JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
Jul 24, 2024
Table of Contents
Season 2 of ‘House of the Dragon’ has got to be one of the most anticipated second seasons of all time. It has been 2 long years of waiting to get to see the blacks and the greens go to war and our rightful Queen Rhaenyra to seek revenge for the killing of her son. But the wait is over. The first episode of season 2 came out on June 16th and based on what the episode released, this season will be good. I know it’s a little early to jump into conclusions, but I feel that season 2 will not disappoint.
Before the second episode comes out, here is a recap of what happened in episode one.
We have different opening credits, with pictures being embroidered on a tapestry as it is made. Seconds in and my heart starts racing as soon as the Winterfell theme plays as a raven flying in the North. Then we hear what sounds like a Stark’s voice and accent. The raven takes us to The Wall for the very first time in the prequel show. “The North must stand ready. Winter is coming”. We then see Jace with Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) going up the elevator to overlook what is beyond the wall. We start right where we left off. In the last episode of season 1, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) sent Rhaenys (Eve Best) to patrol the Gullet herself on her dragon Meleys, Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) to Storm’s End to meet Lord Baratheon and Jacaerys (Harry Collett) The Eyrie then Winterfell; all to seek support and allegiance as they head to war against the green. We followed Luke in the last episode of season 1, which is when he “bumped into” his uncle Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). Their years-long rivalry and animosity led to them fighting with their dragons, which led to Aemond’s dragon, Vhagar (the biggest in the world), literally eating Luke and his dragon. We now get to follow Jace as he goes to The Wall. I get fidgety because I sense that Jace does not yet know about his brother Luke’s death. Jace is asking Lord Cregan Stark to “lend” some of his men to the blacks so they can fight the greens. Lord Cregan Stark says he will forever be torn between North and South and that he needs his men at the Wall. Jace reaches the outlook and Lord Cregan Stark tells him how his ancestors built the 700 ft wall of ice to keep death away. Then a raven brings word about Luke’s death.
A son for a son
And to Dragonstone we go! Rheanys comes back on dragonback from her mission, only to find Daemon (Matt Smith) waiting for her to order her to go with him to King’s Landing to kill Vhagar and her rider (Aemond Targaryen). “A son for a son” (R. R. Martin et al., House of the Dragon 2024), states Daemon. Rhaenys does not accept his order, telling him he is no king and that Queen Rhaenyra is not there to approve Daemon’s plan. Then a grieving Rhaenyra, in an unclear location trying to find any sign of her late son and the proof of his death shows up on screen.
In King’s Landing, Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) and his men of the King’s guard prepare to defend themselves against potential threat, but it turns out it’s just Aemond on Vhagar. We then cut to Heleana embroidering. Her brother-husband interrupts her to get their toddler son Jaehaerys to take him to the small council meeting. Helaena (Phia Saban) insists Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) should not interrupt their son’s routine just to take him to the small council. Aegon doesn’t seem to have heard or considered his wife’s suggestion, and he just begins to make his way out of the room. Before Aegon could walk out, Helaena expresses in a loud whisper that she is afraid. Aegon tells her she shouldn’t be afraid since the greens have the biggest dragon (a.k.a. Vhagar) in the world on their side. Helaena tells her husband that she is not afraid of the blacks or their dragons, she is afraid of “the rats”. Knowing that many of the things she says hold more than one meaning and they are significantly important to the overall storyline.
With no warning, we see Alicent (Olivia Cooke) receiving pleasure from none other than Ser Criston (Fabien Frankel). When they are done, Alicent tells him that they cannot do that again. Something tells me this was not the first time something like this happened between them nor was this the last. Ser Criston refused to be Rhaenyra’s paramour but he is fine with being Alicent’s.
We then cut to a servant and what appears to be his dog. The man carries dead rats out of the room, and pans right to the small council being gathered. Very interesting to have the man carry rats, I think to myself. Aegon arrives at the small council meeting with his son Jaehaerys, who seems to be a distraction, especially to Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall). The council goes straight to business and their king is completely distracted and amused by his son’s disturbance. Aemond makes an appearance and although his mother is in favor of the rules and tells him he is not part of the council and should not be present at a meeting, Aegon encourages his brother who is “closer to his blood” and their “best shot”. The council discusses if they should fly to Riverrun or not. Tom Glynn-Carney’s choice to portray an entitled teenage boy for Aegon was a great choice. I never thought Aegon would provide comic relief, but that is mainly what he delivers in this first episode and I am here for it.
Then we go to a brief meeting between Alicent and Lord Larys (Matthew Needham), where he tells her he has finished questioning the entire castle staff to find out who betrayed the greens. Larys guarantees he has caught all of those who have betrayed them and not only did he fire them, but killed them. He confirms he has chosen and hired new staff members that he believes he can trust.
We cut to Rhaenyra finding a dragon’s wing (which we find out is Luke’s dragon), Luke’s coat and some remains that could be from her son and / or his dragon. Rhaenyra finally has proof that her son is gone. She can grieve now. It is absolutely heartbreaking to watch her confirm what must be the worst news a parent can receive.
