House of the Dragon is back after a two-year wait and begins with an official downer in season 2. The first season ended tragically with the death of Prince Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), which now has consequences. In retaliation, Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) orders the death of the responsible dragon rider Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), which is why the episode A son for a son means, as one might think.
The two assassins, who according to the Westeros story Fire and Blood by George RR Martin are known only by the names Blood and cheese However, in the season opener with the episode title A Son for a Son, they resort to a much more perfidious alternative plan. It is not entirely clear whether this was suggested by Rhaenyra’s nasty husband Daemon (Matt Smith).
Blood and Cheese from House of the Dragon explained: The shocking scene in the book Fire and Blood is so much more gruesome
In the GRRM book, Queen Helaena, her three children and her mother-in-law Alicent Hightower are surprised by blood and cheese in their chamber. The intruders kill the chambermaid and present the queen with an impossible choice: One of her sons must die and she must decide which one. At the same time, they threaten Jaehaera, the sister of the boys Jaehaerys and Maelor, with sexual violence if her mother does not quickly name a name.
Penhaligon Publishing
Illustration in the book Fire and Blood
Helaena asks the killers to kill her instead, but Blood and Cheese stick to their demand: An eye for an eye, a son for a son. So the mother, with a heavy heart, chooses the second-born Maelor as a sacrifice, whereupon Cheese whispers to the boy: “Do you hear that, little boy? Your mommy wants you dead.” Then he gives Blood a signal to behead Jaehaerys instead.
House of the Dragon: This is how the fantasy series adapted the bloody chapter of fire and bloodIn the series adaptation by showrunner Ryan Condal, only Helaena (Phia Saban
) with her son Jaehaerys and her daughter Jaehaera in the tower, because Maelor has not yet been born. Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) ask the queen which of the children is the boy and thus the rightful heir to the throne. Helaena offers them a valuable necklace, but the two will not negotiate here either.
When the queen and mother finally point to the left of the two children’s beds, Blood initially does not believe that the queen would reveal the heir to the throne and suggests killing the other child instead. But Cheese senses that she was telling the truth (which is true) and so Jaehaerys also dies in this version.
HBO
Cheese (Mark Stobbart) and Blood (Sam C. Wilson)
The cruel change of killing the other child is thereby from a cruel psychological game to a purely strategic decisionto get the “right” child in order to cause as much damage as possible to the line of succession. It boils down to deciphering a suspected double bluff by the mother – as if the two killers couldn’t have simply checked which of the children was the boy.
Of course, it is still pretty cruel. Even if you “only” hear how the child’s head is then cut off. The verdict “worse than the Red Wedding”However, the scene does not deserve the ending that many book readers expected at this point.
When and where can I watch the new episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2?
The eight new episodes of the second season of House of the Dragon will be broadcast weekly on the US broadcaster HBO. Parallel to the premiere on Sunday evening, the German premiere will be shown in Germany via Sky and WOW. The second episode will be broadcast on the night of 23 to 24 June 2024 published.
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