House of The Dragon S2, EP1 Review.!
The much awaited ‘House of The Dragons’ season 2 has now debuted with an imminent war for the throne. The first season ended with the death of ‘Lucerys Velaryon’ at the hands of ‘Vhagar’. We get to see that ‘Aemond Targaryen’ was not completely at fault there but this action has made the matters worse. Consequently, viewers are set to witness one of the horrific incidents in the season premiere. The first episode of Season 2 is titled as ‘A son for a son’. The blacks are grieving after the loss of their prince. Queen Rhaenyra is devastated and has gone searching for the remains of her son. The House Green now has to rethink their strategies as they are anticipating a retribution from House Black. Queen Rhaenyra now wants ‘Aemond’ dead but we all know Aemond is one of the central characters who is going to play a huge role in the series. Everything is all set for a gripping season.
The episode begins with ‘The Winterfell’ which is reminiscent of the pilot episode of ‘Game of Thrones’. ‘Prince Jacaerys is in the North to seek the allegiance and army of Lord Cregan Stark. Their conversation about ‘The Wall’ and ‘The Winter’ reminds us of the events which we have witnessed in ‘GOT’. Son after, Lord Cregan Stark promises his allegiance to House Black, Prince Jacaerys is interrupted by the news of the death of his brother. The scene shifts to Dragon Stone and King’s Landing where each team is planning their next move. Also, there are other impending internal conflicts that are getting unfolded amidst the major plot. This is the beauty of the franchise where the characters have different plots that aren’t easily perceivable to the audience.
On one side, the House Black is mourning and are planning to extract revenge while on the other side is the House Green who are also going through some sort of disagreement within themselves. The character ‘Lord Larys Strong’ seems to be a man playing his wits out in the 2nd season if it was Ser Otto Hightower in the first season. It is clear that the new King Aegon is brash and wayward in his behaviour and judgements, although he sounds less psychotic than ‘Joffrey Baratheon’ from the Game of Thrones. King Aegon couldn’t care less about the House Black and their present state but he is not someone to be antagonised. It is very likely that King Aegon and Lord Larys would be a dangerous union in the long run and it means more nightmarish events are on the horizon for the audience.
The House Black is yet to be settled but the arrival of Lord Corlys Velaryon will fortify Queen Rhaenyra’s ascend to the throne. He is an important ally who is dubbed as the Sea Snake who can possibly steer an army of fleet to victory. He is saved by a mystery man named ‘Alyn’ who will have an important role to play in this season. On the other side, Otto Hightower and Alicent Hightower sense a brewing discord in their house. This might mean that they have a different role to play in this season like damage control. They are not going to be at the forefront of this war and have to endure more setbacks and pain. The characters will have a difficult time to persuade Aegon & Aemond and devise plans to make Queen Rhaenyra kneel before the Greens.
As the episode moves past the halfway point, the very first move at retribution from the Blacks surface. The infamous ‘Blood & Cheese’ pair carry out one of the monstrous executions in this series. The first episode ends with this scene and hereafter it is all but certain that audience will come across more bloodshed and slaughter very frequently.
Compiled By Jayaram