House of the Dragon season 2: All the hidden details in the Green Trailer

It's official: House of the Dragon season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on June 16! We know this because today HBO dropped not one, but two glossy new trailers for the series. Remember yesterday, when they hit us with a slew of posters bearing the catchphrase "all must choose" to play up the conflict between the two factions in the Dance of the Dragons civil war? Well, the marketing department decided to go hard on that idea: we got a Black trailer, featuring Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and her allies; and a Green trailer centering Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his cohorts.

That means we have twice the trailer footage to examine for easter eggs. We're going to break down both the Black and Green trailers shot by shot, so you don't miss a single hint of what's to come. In this post, the Green trailer:

Get out your magnifying glass and let's take a close look at every single scale of this draconian trailer. While Aegon is the one sitting the throne, the conflict between the Greens and Blacks is rooted in a schism between childhood friends Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen. So it's fitting that we begin with Alicent (Olivia Cooke) praying at a sept in a scene reminiscent of season 1:

The big thing to note is Alicent's headdress. We'll be seeing that again later in the trailer in a different part of this sequence, which leads me to believe she's praying in the wake of a particularly horrible familial tragedy.

Next, a sweeping wide shot of King's Landing:

That's the Dragonpit on the left, where the Targaryen dragons reside. And in the distance on the right is the familiar spires of the Red Keep.

"Only weeks ago, my husband was alive...and the realm was at peace," Alicent tells someone off-screen. Clearly, she is having some regrets about this war she helped start. My guess is she's talking to either her frequent spy collaborator Larys Strong or her father Otto Hightower, based on the frilly sleeve.

Whatever regrets Alicent may have, the war is fully underway. The old black and red Targaryen banners have been struck from the Red Keep; in their place, we finally get Aegon's green and gold banners. The gold is meant to signify his beautiful golden dragon Sunfyre, on a green field thanks to the nickname for his family's faction. Note that this dragon only has two legs, a difference from the classic four-legged Targaryen sigil which Rhaenyra uses.

From there, we head to the Small Council room. Alicent heads in with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Other people in the room where it happens are Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) on the left and Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) in the foreground right. I think that's Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) standing behind Larys.

"On his deathbed, he knew the realm would never accept a queen. Rhaenyra's supporters will believe what they want. But Viserys wanted Aegon to succeed him," Alicent says with her entire chest, fully wrong. The war started last season because Alicent misinterpreted something King Viserys said when he was dying. Now we see the consequences play out as two contenders fight for the Iron Throne: Rhaenyra...

...and her half-brother Aegon:

Otto Hightower looks a little uneasy as his grandson Aegon ascends the throne. Am I sensing some King Joffrey vibes?

Next, a few quick shots of various players in the war. Here's Ser Arryk Cargyll of the Kingsguard (Luke Tittensor):

Arryk and his brother Erryk ended up on opposite sides of the war, with Arryk sticking with Aegon and Erryk defecting to join Rhaenyra; we know this is Arryk because he appears to be overseeing the operation of scorpions on the walls of King's Landing, where Aegon resides.

Meanwhile, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) overlooks an army loyal to Rhaenyra; note the black tents:

My guess is that's this is in the Riverlands. Daemon has an important role to play there during this part of the war.

"They wish now not for the good of the realm, but for the satisfaction of vengeance," Otto Hightower fumes in the Red Keep, while Alicent paces behind him. And here's a shot of Rhaenyra, just in case there was any confusion who he's blaming for the problems he's made by being a power-hungry manipulator:

Next we get a quick shot of Rhaenyra riding her dragon, Syrax:

Next, an explosion which throws bodies to the floor:

It's too quick and chaotic to make out many details about what exactly is happening. But since there isn't dragonfire around the body, the bodies may be thrown by something else; perhaps a siege weapon of some sort? Then again, during the Black Trailer we get another look at this same shot and it does appear that there's a bit of fire farther off in the background. This could be at Rook's Rest, which features a big battle we'll talk about more in a moment.

Now we get into the real nitty gritty. SPOILER WARNING, because the next few images are red hot with implications.