The MAGNANIMOUS
Then we go back to King’s Landing and the “Magnanimous’” King Aegon is being introduced to the people. He is here to fulfill his duty and listen to petitions by his people. Even though he completely surprised me by trying to be somewhat generous and helpful towards his people, he does not know the first thing about being king or how things work. His grandfather Otto (Rhys Ifans) has to correct his responses and the solutions he suggests. “When the King speaks, Your Grace, all hear it”, Otto says to Aegon. Lord Larys does not waste a second and he approaches the king to suggest that Otto might be overbearing and overstepping. “It is the Hand’s want to keep a firm grip on things” (R. R. Martin et al., House of the Dragon 2024), Lary says to Aegon. He accuses Otto of controlling and manipulating Viserys (which is honestly not wrong). He mentions that Otto was the Hand to King Aegon’s father. Meaning the current King can choose someone else to be his Hand. And we all know Lord Larys will be the first one sending in applications to fill the position. Alicent requests an audience with the King’s Hand and her father, to confront him about not being in her team or supporting her in the small council or to her children.
Team black’s soldiers search the ship by Corlys Valeryan’s orders. The search leads to Erryk (Elliott Tittensor) finding Daemon’s former mistress (a.k.a. The White Worm ). Cargyll takes Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) to Daemon. The Prince and King consort confronts The White Worm of conspiring against the black and facilitating the process of King Aegon claiming the throne. Mysaria assures Daemon that all she has done was transactional and that she owes the king no loyalty. Ser Erryk comes to The White Worm’s defense as if it is a “matter of honor”.
The blacks
We cut to Rhaenyra and return to Dragonstone. As she is introduced as Queen, the council stands around the table waiting for their queen. Rhaenyra has one single line in this episode: “I want Aemond Targaryen” (R. R. Martin et al., House of the Dragon 2024). Rhaenyra exits after delivering that powerful line to the council. Daemon knows what he has to do. We cut to a Daemon approaching The White Worm and she doesn’t give much. She tells Daemon to go scheme with someone else. He proposes a “transactional”.
Then we cut to one of the most heart-wrenching moments in any of the ‘House of the Dragon’ episodes. Rhaenyra sits on a chair, when her eldest, comes in on duty mode and his voice breaks as he tells the Queen that Lord Cregan Stark has promised 2000 men to help the black in the upcoming war. Mother Rhaenyra is activated as she gets up to hug her son. This is the first time the mother and son see each other since news of Luke’s passing was announced. Very emotional performances by Emma D’Arcy and Harry Collett. They succeeded at making me sob a little bit.
We then have a very nice back and forth between Alicent in King’s Landing praying for those who have passed on, and Rhaenyra as the blacks pay tribute to and give Luke a proper goodbye. Alicent names people that have died and lights a candle. We hear her name Viserys and Alyrie Florent (Alicent’s late mother), then she names Lucerys Velaryan and lights up a candle, as the blacks are holding a funeral and they are burning all that is left of him and his belongings in a very Targaryen fashion.
Blood & Cheese
We follow Daemon as he walks the outskirts of King’s Landing to find the ratcatcher who knows his way into the Red Keep and has been recommended by The White Worm. Daemon orders him and a friend to kill Aemond Targaryen in exchange for a good compensation. They are referred to as Blood and Cheese. This information makes me feel uneasy. What is going to happen next? We cut away from Blood and Cheese to Aemond and Ser Criston strategizing the upcoming war. Aegon is busy with his group of ‘frat boy’ friends drinking in the throne room. They don’t even notice killers make their way around the castle. They don’t find Aemond as planned, but they do find Helaena and her babies. In a very ‘Sophie’s Choice’ manner, they make Helaena point to her baby boy. She makes the impossible choice of sending one of her twins to death. She actually points to the boy and takes Jaehaera as Blood and Cheese kill Jaehaerys. Helaena takes her daughter to her mother’s bed chambers, where she walks in on Alicent and Ser Criston in bed. Either Helaena is in complete shock from the awful situation she just went through, or her mother’s affair with Ser Criston does not surprise her in the slightest, because she does not react to it at all. All she does is quietly mutter “They killed the boy” (R. R. Martin et al., House of the Dragon 2024). This is not the son for a son I thought we were going to get. War is on.
The first episode was a great set up to what it is to be expected from the rest of the season. We got a chance to see the difference between Rhaenyra and Alicent as mothers and how generational trauma will pass on down. It is clear that Alicent actually cares about Luke’s death as a mother, but also as someone who has been close to Rhaenyra in the past (at least, I believe that). Daemon has proven once again to us why he isn’t and should not be in charge. We have all been waiting for the next step in the blacks taking from the greens and the greens taking from the blacks. The greens striked first with Aemond getting Vhagar, then the blacks took an eye from the greens, the greens then decided to go a step further and kill one of the blacks. Now, the blacks (actually Daemon) decide to hit back where it hurts the most and take a life from one of the greens. But the blacks might have gone too far. War has been declared to the whole Westeros to hear. Now, we just have to sit back and wait for more episodes to come!
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JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
JuliaMaia is a writer and filmmaker originally from Brazil. She grew up watching every piece of television and film she encountered from all over the world, which inspired her to come to Los Angeles to study film. She always knew that in order to be happy and fulfilled she had to be surrounded by art. She is always in search of the next film, show or performance that will inspire her. Her background in filmmaking helps her appreciate the technical elements of a film, as well as relish the journey of each story being told. There is not a topic Maia enjoys talking about more than film and the film industry and how it impacts the world and vice versa. The Hollywood Insider is the perfect platform for Maia to participate in the discourse about anything film related with many that , much like herself, love to take part in real important conversations and deeply appreciate the art of telling stories.
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