House of the Dragon had no problem overcoming the fiery train wreck that was the final few Game of Thrones episodes. Thankfully, the new series, a prequel, picks up George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood book and keeps the more crowd-pleasing part of “fire” intact. There’s a reason why walls of whole NYC buildings showed clearly visible battles from street level as people celebrated a new event series that focused upon Dragons and those with the Blood of the Dragon running through their veins.
In Season 1, the audience got to know King (of Bad Decisions) Viserys (RIP) with Paddy Considine delivering upon all of the mistake-making monarch’s physical ailments with excruciating detail. Princess Rhaenyra (Millie Alcock) eventually became Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) cycled through a few wives and generally acted like an unrepentant rogue before marrying Rhaenyra and not quite giving up that vibe. The season ended with Team Black and Team Green divided, seemingly for good, after Aemond unintentionally killed Luc, which has made this battle for the Iron Throne even more personal than it already was, years after Rhaenyra was disgusted by her father and Alicent’s decision to marry.
After HotD became a ratings home run, HBO rapidly announced that a second season would be in the works. Less than two years later, that season is done filming and is now taking the post-production laps before premiere. Let’s talk about what information has funneled out so far.
Plot
The Dance of the Dragons received a too-poetic label in the book, as GRRM acknowledged within the text. I guess that’s the Westeros sense of humor for you, but soon enough, we’re going to see the Targaryen house pretty much take each other out as much as possible through aerial battle, although the show is currently planned for four seasons, so not everyone shall slide down the walls of Dragonstone into oblivion.
We will meet even more dragons, and tellingly, Daemon’s late-first-season strategy moves include changing out the jilted Caraxes for the older Vermithor. His former rider? King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, who brought stability to the realm, and a huge part of that was the threat of Vermithor. Let’s just say that his new dragon is more imposing, even if poor Caraxes tried to deliver well during Stepstones battle. Also, it seems like a positive sign for Team Black that Vermithor did not try to eat Daemon when he began singing.
Presumably, Aemond still has the biggest dragon, Vhagar, even though he clearly cannot control her. And Team Green appears to have the public’s support in King’s Landing, given that Aegon II received quite the round of roaring applause. This, somehow, was enough to motivate Aegon into actually wanting to rule, but Team Black appears to have the military advantage as of now. Not only does Daemon have Vermithor, but there’s also Vermax (with Jacaerys riding), Syrax (with Rhaenyra riding), and Meleys (with Rhaenys riding). Seasmoke is still unclaimed, too, and hanging in Driftmark. And speaking of which, the Targaryens have the not only the skies covered but also the seas, given House Valaryon’s allied status.
The fighting will serve as the key plot point, and expect much more maneuvering on both sides. Perhaps Alicent will even whip those feet out.
Cast
Returning cast members include Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen), Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen), Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon Targaryen), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), Steve Toussaint (Corlys “Sea Snake” Valaryon), Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole the terrible), Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria/that White Worm), and Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower). Sadly, there shall be no more King Viserys unless the show decides to show Paddy Considine doing ghost form.
Release Date
Mercifully, the TV gods were allowed to continue production during the writers’ and actors’ strikes since scripts were already locked, and the production films in Europe. So, no delays from the original release plan have occurred, and HBO has confirmed that this show will return in early Summer 2024. That’s not too shabby for an epic production, and heck, it’s a lot faster than the back half of Game of Thrones.
Trailer
HBO is keeping the suspense in hand as far as footage goes. So far, there are zero legit teasers or trailers (although there are fakes/fan versions out there) for Season 2, but we are keeping our eyes peeled, and not in an Aemond way. There will be more developments coming!
HBO’s first ‘House of the Dragon’ season can currently be streamed on Max.
