‘House Of The Dragon’ Definitely Did Not Skimp On The Devastation In Another Key Season 2 Premiere Moment

Some House of the Dragon viewers expected “A Son For A Son” to roll out the Blood and Cheese scene in a way that outdid the Game of Thrones‘ so-called “Red Wedding” episode (“The Rains of Castamere,” Season 3 Episode 9). Those viewers have expressed their disappointment, although it’s worth mentioning that the way that Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) reacted is in accordance with how her TV version of the character is almost certainly neurodivergent from the beginning of HBO’s adaptation, and some changes to characters of George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood book are bound to happen.

That audience disagreement aside, this premiere episode did contain other emotional scenes, and a certain scene especially, that hit hard. The episode began with Jace Targaryen (Harry Collett) visiting Winterfell, where he met with Cragan Stark (Tom Taylor) in an effort to round up support for Queen Rhaenyra’s rightful place on the Iron Throne. This gave us a glimpse of Jace’s new position of diplomacy, and when he reported back to his mother, Jace delivered news of his progress (including Cragan’s promise “of 2,000 men”) in as business-like a way as possible before his voice broke. That led to an embrace that could crush the heart of any TV viewer.

We don’t yet know how much more of Jace’s travels that we will see (and showrunner Ryan Condal has revealed to Entertainment Weekly that we won’t see much of Cragan Stark this season). However, Jace clearly had success with the Starks while zooming around Westeros, and also, it sure was nice to see Winterfell again, if only for a few moments.

HBO’s House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9:00pm EST.