House of the Dragon is back. In Season 2 Episode
1, there’s bloody murder, and scandalous sex, while the realm is on the precipice of war. So
who are all these blond people, what happens, and what does it mean? This video has
no spoilers for future episodes – but includes extra info from the books and from
interviews to more deeply explore HOT D. In Season 1, the opening credits sequence showed the Targaryen bloodline in a model city.
Now there’s a new sequence of a tapestry, telling the story of Targaryen
history from ancient times to now. So it starts with Valyria, which was the empire
of the ancient dragonlords – the Targaryens, Velaryons and Celtigars
originally came from Valyria. This next image seems to be the
Valyrians using blood magic to bond with dragons or to create dragons – we’ll
talk about that at the end of this video. And this woman is Daenys Targaryen. Daenys
had a dream that Valyria would be destroyed, so the Targaryens moved to Dragonstone in
Westeros. Then, Valyria was destroyed in a mysterious fiery Doom. And the Targaryens
were the only dragonlords who survived. In a behind-the-scenes feature, a prop says that
Daenys the Dreamer was the first rider of the dragon Balerion, which is some cool new lore.
Next, we see Aegon Targaryen the First, “the Conqueror”, with his sister-wives Rhaenys
and Visenya. One hundred and thirty years before Hot D, Aegon took over Westeros. Aegon rode the
dragon Balerion – who was later ridden by Viserys, before Balerion died. Rhaenys’ dragon Meraxes was
killed in Dorne with a scorpion bolt. And Vhagar is still alive now, being ridden by Aemond.
In Aegon’s war of conquest, his dragons burned thousands of men – you can see this hand
sigil, which is the heraldry of House Gardener. The Gardeners ruled the Reach for thousands of
years – until the Targaryens burned them all, and they were replaced with the Tyrells.
This castle is Harrenhal – Aegon burned the castle and all its people, so
now the castle is said to be cursed. We see lords kneeling to Aegon – Queen
Sharra Arryn, King Torrhen Stark, and Edmyn Tully surrendered to Aegon. Aegon built King’s
Landing, and became the first King of Westeros. Aegon’s son King Maegor the Cruel was terrible,
and he mysteriously died on the Throne. But then King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne ruled
well. They built roads, reformed laws. Jaehaerys made peace with the Faith of the Seven,
represented by this star. And this gold could represent the prosperity of Jaehaerys’
reign. Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s dragons, Vermithor and Silverwing, are both still alive
– we saw Vermithor with Daemon last season. Next is the Harrenhal Council, which we saw at
the start of Season 1. This is when Jaehaerys’ grandson Viserys was chosen as heir to the Throne
– instead of Jaehaerys’ granddaughter Rhaenys. So in Season 1, Viserys was king, but his family
was divided. Viserys wanted his daughter Rhaenyra to rule Westeros after him. But Queen Alicent
and her family want her son Aegon to be king. Aegon’s supporters are called the greens,
and Rhaenyra’s supporters called the blacks. When Viserys died, the greens in King’s Landing
crowned Aegon. While the blacks on Dragonstone crowned Rhaenyra. Both sides ask the lords of the
realm to support them – the green send messenger ravens, and the blacks sent dragonriders. At the
end of Season 1, Rhaenyra’s son Luke was killed by Alicent’s son Aemond. Rhaenyra and Alicent
both hope to avoid more violence. But after years of lies and murder, war seems inevitable.
The sequence ends with blank tapestry, waiting for more history to be written. Last season, Heleana
said “spool of green, spool of black; dragons of flesh weaving dragons of thread” – the struggle of
the greens and blacks is interwoven with the last hundred years of Targaryen history. Their choices
will change Westeros – what will their legacy be? Last season, Rhaenyra’s eldest son Jacaerys,
called Jace, flew off on his dragon to meet potential allies. First, he went to the Eyrie in
the Vale, ruled by Lady Jeyne Arryn. Jeyne is an ancestor of the Arryns in Game of Thrones. And
Jeyne is a relative of Rhaenyra’s mother, Aemma Arryn. We don’t get to see Jeyne on-screen yet,
but she agreed to support Rhaenyra – in return, Jeyne wants a dragon to protect the Vale.
