All the hidden secrets in the House of the Dragon season 2 final trailer

We're just over a month out from the release of House of the Dragon season 2, and HBO is pulling out all the stops. This week, a brand new trailer for the second season of the Game of Thrones prequel show dropped, and it is a doozy. From new dragons to first looks at new characters, it's clear that HBO expects this trailer to keep us all talking about the show for the next few weeks until we can finally watch it.

Last time around, HBO released two themed trailers to get fans excited about their favorites: there was the Black Trailer, which featured Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and her supporters; and the Green Trailer, which was all about King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his Greens. These two forces will finally come to blows in season 2 in a clash known as the Dance of the Dragons, arguably the bloodiest war in the history of Westeros. This time around, HBO's latest trailer hones in on that conflict, bringing all our characters back together in a trailer that lays out the stakes, drums up the drama, and gives us a glimpse at the war to come.

Any time a new Game of Thrones-related trailer drops, it's a special occasion. As such, we're breaking out the magnifying glass and going through the latest trailer for House of the Dragon season 2 shot by shot, the better to find all the little details. And hoo boy, is there a lot to talk about for this one.

There will be SPOILERS from the book House of the Dragon is based on, Fire & Blood, below.

House of the Dragon season 2 trailer breakdown

We begin with a moody night shot of the throne room of King's Landing, where a figure in a Targaryen white-blonde wig walks beneath a looming statue, looking at the Iron Throne on the other side of the room:

As revealed in a reverse shot from another promo video, this is Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith):

Daemon is no longer in King's Landing; in fact, he's fighting against the guy currently on the throne, so how is he here? Perhaps he sneaks into the Red Keep to gaze on his family's throne during his clandestine mission to the city to hire the mercenaries Blood and Cheese? After all, Daemon is familiar with the secret passageways into the castle, too.

Next we see the Iron Throne lit by a flash of lightning. This doesn't seem to be from the same scene with Daemon, since that one still had daylight. Shout out to the Green Targaryen banners framing the throne:

Next we cut to Rhaenyra's son Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collet), stepping up to the edge of the Wall with Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor). Note the Stark ancestral Valyrian steel greatsword Ice, slung over Cregan's shoulder:

At the end of season 1, Jace was dispatched by his mother Rhaenyra to go secure Cregan's allegiance for the Blacks; we'll likely see that play out right near the top of the season. Jace and Cregan don't visit the Wall in Fire & Blood, but the show is adding in this detour so we get to visit one of the most iconic locations from Game of Thrones. We'll allow it.

Next, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) wanders a field, looking forlorn:

While the crown of King Jaehaerys falls to the floor:

It's hard to tell exactly where the crown is falling. The Iron Throne room? Dragonstone? This crown was in Rhaenyra's possession at the end of season 1, so perhaps the latter is more likely. The only way I could see this scene being in King's Landing is if it's a dream sequence or a flashback.

Next up, a dragon flies over a lake. From the color and the spined tail, I believe it's Seasmoke, the dragon ridden by Laenor Velaryon. Seasmoke will be getting a new rider in season 2.

Fast cut to three dragon eggs, roasting on an open fire:

During the finale of season 1, we saw Daemon Targaryen gathering dragon eggs on Dragonstone. Perhaps these are those eggs? Either way, both sides in this conflict will be scrambling to assemble their dragon air forces for the wars to come. Regardless of who's trying to heat these particular eggs enough to make them hatch, it's a nice callback to Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragon eggs from Thrones.

While this opening montage plays, Rhaenyra Targaryen narrates: "The Targaryen who sits the Iron Throne, is not just a king or a queen. They are a protector of the realm." And here we see her looking pensive, in our first close-up of the trailer:

The idea that the ruler of Westeros owes their service to the realm is something which we've seen go wrong plenty of times on Game of Thrones. How Rhaenyra and Aegon will each navigate that burden remains to be seen, but it looks like a riot may break out in King's Landing:

We'll see more evidence of the King's Landing riot — and when it may occur — later in the trailer. But first, another quick shot of Seasmoke flying over a forest...

