By After a long wait, HBO has finally confirmed the air date of the Season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon, the media giant’s first Game of Thrones spinoff. Season 2 will premiere on June 16, almost two years after Season 1. The first season meticulously set the stage for the civil war referred to as the Dance of the Dragons, in which two Targaryen factions clashed for control of Westeros, which will properly begin in Season 2.
Alongside the premiere date reveal, HBO dropped two trailers for the upcoming season: one trailer focused on the Blacks, the supporters of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and another trailer focused on the Greens, supporters of King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). As is our tradition, we will be breaking down these trailers in our frame-by-frame analysis of the footage.
This article will cover the Green Trailer, embedded below. For the breakdown of the Black Trailer, make sure to read our other article.
We’ll try to keep it moderate when it comes to spoilers. Not completely spoiler-free, but also not spoiling everything for those who haven’t read the books.
Alicent fears the consequences of war, but refuses to back down
Only weeks ago, my lord husband was alive and the realm was at peace.
One of the most interesting and divisive characters in Season 1 is Lady Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), the best-friend-turned-bitter-rival of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). Raised by a demanding father, Lord Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Alicent always applied the maximal effort to adhere to the Westerosi customs, to be the perfect example of a Lady, even accepting her father’s command to win King Viserys’ heart and gain his hand in marriage, a choice that would lead to the collapse of her friendship with the young Princess.
In stark contrast, Rhaenyra’s constant bending and breaking of the rules aggravated the obedient Alicent. Meanwhile, her father sowed the seeds of fear and hatred in her, claiming that Rhaenyra would one day try to kill her and Viserys’ children to secure her ascendance to the Iron Throne. Over many years, this fear and hatred festered, and at the very end of Season 1, when her husband the King passed away, Otto’s prophecy would fulfill itself.
On his deatbed, he knew the realm would never accept a queen. Rhaenyra’s supporters will believe what they wish, but Viserys wanted Aegon to succeed him.
Alicent justifies the crowning of Aegon based on the fevered mutterings of the late King Viserys, who spoke of the prophecy of the “Prince that was Promised” on his deathbed. Alicent incorrectly interpreted that as a call to crown Prince Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) as King instead of Princess Rhaenyra. This belief allows Alicent to justify her father’s decades-long strategy to undermine Rhaenyra’s legitimacy and to crown Aegon in her stead.
In the scene, Alicent is speaking with her closest advisor, Larys “Clubfoot” Strong (Matthew Needham), the Lord of Harrenhal. Larys will serve as the crown’s Master of Whisperers, with access to spies spread across the Seven Kingdoms. With Aegon crowned King, it will be interesting to see how Alicent’s relationship with Larys will change.
King Aegon II Targaryen ascends the Iron Throne
Lord Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) has set a plan in motion many years earlier, and that plan is finally bearing fruit. With King Viserys dead, Otto quickly crowned Prince Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) as the King of the Seven Kingdoms.
In Season 1, the last thing Aegon wanted was to become King of the Seven Kingdoms, and yet, for a brief moment in his coronation, a smile crept on Aegon’s face. Now he will ascend the Iron Throne and become the de facto King of Westeros.
I’m as fearsome as any of them.
What kind of King will Aegon be? Well, the jury’s still out on this one, but Season 1 has proved that the young Aegon is quite smart, yet capable of a lot of lust and cruelty. In that sense, he is very different from his mother Alicent, and also from his grandfather Otto.
Alicent and Otto will serve as Aegon’s chief advisors, and each will attempt to use Aegon to further their own goals and ambitions. As already seen in the first season, Otto and Alicent will not always agree.
But Aegon may surprise them both when he refuses to be puppeteered and instead chooses to be his own kind of King. Time will tell whether Aegon will become a great king like his grandfather Jaehaerys, or something far more sinister like the second coming of Game of Thrones‘ Joffrey.
Plot against the King and I will pay it back a hundred times over.
Later in the trailer, we see Aegon threatening one of his men not to plot against him. Interestingly, Aegon is fully armored in this scene, also carrying his crowned helmet. Aegon is ready to partake in the war started in his name, and he will be joined by his dragon Sunfyre.
Sunfyre is a majestic and fearsome golden dragon, one of the strongest of the young dragons. Without spoiling what we know from the book Fire and Blood and from behind-the-scenes leaks from filming, we will see Aegon mount Sunfyre to battle in Season 2.