In the book, Jeyne sympathises with Rhaenyra because the men in Jeyne’s family have also
tried to steal her power. Jeyne’s cousin Arnold questioned her rule, so Jeyne imprisoned
him in a sky cell. She told Jace that “In this world of men, we women must band together”.
There are also.. rumours about Jeyne. Mushroom the randy dwarf claims that Jeyne demanded sexual
favours from Jace. That is probably not true, because Jeyne is likely gay.
But Jeyne allied with Rhaenyra. So then, in the book, Jace flew to Sweetsister,
an island of.. weirdos some of whom have webbed fingers like.. Lovecraft characters. The Lords
of the Sisters agreed to support Rhaenyra, but the Sistermen aren’t very powerful.
Then, in the book, Jace flew to White Harbor. White Harbor is the biggest city in the north,
ruled by House Manderley. Lord Desmond Manderley agreed to support Rhaenyra, on the condition that
her son Joffrey would marry Desmond’s daughter. Then, Jace flew to the north, ruled by
House Stark. The Lord of Winterfell is now Cregan Stark – an ancestor of Ned Stark,
and Sansa and Arya and Jon Snow. Cregan is a young man with heavy responsibilities.
In the book, Cregan’s father Rickon died when Cregan was thirteen. Cregan’s uncle tried
to take his power, so Cregan had to imprison his uncle and seize control of Winterfell.
In Season 1, Lord Rickon swore to support Rhaenyra. And Cregan wants to keep his
father’s oath. But winter is coming, and Cregan needs to help the Night’s Watch
defend the Wall – beyond the Wall are wildlings, and the legendary white walkers.
In the time of Game of Thrones, the Night’s Watch is weak, and not respected –
most of their recruits are criminals. But in the time of Hot D, the Watch is better-supported
– each winter, the Starks send ten percent of their own household to join the Watch. So Cregan
embodies Stark values of sacrifice and duty. Cregan and Jace discuss Torrhen Stark, the king
who surrendered to Aegon the Conqueror. There are theories about why Torrhen knelt. Maybe he was
just scared of Aegon’s dragons. But maybe Aegon told Torrhen about his dream of a darkness in the
north, and Torrhen united with the Targaryens to protect the realm from the white walkers.
Later, King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne visited the Wall. And, ominously, their dragons
refused to fly beyond the Wall. In the book, Alysanne was disturbed that Silverwing
disobeyed her. Maybe the dragon could sense the white walkers, and was afraid.
Alysanne also visited the Nightfort, the oldest and spookiest castle on the Wall. This is where
the legendary Night’s King married a corpse queen, and made sacrifices to white walkers. Alysanne
was so creeped out by the Nightfort that she paid to have it replaced with a new castle. That’s
why the Nightfort is abandoned when Bran’s there in Game of Thrones. Alysanne also helped the
Night’s Watch by giving them extra land, called the New Gift. So maybe Jaehaerys and Alysanne
helped the Watch because also knew about Aegon’s white walker dream. Then in Season 1, Viserys
told Rhaenyra about the dream. For hundreds of years the Targaryens remembered this duty – but
then in Game of Thrones, the dream is forgotten, and people think white walkers are a myth.
So Cregan keeps most of his strength in the north, but agrees to send two thousand older northmen to
help Rhaenyra. In the north there’s a tradition that old men will go die in battle so that their
families have fewer mouths to feed in winter. So Cregan’s old men might expect to never come home.
In the book, Cregan and Jace become close friends, drinking, hunting and training together.
Cregan had a brother who died. And Jace just lost his brother Luke. So Jace and
Cregan form a bond through duty and loss. There are also.. rumours in the book. Mushroom
says that Jace secretly married Cregan’s bastard half-sister Sara Snow – even though Jace is
betrothed to marry Baela. Mushroom also claims that Jace’s dragon Vermax left dragon eggs
at Winterfell. That stuff might be untrue. But Cregan and Jace formed an alliance between
Stark and Targaryen – a Pact of Ice and Fire. Rhaenys Targaryen returns to Dragonstone.
She’s the wife of Lord Corlys Velaryon, and she and her dragon have been helping
the Velaryons blockade the Gullet, so that the greens can’t get supplies by sea.
