What was happening in House of the Dragon season 1? The recap to get through it

That’s it ! Season 2 of House of the Dragon has started. Canal+ and HBO Max broadcast the first episode on June 17, and the others will follow at the rate of one per week, until episode 8 which will be posted online on August 5. Fans will be able to know what happens to Daemon, Aemond and Aegon, but also Rhaenys, Rhaenyra or Rhaena.

All these names speak to you, but you have difficulty putting a precise face to each of them? This is normal: the Targaryen dynasty has always had the unfortunate tendency to use the same restricted group of first names, which are also very similar. Fortunately, we have a survival guide to navigate the Targaryen genealogy.

As House of the Dragon mobilizes a vast gallery of characters, one would think that HBO would see fit to include a recap of season one – it is not uncommon for series to offer a “previously on”, especially when the last season was a few years ago. But no: the TV channel preferred to go there without a summary.

So here is another survival guide to help you get there:

• the series takes place 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen and, therefore, before the events of Game of Thrones;
• The kingdom of the Seven Kingdoms is ruled by Viserys II Targaryen, who fails to have a son with his wife, Aemma Arryn. They do, however, have a daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen;
• Rhaenyra is very friendly with Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Otto Hightower, who is the Hand of the King – in short, a sort of Prime Minister for Viserys;

• Aemma Arryn, unfortunately, dies after a very difficult birth. The son, who is born, does not survive either;
• Over the course of the episodes, Alicent gradually gets closer to Viserys. Eventually, she ends up seducing him and Viserys decides to marry her, which strengthens the position of the Hightower family (the father is still Hand of the King);
• Alicent will give Viserys three children in the season: two boys (Aegon II and Aemond) and a girl (Helaena);
• Rhaenyra will also have children: Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey (three boys). She is supposed to have had them with Laenor Velaryon, a family allied to the Targaryens, but Laenor is homosexual;

• Rhaenyra therefore maintains a secret affair with another man, Harwin Fort and from this union her three children will be born – even if, officially, they are Laenor’s children;
• There is therefore already a first tension: Rhaenyra’s descendants are bastards and “taint” the Targaryen lineage – and can offend House Velaryon. In addition, Rhaenyra also has an affair with Daemon Targaryen, her uncle, and brother of Viserys;
• A second tension emerges between each group of children, because of the problem of paternity, but also because of the ownership that each would like to have over the dragons (house Targaryen owns several dragons and dragon eggs at this time);

• One evening, things get out of hand and in the altercation between the children, Aemond loses an eye. The tensions between the two branches of the Targaryen family then become maximum and Viserys has all the difficulty in the world to maintain the unity of his house;
• Learning of the loss of Aemond’s eye, his mother Alicent flies into a rage and wishes to obtain revenge by putting out the eye of one of Rhaenyra’s sons. The two women, friends when they were children, are increasingly opposed;
• The reason for this opposition is simple: Viserys will eventually die and the question of succession will arise; Rhaenyra is Viserys’ only surviving legitimate child, but she is a woman. And the kingdoms of Westeros are conservative: they prefer a man on the throne;
• The other option would be to go through the branch born from the union between Viserys and Alicent, but Rhaenyra is opposed to this, believing that she has priority in the order of succession. The problem is that afterwards she will ask herself the question of the legitimacy of her children, who are bastards;

• Rhaenyra, furthermore, considers that the rapprochement between Alicent and Viserys was in fact a political maneuver carried out by Otto to strengthen the power of the House of Hightower. This stratagem was a poison in the relations of the two women;
• Viserys eventually dies, due to an infection caused by an injury caused by the Iron Throne. The Hightowers then scheme to take over from the king; Alicent ensures the regency and maneuvers to have his son Aegon II crowned;
• Of course, Rhaenyra is completely opposed to this direction. She leads an increasingly open rebellion against the Hightower, enlisting the support of her uncle Daemon (and brother of the late king), Rhaenys Targaryen (Viserys’ cousin), and House Velaryon;
• Gradually, Rhaenyra’s camp will be called the Blacks, while Alicent’s camp will be that of the Greens (due to the color of House Hightower);

• Both sides have comparable military strength and support. Additionally, dragons are found on both sides. Of course, they try to find other allies;
• One day, Lucerys Velaryon is commissioned to negotiate with a powerful family, on behalf of the Blacks. Unfortunately, a representative of the Greens is already there: Aemond Targaryen.
• This is where the past resurfaces: it was Lucerys who put out Aemond’s eye during the general fight, when they were children. Things remain calm when the two young people find themselves in front of the family whose rallying would be welcome;
• But as he leaves, Lucerys, while riding his dragon Arrax, is caught by Aemond, on Vhagar. It turns into butchery; Arrax is a young dragon, Vhagar is a juggernaut: he ravages Arrax and Lucerys;
• So a son of Alicent killed a son of Rhaenyra. With this death, the chances of a reconciliation appear definitively extinguished;
• Each side is therefore preparing for war. End of season 1.

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