...before we cut back to Rhaenyra, who finds herself "in an impossible position," gazing out at a sunset from the parapets of Dragonstone.

That impossible position involves the question of how to prise her half-brother Aegon from the Iron Throne without drowning Westeros in blood in the process. Here's Aegon strolling up to that throne, surrounded by retainers;

"The enemy usurped my throne," says Rhaenyra. Here's what she thinks of that:

Next, we see her take up a sword:

This shot of Rhaenyra wielding a sword began circulating online a few days before the trailer dropped, and we were all wondering what she was getting up to with it. From these scenes, it seems that she's mentally preparing for war. That looks like the hall of Driftmark to me, though Dragonstone is a likely option as well.

Next we check in with everyone's favorite rogue prince, Daemon Targaryen:

"We're going to King's Landing," he tells Rhaenys (Eve Best). She doesn't look convinced it's a great idea:

Readers of Fire & Blood will know that Daemon hatches a very swift plan to avenge Rhaenyra's son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), who was chomped to bits by Aemond's dragon Vhagar in the season 1 finale. That's almost certainly why he's talking about going to King's Landing in the above shot.

Meanwhile, Aegon II's Small Council is oblivious to his plans:

Aegon II is sitting at the head of the table. Going counterclockwise, we have Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Alicent Hightower, Aemond Targaryen, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan), and Lord Jasper Wylde (Paul Kennedy), Aegon's Master of Laws.

Aegon is giving off some pretty interesting vibes here, as he demands to know what he and his allies "are going to do about it" while gesturing with his father King Viserys' knife:

Aegon may be talking here about a response to the Blood and Cheese incident, where the pair of mercenaries take revenge for Luke's death in a brutal way that will surely drop people's jaws. Or he could be talking about the war in general.

Next, a gorgeous wide shot of the Red Keep and King's Landing:

Followed by another gorgeous shot of Aemond and his mother Alicent on the parapets of the castle. I wonder if they're discussing a certain bit of nephew-murder that Aemond took part in recently?

"We must play the board before us" Otto Hightower tells his daughter, Alicent:

This shot is of a different scene in the Small Council chamber than the one with Aegon and his knife — notice that Otto is sitting where Criston Cole was. Also, clock his Hand of the King pin!

Speaking of Criston:

"We must proceed cautiously," Alicent tells her son Aegon:

He's not having it, shouting "F**k dignity. I want revenge:"

Aegon is almost definitely saying this in response to Blood and Cheese; there's really not much else he could be referring to at this point in the story. Aemond clearly thinks revenge sounds cool:

It's worth noting that it's pretty dark in all of these close-up shots, whereas the first Small Council shot we saw was bathed in daylight. So this is a different scene, possibly one of the first Small Council gatherings after Blood and Cheese make their move.

From there, we're off to the castle of Rook's Rest:

Rook's Rest is a castle in the crownlands we'll be seeing quite a bit of in season 2. In Fire & Blood, the ruling lord of Rook's Rest, Lord Staunton, is loyal to Rhaenyra. He closes up his gates when Ser Criston Cole shows up with an army of soldiers backing Aegon II, which leads to one of the first truly devastating battles of the war. Criston will have some Lannisters with him:

"News spreads through the realm," Otto says, and we get a brief shot of a raven, taking said news to all the powerful lords of Westeros:

Next is a brief, beautiful shot of Moondancer, the dragon ridden by Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia):

Baela's role has been expanded from the book, and we see plenty of her on dragonback in this trailer.

Next, Otto tries to convince Aegon and Ser Criston that "the great houses will come to side:"

Note that Otto is still wearing his Hand of the King pin here. If House of the Dragon stays true to the book, that won't last. Aegon eventually loses faith in Otto and gives the post to Criston instead. This scene seems like a preview of that schism.

