One thing that fans learned after watching Game of Thrones was that any character can die at any point in the series regardless of how significant they are. It seems like House of the Dragon is also all set to go on a similar path as its predecessor series and we might be witnessing a lot of unexpected deaths in the second season of the series.
Ryan Condal opens up about the moral dilemma in House of the Dragon
After the massive success of Game of Thrones, HBO decided to explore some more stories from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. As a result, the studio landed on the book, Fire & Blood which tells the history of the strongest house in the history of Westeros, the House Targaryen.
The events of House of the Dragon take place about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones when House Targaryen used to rule over the seven kingdoms. The show covers the story of an internal civil war in House Targaryen, a war of succession to the throne which later came to be known as ‘Dance of the Dragons.’
However, despite the incredible plot of the incredible series, it is sometimes hard to guess who is on the right or wrong side of war. Every character does some deeds that do not fall into white or black categories on the moral scale at times. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, the showrunner of the series, Ryan Condal, also opened up about this moral dilemma in the series and said,
“This is not a story of goodies and baddies, black hats and white hats. It’s a story of this family that’s been rent open by this dispute over who is meant to wear the crown after Viserys passes. Some people think it’s Rhaenyra, some people think it’s Aegon, and then there are other people within who think, ‘Why should it be one of the two of them? Maybe it should be somebody else. Maybe it should be me!’
The fun of this Greek tragedy is seeing, when you introduce a power vacuum to a world like this, how all of these individuals react.”
Considering the events of Season 1, fans might argue that the Blacks have done nothing wrong to make Rhaenyra unworthy of the throne, but that might change in Season 2.
[SPOILER WARNING: This piece contains potential spoilers ahead for the upcoming season of House of the Dragon.]
Prince Daemon Targaryen seeks revenge for the murder of Prince Lucerys Velaryon
One of the most shocking, and devastating moments of Game of Thrones came in season 3 when we saw the massacre of the Stark family at the hands of Walder Frey. The affair later came to be known as the ‘Red Wedding‘ and is arguably one of the unexpected moments in the series.
A similar moment of shock might come for the fans in the second season of House of the Dragon. Prince Aemond Targaryen murdered the son of Rhaenyra Targaryen, Prince Lucerys Velaryon during the final moments of season 1 which will serve as the trigger of an all-out war between the Blacks and the Greens.
After the death of Prince Lucerys, Prince Daemon Targaryen decides to seek revenge following the ideology of ‘an eye for an eye‘ and ends up hiring an assassin duo to do his dirty work. Prince Daemon hires the assassin duo of Blood and Cheese who end up slaying six-year-old Prince Jaehaerys, King Aegon II Targaryen’s firstborn son as revenge for the murder of Prince Lucerys.
In the interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ryan Condal talked about the assassination of Prince Jaehaerys by Blood and Cheese. He said,
“A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones have really conditioned people to expect the unexpected and expect the horrible. But, yeah, that one’s pretty horrific.”
The role of Blood will allegedly be portrayed by Sam C. Wilson, and Cheese will be portrayed by Mark Stobbart in the 2nd season of House of the Dragon.
The first season of the House of the Dragon is currently streaming on HBO Max and the second season of the series is all set to be released later this year on June 16, 2024.
