Martins source material Fire & Blood in a creative new way.
We open in a place familiar to Game of Thrones faithful: Winterfell.
Jace jokes as the young men ride the elevator to the top of the Wall amid snow flurries.
Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) is not in a happy place.Photo: Theo Whitman/HBO
What is this then, that falls from the sky and shivers my bones?
All jokes stop when Jace beholds what lies beyond the Wall.
What does it keep out?
New character alert: Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
A son for a son, he says.
Furthermore, shes not one to act on vengeful impulses.
In Kings Landing, members of the Kingsguard are keeping an eye on the skiesDragonnnn!
New character alert: Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
In a nearby bedroom, surprise!
He has his head up her dress!
Turns out Aegon is no longer a reluctant ruler.
Cole, you dirty dog you.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
Aemond stalks in as the child is being escorted out, and the power struggle continues.
Afterwards, Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) materializes to bend Alicents ear.
On Dragonstone, theres another Dragonnnn!
“Indisposed.”Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
As she sobs, her dragon, Syrax, lets out a mournful cry.
includes a new descriptor: Aegon the Magnanimous.
Even he finds that ludicrous, muttering the magnanimous?
Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
toward one of his sycophants.
The ever-present Lord Larys has some reminders to pass along, too.
Maybe a change is in order?
Fire for blood.Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
Maybe its time to stand apart from your father and find a new Hand?
As Aegon ponders this, the implication for the viewer is clear: whos pliable now?
She has one thing on her mind: I want Aemond Targaryen.
He meets with a hulking member of the City Watch who still addresses him as Commander.
(The big dude also says Fuck the Hightowers!, so we know where his loyalty lies.)
Daemon lays it out plainly: Find and slay the Prince Aemond Targaryen.
He has silver hair and one eye… should be easy enough to find.
Ladies and gentlemen: Blood and Cheese have arrived.
After Cole leaves the room, Otto expresses his concernpolitely but firmly.
You must keep a grip on your impulses, Otto says.
We both know that your brother cannot.
The intruders sneak their way upstairs, but they cant find their intended target.
But going from room to room, they do find… Queen Heleana and her children.
(Now we realize why House of the Dragon wanted us to take special notice of him.)
Instead, all she says, very matter-of-factly, is: They killed the boy.
The last shot closes in on Alicents horrified face.
New episodes of House of the Dragon arrive Sundays on HBO and Max.
Catch up on season onehere.
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