Home of the Dragon episode 1 doesn’t wait to catch the viewers up. The story strikes at a breakneck tempo and instantly will get into some of the violent and notorious plots from the Fireplace and Blood ebook.
Should you’re seeking to break down what you simply noticed in Son for a Son, otherwise you’re simply plain curious, then you may meet up with our recap on all the important thing plot factors to concentrate on.
Spoilers for Home of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 under. Need to preserve spoiler-free? Learn our overview of episodes 1 and a pair of.
A Stark return
The episode opens with a well-recognized sight to Recreation of Thrones followers: Winterfell. We’ve got a narration from a brand new character for season 2, Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor). That’s proper, some of the well-liked Homes from the GOT franchise is formally again.
Cregan is named the Wolf of the North within the books and is at the moment serving his watch on the Wall. He’s the son of Rickon Stark, who pledged his allegiance to the late King Viserys and his then named inheritor, Princess Rhaenyra.
Olly Upton/HBO
Olly Upton/HBO
Olly Upton/HBO
This time, it’s the Blacks who’re in search of allegiance. Rhaenyra’s son, Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), has been despatched to drum up assist for her declare to the Iron Throne. Jace can not persuade Cregan to depart his posts. In any case, Winter is Coming. Nonetheless, the Stark guarantees hundreds of Greybeards to the combat.
Their debates are interrupted by information from a raven that may flip the Blacks lives the other way up.
“I need Aemond Targaryen”
Again in Dragonstone, Rhaenys (Eve Greatest) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) focus on the absence of the Black Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), who has been looking for proof that her son has been killed.
On the finish of season 1, Lucerys misplaced his life leaving Storms Finish when he and his dragon had been chased by Viserys’s and Alicent’s son, Aemond Targarayen (Ewan Mitchell). He was using the most important residing dragon within the present, Vhagar, and regarded for revenge after Luke took his eye again once they had been youngsters.
Nonetheless, each riders misplaced management of their dragons, and Vhagar chomped Lucerys and Arrax to items. The final we noticed they had been falling from the sky.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
A silent and grief-stricken Rhaenyra seems to be looking for the pair. She lastly finds a dragon wing washed up on a shore, and rapidly clears away onlookers together with her dragon, Syrax. When she searches via the stays, she finds a cloak of Lucerys, and breaks down.
She lastly returns to Dragonstone, the place everyone seems to be updating her on the progress of the battle. Nonetheless, she has however one easy request: she needs Aemond Targaryen.
It’s her solely line within the episode and can find yourself having big ramifications. The household maintain a cremation for Luke, and we see that his reminiscence is even honoured by the enemy – as Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) lights a candle in King’s Touchdown in his reminiscence.
The Greens march on
Again on the Crimson Preserve, the temper is extra enterprise as regular. King Aegon III (Tom Glynn-Carney) strategizes along with his council in regards to the subsequent steps for profitable over the nice Homes. The Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), warns for warning and endurance – one thing that doesn’t work nicely with the King’s temperament.
This friction continues when Aegon the ‘Magnanimous’ tries to placate the townsfolk by making unrealistic guarantees. Otto reminds him a number of instances of restricted assets, however ultimately will get pushback from the King and is reminded of his place.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
Alicent is pissed off at being undermined by her father in entrance of her sons and stresses the significance of all of them remaining united following the loss of life of Viserys. Nonetheless, behind closed doorways she seems to have began a secret affair with none aside from Ser Cristen Cole (Fabien Frankel) of the Kingsguard.
The one sense of fear within the fort comes from Queen Helaena (Phia Saban), King Aegon’s spouse and sister. She expresses worry over “rats” however is rapidly dismissed as being odd.
Nonetheless, her worries are extra prophetic than nonsense – when you take note of any scene set within the fort, you’ll see a determine with a canine skulking within the shadows, a promise of the dread to come back.
Blood and Cheese
Followers of George R. R. Martin’s ebook knew this was coming, and the truth that it’s within the first episode tells us we’re in for a wild experience this season.
Rhaenyra’s guards uncover a stowaway on a ship, which occurs to be Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), Daemon Targaryen’s former mistress who ultimately grew to become a spy for the Hightowers.
Following the information of Lucerys’s loss of life, Daemon retains her captive in Dragonstone. Ultimately, he manages to discount together with her to inform him a couple of approach into the Crimson Preserve, so he can precise revenge on Aemond.
Beneath the quilt of the evening – and in a cloak that doesn’t cowl his distinctive blonde locks – he makes his approach into King’s Touchdown. He then offers cash to a guard referred to as Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and a rat catcher named Cheese (Mark Stobbart) to finish the job of infiltrating the preserve, and fulfil the promise of “a son for a son”.
The mercenaries ask what occurs if they will’t discover Aemond, and we don’t instantly hear Daemon’s response, however we’ll study what it’s quickly.
Blood and Cheese skulk into the fort via back-passageways, identified to the latter resulting from his job of exterminating vermin within the constructing. After some confusion about the place to go, the pair head upstairs and attempt to set traps to maintain up their guise.
Olly Upton/HBO
Olly Upton/HBO
Olly Upton/HBO
Ultimately, they arrive throughout the Queen and threaten to slit her throat. Blood factors out that she will not be a son, however Cheese gestures to the sleeping youngsters within the room, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. The assassins demand to know which is the son, because the twins look the identical and so they need to slay the inheritor.
Helaena factors to 1 little one, and the pair rapidly get to work severing the infants head as proof of fee. The Queen rapidly grabs her daughter and rushes out of the room, looking for security. She bursts into Alicent’s room, who’s in center of sleeping with Cristen Cole but once more.
She doesn’t seem to care, as she is totally in shock that her son, Jaehaerys, has simply been brutally murdered in entrance of her. From there, the episode cuts to black.
That is undoubtedly probably the most violent a part of the episode, and it’s toned down barely from the ebook. Nonetheless, it is going to have a big impact on the battle to come back.
Easter Eggs
- We’ve got a brand new opening sequence! This seems to inform the historical past of the Targaryens, and hints at what’s to come back within the Dance of Dragons
- Home Stark’s haunting theme makes a reappearance within the opening
- We’re launched to Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), a Velaryon sailor who allegedly saved Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint)
- Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Corridor) will get humiliated by Aegon on the small council – will that come again to hang-out him?
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