Meanwhile, armies march to Rook's Rest once more:

The Green battle lines assemble at Rook's Rest:

I spy the sheep sigil of House Stokeworth, the red and yellow shields of House Darklyn, and the white banners with red lines of House Rosby. In the book, those three houses all join Criston Cole's army during his march to Rook's Rest; it's nice to see the show is paying attention to the details from the book!

From the battlefield to the dinner table, Rhaenyra sets down a cup:

That looks like Jace on the left and Queensguard knight Ser Lorent Marbrand (Max Wrottesley) in the background on the right. This looks an awful lot like the scene from the Black trailer where Rhaenyra sits down with the Dragonseeds, which likely means that the following shot of Daemon is from a different scene:

"I did not think they would be so eager to die," says Daemon.

Next we take to the sea! Ships with sails bearing the House Velaryon seahorse cut off and board a smaller ship with a non-descript white sail:

Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) will be one of Rhaenyra's staunchest supporters in the Dance of the Dragons. He'll lend her his navy, which is the strongest in the realm. In Fire & Blood, Corlys' ships blockade the stretch of ocean outside of King's Landing known as the Gullet, choking off supplies and trade to the capital. I imagine that's what were seeing above.

And here's the man himself, reassuring Rhaenyra that his "ships sail at command:"

You can just see the Hand of the Queen pin on Corlys' jacket, peeking out from under his dreadlocks. He'll have a lot to do this season.

Next, Daemon and his dragon Caraxes dive out of a mountain lair and take to the skies:

We get a very brief glimpse at the landscape outside of the cave where Caraxes is taking wing; there are ships in the bay. My guess is that they're leaving Dragonstone to head to King's Landing or Harrenhal.

"The realm's only hope is in a leader strong enough to unite it," says Daemon. Rhaenyra asks him on Dragonstone: "Do you accept me as your queen and ruler?"

We don't hear if he answers. Awk..ward...

From there we head into one of the most exciting shots of the trailer: King Aegon II taking wing on his beautiful golden dragon Sunfyre, soaring over King's Landing:

Sunfyre is considered the most beautiful dragon in Westeros, and the visual effects team of House of the Dragon put in a lot of effort to make him look and feel different from the other dragons onscreen. Season 1 cut out a scene from the book where Aegon rides his dragon over the city as part of his coronation; maybe it's been repurposed for season 2?

Back to Rook's Rest, where the Green army assembles for the assault:

"This senseless war must end," says Alicent, once more looking dejected and sad, this time in the Red Keep:

"Would you not have us prevail?" asks Aemond. "Not like this!" Alicent snaps back:

Something tells me that Aemond isn't going to listen to the voice of reason. And neither is Daemon, for that matter, who's landing his dragon Caraxes on the castle of Harrenhal during a stormy night:

Next we get a line that sent many Alicent and Rhaenyra fans into a frenzy. "Alicent holds love for our enemy," says Aemond Targaryen, while we get a cross cut of Alicent praying and Rhaenyra at her son Luke's funeral, which we saw in the Black Trailer:

And just in case you're wondering what Aemond thinks of that love, he tells Criston that it "makes her a fool."

Olivia Cooke has hinted in recent interviews that Alicent will be pushed aside by the men around her now that the war is fully in swing, and this scene seems to foreshadow that.

Back up in the North, we see the men of the Night's Watch walking through a moonlit forest:

And a frontal shot of Jace looking out beyond the Wall, while Cregan Stark gauges his reaction:

Next is another very exciting string of shots, which shows Criston Cole and Alicent's brother Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) racing for the forest on horseback, while Baela Targaryen pursues them on her dragon Moondancer:

Despite Baela giving chase, it looks like Criston and Gwayne will make it to the trees in time:

An interesting thing to note about this sequence is that, at this point, it seems very likely that Baela Targaryen and Moondancer will be involved in the Battle at Rook's Rest. We won't go deep down the spoiler rabbit hole, but suffice it to say that something very bad happens there which could have a huge impact on Baela if she's there to witness it. I can't wait to see how House of the Dragon navigates this.

