House of the Dragon is back on our screens with the first episode premiering on Sunday (or Monday, depending on where you are in the world), and viewers have taken to social media to share their thoughts on the new episode - as well as their slight confusion at just where we have left the storylines.
After all, it has been two years since the season one finale aired back in 2022, so we think it’s fair enough that some people might need their memory jogging - so with spoilers for season one inbound, here’s everything you need to know about the plot for season two…
The set up
In season one, King Viserys struggles to welcome a son, and so proclaims his daughter Princess Rhaenyra as the Heir to the Iron Throne - especially since the other potential Heir, his brother Daemon, deeply lets him down and isn’t considered trustworthy - particularly in regards to becoming the next King of Westeros.
© HBOAfter proclaiming Rhaenyra his Heir, he tells her a story that only Targaryen Kings of Westeros have known throughout the generations - that King Aegon I prophecised ‘the song of Ice and Fire’, a terrible crisis which would need to see a Targaryen on the throne as ‘the prince who was promised’, who will unite the realm and save the world.
© HBOFollowing Rhaenyra’s mother Aemma’s death, King Viserys weds Rhaeneyra’s childhood best friend, Alicent Hightower, who gives birth to two sons, Aegon and Aemond. Alicent’s father, the Hand of King Otto Hightower, predicts that war will be inevitable as the great houses won’t want Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne when Viserys has sons who could become King instead, alarming his daughter.
Rhaenyra and Alicent’s fallout
Relations between Rhaenyra and Alicent sour after Rhaenyra’s actions during a night out with her Uncle Daemon, where she is seen being intimate with him, and subsequently sleeps with her Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole.
© HBOSer Otto tells the King about the reports, who reacts by removing Otto as Hand of the King and sending him away. Upon learning that the accusations were true after initially believing Rhaenyra swearing that Daemon never touched her, Alicent turns against Rhaenyra.
© HBOSer Criston Cole, who fails to convince Rhaenyra to run away with him after falling in love with her, despite his oath as a member of the Kingsguard, also turns against her, allying himself with Queen Alicent.
© HBOAlicent and Rhaenyra go on to welcome children with their respective husbands, where the animosity continues as Alicent (correctly) suspects that Rhaenyra’s sons Lucerys and Jacaerys are illegitimate. The infighting trickles down to the children, and during an argument gone wrong, Aemond accuses Luc and Jace of being illegitimate, and Luc attacks him, resulting in Aemond losing an eye.
© HBOThe King’s death
Rhaenyra eventually marries Daemon, and the pair live at Dragonstone before returning to King’s Landing due to King Viserys’ intensifying illness, with it being important to show Rhaenyra at court for her succession.
© HBOThe family reunite in a moment of solidarity in the hours before the King’s death. However, on his deathbed, attended to by Alicent, Viserys mutters about Aegon being ‘the prince who was promised’, and Alicent assumes that he is referring to their son Aegon, and that he had changed his mind about the line of succession.
© HBOLuc’s death - and the beginning of the war
As such, the Hightowers place Aegon on the Iron Throne, while Rhaenyra discovers that she has been betrayed and goes about reclaiming her seat as the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
© HBOWhile negotiating peaceful terms, she sends her two sons out to bring their Bannerman to the cause. However, Luc runs afoul of Aemond during his travels, who attacks and kills him on dragon back, essentially ending any chance of peace between the two sanctions of the Targaryen dynasty, and sparking a war between ‘Team Black’ and ‘Team Green’.
© HBOOther important information
Princess Rhaenys and her husband, Corly Velaryon, are allies of Rhaenyra. Their grandchildren Rhaena and Baela are Daemon Targaryen's daughters whom he shared with his late wife, Laena Velaryon.
© HBOViserys and Alicent's son King Aegon married his sister, Queen Helaena, and on the show they share a son and a daughter, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera.
Larys Strong reports on secrets and gossip to Queen Alicent, and arranged the deaths of his father and brother, who is the father of Rhaenyra's children, Ser Harwin Strong.
© HBOMysaria is Daemon's ally and one-time paramour, who he pretended that he was wedded to, and that she was expecting his child, and using it as an excuse to steal a dragon egg. Shocked at his actions, Mysaria leaves to avoid landing in any trouble with the Targaryens, priding her safety above everything else.
© HBOSer Erryk Cargyll and Ser Arryk Cargyll are twins who are both in the Kingsguard. When Viserys dies, the pair chose opposing sides out of their own perspective of duty and honour.
Season two
Season two kicks things off almost immediately after the season one finale’s events, where Rhaenyra hasn’t been seen in weeks while trying to locate her son’s body, and ‘Team Green’ is trying to deal with the fallout of Aemond’s attack on Luc, with Alicent writing to Rhaenyra to apologise for the loss of her son.
© HBOWe won’t spoil anything else but we’d love to know, are you Team Green or Team Black?