Daemon Targaryen is Rhaenyra’s husband and uncle. Daemon wants go kill Aemond and his dragon
Vhagar, to avenge the death of Luke. But Vhagar is the most powerful being alive, so Daemon wants
Rhaenys and her dragon to help him. But Rhaenys refuses to act without orders from Queen Rhaenyra,
and Rhaenyra is taking time off to grieve Luke. Daemon says “The mother grieves as the queen
shirks her duties” – Rhaenyra’s emotional needs clash with her political responsibilities. That’s
one of the main themes of this story – conflict between the personal and political, between
desires and duty. Work-life balance is hard! Daemon has also lost people. His brother
Viserys just died, and his stillborn child Visenya. But Daemon doesn’t stop to process
emotions, he just wants action – he wants violence. But without Rhaenyra, he’s can’t do
anything, so he’s so frustrated that he lashes out at his allies. Daemon blames Rhaenys for not
killing the greens in Season 1. But Rhaenys wants to end the war without murdering her cousins.
Daemon and Rhaenys are both powerful strong-willed people, and their tension’s intense. Actor Eve
Best says Rhaenys and Daemon are like “a panther” and an “electric eel” – a “dangerous combination”.
But they are family. Daemon’s dragon Caraxes was once Rhaenys’ father’s dragon. And
Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys was once Daemon’s mother’s dragon – so Daemon and Rhaenys
are connected, by fire and by blood. Rhaenyra flies to Shipbreaker Bay, where Aemond
and Vhagar killed Luke. Some fishermen found Luke’s cloak and his dragon’s wing.
So Rhaenyra weeps for her son. Luke was always the more vulnerable and sensitive
of her sons. He didn’t want political power, but Rhaenyra pushed him into it. Rhaenyra sent
Luke to Storm’s End, where he died. So Rhaenyra feels guilty. And she feels fury at Aemond.
The fishermen run from Rhaenyra’s dragon in terror. Last season, Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys killed
lots of innocent civilians – all those people were someone’s child. When high lords play the game of
thrones, civilians get caught in the crossfire. Lord Corlys Velaryon rules the island of
Driftmark. Last season, Corlys almost died in battle on the Stepstones, but now he finally
controls the Stepstones and the Narrow Sea. Corlys is sad at the death of Luke. Luke was
Corlys’ heir, set to inherit Driftmark. There was that whole ugly struggle for Driftmark
in Season 1 – Corlys’ brother Vaemond died so that Luke could be heir, but now Luke is
dead too. Corlys’ daughter Laena is dead, and his son Laenor believed dead. Most of Corlys’
family is dead, partly because of his relentless political ambition. His granddaughters Baela
and Rhaena are in danger, tied to Rhaenyra’s war. What will survive of Corlys’ legacy?
Corlys speaks with a sailor named Alyn, and thanks him for saving Corlys in the
Stepstones. Alyn seems.. distant uncomfortable. In the book, Alyn and his brother Addam grew up in
the shipyards of Hull, sailing from a young age. In the book, Alyn is just fourteen years old.
But in Hot D he’s an older, more experienced sailor. The actor, Abubakar Salim, says Alyn is
confident, and capable, but also “conflicted”. At King’s Landing, the greens build scorpions
– weapons that can kill dragons. Meraxes was once killed with a scorpion bolt. And in
Game of Thrones, a scorpion kills one of Daenerys’ dragons. But it’s not easy to
kill a dragon – and the blacks have like eight of them, while the greens only have four.
King Aegon Targaryen visits his sister-wife Queen Helaena. They have a daughter named Jaehaera, and
a son named Jaehaerys. In the book, Jaehaerys has six fingers on each hand. Maybe incest is bad!
Jaehaerys is Aegon’s heir, in line for the Throne, so Aegon wants to bring his kid to work,
so he can learn politics. Helaena says Jaehaerys might not want to be a king, but Aegon
doesn’t listen. Otto forced Alicent into politics, then Alicent forced Aegon into politics, now Aegon
forces Jaehaerys into politics. From generation to generation, the parents push their problems
and their trauma onto their kids. In the books, Tyrion says “We are puppets dancing on
the strings of those who came before us”. Helaena has dreams of the future – though
her visions are unclear. Her father Viserys also had prophetic dreams, and was
tormented trying to understand them. Last season, Helaena said Aemond would “close
an eye” – then, Aemond lost his eye. Helaena warned of “the beast beneath the boards” – then a
beastly dragon burst up from below. Now, Helaena is “afraid” of “The rats”. In behind-the-scenes
footage, we see that Helaena has made drawings of her dreams. There’s an image of Daenerys on
fire in Game of Thrones. And there are drawings of rats, including a rat-man with a crown. Rats
can be a metaphor for sneaky scheming people like Larys – could he be the rat king? Rats represent
the moral corruption of the royal family. And rats can also refer to the people creeping through the
Red Keep’s secret tunnels. Later this episode, a rat-catcher kills Helaena’s son Jaehaerys.
