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 one of the crucial violent and notorious plots from the Fireplace and Blood ebook.
When you’re trying to break down what you simply noticed in Son for a Son, otherwise you’re simply plain curious, then you possibly can meet up with our recap on all the important thing plot factors to pay attention to.
Spoilers for Home of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 under. Wish to preserve spoiler-free? Learn our evaluation of episodes 1 and a pair of.
A Stark return
The episode opens with a well-recognized sight to Sport of Thrones followers: Winterfell. Now we have a narration from a brand new character for season 2, Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor). That’s proper, one of the crucial widespread Homes from the GOT franchise is formally again.
Cregan is called the Wolf of the North within the books and is at present 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.
This time, it’s the Blacks who’re looking for allegiance. Rhaenyra’s son, Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), has been despatched to drum up assist for her declare to the Iron Throne. Jace can’t persuade Cregan to go away his posts. In any case, Winter is Coming. Nonetheless, the Stark guarantees hundreds of Greybeards to the battle.
Their debates are interrupted by information from a raven that can flip the Blacks lives the other way up.
“I would like Aemond Targaryen”
Again in Dragonstone, Rhaenys (Eve Greatest) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) talk about the absence of the Black Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), who has been trying to find 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 driving the biggest dwelling dragon within the present, Vhagar, and regarded for revenge after Luke took his eye again once they had been kids.
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.
A silent and grief-stricken Rhaenyra seems to be trying to find the pair. She lastly finds a dragon wing washed up on a shore, and shortly clears away onlookers along 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 struggle. Nonetheless, she has however one easy request: she desires Aemond Targaryen.
It’s her solely line within the episode and can find yourself having enormous 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 Purple Hold, the temper is extra enterprise as standard. King Aegon III (Tom Glynn-Carney) strategizes together with his council concerning the subsequent steps for successful over the nice Homes. The Hand of the King, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), warns for warning and persistence – one thing that doesn’t work properly 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 sources, however finally will get pushback from the King and is reminded of his place.
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 demise 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 shortly 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 finally turned a spy for the Hightowers.
Following the information of Lucerys’s demise, Daemon retains her captive in Dragonstone. Ultimately, he manages to discount along with her to inform him a few approach into the Purple Hold, 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 known 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 be taught what it’s quickly.
Blood and Cheese skulk into the fort via back-passageways, recognized to the latter because of 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
Ultimately, they arrive throughout the Queen and threaten to slit her throat. Blood factors out that she just isn’t a son, however Cheese gestures to the sleeping kids within the room, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. The assassins demand to know which is the son, because the twins look the identical they usually need to slay the inheritor.
Helaena factors to at least one little one, and the pair shortly get to work severing the infants head as proof of fee. The Queen shortly grabs her daughter and rushes out of the room, trying to find 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 essentially the most violent a part of the episode, and it’s toned down barely from the ebook. Nonetheless, it would have a huge effect on the struggle to come back.
Easter Eggs
- Now we have 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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