Here's what's coming in House of the Dragon season 2 Episode 7, shot by shot

We only have two more episodes left in the second season of House of the Dragon. In Sunday's new installment, Daemon sews things up in the Riverlands, Alicent goes for a swim, and Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen recruits dragonriders to join her ranks.

We begin with Rhaenyra, who flew away from Dragonstone at the end of the previous episode after hearing that someone had claimed the dragon Seasmoke, which belonged to her late husband Laenor Velaryon. Is he friend of foe? In these striking shots, Rhaenyra intends to find out:

Rhaenyra is coming at this bracing for the worst. "You stand with a dragon of House Targaryen!" she yells. "What do you want?"

We know that Addam is basically a nobody, a peasant who's secretly the bastard son of Corlys Velaryon, which might help explain how he was able to mount Seasmoke in the first place; Laenor, Seasmoke's previous rider, was Addam's trueborn half-brother, although we doubt they ever met. But to Rhaenyra, he's a potential enemy. In George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, Addam eventually becomes part of Rhaenyra's dragon-riding air force, so I think things between them will calm down. But the idea that smallfolk can ride dragons is apparently rocking Rhaenrya's world. Put a pin in that.

Sad sad sad in the Riverlands

Let's check in with Alicent Hightower, who is...somewhere. I have no idea what she's doing wandering through a forest, or standing in a lake. Alicent is usually holed up in the Red Keep, which is probably the safest place for her given that there's a war on...then again, people snuck into the Red Keep and murdered her grandson in the season premiere, so who's to say? Maybe she decides to split now that Aemond has fired her from the Small Council?

Alicent is sad so very sad extremely sad:

"All my life, I have endeavored to serve both my house and the realm," she says. "And somehow none of it matters."

Meanwhile, member of House Tully arrive at Harrenhal, where Daemon Targaryen has been spending time trying and failing to raise an army.

In the last episode, Daemon learned the Grover Tully, the Lord Paramount, had died. That means his grandson Oscar, pictured below, is the biggest cheese in the Riverlands, and someone who could rally the Riverlords to Daemon's side if he has a mind to.

That said, Oscar is displeased with Daemon, who had a hand in some war crimes committed against House Bracken a couple episodes back. "It does seem to me you've made rather a mess here," he says. Daemon, meanwhile, isn't having it. "Whose side are you on?" he asks the little lord.

I'm not sure what to make of this picture of Daemon with a crown. It might mean another dream sequence is coming:

Lord Grover has brought a bunch of Riverlords with him, probably the same ones who were cussing Daemon out for plotting with the Blackwoods in "Regent." They all gather in the Harrenshal godswood to discuss what to do about the situation.

"The old ways call for justice," says one Riverlord. The implication here, I think, is that Daemon is going to try to win the Riverlords over by executing Willem Blackwood, who committed those war crimes with Daemon's tacit support a few episodes ago. Maybe that will finally wrap up a subplot I've found to be pretty tiresome.

In one last shot of Daemon, he gets up from the table at Riverrun and grabs his sword. Time for action, please please god.

War in the Reach!

Next up, we visit the Small Council chamber in the Red Keep in King's Landing. Aemond Targaryen, who's serving as regent while his brother King Aegon recuperates, sit around it with Larys Strong, Jasper Wylde, and Grand Maester Mellos:

They're talking about developments in the Reach, in the southwest of Westeros. We've heard about how there's fighting between houses there, some loyal to Rhaenyra and some to Aegon.

We've also heard about Alicent's younger son Daeron, who's bonded with a young dragon named Tesserion. According to Jasper Wylde, Tessarion is now old enough for Daeron to ride him, which gives the Greens a big advantage in the field. "Prince Daeron's dragon has taken to wing. The Hightower host will be unstoppable."

You'd figure this would make Aemond happy, but he does not look so below. Maybe he figures this is just another dragon-riding brother he's going to have to burn Daeron represents a threat to his rule.