So Helaena is right to be afraid. But no one listens to her warnings. Helaena is like
Cassandra in Greek mythology – cursed with prophecies that no one believes.
Aegon doesn’t try to understand his wife, he just says she’s a “mystery” and leaves.
So Aegon continues to be a shitty husband. Queen mother Alicent Hightower has
secret forbidden sex with Criston Cole. After the cunnilingus they causally chat about the
weather – so it seems like they’ve been having sex for a while. How long has this been happening?
Actor Olivia Cooke says Alicent and Criston became closer after Viserys’ death, and may
have started having sex then. Alicent has been attracted to Criston ever since the beginning of
the series. And after her long exhausting marriage to the decrepit Viserys, Alicent finally gets to
experience a relationship of passionate desire. For years, Alicent did her duty, allowed
her body to be used by others – now she discovers pleasure “for herself”.
There’s a shot of Alicent’s foot – remember, last season, Larys masturbated to Alicent’s
feet to humiliate her. But with Criston, Alicent reclaims her body and her sexuality.
It’s all wonderfully liberating, but this relationship is also dangerous. Criston is a
Kingsguard, sworn to never have sex. Alicent is queen mother, she can’t have sex outside
marriage. And it’s particularly hypocritical for Alicent to break these rules. Alicent always
played the proper lady, a religious woman, who followed the rules of her society. Alicent and
Criston hated Rhaenyra for years because Rhaenyra had secret forbidden sex. But now Alicent and
Criston are doing the same thing. Having sex in the same room where Rhaenyra and Criston had sex.
How does Criston feel about this? In Season 1, Criston said he didn’t want to be Rhaenyra’s
secret lover, her “whore”. Is he comfortable being Alicent’s secret lover? Does he feel obligated to
obey his queen? If anyone finds out about this, Criston could be tortured and killed.
Alicent puts Criston’s Kingsguard cloak back on. Last season, Rhaenyra said Alicent’s
“righteousness” is a cloak, her moral superiority is a lie. How is her side more deserving
of victory when she’s entangled in secrets, adultery and murder, just like Rhaenyra?
Otto notices that Alicent and Criston arrive together at council – does
he suspect they’re having sex? The green council has a new map, as though
the game of thrones is a strategy board game. All across the realm, lords are taking
sides. Cregan in the north and Jeyne in the Vale are supporting Rhaenyra. But Borros
Baratheon supports Aegon – because last season, Aemond agreed to marry Borros’ daughter.
Jason Lannister in the westerlands also supports Aegon – Jason is the brother of
Tyland Lannister on the green council. So Jason rallies Lannister forces at the Golden Tooth.
Aegon is also supported by House Hightower, who are now led by Lord Ormund Hightower. Previously,
the Lord of Oldtown was Otto’s brother, Hobert Hightower. So apparently Hobert has died
and been replaced by his son. Last season, Hobert pressured Otto to push their family’s ambitions.
How does Otto feel now that his brother is dead? Orwyle suggests that they ally with Dalton
Greyjoy, who rules the Iron Islands – he’s an ancestor of Theon Greyjoy. The ironborn are
great sailors, and could help counter the Velaryon fleet. Though Dalton is a loose cannon – in the
books he’s called the “Red Kraken”, and he’s just sixteen, but he’s famously bloodthirsty.
At the centre of Westeros are the riverlands – Aegon and Aemond want to take Harrenhal, and force
the riverlords to support them. But Alicent warns that Rhaenyra’s dragons are too dangerous. She and
Otto tell Aegon to wait and gather more allies. We see Aegon’s affection for his son Jaehaerys.
