Like Game of Thrones before it, House of the Dragon has a sprawling cast, and it's about to get a lot bigger. The story is about a civil war fought between rival factions of the Targaryen dynasty, then at the height of its power, that tears the Seven Kingdoms apart. This isn't the story of any one person. It takes to village to spill this much blood.
That said, if we were going to pick a main character anyway, it would probably be Rhaenyra Targaryen, the crown princess of the realm currently embroiled in conflict with her half-brother Aegon over the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra was played by Milly Alcock for the first half of House of the Dragon's first season and by Emma D'Arcy in the back half. D'Arcy will keep playing Rhaenyra when the show returns for its second season next month.
Rhaenyra's choices going forward will be influenced in part by some of the important relationships in her life, including her best frenemy Alicent Hightower, the mother of her rival half-brother Aegon, and her husband Daemon Targaryen, who also happens to be her uncle. Targaryens are weird like that.
HBO has been getting us ready for the second season of the show with some videos highlighting these relationships. Let's start with Alicent Hightower, played by Emily Carey in the first half of season 2 and by Olivia Cooke from the second half onward:
Then there's this video all about Rhaenyra's relationship with her uncle/husband Daemon (Matt Smith):
In both videos, the moment where Rhaenyra almost sleeps with her predatory uncle as a teenager is a turning point. Just writing that made me uncomfortable, so it's no surprise that it unturned three lives.
House of the Dragon season 2 kicks off on HBO and Max on Sunday, June 16.
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