Although HBO’s House of the Dragon did not create a sensation like Game of Thrones, the prequel series definitely garnered fans and interest in the fictional fantasy creation of George R. R. Martin. House of the Dragon season 1 had some genuine flaws in its making; season 2 begins with a far better grip over the narrative and style, promising a better viewing experience this time around. All of the central characters return as Westeros is on the brink of a civil war between the once-friendly families of Targaryen and Hightower. House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1 mostly updates us on the situation at both camps while also featuring a tense plot of revenge.
Spoiler Alert
How does Rhaenyra react to her son’s death?
Episode 1 opens in the far north of the kingdom, as we get a glimpse of one of the most-loved factions from Game of Thrones—the Night’s Watch. The reason for this return is Jacaery’s visit to the place as a representative of House Targaryen to gather support for his mother. Rhaenyra had earlier decided to throw civility to the wind and announce herself as the rightful queen of the kingdom after her father, King Viserys’, death. This was also triggered by the fact that the dowager Queen, Alicent Hightower, had placed her younger son, Aegon, on the throne as the King, despite Rhaenyra being the official successor. While all this took place in House of the Dragon season 1, its ending also presented a shock when Aemond and his gigantic dragon Vhagar killed Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys. The repercussions of this incident are only being felt now, as season 2 takes place a few weeks later, and both families have accepted the truth that the war is inevitable.
Jacaerys travels to the north and meets with the Stark family, represented by Cregan Stark, in order to make them the Targaryens’ allies before the upcoming battle. After giving a brief introduction to the Night’s Watch and also talking about the potential dangers that lurk outside of the Wall, Cregan agrees to fight by Rhaenyra’s side when the time comes. However, Jacaerys’ success in gaining an ally is immediately marred by the arrival of a letter, which informs him of the death of his brother. Jacaerys rushes back to Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra and Daemon have made their base, and he is torn between the roles of an ambassador to the family and a grieving brother. He initially starts to report the Starks’ agreement to Rhaenyra, with his voice trembling as the emotions take over, and the mother and son finally discard the formal roles to mourn as a family.
Before this union, though, Rhaenyra herself took a number of days to come to terms with the loss, which irked her husband, who is also her uncle, Daemon. The Queen’s absence from her castle and camp was seen as a wayward act by Daemon, and perhaps others raised their eyebrows at this as well. It was Rhaenys, the elder sister to Daemon and Viserys, who defended Rhaenyra’s decision to be away, as she understood the need to mourn a child’s death properly, only after ascertaining that they were actually dead. This was indeed what Rhaenyra had been up to, as she rode her dragon around the kingdom, hoping to find Lucerys’ body, or at least some sign of his death. She had only heard of the news from a letter delivered by a raven, and this was clearly not a very reliable source of news.
However, Rhaenyra finally finds a dragon wing washed ashore among the catch of a group of fishermen, and together with this wing are also pieces of clothing last worn by Jacaerys. This confirms that the young man had indeed passed away, and it gives Rhaenyra the sense of closure that she had been searching for. She returns to Dragonstone and immediately gets back into the role of the Queen, although she evidently has a different target than the rest of her council. The others, including Daemon and Rhaenys, talk about the preparations for the war and about the blockade of King’s Landing arranged by Corlys Velaryon, also known as the Sea Snake. But Rhaenyra simply demands the life of Aemond, as she is filled with vengeance for her son’s death, and it is the one-eyed Targaryen prince that she makes her target at the moment.
What is the situation in King’s Landing?
When the focus shifts to King’s Landing, there is enough to unpack there as well, since situations have changed since the end of season 1. While the public coronation of Aegon as the King of Westeros was already seen in season 1, this time, we witness his ruling for the first time. Aegon is clearly just a pawn, placed on the throne by his mother, Alicent, and grandfather, Ser Otto Hightower, who continues to serve as the Hand of the King, meaning the advisor. Aegon is not sharp enough to understand this, although he does notice and is frustrated by the heavy influence that these two family members hold over his actions. In many senses, the young man does not seem to have the intentions of being a king either, as he is more interested in drinking around with friends in the royal court at night and is amused by his young son’s actions than the matters being discussed at an important council meeting.