All of this talk of Daeron, by the way, is covered in Fire & Blood, where he helps the Greens win a battle in the Reach. It doesn't look like we'll actually see that happen onscreen, although with all the talk, we're pretty much guaranteed to meet Daeron in the flesh in season 3.

Next we see a shot of Aemond riding pell-mell through a gate. I don't know where he's going, but wherever it is, he needs to get there fast:

He eventually gallops out of the city and into the open countryside. Where's he going, we wonder?

The Sowing of the Seeds

Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra stands on a balcony with her mistress of whisperers Mysaria and her Queensguard knight Ser Lorent Marbrand. It's hard to know what they're looking at. They kind of look like they're taking in a play but it's probably not that:

There's no time for plays when you've invited peasants to Dragonstone to see if they can tame and claim a dragon, which is what Rhaenyra does in Fire & Blood. Her son Jacaerys is not pleased. "House Targaryen is the blood of the dragon. If any may lay claim to it, what are we then?"

I like the angle of royals like Rhaneyra and Jace being kind of affronted by the idea that anybody can ride a dragon, where before that privilege has been reserved for those of noble Valyrian blood. But Rhaenyra needs more dragonriders or her war is lost, so the call goes out: in the book, she promises lands and titles to anyone who can successfully mount a dragon and ride it for her. In these shots, it looks like a throng of blonde-headed potential dragonriders is gathering on the shoreline, probably to sail to Dragonstone and try their luck:

Jace gives face:

The people capable of riding a dragon usually have Valyrian blood in their veins, but that doesn't mean they're noble-born. Bastard children of Targaryen nobles will do just fine. Here are the dragonseeds arriving at Dragonstone. How many will leave with their lives, I wonder? It's no easy thing to claim a dragon.

Here's a shot of Mysaria, with whom Rhaenyra shared a steamy kiss last week. We don't know how the show will follow that up, but we do know she's in the episode.

Addam is the first of the dragonseeds to successfully mount a dragon, at least in the show. We've also met his older brother Alyn, seen here wearing what looks like Velaryon regalia. Remember that Corlys Velaryon made Alyn his first mate last week. I guess that comes with a sweet change of clothes:

Here's a badass shot of Rhaenyra standing in front of the dragon Vermithor, the second-largest dragon alive in Westeros at this time. "Thousands will die. With these dragons, peace will be restored," she says. That sounds like extremely wishful thinking. I can't wait to see everything go down in tragic flames!

A brief collage of shots to end things. We see Elinda Massey, the spy Mysaria sent into King's Landing a couple episodes back, still wandering the capitol. What is she up to?

This shot is intriguing: a member of the City Watch of King's Landing tears a scrap of paper bearing a three-headed dragon on it off a door. I'm 100% speculating here, but maybe Elinda is using these pieces of paper to spread the word about Rhaenyra's offer of lands and titles in exchange for taming and riding a dragon, and the gold cloaks, under the nominal control of Rhaeyra's rival Aemond, are tearing them down.

Rhaenyra looks pensive. I imagine she's looking at the parade of smallfolk thinking, "I'm not letting any of these smelly peasants use my bathroom."

We also briefly check in with Rhaena Targaryen, Rhaenyra's step-daughter, who's been in the Vale the last couple episodes. Rhaena was due to leave with Rhaenyra's younger children for Essos, the better to keep all of them safe during a time of war, but she recently found evidence of a wayward dragon living in the Vale. My bet is she decides to investigate further rather than leaving Westeros with her half-siblings.

Finally, we get a shot of Aemond Targaryen's dragon Vhagar, the biggest dragon alive at this time. I can't tell if Aemond is riding her or not. If he is, he rides a horse and a dragon in one episode. It's good to have options when traveling.

The as-yet-untitled seventh episode of House of the Dragon season 2 airs this Sunday, July 28, on HBO and Max.

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