The Greens prepare for the Blacks’ retaliation in King’s Landing
The city of King’s Landing is the most iconic location in the Game of Thrones world, the beating heart of all its political machinations, home to many ambitious Lords and Ladies. But King’s Landing extends beyond the walls of the Red Keep, a bustling city full of common folk who have been raised for many years to believe Queen Rhaenyra is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
Now, the Hightowers have crowned Aegon, and they will have to convince the common folk that he was the rightful heir chosen by Viserys on his deathbed. Not only that, the Hightowers will also need to convince the commoners that Aegon’s claim is strong enough to justify a war that will consume the Seven Kingdoms with Dragonfire.
The propaganda war will begin with banners and symbols. In one of the shots in the trailer, we see Green Targaryen banners raised in the gates of the Red Keep. No doubt, similar banners will be raised all over the city. Of course, banners alone will not convince the commoners to support Aegon. Aegon will need to prove himself.
Meanwhile, the Hightowers will prepare King’s Landing for the war to come, erecting scorpions and trebuchets that would fend off the Blacks’ many dragons.
In the trailer, we see Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) of Aegon’s Kingsguard overseeing the installation of these scorpions.
But the Greens also have their own dragons. Gathered in the Dragonpit, these fearsome beasts are the Greens’ insurance against the terrible threat of the Black dragons. With Sunfyre, Dreamfyre, and the ancient Vhagar, the Greens hope to even the odds as the Black Queen and her supporters prepare their retaliation.
They wish now not for the good of the realm, but for the satisfaction of vengeance.
In a scene shared by Otto and Alicent, it seems that Otto is the one more concerned with the Blacks’ inevitable retaliation. As he sees it, the Blacks no longer care for the good of the realm, and will instead seek revenge by any means necessary.
Most likely, this scene shows Otto and Alicent’s reaction to the grave news of the death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s son. Otto is aware that the Blacks will not and can not forgive the killing, and that they will seek to take an eye for an eye.
The picture of a perfect Lady, Alicent has always advocated in favor of the Faith of the Seven, redecorating the throne room in King’s Landing with the Seven’s symbols and elevating the role of Septons.
Blood and Cheese
In the trailer, we see Alicent praying in the Sept of Baelor. With the escalating conflict, Alicent is likely praying for the safety of her children and grandchildren. But there is very little safety in war, especially in this one, especially for children.
Readers of Fire and Blood will remember the characters Blood and Cheese, who will serve Rhaenyra’s husband (and cousin) Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). This event will happen in the first episode of Season 2.
We can see Blood (Sam C. Wilson), a gold cloak, being teased by what seems like Daemon, who snuck into King’s Landing. This is the start of the plan.
Another shot shows Blood already with Cheese (Mark Stobbart) already in the Red Keep or getting there. The first teaser for Season 2 already gave us a glimpse of Cheese.
We see Cheese holding Princess Helaena, threatening with a knife. In a few short moments, she will be forced to make an impossible choice no parent should ever have to make.
Another tease at the Blood and Cheese event is seen in the trailer when a handmaiden carriers a bloody linen in the halls of the Red Keep. Readers of Fire and Blood will know whose blood that is.
We will prevail and bring forth peace, but you must accept that the path to victory now is one of violence.
In the trailer, we see Alicent crying, as the people of King’s Landing throw flower petals or leaves around her and Queen Helaena. It’s evident that, at this point in the story, the Blacks will have already taken their revenge and this is the funeral procession following Blood and Cheese.
It will become clear very early in Season 2 that there will be no uneasy peace between the Greens and Blacks. As such, the Greens will need to show no mercy. The path to victory, Otto believes, must be paved with violence. This does not seem to bother the gleeful King Aegon, who is excited to go to war.
Good. To war, then.
Aemond and Cole seek a challenge
One of the highlights of Season 1 was the devious Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). After being bullied by his brother Aegon and Rhaenyra’s children, Aemond developed a rage that would empower his ambition to become a powerful warrior and a studied military strategist.
This rage would also blind him in a confrontation with Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s second son, at the very end of Season 1. Aemond’s dragon Vhagar ends up killing Lucerys and his dragon Arrax, escalating the tensions between Greens and Blacks beyond the point of no return.
At the start of Season 2, Aemond must return to King’s Landing as the bearer of bad news, and will most likely be seen as a great disappointment by the royal family.
Despite his reckless actions and their dire consequences, Aemond will not be denied a seat at the table. The Greens are fully aware that Aemond and his dragon are their most powerful weapon. Knowing this, Aemond will seek to prove himself again in Season 2.
