Every tenth able-bodied man sent to the Night's Watch.
Jace Velaryon treats with Lord Cregan Stark at the Wall. Cregan explains how it is the duty of the North to defend the rest of the Seven Kingdoms from whatever lies beyond it: for thousands of years condemned men were sent to join the Night's Watch, but after the peace brought by the Targaryen unification, Torrhen Stark began a tradition where at the start of winter all the able-bodied men draw lots to send one in every ten to take the black.
Jace urges Cregan to declare for his mother Rhaenyra Targaryen in the coming civil war, to end it quickly before the realm is torn apart. Cregan appreciates how diplomatic Jace has been, instead of threatening him with his dragon, but explains how his attention is divided between north and south. Winter will bring wildling raids and possibly worse from the lands beyond the Wall, so he is hesitant to send most of his soldiers south. Cregan remembers stories of when old King Jaehaerys I Targaryen and his sister-wife Alysanne visited the Wall in his father's time, and even their dragons instinctively feared to cross it. A Stark traditionalist, he believes the old legends that the massive 700 foot tall wall of ice spanning from one coast of the continent to the other was built for more than just keeping out savages: it was meant to keep out "death."
Jace and Cregan at the Wall.
Still, at Jace's urging, Cregan says the Starks will not abandon the oaths that his father swore that Rhaenyra is the rightful heir of her father Viserys I. He cannot send many men, but as a compromise, he will send a few thousand "greybeards." Jace asks if they can still fight, and Cregan clarifies that while they are a bit elderly they will be experienced veterans, unafraid to fight and die.
At Dragonstone, Rhaenys Targaryen returns on her dragon Meleys from patrolling the waters of the Gullet, as part of the Velaryon fleet's naval blockade of King's Landing. As soon as she dismounts, her first cousin Daemon Targaryen appears and insists that she take to the air again with him immediately: he admits that Aemond's dragon Vhagar would beat his dragon Caraxes in a one on one fight, but if the two large adult dragons Caraxes and Meleys team up against her they might have a chance. Rhaenys scoffs, as not only is this still implausible, both she and her dragon have just been flying for hours and need to rest.
Daemon and Rhaenys.
Daemon complains that Rhaenyra should be there with them, but instead she has flown off on her dragon Syrax. Rhaenys counters that Rhaenyra feels compelled as a mother to find physical confirmation that Luke is dead. She recalls her own reaction after she received news that her daughter Laena — Daemon's own wife — had died, and it only seemed real after she saw what was left of her remains.
Venting his anger at the recent deaths of his brother, daughter, and Luke, Daemon blames Rhaenys, insisting Luke would still be alive if she had killed all the Greens at Aegon II's coronation. She sees past this and says that Rhaenyra urged restraint, then walks away. Daemon declares that he is ordering her to take flight with him to fight Vhagar, but without breaking her stride she quips "Would that you were the king" and leaves.
On Driftmark
Corlys and Alyn.
At the docks of Driftmark, Lord Corlys Velaryon comes to inspect the repairs on his flagship, the Sea Snake, which was badly damaged in the same ambush by the Triarchy that left him near-mortally wounded. Workmen have only just begun clearing away all of the debris and washing out dried blood from the decks. Corlys checks in with one of his soldiers overseeing the repair work, Alyn of Hull, who says that it will take weeks to restore the vessel. Corlys says they need more ships to maintain the blockade of the Gullet, and Alyn says that he will ask his brother what the shipwrights can do to help. Alyn then presents Corlys with a new dagger that the smiths delivered, which gives him pause as he had commissioned it weeks ago for his heir Luke. Alyn shares his condolences, calling Lucerys's murder "the blackest of treacheries". Corlys notes he was told it was Alyn who personally jumped into the sea to save him after his throat was slashed and he fell overboard in the ambush, and that he owes him a great debt, but Alyn says he was just doing his duty.