Aegon is a bad person – he raped Dyana, he neglects his bastards. So the actor
Tom Glynn-Carney says it’s interesting to explore how this twisted person is capable
of love. Aegon never got much love from his own parents. Viserys hit Aegon. Alicent hit
Aegon. Otto hit Aegon. So with Jaehaerys, Aegon is trying to be the loving father that
he never had. He tries to include Jaehaerys in politics, like Viserys never included Aegon.
But Aegon encourages bad behaviour in Jaehaerys. Together, they humiliate Tyland, and
say Jaehaerys should ride Tyland, as though Tyland Lannister is ahorse.
Alicent joins in in shaming Tyland. Alicent has often been permissive of
Aegon’s cruelty. So again bad behaviour is passed down from generation to generation.
Larys Strong is the Lord Confessor – the official torturer. Larys has ways of knowing things, and
he feeds information to Alicent. But Larys tells Alicent that he knows she was having sex with
Criston, which is a deadly secret. Last season, Larys implicated Alicent in the deaths of
Lyonel and Harwin. He has dirt on her. So if she doesn’t give him what he wants,
he could get her in serious trouble. Last season, Alicent told Larys to try to
kill Mysaria, because Mysaria had spies in the Red Keep. Now, Larys says he has removed
Mysaria’s spies, and has replaced them with new people – who are probably spying for Larys.
But Larys does not remove the ratcatcher Cheese, who does know Mysaria, and who kills Jaehaerys
this episode. Was this a mistake by Larys, did he not know that Cheese knew Mysaria, or
does Larys allow Cheese to kill Jaehaerys? Because Larys replaced the staff,
Alicent no longer has her old maids, like Talya. What did Larys do to Talya? The
new maids are all Larys’ people, and Alicent doesn’t trust them, so she sends them away.
She scrubs herself in the bath, trying to get clean. She feels dirty working with the evil
murderer Larys, and for breaking Criston’s oath. She feels guilty for the death of Luke, and
for putting her awful rapist son on the Throne. Alicent tells herself this’ll all be worth it,
that she’ll guide the Throne for the greater good, but can Alicent ever feel morally clean again? She
“feels more alone” and “more paranoid than ever”. Aegon sits the Throne. This is what
the greens are fighting for – all those murders and plots and lies were so
Aegon could rule – so.. is he worth it? Last season, Aegon loved being adored by the
people. They give him the love that he never got from his family. So Aegon tries to be good to
his people. He says he’ll give a peasant all his taxes back. So then Otto has to explain that the
government needs taxes to pay for things – Aegon has clearly never thought about politics before.
Will he do the work to learn to be a good king? We meet a blacksmith called Hugh, who’s helping
the greens build scorpions. In the book, Hugh is called Hugh the Hammer, and he’s
described as a “brute”. But in Hot D, Hugh is a dutiful father – the official website says he’s
“trying to make ends meet for his sick daughter”. It’s a reminder that while the royal family
squabbles, there are thousands of people who depend on the king for.. governance,
security, prudent economic management. Will Aegon provide this to his people?
Larys flatters Aegon by comparing him to King Jaehaerys. It’s funny to
compare the great and wise Jaehaerys to the incompetent Aegon on his first day.
But Larys says Viserys was “controlled” and manipulated by Otto – which is kinda true.
Larys says Aegon should have a different Hand of the King. Larys is pushing Aegon
to follow his impulses, which could make this war worse. Like Littlefinger, Larys
uses chaos and conflict to gain power. Alicent is frustrated that Otto undermined her
at council – when Otto complained that Alicent refused to kill Rhaenyra. Alicent needs Aegon
and Aemond to respect and obey her. Cause she wants to influence Aegon, rule through him,
so that Alicent can finally have real power. Last season, Rhaenys said that Alicent’s attempts
at power are an illusion – only a “window” in her “prison”, in this world dominated by men. In
this scene, there’s a prominent window in the dark room. So will Alicent get real power? She
wants to minimise violence, but her sons want war. The Velaryon blockade captures Mysaria, on
her way out from King’s Landing. Last season, Larys burned Mysaria’s house, but she
survived. Or maybe Larys let her go. Previously, Mysaria worked in a brothel, and
she and Daemon were lovers. But Daemon put her in danger with his.. tantrum on Dragonstone. So
Mysaria became a spymaster, and sold information to Otto. It was probably Mysaria who got Daemon
exiled by telling Otto about Daemon’s ‘heir for a day’ speech, and about his hookup with Rhaenyra.