Blood and Cheese debut in House of the Dragon season 2 trailer

Here we see a hooded figure plop a little bag of gold onto a gate, catching the attention of the Goldcloak beyond. The hooded person's hand is somewhat slim. That makes me think this could be Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno). At the very least, I'm betting this scene is part of an important sequence from Fire & Blood that she's involved in: the infamous Blood and Cheese incident.

Here at last, we have an image of the dreaded duo themselves, making their way through the passageways of the Red Keep:

We won't get into all the details here, but the gist is that Cheese is a ratcatcher familiar with the Red Keep, and Blood is a former Goldcloak turned mercenary. They're contracted by Team Black to execute a particularly brutal bit of vengeance, which sends waves through both the rest of the war as well as the rest of this trailer.

"Plot against the king, and I will pay it back a hundred times over," Aegon says to his advisors. I would bet serious money that he's making that statement in response to the horrific actions of Blood and Cheese, which strike very close to home for Aegon's family. As for the "hundred times over" bit, let's just say that Cheese's involvement puts a target on the back of every rat catcher in the city; this may well be Aegon giving the order to round them all up and put them to the sword.

It won't be all bad for everyone on Team Green, though. Above, someone wearing Kingsguard armor turns an ornate helmet in their hands. I imagine this is Ser Criston Cole being appointed as the new Lord Commander.

"I am as fearsome as any of them," Aegon says, while we watch a sliver of a scene where he steps up to Larys Strong. This is a different scene than the one where he talks about paying people back for plotting against the king; note that Aegon is wearing armor in this one.

What makes Aegon so fearsome? Well the fact that he has a dragon certainly doesn't hurt:

Yes, that is Sunfyre, Aegon's beautiful golden dragon who was almost entirely absent from season 1. We should be seeing quite a bit of Sunfyre in season 2 and beyond. That's him in the Dragonpit above.

But hey, just because Aegon's fearsome doesn't mean he can't be hurting too. "You have no idea the sacrifices that were made to put you on that throne," Alicent says to him, while he hangs his head. Again, I imagine this scene is likely happening in response to Blood and Cheese. Aemond Targaryen may have been the one to kill Lucerys Velaryon, but Aegon, Helaena and their children bear the brunt of the reprisal for it. Maybe that is giving Aegon second thoughts here?

Here's another exciting set of images:

This is almost certainly Daemon's dragon Caraxes, alighting on the keeps of Harrenhal while the guards below remain oblivious thanks to the stormy night. Daemon takes command of Harrenhal pretty early in the war. There are few other castles this could be, with those ruined towers.

Here's the man himself, though I imagine this is from a different scene, since he's wearing casual clothing not suitable for dragon-riding:

While Rhaenyra and the Blacks have Daemon as one of their most formidable commanders, the Greens have his nephew, the one-eyed Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). He's the closest thing Daemon has to a true rival in the conflict:

Aemond is eager to prove himself. "My uncle is a challenge I welcome, if he dares face me," he tells Ser Criston Cole while sitting nonchalantly on the Small Council table.

A funeral in King's Landing

This is another interesting sequence. It begins with the shot above of people crying and throwing confetti into the streets. Green confetti:

Below, Alicent Hightower passes beneath this confetti with a tear in her eye while wearing that ornate headpiece we saw at the beginning of the trailer. Turns out, it's a veil:

I would bet quite a lot that this is a funeral which is happening as a result of Blood and Cheese's incursion into the Red Keep. Sad times for Team Green.

"We will bring forth peace," Otto Hightower says. Does anyone believe anything this guy says at this point?

The trailer at least is up on the hypocrisy of it all, following Otto's proclamation up with a shot of a person drawing a sword against four adversaries. The sword-wielder is bearing a tabard with the sigil of House Bracken on it. The Bracken and Blackwood families have been feuding in the Riverlands for generations; it's almost something of a running joke in George R.R. Martin's books. But with war looming, it's all but certain that these two rival families will take advantage of it to attack each other as well.

From the Riverlands, to the Small Council. Here, someone twirls a coin across their fingers; likely Larys Strong, Master of Coin:

Aemond smirks while Alicent looks concerned. It seems like there may be some friction on the Small Council. We'll get some clues as to why in a second.