The Green Council
In King's Landing, the Red Keep's garrison, commanded by Ser Arryk Cargyll, panic as a sentry shouts warning of an approaching dragon. The troops points scorpions skyward until the dragon is identified as Vhagar, with Arryk ordering the men to stand down.
King Aegon II Targaryen visits the royal chamber of his sister-wife Helaena Targaryen, looking to bring his young son Jaehaerys with him to the Small Council meeting, so he can learn to rule himself as his heir. Helaena reacts awkwardly and says Jaehaerys might not want to be king one day, but reluctantly informs her brother-husband that Jaehaerys is in the castle library, as is his custom. As he leaves, Helaena says she is afraid: not of dragon attacks, but of the "rats". This confuses Aegon and her handmaids, as there are no rats around.
Alicent and Criston
In her private chambers, the recently widowed Alicent Hightower has started having sex with Criston Cole of the Kingsguard. After she finishes, they awkwardly dress and she says they can't do it again.
Aegon smiles at his young son Jaehaerys at the Green Council.
The Greens' Small Council then convenes for a lengthy meeting. Hand of the KingOtto Hightower summarizes that his nephew Ormund Hightower is raising the armies of Oldtown and will soon march north to the Riverlands, while Tyland Lannister relates that his twin brother Jason is assembling the combined armies of the Westerlands at the Golden Tooth. Aemond's recently negotiated betrothal to Floris Baratheon has also won over the Stormlands to the Greens' side. They have received no response, however, to the letters they sent to Winterfell and the Eyrie, so it must be assumed that the Starks and Arryns have declared for Rhaenyra. Dragonstone and Driftmark are also not responding to their letters, but given that the Velaryon fleet is still enforcing a blockade of the city, it seems clear that after her son's death Rhaenyra's only course of action now is war.
Young Jaehaerys keeps taking Tyland's meeting-marker.
Young Jaehaerys keeps taking Tyland's meeting-marker to play with, to his annoyance, but Aegon only smiles and encourages him – even offering that Tyland should give him a pony ride on his shoulders, before Alicent says they need to focus on important issues. Aegon playfully tells Jaehaerys to run along. It is brought up that they need to secure strength at sea to counter the Velaryon blockade: Tyland says they are raising the Lannister and Hightower fleets but they won't be enough on their own. Grand MaesterOrwyle suggests that they might try to secure the allegiance of young Lord Dalton Greyjoy by offering him a seat on the council as the new Master of Ships (Tyland's former position, left vacant after he replaced the murdered Lyman Beesbury as Master of Coin).
Aemond at the Green Council.
They are then interrupted by Aemond Targaryen entering the chamber. Alicent is upset with him for killing Luke and asks who invited him, as he has no seat on the Council. Aegon says he himself did, as Aemond is his brother and their finest sword. Aemond walks over to their war map and observes that any attack on King's Landing will have to come through the Riverlands, so securing the support of its lords is vitally important. Harrenhal in particular should be their main objective, as it is the largest castle in the Riverlands and Rhaenyra's supporters will try to use it as a staging area. Aegon says that he and Aemond will ride Vhagar and Sunfyre out to the Riverlands as a show of strength, and if old Lord Grover Tully or any of his vassals refuse to bend the knee he'll burn them and the rest will fall in line, adding as an afterthought that they can burn out the Velaryon blockade as well.
Alicent and Otto at the Green Council.
Alicent and even Criston disagree. Criston points out that Aegon would be personally riding his dragon and can't risk exposing himself to enemy fire. Alicent bluntly points out that they can't send Vhagar, because they need their dragons in King's Landing to act as a deterrent against Rhaenyra attacking with her dragons, glaring at Aemond as she says so (since his actions have made a retaliatory attack from the Blacks more likely). With their dragons stalemated, both sides will have to fight with conventional armies.