So Daemon’s angry that Mysaria helped his enemy. Mysaria says that she’s common-born, she
doesn’t have the power and protection Prince Daemon does. She just did what she had
to do to survive...Though we know that Mysaria has deeper goals. Last season, Mysaria told
Otto to close the child fighting pits. Will Mysaria keep fighting to protect common people?
Erryk Cargyll is a Kingsguard – he used to be the sworn protector of Aegon. But he saw how terrible
Aegon is, so Erryk bravely left the greens, and left his twin brother Arryk, and came to
help Rhaenyra instead. He made a tough moral choice. How can he keep his oath to the royal
family when the royal family is fighting itself? In Game of Thrones, Jaime Lannister faces similar
dilemmas – he broke his oath to kill the Mad King, and was forever hated for his most heroic act.
Daemon just gets mad at Erryk for not killing Aegon. Daemon seems really
determined to piss off all his allies. Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone, full of grief
and fury. She says she wants Aemond, the man who killed her son. And this is the only line
Rhaenyra says in this whole episode. The actor Emma D’Arcy says Rhaenyra is almost ashamed that
she wants revenge. She wants to be merciful and ethical, but inside she has that violent Targaryen
fire that she shares with Daemon. That’s why they got married. And we know how destructive that
fire can be. Rhaenyra looks similar to Daenerys in Game of Thrones before she burns King’s
Landing. Will Rhaenyra’s rage bring destruction? Jace returns from the north. He tries
to tell Rhaenyra of their new alliances, but.. breaks down crying. How can you be a
prince and a grieving brother at the same time? How can Rhaenyra be a wartime queen
and a grieving mother? In a political world, it’s hard to find space for human emotion.
They hold a funeral for Luke. They don’t have his body, so they burn his possessions. Rhaenyra
just had a funeral for her unborn child Visenya. And her father Viserys just died. Emma D’Arcy
says Rhaenyra is “devastated” with “grief”, and needs to find a way to travel
back “to the world of the living”. Joffrey is the youngest son of Rhaenyra and
Harwin. He holds this horse toy, which had been Luke’s in Season 1. In the book, Joffrey swears
“a terrible oath of vengeance” against Aemond, and his family have to stop Joffrey from flying
off on his dragon to get revenge. In the book, Joffrey is eleven years old, and he seems younger
in the show. But he still has his dragon Tyraxes. Will he join the war that killed his brother?
We see Rhaena crying at the funeral. She was betrothed to marry Luke and to rule
Driftmark with him. What is her future now? Alicent also grieves. She prays for her mother,
and we learn that her mother’s name is Alyrie Florent. We don’t know much about Alyrie, but
according to interviews Alyrie was religious. After Alyrie died of illness, Alicent uses
faith to feel connected to her mother. Alicent also lights a candle for Viserys.
Viserys’ bad choices created this conflict. And Viserys subjected Alicent to marital rape.
But Alicent still has love for her dead husband. Finally, Alicent lights a candle for Luke. In
Season 1, Alicent once tried to cut out Luke’s eyeball. But she’s cooled down since then, and she
sympathises for Rhaenyra’s loss, mother to mother. This sept is the same place where Alicent and
Rhaenyra once shared their feelings. Last season, they were so close to rekindling that friendship.
Now we see that these candles still burn, connecting Alicent to Rhaenyra’s fire.
Can Alicent and Rhaenyra reunite? Aemond and Criston want violence.
They discuss the crownlands, the area around King’s Landing. Many of
the minor lords here support Rhaenyra. So Criston and Aemond want to attack them.
They wanna go to Rosby and Stokeworth, and to use Aemond’s dragon to convince those
lords to help them fight the rebels. We saw Castle Stokeworth in Game of Thrones, when
Bronn almost married Lollys Stokeworth. Aemond is frustrated that Alicent blames him for
killing Luke. He says Alicent started this war by crowning Aegon not Rhaenyra. Criston defends
Alicent, but seems uncomfortable – Criston is secretly having sex with Aemond’s mother.
How would Aemond react if he found out? Otto appears and is angry that Aemond
and Criston are plotting without him, and again tells them not to act yet. The greens
are increasingly divided. On the brink of war, can this family hold together?