The young king is named Aegon the Magnanimous, although he has no skills in ruling at all, and his understanding of situations is very shallow, which also perhaps makes sense given his young age. When he sits in court and allows common folks to approach with their problems and complaints, Aegon’s inexperience is on full display. A sheepherder asks for his animals back, and Aegon very happily promises to return more animals than had been taken, for he feels that this is the most obvious and right thing to do. Ser Otto has to step in and remind him that the dragons need the sheep for food and that animals are also sent as a tithe to the allied families. Similarly, when the blacksmith asks for more money in order to build the weapons required by the army, Aegon immediately agrees to increase the budget, even though it is not feasible, as evident from Ser Otto’s face. There is still a certain innocence in Aegon that stops him from being a strong or effective king, but these qualities are not expected of him either, owing to the fact that he is just a pawn.
Alicent Hightower continues to be one of the central decision-makers, although her grasp over the political scenario seems to have loosened slightly in this new season. While the detestable Larys Strong had kept Alicent under an indirect hold in the later half of season 1, this time, she faces much more domination from her father, Ser Otto. She also made a new lover, Ser Criston Cole, the swordsman who had fallen in love with Rhaenyra and then became her sworn enemy when she refused to be with him. It was perhaps evident that Alicent and Ser Criston would become lovers, given the fact that they conspired against Rhaenyra together all the time, and now they focus on hiding their affair from everyone else. Larys still continues to grow stronger, as he now holds enough power to have removed and killed many workers in the castle staff on the suspicion that they were spies. Alicent struggles to accept this change, and she is evidently affected by this suspicion, unable to trust the new staff either.
Larys even approaches King Aegon with the idea of removing his own grandfather, Ser Otto, from the position of the Hand, suggesting that Larys be given the position instead. This can be seen as a sort of retribution against the Hightowers, who themselves had earlier fueled such conspiracies and wielded power over the Iron Throne through the position of the Hand. Considering the fact that this plot is introduced in the very first episode of season 2, it is very possible that Aegon will eventually want his grandfather out, especially since he is already aware of the hold the man has over him, the King. Overall, the Hightower family is also ready for the imminent war, with the Baratheons and the Lannisters already becoming allies with them. Alicent is also fearful that Rhaenyra will strike the castle at King’s Landing out of vengeance for her son’s death, while both Aegon and Aemond want to take a more direct approach to the war. While Aegon wants to attack Rhaenyra and Dragonstone directly, Aemond wants to prepare for the war by winning over other territories and fighting against the blockade by the Sea Snake.
What is Daemon’s plan of revenge?
Daemon Targaryen continues to plot a different plan during this time, though, and he seeks out Mysaria, also known as White Worm, who is a master spy from King’s Landing. Daemon orders her to tell him about secrets from King’s Landing, and it is very clear that his intention at the moment is not any direct warfare on the battlefield. It is through Mysaria that Daemon makes acquaintance with a soldier from the army and a ratcatcher who frequently visits the castle. Both these men are petty criminals who can be easily won over with money, and when Daemon gives them the order to sneak into the castle, find Aemond, and kill the prince, they agree to the deed. Thus, Daemon seems to be doing a favor to his wife by killing the young man that she had set as her main target. It is easy to wonder whether Daemon is trying to prove his worth to Rhaenyra through this plan, possibly fearing that others, like Rhaenys, might be currently more favored by his wife.
The two men set out towards the castle and then sneaked into the place, with the ratcatcher leading the way because of his knowledge of the many tunnels and passages. But neither of them has permission to enter the upper floor, where the chambers of the royal family members are, and the sneaking intensifies from here. Although they are unable to find Aemond, the two men stumble across King Aegon’s wife, Helaena, and hold her captive. They realize that killing the young son of the king would also be a deed that would please Daemon. Thus, they force Helaena to tell them which of the children is Prince Jaehaerys since they all look similar due to their characteristic pale complexions and silver hair, and then kill the child that she points to. Helaena is then seen rushing to Alicent’s room, clutching her other living child, and reporting the horrific incident.
Although it is not exactly confirmed whether the child that the two men kill and behead is actually Jaehaerys, this seems like the most probable case. Thus, the act will now make Aegon much more reckless and vengeful, and it might trigger a violent turn in his character, turning him more into Joffrey Baratheon, the other puppet king seen in Game of Thrones. The war also moves closer with this act, and Rhaenyra might even hold Daemon responsible for unnecessarily escalating the situation. Lastly, there might be a possibility that Helaena pointed to the wrong child intentionally, sacrificing her daughter for the sake of her son. But in that case, she does not intend to tell anyone else about this switch, as she reports to Alicent that her son has been killed. This decision might stem from the fact that Helaena realizes how unsafe she and her children are anyway in this situation of war. If the living child is indeed the prince, then she might raise him like a girl to avoid any suspicion, thereby leading to another cross-dressing Arya Stark situation, which will be interesting to see in case the show takes that direction.
