Welcome back, my liege lords! It’s been nearly two years since House of the Dragon debuted its first season, and I couldn’t be happier to dive back into Westeros. In retrospect, the first season of the Game of Thrones prequel had its ups and downs. The pacing was a bit rushed, there were three too many bloody childbirth scenes, and the time skips recast actors so fast that we barely understood who anyone was anymore. After watching the first episode of season 2, I can safely say that those problems are behind us.
Over the past two weeks, I reentered everything there is to know about House of the Dragon and George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel into my brain. Now I’m a walking encyclopedia of a fictional fantasy realm and its sibling-marrying, dragon-riding royal family. With season 2’s big premiere finally here, I can say without a shed of regret that it was completely worth it. This season will contain some of the most shocking events you’ve ever seen on television. Given that we’re talking about the Game of Thrones–verse, you know you’re really in for something.
To start, let’s recap a tiny bit. Season 2 seems to pick up just a few days after the events of the season 1 finale, which set up the rest of the series. The most important thing to remember is that King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is dead. His council conspired to place his grandson Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) on the Iron Throne instead of the king’s chosen heir: his daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke)—Rhaenyra’s former friend (and later stepmother)—believes that Viserys spoke Aegon’s name right before he died. She interpreted his final breath to mean that he wished for Aegon to ascend the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenrya. Whether that was right or wrong, she would secure her family’s legacy. Escaping to Dragonstone, Rhaenyra assembles an army to fight back and retake her throne.
We start season 2 with Rhaenya’s son, Jacaerys (Harry Collett). He flies north of Winterfell to make an ally out of Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) at the Wall. Yes, the Starks have returned! Cregan warns Jacaerys about the whole "Winter is coming" thing, but he agrees to support Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne nonetheless. The Northern fighters are a great addition to her army. Sadly, there’s no time to celebrate. Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) murdered Jacaerys’ brother, Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), in the season 1 finale—and Jacaerys hears the news for the first time.
Back at Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is in mourning. Daemon (Matt Smith) seeks immediate revenger at King’s Landing, but Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon hold him back. “A raven has told Rhaenyra that her son is dead,” she reminds him. “She needs to know it for certain.” Rhaenyra later finds Lucerys’s clothes and a torn-off dragon wing down by the beach. It’s unwise to attack with a vengeful impulse at a time of impending war, but Daemon is ready to take “a son for a son.” He tells Rhaenys that none of this would have happened had she killed Aegon II when she crashed his coronation. “If you had acted when you had the chance, Aegon’s line would be extinguished,” he says. Agreed! Her appearance at episode 9’s coronation is easily one of the largest differences from the book, and I can’t say it isn’t fair to blame her for everything that happens from here on out.
Meanwhile, Rhaenys and her husband, Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), hold a naval blockade to protect Dragonstone and Driftmark. Corlys is the commander of the royal fleet and the former Master of Ships, but he sided against the crown. Oh, and he’s also recovering from a random battle with pirates in season 1 that occurred entirely offscreen. Reportedly, he was rescued by a member of his crew named Alyn (Abubakar Salim), whom we’re meeting now. He presents Corlys with a sword hilt that he commissioned for Lucerys before his death, as Lucerys was named heir of Driftmark last season. Remember that whole arc when Corlys’s brother, Vaemond (Wil Johnson), challenged Lucerys’s claim and then Daemon killed Vaemond in front of everyone? That was insane.
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