Aegon has new friends – Martyn Reyne, Leon Estermont, and Eddard “Red Ned”
Waters. A hundred years from now, House Reyne is destroyed by Tywin Lannister –
that’s what the song the Reynes of Castamere is about. House Estermont is from the stormlands
– Robert, Stannis and Renly’s mother is an Estermont. And Waters is a bastard name – Red Ned
must be the bastard of some crownlands nobleman. Now that Aegon is king, he attracts courtiers,
flatterers.. brownnoses, people who befriend the king and try to get stuff from him. Leon declares
Aegon “the Magnanimous”, and “the Generous”, then asks him more wine. What influence
will Martyn Leon and Ned have on the king? They ask what Aegon’s royal epithet should
be. Like, Aegon the First was “the Conqueror”. Maegor was “the Cruel”. Jaehaerys
was “the Conciliator”. How will Aegon be remembered? He likes “the Dragoncock”.
While Rhaenyra grieves for her son, Daemon plans to murder a son. He puts on his mischief hoodie
and sneaks into King’s Landing. Daemon is let inside by a gold cloak – a City Watch man. Cause
Daemon was once Commander of the Watch, he gave them their gold cloaks. He held parties for the
gold cloaks, and used them as his personal army. Otto planned he’d remove gold cloaks
who are loyal to Daemon, but there are still gold cloaks who love their old commander.
Mysaria told Daemon about a certain rat-catcher at the Keep. In the book, this guy is called Cheese.
Earlier, we saw Cheese working in the Keep – it’s normal for him to be there, so he won’t
attract suspicion. And Cheese knows the Red Keep’s secret passages. These passages
were built by King Maegor the Cruel. Then Maegor killed the builders so no one would know about the
passages. Daemon and Rhaenyra used the passages in Season 1. And Erryk did with Rhaenys. So
now Cheese will use them to enter the Keep. Daemon also sends a gold cloak named Blood. And
he tells the men to kill Aemond, to avenge the death of Luke. Cheese says “What if we can't find”
Aemond, and then the scene ends. What did Daemon say? It seems that Daemon replied “A son for a
son” suggesting that if they can’t find Aemond, they should kill his innocent nephew Jaehaerys
instead. We don’t know for sure if that’s what Daemon said. Showrunner Ryan Condal says
it’s “open to interpretation”. But it sure seems like Daemon ordered the death of an
innocent child. And this is surely not what Rhaenyra wants. Daemon is defying his queen,
pushing his own desire to escalate this war. So Blood and Cheese enter the Keep. And their
mission does not go to plan. Ryan Condal says it’s “a heist gone wrong” by two “incompetent”
hitmen. Cheese sees this mural of the burning of Harrenhal – a reminder of what Targaryens
do to their enemies. So Blood and Cheese don’t find Aemond, but they do find Helaena
and her children Jaehaera and Jaehaerys. It’s surprising that there aren’t guards in the
Keep stopping Blood and Cheese. Maybe that’s because the Kingsguard Criston is busy having
sex with the queen. It’s like in Season 1, where Criston was absent while the royal children fought
– maybe he was having sex with Alicent then, too. Another explanation is that Larys just
removed a bunch of the Red Keep staff, and replaced them with his own people
– maybe Larys allowed this to happen. In the book, Blood and Cheese have a smarter
plan. They can’t get to Helaena and Aegon cause security’s too good. But they can get into
Alicent’s room, by climbing up inside the walls of a tower. So they capture Alicent, then
they wait for Helaena, because they know that Helaena and her kids visit Alicent each night.
In Hot D, Blood and Cheese can’t tell the difference between the boy Jaehaerys and the girl
Jaehaera. It’s like how Cersei and Jaime looked the same as kids. In the books, Cersei wondered
– if boys and girls look the same, why are they treated differently? Why are boys worth more?
Blood and Cheese force Helaena to tell them which of her children is male. Blood says
she’s lying, but Cheese looks in her eyes, and lowers his knife, and says “She's telling
true”. It’s darkly ironic that the one person who listens to Helaena and believes her is the man
who murders her son. Helaena’s family don’t listen to her. But Cheese sees that she speaks truth.
