After a nearly two-year hiatus, viewers return to Westeros for the second season of HBO’s House of the Dragon. Episode one, “A Son for a Son.” takes place immediately after the season one finale, finding the realm’s two factions bracing for an inevitable war. A haunting premonition and the spilling of royal blood expedite this timeline.
We open at a familiar locale, north of Winterfell, as Prince Jacaerys completes his mission of rallying the Starks’ support. While acknowledging Rhaenyra as the rightful heir, Cregan Stark cannot promise his men to war as they prepare for the winter at the Night’s Watch. Suddenly, a raven arrives with the news of Lucerys’s death.
Team Black at Dragonstone attempts to piece their lives back together. Dismayed by his niece’s absence, Prince Daemon seeks revenge on King’s Landing. His fuse for violence is cooled by Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, who understands Rhaenrya’s grief having lost her daughter. She describes how she was not well until she had possession of her daughter’s body. The same goes for Rhaenyra as she searches for Lucerys’ remains.
Meanwhile, Corlys the Sea Snake oversees the rebuilding of his navy fleet. The victory at the Stepstones left his ship in disarray, and him clinging to life. Here we meet Alyn of Hull, the navyman who rescued Corlys from the deep. Corlys promises to reward Alyn for his debt of service.
After what seems like days, Princess Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone with the remains of her beloved son and his dragon. They hold his funeral, burning his remains. Rhaenyra utters her only dialogue within the entire episode: “I want Aemond Targaryen.”
In King’s Landing, Team Green is weathering a naive and impulsive King Aegon II Targaryen. While his seat gives them power over the seven kingdoms, his inexperience wanes on the council, specifically his mother Alicent, and grandfather Otto Hightower. The two remain at odds as Alicent fears Otto will undermine her voice and she will lose both Aegon and Aemond’s ears. She loves her sons but blames Aemond for the conflict’s escalation. However, he sees her partiality for Rhaenyra as a fault. And this isn’t the only speck of sand in Alicent’s eye.
Alicent reluctantly leverages the work of Lord Larys Strong behind the scenes, which includes him placing doubt in Aegon II about his grandfather serving as hand. While Larys serves her on the left, Ser Cristian Cole toys with Alicent on the right as her secret lover.
These first two acts prepare us for the harrowing third. Earlier in the episode, Aegon and his sister/wife, Helaena, have a conversation about their son, heir Jaehaerys. Aegon wants Jaehaerys to witness the council’s meeting since he will be king one day. Helaena, who we know speaks of the future in riddles, is hesitant and tells Aegon she is afraid. Thinking she was afraid of Jaehaerys being around the dragons, she clarifies she fears the rats. Unfortunately, Helaena’s fear comes to fruition.
After taking Rhaenyra’s request to heart, Daemon gets active. On the advice of his former lover and spy, Mysaria, Daemon sets a plot to kill Aemond. He recruits a guard and commoner to traverse the underground tunnels and infiltrate the Red Keep. After sneaking past Aegon and his merry blokes, the duo enters the sleeping quarters. Unable to find Aemond – mainly because they do not know what he looks like – the characters known as Blood and Cheese happen upon Helaena and her sleeping twins.
Threatening her with a blade, they force her to choose a child for sacrifice, preferably the heir. In fear, Helaena points at Jaehaerys’s crib. After a little contemplation, Blood and Cheese cruelly kill the young boy as his mother grabs Jaehaera and flees. She enters her mother Alicent’s bedroom, interrupting a session with Ser Cole. Startled, Alicent asks Helaena what is wrong. Helaena responds: “They killed the boy.”
Directed by Alan Taylor and written by showrunner Ryan Condal, “A Son for a Son” feels reminiscent of the original series. In addition to reprising the opening Game of Thrones theme, this season feels broader and more story-driven compared to last season’s methodical pace. That was likely to acquaint us with these new characters and their motivations. With the initial meet and greet over, we can get to the crux of the narrative: war.
The performances remain strong. Matt Smith continues to shine as Daemon, a character many love to hate. And while they only had one line of dialogue, Emma D’Arcy delivers as the grieving Rhaenyra. While her character feels underrated, Phia Saban is brilliant as Helaena, displaying the intricacies of her ability with alluring care. But all eyes are on Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon II. His somewhat Emperor’s New Clothes demeanor is almost comical to witness, giving an inkling of likability. However, we know beneath the charming kid smile is a treacherous young man with too much power – a dangerous combination. An overall strong beginning.
Rating: 8/10