HBO’s hit series House of the Dragon, a prequel to the highly successful medieval political series, Game of Thrones, will return for season two this Sunday, June 16, 2024.
For the uninitiated (in which case I’m giving you my bombastic side-eye) the series is set primarily in the Seven Kingdoms, and follows the very powerful Targaryen family as they descend into war over the Iron Throne.
Ahead of the new season’s Sunday debut, let’s catch you up to speed on what happened in season one.
Recap of season one
King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) cannot produce a male heir. After his wife’s death during childbirth, he decides to name his daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock and later Emma D’Arcy) the heir to the Iron Throne. But his story as a king without a son soon changes when he marries a young wife, Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey and later Olivia Cooke), who is Princess Rhaenyra’s friend. With Queen Alicent, he bears three children, two sons, Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), and a daughter, Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban), changing the optics.
The rivalry between Princess Rhaenyra and Queen Alicent splits the royal court into two; the Greens and the Blacks.
The Blacks
To avoid the fighting in court, Princess Rhaenyra leaves King’s Landing for Dragonstone with her family; her husband, Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan) and three sons, Lucerys, Jacaerys, and Joffrey. She allies herself with her father-in-law,
Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), his wife, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), who is her aunt, and her uncle, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). After Laenor fakes his death to escape from everyone, Rhaenyra remarries her uncle Prince Daemon to strengthen her bid for the throne and they have two children, Viserys II and Aegon III.
The Greens
Queen Alicent quickly allies herself with her father, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who is the Hand of the King. She joins forces with the knight, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), and her children for the fight ahead. After King Viserys dies in King’s Landing, Queen Alicent and Lord Otto name Aegon II king of the Seven Kingdoms, setting the forces that will start the war in motion. Current state of affairs
The first season of House of the Dragon ends as the Blacks and the Greens prepare for full-on war following King Viserys’s death. The story gets heated after one of Princess Rhaenyra’s sons, Lucerys is killed. When he flies to Storm’s End on his dragon to seek the allegiance of Lord Borros Baratheon in the war to come he meets Aemond, his uncle, who is also at Storm’s End for the same purpose. As the two take to the sky, they lose control of their dragons with Aemond’s older and bigger dragon, Vhagar, killing Lucerys and his dragon, Arrax.
What to expect from season 2
Season two dives further into the war of the Targaryen household. The trailers that have been released already promise more Targaryen-sanctioned bloodshed and even meaner palace intrigues.
Princess Rhaenyra, her husband, Prince Daemon, and the Velaryons are plotting their revenge for the death of Lucerys and the plans to take the Iron Throne.
In King’s Landing, Queen Dowager Alicent, her father Lord Otto and their allies are also planning their next moves to keep the throne and bring Princess Rhaenyra to her knees.
Where to watch it
Though HBO is not yet accessible in Nigeria, this doesn’t mean viewers will not be able to watch the show when it premieres on Sunday night (Monday morning in West African Time). Subscribers of Showmax are in luck as they will be able to watch it express from the US from 2 am on Monday, 17 June.
In 2020, Showmax acquired exclusive licensing rights to stream HBO’s content in Africa. The move makes Showmax the home for HBO in Africa and as such, House of the Dragon will be available to stream on Showmax when it drops. As we wait (for loyal fans like us, impatiently) for season two of House of the Dragon to drop on Sunday, a perfect use of our weekend would be to binge-watch the 10 episodes of the first season which is currently available on Showmax.
