‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 1 Recap: “A Son For A Son”

Remember the stirring tracking shot that closed out season 1 of House of the Dragon? As chattering, warmongering men puffed out their chests and shouted for immediate action against the Greens, the usurpers of the Iron Throne, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), the rejected Queen of Westeros, stood in grave silence, shattered by the knowledge that her plans for diplomacy had only gotten her beloved son killed. In our world, it’s been almost two years since then. But inside the HOTD universe, brought to us by newly solo showrunner Ryan Condal, only a short time has passed. Prince Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon (Harry Collett) is in Winterfell to recruit warriors from Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor). Rhaenyra’s husband-uncle Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is raring to incinerate enormo-dragon Vhagar and Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), her one-eyed rider. “A son for a son.” Go off, Daemon, you ruthless weirdo. Tactful Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), though, is telling her cousin to hold up. She’s lost children, too, and knows Rhaenyra requires time to mourn. But soon enough, another tracking shot will reveal what the Black Queen is thinking. And it’s not diplomacy, but vengeance. 

Before anything else, she is compelled to see where Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon and his dragon Arrax bought it. Eyes rimmed in red, Rhaenyra recovers a shred of dragon wing and Luke’s tunic from the surf outside Storm’s End, the Baratheon stronghold that pledged allegiance to Aemond and the Greens. Syrax, her dragon, looks gorgeous in the bright sunshine, as did Meleys, Rhaenys’ mount, back in the cave bound tarmac at Dragonstone. 

It really is wonderful to get two of these beasts featured in the early going of HOTD season 2, and given that war is afoot, we’re sure to see more of them. (Don’t obscure these beautiful creatures in the dark! They’re right in the name, after all.) Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone, embraces Jace in sorrow, and then gives her single command. But down at King’s Landing, they’re preparing for war, too. 

On the castle’s battlements, soldiers and dragon-killing, giant crossbow-like Scorpions stand at the ready. In the royal chambers, newly-installed King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) combines menace with glee as he greets sister-wife Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) and takes his young son and heir Jaehaerys with him to the Small Council. (“The rats,” Helaena murmurs in fear, which the king dismisses.) And Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), the dowager queen of the Greens, is late to the meeting, because she’s in her quarters with Ser Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) head between her legs. At the council, it’s clear Aegon II considers the possibility of war a lark. “Rhaenyra has dragons,” his mother reminds him. “Mine are bigger,” is his sneering response. The everyday business of being king is also something Aegon must learn on the job, and here’s where Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Hand of the King, continues to meddle. Otto would wish to wield his usual powers of persuasion over Aegon II, just as he had with the late King Viserys I. But clubfooted Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), the master conniver and whisperer, seems to have designs on Otto’s position.

The maester who sits on the Greens’ Small Council said it: “war is inevitable.” And Otto believes violence is their only path to victory. But all of the tactical maps and talk of battle plans makes Alicent frustrated. She agreed to conspire with her father to put her son on the Iron Throne. But what is her role going forward? She feels ignored at the council, just like her letters to Rhaenyra. “An ally,” she tells Otto, “would not repeatedly cut my legs from beneath me at that table of men.”

At the closure of season 1 of HOTD, it was clear war was coming. Nobody needed to be familiar with Fire & Blood, the George R.R. Martin source material, to have a sense of that. But while Prince Luke’s violent death at the hands of Aemond was a motivator, “a son for a son” takes on a brutal new meaning after Rhaenyra gives her command. Daemon does not ride to King’s Landing and blast everybody with dragon breath. He doesn’t face down Aemond and, like, rip out his bejeweled eye or something. Instead, he infiltrates the compound in stealth mode, and contracts with a lowly castle ratcatcher and a bruising accomplice fingered by Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), aka the ”White Worm,” to sneak into the palace and kill a son for him. Classic Daemon, but also low down and dirty. By torchlight, these two, known as Blood and Cheese, scuttle through the storm drains. They pass innocently by Aegon II and his mates as they fuck off drunk around the Iron Throne. And they make their way to the royal level, where Princess-Queen Helaena rests with her children. But the brutes can’t tell any of the cherubic silver-haired offspring apart, let alone their gender, so with a blade to her throat, they force Helaena to point. And the horrible sounds we hear as she flees with her daughter to the safety of Alicent’s sleeping chamber are only the beginning of the rank violence and vengeance to come in season 2 of House of the Dragon.        

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.