House of the Dragon trailer breakdown: Episode 8, “The Lord of the Tides”

Dark days for the House of the Dragon

“The crown cannot stand strong, if the house of the dragon remains divided,” says a weary-sounding Viserys as we get a sweeping shot of the Red Keep. This shot seems to intentionally parallel a scene of the Red Keep from the season premiere, where it was all glitz and glory. Dark days have come for House Targaryen.

The door to the training yard opens, giving us a peek of Vaemond Velaryon beyond:

Next we get our first look at Lucerys Velaryon, now played by Elliot Grihault:

This looks like it could be that same scene with Criston and Aemond training that we saw earlier; note that Criston is in the center of the training ring, and everyone seems to be gathered round to watch. That’s Jacaerys behind Luke, and then in the far background we get a glimpse of Erryk and Arryk Cargill together. Not sure who that guy in red on the right is; any guesses?

Next, Daemon goes hunting for a dragon egg. This most likely means Rhaenyra is pregnant in this episode; remember, Targaryens carry on a tradition of putting a dragon egg in the cradle next to their babies, to try and facilitate a bond between the child and their dragon. My guess would be that he’s in a cave on Dragonstone in this shot.

“This is a matter of blood, not ambition,” says a voice that sounds a lot like Vaemond. It’s cross-cut over Otto Hightower standing up from the Iron Throne, because nothing says “this isn’t about ambition” like a shot of Otto Hightower…

Next, Jacaerys gets mad:

As Aegon picks something off a banquet table and walks past Jace, Rhaenyra’s eldest son slams his fists down on the table and launches to his feet. There’s a very specific banquet that happens in Fire & Blood during King Viserys’ last days where he continues to believe that everyone gets along all nicely but in reality they’re still at each other’s throats.

During that feast, Aemond gives a speech where he toasts his “strong” nephews, alluding to Jace and Luke being bastards. The scene may not play out exactly the same in the show, but it’s a fair guess that we’re seeing some variation of it here.

“The Lord of the Tides” will also see the return of Sonoyo Mizuno as Mysaria, aka the White Worm. Mysaria was an information broker in King’s Landing when last we saw her, paying children to collect whispers much in the same way Varys did in Game of Thrones. But that was over 15 years ago. How much has Mysaria’s position changed in that time? It almost looks like this scene is taking place in some kind of manse, so it’s possible she’s done quite well for herself.

And of course, that hooded figure walking up to her is most likely Daemon. Because he’s wearing his criminal activity cloak.

“This is a trap,” Rhaenyra says, and somewhere Admiral Ackbar nods in approval. What trap is she referring to, specifically?

Another brief glimpse of Lucerys. This trailer is giving him more emphasis than he’s gotten pretty much the entire series, which is fitting since a large part of the drama will revolve around Vaemond trying to get him disinherited:

But Vaemond isn’t the only one who has beef with Luke. “Nephews,” Aemond says in greeting as he twirls his sword:

Lucerys is the one who cut out Aemond’s eye, so count on there being plenty of bad blood between them. Luke’s got a lot of enemies.

People are going to come to blows in this episode. Here’s a shot of Jace taking a swing at Aemond:

A few things to note here: Aegon and Lucerys are squaring off to the left. Also, someone else with Targaryen hair is standing behind Jace. That’s most likely Helaena Targaryen, based on the yellow dress we saw her wear earlier in the trailer.

Jace gets his punch in, but how will Aemond respond? It doesn’t even look like he was staggered.

We get a brief shot of Aegon mashing Lucerys’ face into a banquet table. That’s Baela Targaryen off to the side, now played by Bethany Antonia.

Next, Otto warns that “the threat of war looms.” Based on the windows and the chair Otto’s sitting in, I’d wager this is in the Small Council chamber:

Speaking of that threat of war, here’s our final shot of the trailer. Vaemond Velaryon marches through the gates of the Red Keep, accompanied by a group of House Velaryon men-at-arms:

How will Vaemond’s petition to get Lucerys disinherited from Driftmark go? In Episode 7 Viserys had some choice words of warning for anyone who would further dispute the lineage of Rhaenyra’s children. But since Viserys is now bedridden, who can say how things will go down?

We’ll find out for ourselves when “The Lord of the Tides” premieres on HBO and HBO Max this Sunday.

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