HBO has dropped the first trailer for House of the Dragon season 2, and it is spectacular. Watch below:
This is our first official look at what’s to come in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show. There are plenty of images in here that will recognizable to fans who have read George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, some that are unique to the show, a few that are mysterious, and lots that are just plain awesome. Let’s break down the trailer shot by shot and see what we can find.
We begin with a shot of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) standing on the shore, contemplating the war for the Iron Throne she’s waging against her half-brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). She may be at Shipbreaker Bay near Storm’s End, where her son Lucerys died in the season 1 finale.
In season 1, D’Arcy left no doubt that they were the right choice to play the determined Rhaenyra. Could their performance in season 2 win them an Emmy?
As we shift to a shot of the Iron Throne room, we hear the voice of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans): “Errors were made in the hours following King Viserys’ death.” Ya think?
And here’s King Aegon, the current occupant of the Iron Throne. But with Rhaenyra out there, he sits it unsteady.
You can’t wage a war without Rhaenya’s husband (and uncle, ew) Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). Here he is grabbing his badass dragon helmet and heading out to crack some heads:
We didn’t have many battle scenes in the first season of House of the Dragon, but now that war has officially broken out between the blacks and the greens, expect that to change. Check out some shots of soldiers arrayed for battle below:
In King’s Landing, Otto Hightower and his daughter Alicent (Olivia Cooke) contemplate the war they’re about to wage.
“Many will die, and the victor will eventually ascend the throne,” Alicent says. Over her quote, we see images of our old friend Ser Criston Cole of the Kingsguard, now sporting a shorter new haircut:
Criston was a violent little freak even in peacetime in season 1. He’ll be right at home during war. Here he is executing someone, probably sliming on the inside:
Here we are in the Small Council room of the Red Keep as someone watches one of the little attendance balls from the first season spin around:
Rhaenyra and Alicent used to be best friends but now find themselves on opposite sides of a brutal conflict. The trailer underlines their connection with a pair of dynamic close-ups:
Naturally, Rhaenyra and her blacks will spend more time planning their war sitting around the Painted Table in season 2:
Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), one of Rhaenyra’s closest advisors, will be needed in the wars ahead:
Here’s Daemon about to bring the hammer down on someone. I’m guessing he’s in the castle of Harrenhal, where he spends a good amount of time in the book.
Here’s a pair of shots of Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) looking at his heart’s desire: the Iron Throne.
That shot of the Iron Throne lit by flickering lightning is in the running for the best shot of the trailer. Feel free to nominate your picks!
Next up, we have an intriguing pair of shots as Alicent looks over a lake. What could she be thinking?
There are a few shots in the trailer of some kind of procession through the streets of King’s Landing. It looks like it involves Alicent and it may turn into a riot:
Corlys’ wife Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) is another one of Rhaenyra’s councilors. She delivers the best line of the trailer to her queen: “There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin, and no war so bloody as a war between dragons.”
And here is my personal favorite shot of the trailer: Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) atop her dragon Moondancer, screaming with the thrill of battle. There’s something very energizing about it:
Let’s end this part of the breakdown with paired shots of Daemon and Rhaenyra atop their dragons Caraxes and Syrax:
There are a few other things from the trailer worth talking about, but I think they’re best cordoned off in their own sections. First, let’s take a close look at what will be a huge battle scene in House of the Dragon season 2. Click to see more of…
The Battle at Rook’s Rest
Keeping spoilers to a minimum, at some point in season 2, the blacks and the greens will clash in a battle known to history as the Battle at Rook’s Rest. We know that the House of the Dragon team spent a ton of time and energy filming this sequence, and we can’t wait to see how it turns out.
The trailer has several shots that appear to be from this battle, including this one of Criston Cole (I think, anyway) riding his horse through the woods:
Ser Criston will also mix it up on the ground:
One thing I’ll reveal about the Battle at Rook’s Rest: it features an appearance from Aemond Targaryen riding Vhagar, the oldest and biggest dragon in the world:
And where dragons go, the field of battle will be full of fire:
This looks like House of the Dragon’s first earnest attempt to match one of the spectacular battle scenes that Game of Thrones became known for, like the Massacre at Hardhome or the Battle of the Bastards. We hope the Battle at Rook’s Rest can stand tall with the best of what the mothership show had to offer!
Okay, I have one more group of shots I want to pick over, but be warned: these shots contain big SPOILERS for what’s coming in House of the Dragon season 2. Proceed with caution…
Meet Addam of Hull, Dragonseed
The shot above is important: this looks like actor Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, a peasant on Dragonstone who will get his chance to ride a dragon later in the season. He’s one of several people known as the Dragonseeds, and I’m really looking forward to seeing his story play out onscreen.
Although we can’t be certain, I suspect that Addam is the person whom Rhaenyra is staring down in this pair of shots:
In the book, Addam ends up riding the dragon Seasmoke, the dragon formerly ridden by Rhaenyra’s husband Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan). I think that’s Seasmoke and Rhaenyra’s dragon Syrax arrayed on this beach. Maybe this is the scene where Addam swears loyalty to Rhaenyra, as all the Dragonseeds do.
The Night’s Watch returns
We didn’t see the North in the first season of House of the Dragon, but that will change in season 2. In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) heads up there to treat with Lord Cregan Stark, who will be played by actor Tom Taylor on the show.
One group that doesn’t show up in the book is the Night’s Watch, but we’ve known for a while that they would appear in House of the Dragon season 2. We don’t know exactly what they’ll be doing, but we know they’re here. This appears to be the Night’s Watch in this shot, riding through a wintry forest at night:
Farewell, My Brother
In the first season of House of the Dragon, we met twin brothers Arryk and Erryk Cargyll, members of the Kingsguard. Arryk and Erryk are played by real-life twins Luke and Elliott Tittensor respectively.
At the end of the season, Erryk left King’s Landing for Dragonstone to pledge his loyalty to Queen Rhaenyra, while Arryk remained to serve King Aegon. Now they find themselves on opposite sides of the war. Without getting into explicit spoilers, the two brothers will have to fight in season 2. This looks like it could be a shot from their battle:
Blood and Cheese
Early on the season, something abominably horrible will happen to Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban), the only daughter of Alicent Hightower and her late husband King Viserys I Targaryen. Again, I won’t give away explicit spoilers in this post — click here if you want those — but this shot looks like it’s from that scene:
What are these pictures?
Finally, there were a few shots from the trailer I couldn’t figure out. I’ll open up the floor. Does anyone know what this building is?
Here’s a shot of a character — I think it’s Helaena — looking at…something. Is this Helaena? Or am I mixing her up with someone else?
Finally, here’s a dude drawing his sword. I don’t recognize him:
And that’s the first teaser trailer for House of the Dragon season 2! New episodes will air on HBO and Max sometime in the summer of 2024.
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