"The enemy without may be fought with swords. The enemy within is more insidious," says Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) while we get another juicy montage, starting with a bereft Rhaenyra:

Rhaenyra looks like she's been crying in this shot, and she's got bed hair. You know that means she's just gotten some very bad news. My guess is that it came from Rook's Rest.

But hey, at least Aegon's not looking too hot either. I imagine this is him dealing with the emotional fallout of Blood and Cheese:

Next, a very quick shot of Kingsguard knight Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor), or maybe it's his twin brother Ser Erryk Cargyll (Elliot Tittensor):

We just get a glimpse of the person that Arryk is fighting here, enough to see that they're also wearing Kingsguard armor. If you've read Fire & Blood, you know what that means and what scene this is. If not, brace for an emotional gut punch.

Next, as Larys Strong talks about the enemy within, the scene cuts to Daemon in his bedclothes, looking harried as he walks down a torchlit hallway:

My guess is that we're seeing Daemon at Harrenhal. In Fire & Blood, Daemon takes the castle in a bloodless coup, and then takes up residence there to manage the campaign in the Riverlands for the Blacks. In a recent interview, House of the Dragon writer Sara Hess talked about how the cursed castle of Harrenhal weighs on Daemon in season 2, troubling his sleep in a way that almost makes it sound like a haunted house. Maybe Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) can help Daemon get some rest.

Whether Daemon gets any or not, it looks like his nephew Aemond will. Here he is, naked as his nameday:

Yes, that is definitely Aemond; note the scar across his left eye. And thanks to sleuths on the Internet, we know with relative certainty that the person cuddling Aemond is the brothel madam from season 1, played by Michelle Bonnard. So perhaps Aemond is seeking out a bit of solace and empathy, which could add a fascinating new dimension to his character.

Next, a gloved hand squeezes into a fist, the black leather creaking:

It could be anyone's hand! Anyone who can afford a good glove, although I will note that black is a Targaryen color.

Next, a trippy shot of a person stepping over a corpse and into water, as the camera spins beneath the waves:

This is a hard shot to parse; if it's happening in the real world, it's seems likely to take place during the aftermath of a battle. But it gives off dream vibes. Perhaps someone is being haunted by the toll of war?

Our next shot is a little easier. It's the hull of a ship:

And why would the House of the Dragon trailer feature a shot of the hull of a ship? Because the very next shot is one of our new characters, named Alyn of Hull:

This is our first official look at Raised By Wolves star Abubakar Salim as Alyn. He's decked out in House Velaryon armor here, which is fitting because he's got some ties to Lord Corlys. In the novel, Alyn and his brother Addam of Hull are said to be bastard children of Laenor Velaryon, but since it's an open secret that Laenor is gay, it's believed by many that they were actually sired by Corlys. It'll be exciting to see how the show handles these two important characters.

The shot above is another interesting one; who is that woman with Targaryen blonde hair who's seductively peeking over a fan? My first thought with this shot is that it could be Alys Rivers, a woman living at Harrenhal who will encounter both Daemon and Aemond at various points in the story. She often draws comparisons to Melisandre on account of her prognostication and mysticism. But we know that Alys is being played by Gayle Rankin in season 2, while this actor is reportedly Kika Green. According to @westerosies on Twitter/X, Green plays a character named Copper Penny who will appear in only one episode. With a name like that, I'd guess she's a prostitute, but time will tell.

Next we have Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell), looking wide-eyed at something off-screen. There's a rumor going around that Rhaena's role will be expanded in season 2 to include some of the material given to a character named Nettles in the book. The rumor goes that Rhaena will track a sheep-eating dragon in the Vale, which is where she's sent to wait out the Dance of the Dragons. I don't know if I believe all that, but the hills behind her do look like the Vale.

