The highly anticipated second season of the series The dragon’s house, from the giant HBO, will debut June 16 on Crave. In order to prepare you for this sequel or to introduce you to the universe imagined by George RR Martin, here is a short guide on what you need to know about the main points of this global success as well as its predecessor, the monumental Iron Throne.
Attention! If we haven’t seen the first season of the series, this article contains important spoilers about it.
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Based on the novel fire and bloodpublished in 2018, this prequel, brought to the screen since August 2022, is signed by George RR Martin and Ryan Condal. The plot of the series takes place approximately 200 years before the events that occur in The iron Throne, a phenomenally successful work broadcast from 2011 to 2019 on the same channel. More precisely, The dragon’s house focuses on the history of House Targaryen. The faithful of the universe know that in The iron Throne, the “Mother of Dragons”, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), attempts to retake the Iron Throne. The pre-episode therefore takes place at the time when the house, at the height of its power, held a variety of 17 dragons.
A GLOBAL SUCCESS
To better understand the craze for The dragon’s house, it is good to remember what prepared the ground, televisually, for this prequel. The show The iron Thronebased on the literary saga A Song of Ice and Fire (whose first novel was published in 1996), had hypnotized viewers from the first episode to the very last… although this one was controversial! What was this success due to? The question still arises, since it is rare to see such a niche universe reach such a vast audience. Among the possible answers, we can think of the themes of family and power, the fact of showing uncensored content on TV (frequent sexual scenes and omnipresent violence, for example) as well as the suspense regarding the respective fate of the different protagonists.
A VISUAL FEAST
Visually and sonically, the audience was also treated to quite a spectacle, whether it was the high-quality fight scenes, the impressive sets or the intoxicating music. The actors, most of whom were not known to the general public, were recognized and rewarded for their phenomenal performance. We think, among others, of Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It is also important to highlight the leading roles that have been given to women. These aspects paved the way for the sequel, in which we find these same signature aspects.
THE BEGINNINGS OF A CONFLICT
“The series begins with the reign of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine), the fifth Targaryen ruler, the question of his succession as well as the events that unfold after he names his daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcook and Emma D ‘Arcy), heiress — a title that a woman had never assumed,” we can read on the HBO website. Throughout the 10 episodes, her role as heiress is threatened by the birth of boys as well as the desire of her rival and former friend, Queen Consort Alicent Hightower (Emilie Carey and Olivia Cooke). Remember that within this house, there are two clans: the greens, who support the claim to the throne of Alicent Hightower and her son, and the blacks, who want to see Rhaenyra Targaryen on the Iron Throne. Spoiler Beware: Season One ends with surprise and emotion as, unexpectedly, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s son, Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), and his dragon are killed in mid-flight by Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). The latter has therefore just committed the very first act of violence in the civil war that will follow. For the second season of eight episodes, we are promised more action, now that the “Dance of the Dragons” (the name given to the civil war) is underway and, obviously, even more dragons. We will thus be able to see the highly anticipated outcome of the melee between the two camps.
REWARDS A LOT
The first season of The dragon’s house won the award for Best Drama Series at the Golden Globe Awards in 2023, and actress Emma D’Arcy received a nomination in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category for her portrayal of Rhaenyra Targaryen as an adult. Directed by Briton Clare Kilner, the series, most of which is filmed in the United Kingdom, also stars Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans and Steve Toussaint.
AN EXORBITANT BUDGET
The first episode of season one was seen by no less than 10 million people around the world on the very evening of its premiere, the best viewing rate for a new original series on the HBO channel. Result? The dragon’s house was renewed for a second season just five days after its debut! Note that a monster budget of 20 million dollars was spent on each episode of the first season. On screen, this amount is particularly noticeable in the realism of the dragons, battle scenes, costumes and sets. For comparison, a budget of $6 million per episode was allocated for the first season of the Iron Thronecompared to a sum of 15 million per episode during the eighth and final season.
The second season of The dragon’s house will debut June 16 at 9 p.m. on Crave.
The first season is also available on the platform.
