House of the Dragon, the hit prequel to the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones, returns for its long-awaited second season. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel, the HBO adaptation premiered its pilot, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” on Aug. 21, 2022. To no surprise, five days after its premiere, it was renewed for a second season.
House Targaryen is a deeply complex story of a royal family divided and blinded by internal conflict and greed. In the midst of the storm lie Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. The tenth and final episode of the first season, The Black Queen, aired on Oct. 23, 2022. The season’s final moments introduce a new means for war: revenge. Since it’s been a while, let’s refresh our memory on the civil war and political cannibalism that’s building to House Targaryen’s self-destruction.
A challenge to the royal lineage
Viserys was the fifth king in the Targaryen dynasty to rule the Seven Kingdoms. He was well-meaning but ineffective for such a coveted office. With no male heir and a deceased wife, Viserys named his only child — a daughter — Heir to the Iron Throne. Forever imprisoned by duty, the king has little time to mourn and is quickly pushed to remarry. Viserys’ closest advisor, Otto Hightower, coaxed his daughter to comfort Viserys, knowing his loss would be Hightower’s gain. As planned, Viserys marries Alicent Hightower, the best friend of Rhaenyra Targaryen. Eight months later, Alicent gives birth to Viserys’ firstborn son, Aegon. With a son now in the picture, we see the realm begin to diverge from Rhaenyra in vocal support of Aegon ascending to the Iron Throne.
The one true king?
Tensions reach a new height as the years pass. The story advances through time: Rhaenyra marries royalty, bears illegitimate children, stages her husband’s death, all while her and Alicent’s children begin to develop their own feud. During a whirlwind of change, it is Viserys who remains the one constant of peace. In his dying moments, Viserys incoherently mumbles aloud that Aegon is the true king with Alicent present. But the question on everyone’s lips is he referring to his son, Aegon II? Or Aegon the Conqueror, the first king of the Targaryen dynasty? The truth remains a mystery.
What awaits viewers?
Immediately after Viserys’ death, Alicent is fueled by a newfound lust for power and makes her first chess move: the public coronation of her son in King’s Landing.
In the closing scene of The Black Queen, we learn Rhaenyra’s youngest son, Luke, has been murdered by Aemond…son of Alicent and Viserys. And so, season one of House of the Dragon comes to an end.
Yesterday, it was Game of Thrones; today, House of the Dragon is the subject of conversation for millions of viewers with such animation that dreams blend with reality. It will be interesting to see how this clash for power continues to unfold and how many lives must be lost in the name of the throne.
Featured Image: Photo by mauRÍCIO SANTOS on Unsplash
Edited by: Steven London
