. Swear it to me now, under the eyes of the Seven.
Lucerys' uncle, Aemond Targaryen, beat him to it, promised himself to Lord Borros' daughter, and by so doing, managed to secure the support of the House. Lord Borros ushered Lucerys out amid a terrible storm, and outside, he was chased midair by Aemond. However, this bullying quickly turned into deadly combat as both dragons lost control.The largest living dragon, Vhagar, ended up swallowing Lucerys, sending Arrax’s parts into the waters below.
6Aegon II Targaryen Takes The Reins
Immediately after his coronation, the teaser shows that Aegon II Targaryen proudly takes the reins of his father’s court. A usurper, he was placed on the Iron Throne by the joint efforts of his grandfather, and Viserys' Lord Hand, Otto Hightower, and his mother, Alicent Hightower. The lore calls this faction as the Greens.
In the teaser trailer, Aegon II wears the Conqueror’s crown and walks towards the Iron Throne as various courtiers and attendees bow down to his authority. There are two men behind Aegon II dressed in green (the color of House Hightower) and a few more behind them are in suits of armor and, therefore, his Kingsguards. Aegon II’s ascension was achieved by a clampdown on King’s Landing and using brute force.
5Rhaenyra Targaryen Wears Her Father’s Golden Crown
While her half-brother has the Conqueror’s crown, Rhaenyra wears her late father, Viserys I' golden crown.
She was crowned by her husband/uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen on Dragonstone inHouse of the Dragon’s “The Black Queen,” with the same crown that her father’s former Kingsguard, Ser Erryk Cargyll, stole from the Red Keep and brought with him to Dragonstone. Dressed in black, Rhaenyra looks every bit exquisite in the teaser trailer.
4Lady Baela Targaryen On Moondancer
Prince Daemon’s daughter from Lady Laena Velaryon, Lady Baela Targaryen, screams on dragonback, meaningHouse of the Dragonis going to give her space and a part in the Dance.
The trailer sees Lady Baela riding her she-dragon, Moondancer, and screaming out loud at something. Baela in the source material is described as “wild,” and “fearless,” and judging from that loud cry atop her mount, HBO does justice to the character.
3Vhagar, Seasmoke, Syrax, And The North
InHouse of the Dragon’s finale episode, one of Rhaenyra’s council members, Lord Bartimos Celtigar asserted:
Pray forgive my bluntness, Your Grace, but talk of men is moot. Your cause owns a power that has not been seen in this world since the days of Old Valyria. Dragons.
This is where Prince Daemon does a dragon count and reminds Rhaenyra that the Greens have three adult dragons by his count:
We have Syrax, Caraxes, and Meleys. Your sons have Vermax, Arrax, and Tyraxes. Baela has Moondancer. There are also unclaimed dragons, Sea smoke still resides on Driftmark. Vermithor and Silverwing dwell on the Dragonmont, still riderless. Then there are the three wild dragons, all of whom nest here. Dragonstone has 13 to their 4. I also have a score of eggs incubating in the Dragonmont.
That said, the Greens have the largest living dragon i.e., Vhagar, whose shot in the teaser is spectacular. Rhaenyra and Syrax also appears in the footage and a white dragon that is highly likely Seasmoke (Laenor Velaryon’s mount) appears flying in the skies. The shot of this riderless Seasmoke that resides on Driftmark will propelthe plot of the DragonseedsinHouse of the Dragonseason 2. Other shots include that of the Blacks and the Greens' raising banners of war and that of men marching on horses in the cold North.
2Ser Criston Cole Replaces Otto Hightower As Hand
Various Lord Hands have used necklaces as symbols of their authority. The teaser shows the Lord Commander of Aegon II’s Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole, wearing a chain, indicating that he has replaced Otto Hightower as Hand of the King.
After Daemon’s assault on Harrenhal, Aegon II grows impatient with his grandfather - the Hand’s plans and has him replaced with Ser Criston Cole. The latter has a more ruthless approach in the Dance of the Dragons. He advocates the Sack of Duskendale and latermoves his forces to Rook’s Rest.
1Helaena Targaryen During Blood And Cheese
One of the defining aspects of HBO’sHouse of the Dragonis that the characters are written as morally grey. The Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Queen Rhaenyra, and Daemon Targaryen are examples of people who go beyond the dichotomy of good and bad and make morally difficult choices in pursuit of naked ambitions.
The trailer also shows Helaena Targaryen, looking haggard, mourning the aftermath of the ‘Blood and Cheese’ plot that was set up in the wake of Lucerys Velaryon’s death. To avenge Lucerys' murder, Daemon hires two assassins named Blood (a disgraced Gold Cloak sergeant) and Cheese (a rat-catcher aware of the secret tunnels and hidden doors throughout the Red Keep) toassassinate one of Aegon II and Helaena’s sons. In the lore, Daemon promises his wife Rhaenyra:
A son for a son.
And then, he arranges this assassination through his spymaster and former paramour, Mysaria. The teaser trailer also shows a shot of one of the two assassins grabbing Helaena, implying that this war of kin inHouse of the Dragonseason 2 will be gruesome.
MORE:House Of The Dragon: Daemon Targaryen’s Blood and Cheese Plot, Explained
