House of the Dragon kicked off its first season with an incredible episode. It felt familiar in a way that will have Game of Thrones fans excited for what’s to come. We got to spend plenty of time with the Targaryens and of course their dragons too.
If you aren’t up to date with House of the Dragon and prefer to avoid spoilers then please stop reading now.
Episode 1 – The Heirs of the Dragon Quick Recap
The season premiere introduced us to the main players and featured several important events that will shape the rest of the season. The first of these was the Great Council at Harrenhal held by King Jaehaerys Targaryean (Michael Carter). His aim was to choose an heir to avoid a future war and the Lords of Westeros settled on Prince Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine).
At King’s Landing we were introduced to a young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and got to see her riding her dragon Syrax. We also got to see Viserys hold a small council meeting where they discussed an impending threat in the Stepstones, the worrying cost of Prince Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) City Watch and the upcoming heir’s tournament.
The City Watch were unleashed on the criminals of the city by Daemon. He wanted them to fear his golden-cloaked army and had criminals beaten. Brutal justice was served immediately which included castration and decapitation. He certainly made an impact which caught the eye of the Hand of the King, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans).
At the tournament the knights of the various houses took part in jousting and hand-to-hand combat. Daemon impressed but was bested by Ser Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel). Cole caught the eye of Rhaenyra and won her favour. The King was called away to the birth of his son but had to agree to sacrifice the Queen in order to give the child a chance. Sadly little Baelon only survived a matter of hours.
Viserys was pressured into choosing a new heir due to concerns about Daemon. His mind was proper made up when Otto informed him that Daemon had made a speech in a brothel where he referred to Baelor as ‘heir for a day’. He ordered Daemon to leave King’s Landing and to go back to his wife at Runestone. Daemon left with his dragon Caraxes and his mistress Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno).
At the end of the episode, Viserys entrusted Rhaenyra with a family secret about a future threat. He also held a ceremony to announce Rhaenyra as Princess of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne.
Read our House of the Dragon 1×01: The Heirs of the Dragon recap for full details on the episode.
Episode 2 – The Rogue Prince
The second episode is titled “The Rogue Prince” and will run for 54 minutes. The episode is directed by Greg Yaitanes and written by Ryan J. Condal. Instead of a preview trailer for the next episode, a “Weeks Ahead” trailer has been released. Presumably the footage shown will be spread over the next few episodes.
There’s no official synopsis yet for the second episode but the title gives some hint of what to expect. The Rogue Prince is surely referring to Prince Daemon Targaryen who was sent away from King’s Landing.
The first images from the episode can be seen in the gallery below. From these it appears that Daemon has taken his Gold Cloaks army to Dragonstone as he is seen sat in the Chamber of the Painted Table. There also appears to be some kind of standoff on the stairs to Dragonstone.
The images and trailer show Daemon with Mysaria and the Gold Cloaks behind him. Opposite is a delegation led by Otto Hightower. If you look closely Daemon appears to be holding a dragon egg. The trailer also seems to show Rhaenyra riding Syrax during the standoff.
We’re also expecting the episode to focus on the aftermath of the deaths of the Queen and Baelon. Viserys has named Rhaenyra his new heir but will he choose to marry again? The images and trailer hint at a growing relationship between the King and Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey).
Read our House of the Dragon 1×02: The Rogue Prince recap for full details on the episode.
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House of the Dragon episode 2 will air on the 29th August at 2am and 9pm on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV.