Meanwhile, her sister Baela dives into battle on Moondancer. I've said it before I'll say it again: I can't wait to see Moondancer and Baela in action in season 2. This is presumably them fighting at Rook's Rest, judging by the following shot of dragonfire scorching the Green battle lines:

Next up, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) tells someone that "There is more than one way to fight a war:"

We can make a few relatively safe assumptions here. In the book, Daemon contacts Mysaria in King's Landing and hatches a plot to get revenge for Luke's death. It involves hiring a cutthroat former Goldcloak named Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and a ratcatcher named Cheese (Mark Stobbart), who knows all the secret ways into the Red Keep. This conversation with Mysaria is almost certainly with Daemon, pulling this plan together. And the trailer knows we know it, so the next shots are of Blood and Cheese themselves in the tunnels beneath the Red Keep:

Next, we see some coins changing hands:

It's worth noting that the hand catching the coins is small; I'd guess a child. My best guess is that this scene is Daemon arriving in King's Landing and paying a child in Mysaria's employ to take him to her.

Above we get another very intriguing shot. Who is this woman? It looks a little like Gayle Rankin, who plays Alys Rivers, to me, but Alys has black hair and this character has silver-blonde. Maybe she's using some magical trickery on her hair?

Part of the reason I think this could be Alys is because of that hand caressing her throat. It has on the Targaryen sigil ring which the members of the royal family carry, and it's on the same hand that Daemon wears it. My money is on a seduction scene between the two of them.

Our next shot is of another brief, nondescript one, of a hand with a knife being clutched by another hand:

It's hard to know who these people are, but we do have a couple of clues. The first is the dress, which looks like the sort of style Alicent wears in the posters for House of the Dragon season 2. As for the knife, once more the internet sleuths have determined that it's similar in style to one that young Rhaenyra Targaryen (Millie Alcock) used on the boar hunt with Criston Cole in season 1. It's hard to draw any concrete conclusions about the scene, but I'm very intrigued.

Next, we cut to a riot in King's Landing:

And now we see when this is going down, as Alicent and her daughter Helaena (Phia Saban) both run from the mob. They're wearing black funeral veils, so this is most likely happening in the aftermath of Blood and Cheese:

Perhaps the people don't appreciate Aegon's brutal reaction to the Blood and Cheese incident and riot. Or perhaps there are still some Rhaenyra Targaryen loyalists in the city. They don't need a lot to riot, the people of King's Landing.

Back to Rook's Rest, where it looks like Criston Cole is riding through the battle. Note the white Kingsguard armor on him and his horse:

Explosions abound as dragonflame is unleashed:

We take the skies over the battlefield in one of the most epic shots of the trailer:

That's Rhaenys Targaryen on her dragon Meleys, the Red Queen. You can see the Rook's Rest castle in the distance. Rook's Rest — and Rhaenys' part in it — is going to be one of the main events of House of the Dragon season 2. Dragons will clash, and Meleys is ready:

Aemond, less so. Here he is ducking low in his saddle astride his dragon Vhagar as dragonfire washes over him:

Vhagar has her own rebuttal to the attack:

Vhagar and Meleys will both take part in the Battle of Rook's Rest, and it's all but assured that they'll fight. We are not prepared.

At last, we arrive at the end of the trailer. "War is coming," Rhaenyra proclaims, and House of the Dragon hits us with a money shot to end all money shots:

That would be Rhaenyra Targaryen in front of Vermithor, the dragon ridden by her grandfather King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. That's the dragon that Daemon sang to in the season 1 finale. Vermithor is a very large dragon, second only to Vhagar, and he hasn't had a rider since the death of Jaehaerys. That's going to change in House of the Dragon season 2.

House of the Dragon season 2 premieres July 16 on HBO and Max.

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