What's going to happen in the back half of House of the Dragon Season 2?

Beware: the following includes extreme SPOILERS for the rest of House of the Dragon as well as its source material, George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood.

After last week’s hallmark episode, HBO’s House of the Dragon is looking like the show of the summer. “The Red Dragon and the Gold” portrayed the Battle of Rook’s Rest and the dramatic death of Princess Rhaenys Targeryen (Eve Best). This battle was long awaited by readers of the show’s source material, Fire & Blood, and it was epic. The episode is currently rated 9.6 on IMDB, placing it alongside the top-tier of episodes of Game of Thrones, as well as the highest-rated episode yet for House of the Dragon.

After such a showstopper, the question is: where does season 2 go from here? The first half of House of the Dragon season 2 focused almost exclusively on events leading up to the Battle of Rook's Rest or the battle itself. So what comes next?

Key to guessing what happens in the rest of season 2 is that, unlike season 1, season 2 will only consist of eight episodes. Season 2 will also reportedly feature two of the largest action sequences on House of the Dragon so far. If the next one equals the Battle of Rook's Rest, that should give us chills.

Which battle will it be?

The Battle of Rook’s Rest was clearly the first of those two big-budget action sequences. There are several candidates for the second in the source material. Readers of Fire & Blood will recognize familiar battle names such as the Gullet, the Red Fork, the Honeywine, and the Battle by the Lakeshore. But which one will we actually see?

The Battle of the Red Fork is a comparatively small battle fought between rivermen fighting for Rhaenyra and the armies of House Lannister. Jason Lannister (played like his twin Tyland by Vikings actor Jefferson Hall) is the only book character to participate in this battle to have made it onto the screen so far, so I think we can safely set this aside as an option. The Battle of the Honeywine takes place between Rhaenyra’s supporters and the Hightower army, aided by Alicent Hightower’s youngest son Daeron and his dragon Tessarion. Daeron’s existence in the show has been confirmed, but showrunner Ryan Condal has said Dareon won’t appear till next season. Given Daeron’s importance in the battle we can safely set that one aside as well.

Of the two remaining options, there is some evidence that we could get the Battle by the Lakeshore. Leaked photos have shown Lannister soldiers riding through the woods at some point this season. In Fire & Blood, the Battle by the Lakeshore is fought between the Lannisters supporting Aegon II on one side and the riverlords supporting Rhaenyra on the other; the latter is joined by an army of northmen sent south by Cregan Stark, which was set up in the season premiere. This battle is nicknamed the Fishfeed for the number of soldiers massacred in the shallows of the lake or who drown trying to swim to safety. Among the riverlords who fight are the Blackwoods, who Daemon was recruiting last episode, as well as the Freys, who can be seen meeting with Rhaenyra's son Jace (Harry Collett) on their famous bridge in the trailer for next week’s episode. Along with characters repeatedly dropping lines like “the Riverlands are the key to this war" as well as introducing many supporting characters and houses that participate in this battle, it would make a good climax to the season.

The only problem is that, in Fire & Blood, the Fishfeed doesn't happen until after Daemon has cleared out of Harrenhal with his host, and Aemond and Criston have marched into it. In their absence, Rhaenyra takes back King's Landing with the help of her dragonseeds, new characters we'll surely get to know better very soon. So we probably won't see the Fishfeed this season, but I can see the show reworking it in some way, perhaps combining the Battle of the Red Fork and the Battle by the Lakeshore to give us some action at season's end. That seems especially possible after the most recent episode where Jace negotiated with the Freys to let Cregan Stark's northmen cross the bridge. It seems they're being set up for something.

Will the battle happen in the season finale?

Game of Thrones had a clear pattern to its seasons; the big-budget battle sequences usually took place in the second-to-last episode while the finales would have more intimate dramatic moments such as crowning Robb or Jon as King in the North and setting the stage for the premiere of the next season. Will House of the Dragon season 2 follow this formula? I believe so.

In a trailer released earlier this year, several minor characters are shown sitting at a dinner table raising glasses with Rhaenyra, Jace, and Baela Targaryen. These characters are known as the dragonseeds. The dragonseeds are bastards with Targaryen blood who, while normally ignored by society, are able to ride dragons, provided they can get close enough to try. In FIre & Blood, the Blacks allow these bastards to claim unclaimed dragons living on Dragonstone, helping Rhaenyra boost her numbers after the loss of Princess Rhaenys at Rook’s Rest. The ‘Sowing of the Seeds’ clearly needs to happen this season for characters such as the blacksmith Hugh and Ulf the White to be sitting at a table with Rhaenyra having dinner. For various reasons, I believe this will take place in either Episode 6 or Episode 8.

Will the Fall of King’s Landing be the final episode of this season? Possibly. It is not truly a battle sequence, but more of a coup, so it could also be included and would end the season on an absolute high note for Rhaenyra and the Blacks.

Look for the Sowing of the Seeds in episode 6, because that would clear the way for this to happen in the final episode of the season. Either way, expect some action in the last two episodes of the season, and for it to be incredible!

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