My uncle is a challenge I welcome, if he dares face me.
In a conversation with the Lord Commander of Aegon’s Kingsguard and Hand of the King after the firing of Otto Hightower, Ser Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel), Aemond says he is ready to confront the Blacks’ most legendary warrior: his uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).
The rivalry between Aemond and Daemon is one of the fan-favorite parts of the Dance of the Dragons, and it looks like the rivalry will begin in Season 2.
As mentioned in a previous breakdown, we can see Cole wearing the Hand’s chain around his neck and after King Aegon is injured in battle, Aemond will become Prince Regent making him and Cole a formidable power duo.
Meanwhile, Ser Criston Cole will also seek to prove himself in service of the King, as well as Queen Alicent whom he had been serving for many years. To prove himself, Cole will be leading the Green army in their campaign to push the Blacks out of the Riverlands.
On his way to the Riverlands, Cole will be stopping in Duskendale, the home of Lord Gunthor Darklyn (Steven Pacey), who has chosen to support the Black Queen Rhaenyra. As we have seen in the previously released Teaser Trailer, Cole beheads the Lord Darklyn in this same scene.
From Duskendale, Cole will lead his army to another of Rhaenyra’s allies: Lord Staunton of Rook’s Rest. It is there that the biggest battle of Season 2 will occur.
Rook’s Rest
The Green army will march to Rook’s Rest, the home of House Staunton, who have chosen to support the Black Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. Rook’s Rest is a seaside castle somewhere between the Riverlands and the Crownlands, and so it is squarely in the middle between the headquarters of the Green army in King’s Landing and the Black army who will be situated near Harrenhal early in Season 2.
As previously mentioned, Ser Criston Cole will be leading the Green army. Many of the Great Houses will join him after declaring their support of King Aegon.
This will include the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, the Tyrells of Highgarden, and of course, the Hightowers of Old Town. We can see the Lannisters meeting with Leffords in one of the shots. Something we witnessed to be filmed last August.
Some smaller Houses will also be joining the battle. One such smaller house is House Bracken, who will decalre their support for the Greens and King Aegon. House Bracken’s eternal adversaries, House Blackwood, will be supporting the Blacks and Queen Rhaenyra.
This will lead to a confrontation between the Brackens and Blackwoods, of which we see a glimpse in the trailer. You can see the Bracken sigil of the red horse on a yellow field depicted on this soldier’s armor. Those opposing him are wearing red and black, the colors of House Blackwood.
At Rook’s Rest, we will see not just the Black and Green armies clashing, but also their dragons. Aemond will be there with Vhagar, of course, but he will not be alone. King Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre will join the battle as well.
Here, we see Baela and her dragon Moondancer landing in the forests near Rook’s Rest. The full context of this scene will become apparent when Season 4’s fourth episode is released.
Alicent’s struggles with her own family
We begin and end this breakdown with Queen Alicent Hightower. She has lost much over the years and has more to lose in Season 2 than ever before. Though she will continue to join the Green Council meetings and urge for caution, a lot of things are no longer in her control.
You have no idea the sacrifices that were made to put you on that throne.
It seems likely that Alicent will learn that, despite her preparations for this moment, she has very little control over it. Her son, the King Aegon, has a mind of his own. Her other son, Aemond, recklessly takes the life of Rhaenyra’s own child. Her father Otto will continue to pull the strings which lead to inevitable violence. Her old friend Rhaenyra will become determined to take revenge and spill the blood of Alicent’s family. And Rhaenyra’s husband, Daemon, will not stop before Alicent and her family are obliterated.
In a conversation with Aegon, Alicent explains that many sacrifices were made to place him on the throne, sacrifices made by her. One of these sacrifices was her friendship with Rhaenyra, another was her sexual freedom, which she has repeatedly sacrificed by marrying King Viserys.
Now, all of Alicent’s sacrifices may be for nothing, as her family recklessly burns down that which she has worked to build. Whether her plea will convince Aegon to listen, we will have to wait and see.
Another shot in the trailer shows the mental distress of Alicent, when she takes a bath and submerges herself in the water.
This covers the new footage from the Green Trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2, but there is also a second trailer. Make sure to read our other article for a similar breakdown of the Black Trailer.
READ MORE: Breaking Down House of the Dragon’s New Trailers: The Blacks
And if you’re eager for even more frame-by-frame analysis of HOTD footage, you can revisit our breakdown of the Teaser Trailer.
House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres on June 16 on HBO.
