You know the music, but the images are new. It’s on the famous theme song of Game Of Thrones as this new season of the spin-off series of the fantasy saga opens: House of the Dragon. The notes are well known but the credits have been changed to fit the atmosphere and characters of the series. It is a medieval tapestry which this time tells the adventures of the nobles of Westeros, in perpetual battle for the famous Iron Throne. Be careful, if you have not yet viewed this episode on the Max platform (which inherited this series), the rest of this article is full of spoilers. After this new introduction which will delight fans, episode 1 of this season 2 opens with a scene in the heart of Winterfell, the territory of the Starks, the main heroes of Game Of Thrones. Spectators will find with emotion the North Fortress, the giant Ice Wall, the soldiers of the Night’s Watch, the Stark theme music and even an ancestor of Arya, Sansa and Jon who we will recognize with his recognizable Scottish accent . Some will even say that the actor in charge of representing the Starks at the time of the Dance of Dragons was probably inspired by Kit Harington’s game to create a very effective family resemblance.
But the plot of House of the Dragon has no use for the North at the moment… Remember, season 1 ended with the shocking death of one of Queen Rhaenyra’s sons: Lucerys, devoured by her uncle Aemond Targaryen’s dragon . It’s time for mourning and revenge. The tension between the Black camp (loyal to Rhaenyra) and the Green camp (the camp of Aegon II and his mother Alicent) is at its peak. Rhaenyra is still deeply shocked by the news of the death of her young son but she does not (yet) completely believe it…
Meanwhile, within the capital, Queen Helaena Targaryen delivers an incoherent speech to her brother and husband Aegon II. She explains that she is frightened, not by the dragons of their enemies but by the rats which are omnipresent in the corridors of the palace. This cryptic phrase is, however, not to be taken lightly for anyone familiar with the world of House of the Dragon. Indeed, beneath her appearance as a naive, even simple, noblewoman, Helaena actually has certain supernatural powers, visions allowing her to see snippets of the future. This fear of “rats” will materialize at the end of the episode.
Can war be avoided?
Before a very political scene within a restricted council of King Aegon II, House of the Dragon demonstrates to us that she did not forget to add spice and a little sex in the picture by presenting us with Queen Alicent who is very “close” to her serving knight, Ser Criston Cole… The Council scene shows us two elements: Alicent’s still strong desire to avoid war with her former friend Rhaenyra and Aegon II’s taste for humiliation. Alicent and his father Otto favor patience and diplomacy when the king wishes to attack and subdue the lords tempted to turn their backs on him.
If Alicent appears to be a peaceful woman, she is in reality much tougher and rougher. His conversation with his spymaster, Larys Strong, proves it. The latter acts as Alicent’s armed (and discreet) arm by definitively getting rid of her enemies. Alicent knows that people are killing for her and her interests and she lets it happen. This shows cowardice or, at least, a deep moral contradiction of this character who displays a benevolent face.
Still in King’s Landing, the young king Aegon II learn to govern under the stern gaze of his grandfather Otto. Although Aegon is clumsy, he demonstrates that he is capable of making good choices and that he wants to help his subjects… even if he does not understand the negative consequences of his decisions. Otto, who is also the Hand of the King, redirects his royal orders, a useful lesson but poorly received by the king who feels like he is considered a child by his advisors. A frustration that does not escape Larys Strong who sees this as an opportunity to climb a few levels within the court…
Crying sons
After finding a piece of the body of her son and her dragon torn apart on a beach, Rhaenyra is overwhelmed by pain. Despite her own Restricted Council offering her different military strategies to retake the capital, she only sees one thing: kill the man responsible for her son’s death. The episode devotes a very touching mirrored scene in mourning for Rhaenyra. We see the latter crying for her son with her eldest in tears in her arms. We also see in parallel, Alicent praying for the memory of young Lucerys. Both camps seem to regret this fratricidal war motivated by ambition and revenge… But these feelings are stronger than anything.
The last 20 minutes of the episode are devoted to a mission: an assassination. Daemon Targaryen wants to satisfy his wife and niece Rhaenyra and give her the death of Aemond. To do this, he asks two assassins, nicknamed Blood and Cheese and recruited through his former mistress and spymaster Mysaria, to disguise themselves as rat catchers to enter the palace and kill Aemond. After a long search, the two men eventually came across Helaena and her two children. The hair is silver, that will do the trick. Daemon’s instructions were clear but the two men, distressed by this dragging mission, decided to kill one of the young princes in place of d’Aemond. The height of cruelty, they ask Helaena to designate the male heir from among her two children. Traumatized by the brutal murder of his son, beheaded in his presence, Helaena flees with her daughter to Alicent’s room to hide. There, she comes across the Dowager Queen with her lover Criston Cole having sex… “They killed the boy”, she says before the end credits appear on the screen.
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