The highly-anticipated second season of HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ kicks off with intense political scheming and vengeful intentions as Queen Rhaenyra seeks retribution for her son’s death. The premiere episode hints at a season filled with betrayal and bloodshed, reminiscent of its predecessor, ‘Game of Thrones.’
House of the Dragon Season 2 Premiere: Divisive Episode and Vengeance Unleashed
The much-anticipated second season of HBO’s “House of the Dragon” premiered on June 17, 2024, featuring returning stars Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, and Tom Glynn-Carney. The premiere episode, titled “A Son for a Son,” picks up where the first season left off, with King Viserys dead and Aegon II newly anointed as king.
The episode is marked by intense political machinations. Queen Rhaenyra, mourning her son Lucerys’s death at the hands of Aemond Targaryen, and her supporters prepare for vengeance against the Greens, led by Aegon and his mother Alicent Hightower.
A crucial scene involves Daemon Targaryen hiring assassins Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) to murder Aegon. When they fail to find him, they gruesomely kill one of his infant twins, Jaehaerys, setting a dark tone for the season’s ongoing conflict. Tom Glynn-Carney highlighted that the show’s decision to imply rather than show the act of infanticide would split the audience.
Overall, the premiere sets the stage for a season filled with betrayal and bloodshed, echoing the brutal nature of its predecessor, “Game of Thrones.”
