‘House of the Dragon’ Releases Dueling Trailers For Season 2
Game of Thrones fans got a special treat on Thursday, March 21, as HBO released not one but two trailers for the highly anticipated second season of the prequel series, House of the Dragon.
The network is asking viewers to choose a side following the season 1 death of Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine): are you Team Targaryen or Team Hightower? The dueling trailers represent the black faction of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) and their forces on Dragonstone, and the green team of Alicent (Olivia Cooke), her father, Otto (Rhys Ifans), and her children, King Aegon (Ty Tennant) and Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). The season will tackle the start of the Targaryen civil war, which takes place 200 years before the events of Thrones, which ended its illustrious run in 2019.
Spoilers ahead! In last season’s October 2022 finale, Aemond murders Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) and his dragon, leading to imminent war in Westeros. Rhaenyra and Alicent’s sides are gathering their respective allies and forces — and dragons, of course — to face off in a sure-to-be bloody battle.
An entitled, naive Aegon is doubling down on his title as king, while his half-sister Rhaenyra views the Iron Throne as her rightful inheritance from their late father, Viserys. But, as the history books remind Us, lines of succession tend to skip over women and reward firstborn sons.
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“My father chose me, his firstborn child, to succeed him. He held to his decision until death. And yet, Alicent’s son sits my throne. I mean to fight this war and win it,” Rhaenyra says in the black trailer as Alicent insists in the dueling one, “Rhaenyra’s supporters will believe what they wish, but Viserys wanted Aegon to succeed him.”
The trailers also tease a return to the snowy homeland of the beloved Starks, Winterfell, which is ruled over by Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) in the prequel. The fantasy drama series is based on author George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood and details the history of House Targaryen. It brought in nearly 10 million viewers during its first season run in the summer and fall of 2022 — marking HBO’s biggest series premiere in history. It was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Series at the 2023 Emmys, but lost to Succession. Game of Thrones took home the prestigious award four times.
In more good news for Thrones admirers, there are other spinoffs reportedly in development. All must watch. Apparently, though, all must not be given the opportunity to read the sixth book in Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, as it has now been in the works for over a decade.
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“I’m 12 years late with Winds of Winter, as we know. I’m just going to put it right out there. You guys don’t have to pester me about it,” Martin stated last year.
House of the Dragon returns with season 2 Sunday, June 16, on HBO and Max at 9 p.m. ET.
