After a two-year hiatus (and two strikes), HBO is reigniting the flames of “House of the Dragon,” the prequel to “Game of Thrones,” set centuries before the original series. The saga centers on the Targaryens, united by their hunger for power and their dragons, yet divided by betrayal and murder. The first season concluded with the tragic death of Queen Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) son, Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), a loss that propels the grieving queen into a full-blown war against King Viserys I’s widow, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), and her half-brothers, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell).
Olivia Cooke as Alicent in “House of the Dragon”
“Game of Thrones” fans know to expect the unexpected, and “House of the Dragon” is no exception. While the death of Prince Lucerys in the first season’s finale was a shocking moment, “House of the Dragon” had been relatively restrained in its bloodshed – until now. The new season’s first episode, aptly titled “A Son for a Son,” foreshadows the deadly consequences that await all involved in this conflict. After ten episodes of setting the stage, showrunners George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal waste no time in delivering the action.
The Dance of the Dragons Begins
Scene from “House of the Dragon”
The opposing factions have officially solidified, with the family fractured along color lines. Rhaenyra and her husband (and uncle) Daemon (Matt Smith) lead the Blacks, while Aegon, the usurper of the Iron Throne, his one-eyed and psychopathic brother Aemond, and their mother Alicent, who is still struggling to adapt to her new role, represent the Greens. The Greens hold King’s Landing, while the Blacks plan to leverage their dragons for a multi-pronged assault. The season opens in a familiar location: the North, among the Starks and the Night’s Watch. The parallels to the “Game of Thrones” pilot are clear: the Targaryen conflict will soon spread and engulf all Seven Kingdoms, forcing each house to choose a side.
Matt Smith as Daemon in “House of the Dragon”
Alicent’s Descent
While Rhaenyra’s grief over her son’s death is palpable, Alicent remains the most compelling character from a dramatic and psychological standpoint. She has irrevocably broken with her childhood friend Rhaenyra and crossed numerous lines, but she has yet to fully grasp the consequences of her actions. Cooke portrays Alicent’s multifaceted nature: as a mother, a politician, and a woman seeking agency. Like Rhaenyra, Alicent is consumed by the agony of revenge, evolving into a seasoned stateswoman, echoing Cersei Lannister’s trajectory. Discussions of war are interspersed with Alicent’s romantic interludes with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), counsel from her father (Rhys Ifans), and clandestine meetings with the spymaster Larys Strong (Matthew Needham).
A Dark and Brutal World
The show’s somber tone intensifies from the opening credits, and a funereal atmosphere permeates every scene. The belongings of the deceased prince are burned, and tears flow freely. Rhaenyra’s only words in the premiere episode are an order to kill Aemond, the one-eyed prince responsible for her son’s death. Daemon complies, entrusting the task to the assassins Blood and Cheese, who first appeared in the pages of “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The cutthroats are predictable, yet they carry out their revenge in the most gruesome way imaginable. Westeros remains a land devoid of mercy, where blind hatred and unbearable pain consume all reason. “Soon, they won’t even remember why they started the war,” observes Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), and she is likely correct.