Then he murders Jaehaerys in front of his mother. In the book, it’s different. In the book, Blood
kills some guards and a maid. And they corner Helaena along with her three children Jaehaera
Jaehaerys and Maelor. Maelor is another son of Aegon and Helaena, who doesn’t yet exist
on Hot D. In the book, Blood and Cheese make Helaena choose which of her sons they will
kill. Helaena chooses the youngest, Maelor, so, cruelly, Blood kills Jaehaerys instead – and tells
Maelor his mother wants him dead, making this as traumatic as possible. Blood and Cheese could also
kill Helaena and Alicent, but they choose not to, leaving them alive to remember the horror.
In the show, Helaena runs to her mother, and finds Alicent having sex with Criston.
The final shot is of Alicent’s face learning her grandson was murdered. Just like how
last season ended with Rhaenyra learning her son was killed. Is peace possible now?
Alicent might think that Rhaenyra ordered this. Helaena might blame Alicent and Criston
for not guarding her. Aegon will be furious that his beloved son was killed. And Rhaenyra
might be furious at Daemon. This murder could create division not just between the greens and
the blacks, but also within. Each act of violence tears this family further apart. And when the
house of the dragon feuds, the realm burns. Let’s talk about the weird part of the tapestry.
But first, this video was sponsored by.. Alt Schwift X? My bastard half-brother Alt Schwift
X made a twenty-three-hour-long video about Jon Snow with Glidus. They also made ten videos
discussing Hot D Season 1, and now they’re making weekly videos about Season 2. This is fifty hours
of brand new dragon talk, and you can watch these videos now on Nebula. Nebula is an independent
video site owned by creators, where we can make ambitious projects that can’t be uploaded anywhere
else. Nebula has exclusive Originals from creators like Isaac Arthur, Tale Foundry and Lindsay Ellis.
Lindsay has that Lord of the Rings documentary, and a new one about John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
And there’s Philosophy Tube by Abigail Thorn. Abigail’s award-winning play, The Prince, is on
Nebula, along with her upcoming movie Dracula’s Ex Girlfriend. And Abigail is in House of the Dragon
Season 2, playing Triarchy admiral Sharako Lohar. So to support Alt Shift X and Glidus and.. Grand
Admiral Sharako Lohar, and to watch fifty hours of Schwift and Glidus talking dragons, sign up to
Nebula at the link below, nebula.tv/AltShiftX. Or nebula.tv/AltSchwiftX. Choose your side!
Using the link you can get an annual plan for just two dollars fifty a month. It’s a
great way to support Alt Shift X. Thanks. So the new opening sequence starts with
Valyria, then shows this strange scene. It looks like a dragon with wings of fire
and.. a human head? The books hint that the Valyrians created dragons through blood magic.
Possibly by taking wyverns and imbuing them with fire. Viserys mentioned the blood mages last
season. And in the books the Valyrians bred humans with beasts to create hybrid half-human
creatures. In Hot D there are murals of humans having sex with dragons. Targaryens believe
that they are “descended from dragons”, and have “the blood of the dragon”. Rhaenyra
and Daenerys birth dragon-like babies, as though the Targaryens have some.. dragon DNA.
So this image hints at some of the weirdest deep lore in Game of Thrones. That the dragons and
Targaryens are bound in blood by black magic and inter-breeding. These black candles might be
glass candles, Valyrian artifacts that let people see across distance and enter peoples’ dreams.
These people might be Azor Ahai and Nissa Nissa – according to legend, the sacrifice
of Nissa Nissa created a flaming sword, which might be a metaphor for creating
dragons. This dagger might be Aegon’s blade, which we’ve seen throughout the series – Viserys
said that this blade dates back to Valyria. Maybe this blade was used for the sacrifice of Nissa
Nissa, that created the bond with the dragons, thousands of years before that blade was used
to destroy the white walkers. This is just all speculation. But Hot D is revealing surprising
new lore. What other secrets will we learn? Thanks for watching. We’re making
weekly videos for each episode of Hot D, and we are livestreaming right after
each episode airs at 10:10pm Eastern time Sundays. So like and subscribe and press
the bell. You can listen to the livestreams as audio on podcast apps and Spotify, links in
the description. Thank you to the Patrons, including Frida Isachsen, Johannes Skov, Erik
Nilsson, Kate, gay_frogs, and Ecologal. Cheers.
