It’s been two years and a Hollywood strike since we heard anything from the fantasy land of Westeros. Not so much news, but rather “old stuff”, since House of the Dragon by showrunner Ryan Condal is the prequel set around 200 years before Game of Thrones.
On Sunday, June 16, 2024 On Monday, the US pay-TV channel HBO will finally continue with the Targaryen saga about the dispute over the succession to the throne fought out with dragons. On Monday night, Sky Deutschland and WOW will deliver the German premiere in parallel. Fans of the first season can look forward to more of the same with fewer time jumps Be prepared. That doesn’t make the whole thing any less confusing.
Everyone has to decide in season 2 of House of the Dragon: Black or Green?
Season 2 begins with a short recap of Season 1. But that will hardly be enough, because even very knowledgeable fans of Game of Thrones could have problems keeping up with the jumble of names in the dialogue without rewatching and revising the extensive royal family tree. Especially when it comes to characters who were or are hardly seen on screen.
At least the basic framework of the story is clear: There is War between Team Green and Team Black – and in the usual GoT manner with fantastic equipment, opulent costumes and cool dragons The Greens around Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her son King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) rule the Seven Kingdoms from the Iron Throne in King’s Landing. The Blacks around Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) make their alternative claim to the throne from Dragonstone.
HBO
Green versus black: everyone has to decide
“Everyone has to decide”it says on the promo materials for the season. But is anyone among the fans actually “Team Green”? House of the Dragon unfortunately repeats the mistake of its parent series Game of Thrones, where the Starks were clearly the more sympathetic characters, while the Lannisters (except for Tyrion) were the antagonists. After all, the Joffrey-esque Aegon’s claim to the throne is based half on an obvious misunderstanding of his mother and half on misogyny.
It’s no wonder that Team Black is more exciting to watch in the underdog position. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t occasionally resort to cruelty, which makes things a little more complicated. Speaking of which:
Escalation of violence: The second season of House of the Dragon begins just as cruelly as the first season ended
We remember: The first season of House of the Dragon ended with a shocking moment in which the dragon of Alicent’s son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) tears Rhaenyra’s young prince Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) to pieces in the air. An open conflict between black and green now seems inevitable. Season 2 begins in the episode called A Son for a Son no less dramatic with a planned retaliatory strike, which, however, does not come from Queen Rhaenyra, but from her impetuous husband Daemon (Matt Smith).
Fans of the book Fire and Blood by George RR Martin will know what we’re talking about when they hear the word “blood and cheese”. The opening, with a slightly modified (and to be honest: weaker) adaptation of this chapter, promises what the fantasy franchise is best known for, in addition to its lavish visual appeal: borderline developments that, according to the rules of event series, should provide food for conversation on social media and at the water cooler… and will do so.
HBO
Matt Smith as Daemon
However, you wait in vain for major battles in the first half of the season. So if you found the first season of House of the Dragon to be slow and slightly depressing in contrast to Game of Thrones, you won’t be immediately converted on the second attempt. We do see duels, sporadic action and a few dragon missions, but the focus is on sophisticated palace intrigues and dramatic verbal confrontations. At least in the first three episodes.
Anyone who is worried that they will have to do without scenes between Alicent and Rhaenyra, whose close childhood friendship was so important in season 1, can at least be reassured: The team around showrunner Condal found an adventurous solution that could take season 2 in a completely new direction. The fact that so much has to be filled in with a book written as history like Fire and Blood can also be a blessing. So even book connoisseurs will still have a lot to discover that could still surprise them.
The basis of this series check were the first three episodes of House of the Dragon.
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