But first, here's Criston Cole, wiping off his sword as he walks across a rampart:

That doesn't look like a battle to me; it looks like Criston may have just executed someone. An unlucky rat catcher, perhaps?

And here's a servant carrying a bloody sheet:

Again, I imagine this is related to Blood and Cheese in some way. Maybe the sheet got blood on it when a certain head went rolling during the chaos. That sort of thing tends to make quite a mess.

While these scenes play, Otto narrates that "The path to victory now is one of violence."

"Good," Aegon glibly replies. "To war then!"

And it's here that I imagine the friction in the Small Council room comes about: while Alicent may argue for less bloodshed, characters like Aemond are obviously going to push for the opposite. And with Aegon grieving a terrible crime against his loved ones, it's easy to guess where he's going to fall. Although, he doesn't look very grief-stricken here. Aegon isn't exactly the best husband or father, really.

When Targaryens go to war, their dragons go with them. That's Aemond riding Vhagar, the largest and oldest dragon in Westeros.

But the dragons won't fight alone. Here's Ser Criston Cole leading a cavalry charge into a forest:

We know that House of the Dragon season 2 filmed an extensive battle sequence involving Criston at Bourne Woods in Surrey, England. That would be the Battle of Rook's Rest, a huge set piece we're expecting to see in Episode 4. Most likely that's what we're looking at here as well.

While there will be battles in season 2, there will also be intimate clashes. Here's one of the Cargyll twins fighting someone in close quarters:

As he brings down his sword onto someone lying on the ground, they raise their own to meet it. There's one particular fight that the Cargyll twins are involved in in Fire & Blood, and this could very likely be it. But the setting gives me pause; this looks like it's happening in a bedroom, while that fight happens in a moonlit hall in the book. It's possible that this is a different scene, but I'm still banking on it being related to the showdown between the Cargyll twins.

Next, let's catch our breath with a beautiful wide shot of King's Landing...

Before we get sad again with Alicent:

This looks like the inside of the Great Sept to me, and since she's still wearing that headdress it's probably all part of the same funeral sequence. "All my life I've endeavored to serve, both my house and the realm...and somehow none of it matters," she says.

For all Alicent's mistakes, you can't help but feel for her in these moments. It sounds like she's drowning in misery. The show drives that metaphor home with a haunting shot of her sinking beneath the water of her bath:

On to more exciting fare, here's another gorgeous wide shot of a castle with an army below it:

It's hard to be 100% certain, but my best guess here is that this is Rook's Rest. It's surrounded by forest. In Fire & Blood, the Battle at Rook's Rest is the result of a siege by the Greens which forces the lord of the castle, Lord Staunton, to request aid from Rhaenyra. Perhaps we're seeing the besieging army approach the fortress here?

Next, we have a new dragon!

That's Moondancer, the mount of Daemon's daughter Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia). You can see that it's Baela riding this dragon more clearly in the Black Trailer, but I'm already in love with the gorgeous green webbing running through Moondancer's wings.

"Hold to your courage, for the one true king, Aegon," shouts someone who sounds a lot like Criston Cole. We heard rumbles during the production of the Battle at Rook's Rest that Criston gives a big speech to rally the troops; maybe this is part of it. We don't get to see that in the trailer though; instead we get the above shot of Aegon walking through the Iron Throne room with some of his sycophants.

Surprisingly, we don't end the Green Trailer with more of Team Green, but with a dragon connected to Team Black:

Thanks to an Entertainment Weekly interview with Ryan Condal, we know that this dragon is Seasmoke, the mount of Laenor Velaryon. Laenor faked his own death during season 1 so he could go live out his life across the Narrow Sea. It looks like that has been hard on Seasmoke, who is a much older, more haggard-looking dragon here than when we last saw him. He's seemingly being cared for by dragon keepers, who have him collared. Somebody get Seasmoke a new rider and some sunlight, stat!

And that brings us to the end of the Green Trailer breakdown. As you see, there are so many details in this compact 2 minute trailer...and that's only half the fun. We'll be breaking down the Black Trailer next, so make sure to come back for more!

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

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