Here's what's coming in the sixth episode of House of the Dragon season 2, shot by shot

We're now over halfway through the second season of House of the Dragon, and what's ahead is largely a mystery to us. What will the next stage of the Dance of the Dragons look like? What will Aemond Targaryen do now that he sits the Iron Throne in the place of his brother Aegon, who's recuperating from horrible injuries Aemond is partly responsible for? How will Queen Rhaenyra react to all of this?

Let's try to cut through the mystery by taking a close look at the upcoming sixth episode of season 2. Watch it below, and then we'll get out the magnifying glass.

We open on a darkened cave, where the dragons dwell on the island of Dragonstone. Remember: at the end of the most recent episode, Rhaenyra and her son Jace got the idea to draft Targaryen descendants from lesser houses who might be able to mount the riderless dragons on Dragonstone. "It's never been attempted," Rhaenyra says. Well, necessity is the mother of invention and Rhaenyra needs to win this war.

There will be more small council meetings in the new episode of House of the Dragon. I repeat: there will be more small council meetings in the new episode of House of the Dragon:

"To claim a dragon, you must also be prepared to die," Rhaenyra says. Yeah, but you also get to ride in the sky on your very own best lizard friend. Worth the risk.

Here we have Rhaenyra, Jace and an as-yet-unnamed dragonkeeper seen from the back. There will definitely be a scene set on Dragonstone's equivalent of the Dragonpit:

"Perhaps the gods will favor us," Rhaenyra says as the camera dramatically spins around her:

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra's husband Daemon is at the ruined castle of Harrenhal in the Riverlands, where he has been having trouble raising an army, maybe because the gods (or the writers) are punishing him for trying to usurp Rhaenyra's throne. Below, he talks to someone with dark hair I assume is Alys Rivers, the creepy witch with whom he's gotten chummy of late:

Daemon hasn't been very successful in the Riverlands, but apparently Criston Cole, who serves Rhaenyra's half-brother King Aegon, is scared of what he may accomplish. "If Daemon prevails in the Riverlands, I no longer have the numbers to challenge him," Cole tells Aegon's brother Aemond, who's serving as regent while Aegon recovers from horrible injuries sustained at the Battle of Rook's Rest.

We also get a shot of Criston on a horse; he may be planning to leave King's Landing again. I suspect the blurry figure close to the camera is Aegon's mother Alicent, with whom Criston was having a torrid affair. They're at odds lately, so it may be over.

Back to the danger represented by Daemon, Aemond is not worried about it. "My uncle is a challenge I welcome, if he dares face me," says the one-eyed wannabe king.

It looks like Daemon is exploring the Harrenhal godswood in the shots below. That's the Gods Eye lake beyond him, a location that will become important later in the story:

More family drama on House of the Dragon

For my money, the best parts of the season so far have involved the Green family drama. I mentioned before the King Aegon sustained injuries at the Battle of Rook's Rest. I didn't mention that they were largely inflicted by his own brother Aemond, now visiting Aegon in his sick bed:

I'm betting this is less "get well soon" visit and more a "you better stay in that bed if you know what's good for you" visit.

Like any good mother, Alicent probably doesn't want her sons to kill each other. But they're both pretty far gone. How to tamp down on their fratricidal tendencies now. "You have the arrogance of youth," she tells Aemond. "Have the indignities of your childhood not yet been sufficiently avenged?"

Aemond definitely has something of the wounded child about him, but he also dreams of glory and vengeance, so somehow I don't see these words getting through to him.

Back on Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is still walking around her Dragonpit. There are a couple of riderless dragons on Dragonstone, including Silverwing, Vermithor (the dragon that Daemon sang to at the end of the first season), and Seasmoke, the dragon that used to be ridden by Rhaenyra's "late" huband Laenor:

It's hard to be completely, but I think this is Seasmoke right here, flying low over the waters of Dragonstone. Normally, a dragon won't accept a new rider unless their old one is dead. Laenor was alive last we checked, although the show may have subtly hinted that he died offscreen when we weren't looking.

In a powerful show, Rhaenyra picks up a sword and gives it a practice thrust:

"They must see me a ruler. And the symbols of authority: the shield and the sword," she says. She's in a seemingly never-ending fight to be taken seriously.

The Lannister army rides!

We've been hearing for awhile that Jason Lannister, the lord of Casterly Rock at this point in history, has been leading a host of soldiers into the Riverlands. Jason Lannister has pledged himself to King Aegon and the Greens, so he's going to fight against Rhaenyra. Since he's going into the Riverlands, that probably means he's getting ready to fight against Daemon:

Daemon and Rhaenyra haven't spoken since having a huge argument in the second episode of the season, but with Rhaenyra's enemies growing stronger, she needs all the help she can get. "We will still never match the strength of the Green armies," her son Jace tells her. We need Daemon." She does not look happy to hear that:

Last episode, Rhaenyra sent Ser Alfred Broome to Harrenhal to treat with Daemon, so she is trying to reach out. As always, she has a lot of her mind:

Corlys Velaryon, the husband of the late Rhaenys Targaryen and Rhaenyra's new Hand of the Queen, has returned to Dragonstone. There's a lot on his mind as well:

Rhaenyra has allies by her side, but Daemon's loyalty remains suspect, and she can't wait for him to come around. "I must now proceed as if I stand alone," she says.

Next we check in on Rhaena Targaryen, Daemon's daughter. She's in the Vale babysitting Rhaenyra's younger children. Here, she looks at something surprising offscreen. Might it be a dragon? If you believe the rumors...

Another shot of the Lannister army marshalling in or near the Riverlands:

Rhaenyra confers with her spymaster Mysaria, who has provided quite a bit of help in the few episodes where she's been by Rhaenyra's side:

"It is my fault that you have forgotten to fear me," Rhaenyra tells someone who's just offscreen. I confess I'm not sure who it is. I get the idea the trailer doesn't want us to know.

The next shot is of Daemon at Harrenhal, likely having another nightmare; I think those are the spikes of the Iron Throne close to the camera. The cut makes it look like Rhaenyra is talking to him but I don't think that's the case:

A mob runs amok in King's Landing

In the final burst of images, we return to King's Landing and the Great Sept:

Here's an intense scene: Alicent Hightower and her daughter Helaena running from a mob of peasants:

The last time Alicnet and Helaena rode through the streets, it was to mourn the death of Helaena's son Jaehaerys. At the time, the peasants were sympathetic. But since then, Corlys Velaryon's blockade of the city has cut off food and trade, and the people are getting restless. Plus, Mysaria sent in an agent to stir up some kind of mischief. I don't know why Alicent and Helaena are again on the streets mixing it up with the smallfolk, but they obviously come to regret it:

For our final batch of images, we return to Rhaenyra, Jace and the dragonkeeprs at the Dragonstone dragonpit. (How many times can I write "dragon" in one sentence?)

I like this Mt. Rushmore shot:

Finally, we have a dragon we've confirmed to be Seasmoke rising out of the pits to look Rhaenyra square in the face:

This trailer doesn't give much away. We already knew that Rhaenyra and Jace were going to try and recruit new dragonriders, that Aemond and Aegon had problems, that the Lannisters were marching on the Riverlands and that Daemon was trying to raise an army at Harrenhal. We'll see what exactly is in store when the next episode of House of the Dragon airs this Sunday night, July 21, on HBO and Max.

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