Aegon asks why they didn't just kill Rhaenyra when they had the chance. Otto shoots Alicent a look - as he had secretly wanted to send assassins before Rhaenyra even learned her father was dead – but says that unfortunately that opportunity has now passed, and now they must patiently gather allies and assemble their armies. Otto tries to reassure the displeased Aegon that their diplomatic efforts will continue to bear fruit, as Aegon having tradition and historical precedent on his side will sway many lords.
Alicent and Larys.
After the meeting ends, Alicent is approached by Larys Strong, the Clubfoot, who informs her that he and his torturers have finished interrogating all of the castle servants and he believes he has rooted out all of the spies (who were selling information to brokers such as Mysaria). She asks what he did with the spies he discovered, and he says they no longer breathe their air. Larys assures her that he has replaced the castle staff with new servants of proven loyalty – his own agents. Alicent is left worried that she cannot fully trust these new servants either, as extensions of Larys, so she sends them away and insists on bathing and clothing herself.
Rhaenyra at Shipbreaker Bay
Rhaenyra finds Arrax's severed wing on the beach.
At Shipbreaker Bay, within sight of Storm's End, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen has spent days flying on her dragon searching for physical proof of her son's death. Finally, she spots the crew of a small fishing boat hauling in their nets, shouting with excitement that they have found a torn piece of a dragon's wing. Rhaenyra lands Syrax in their midst without saying a word and they scatter in terror. Rhaenyra rushes to their nets and sees the torn wing of Arrax. On closer inspection, she finds Luke's torn cloak stuck to part of the wing: her son is indeed dead. Rhaenyra breaks down crying, and Syrax shares a roar of anguish.
Aegon hears petitions
Aegon enters the throne room to hear petitions.
Back at the Red Keep, Aegon II formally sits on the Iron Throne to hear the daily petitions from commoners of the city. He is flanked by his cronies Martyn Reyne, Leon Estermont, and "Red Ned" Waters. Aegon is polite and even sympathetic to the petitioners, as he desperately wants approval as a good king, but he is inexperienced at rule and his grandfather Otto keeps correcting him.
First, a shepherd named Jerard comes forward and says that the crown has taken a tenth of his flock, but this is a hardship now that summer has just ended. Aegon wants to just give him back his sheep, but Otto interjects that they recently started a tithe on all flocks in the Crownlands because their dragons need to eat more when they are more active in wartime or on patrol. He says if they return one shepherd's flock they'd all want their flocks returned. Aegon still meekly asks if they could just give this one shepherd his flock back, because he came all this way and Aegon would appear callous to deny him, but Otto insists he must.
Otto keeps correcting the inexperienced Aegon
Second, a guildmaster pleads that the city's main source of salt is overseas shipments from Essos, which are now cut off by the Velaryon blockade. With summer ending, it is vital that they have salt to preserve food to last in winter. Aegon quickly says that he has already ordered Vhagar to burn out the Velaryon blockade and it won't last long enough to be a problem, then moves on.
Third, a large blacksmith named Hugh explains that the city's armorers are happy to support him against Rhaenyra, but due to the blockade the price of iron has risen. Moreover, it takes weeks to build a single scorpion, during which time they can't do other work. He suggests that it would do much to ease their suffering if the crown could pay them in advance. Otto moves to interject again, but Aegon firmly says the smiths will be paid because his cause relies on their weapons.
Aegon and his lickspittles Martyn and Leon.
Aegon commiserates with his toadies "Red Ned" and Leon after a stressful day hearing petitions.
After the day's petitions, Aegon and his companions walk back through the Red Keep, but he is pulled aside by Larys Strong for a private talk at the atrium balcony. Larys suggests to Aegon that he is seen as his grandfather's puppet but doesn't really need him.
That evening, Otto returns to his chambers in the Tower of the Hand following the day's petitions to find Alicent waiting for him. She angrily asks him if they're working towards the same goal; namely victory. When Otto asks how she defines victory, Alicent replies that in her mind, victory is Rhaenyra bending the knee and Aegon ruling peacefully as Viserys wished. Otto agrees that is his view as well, and Alicent insists he needs to work with her, even if he's frustrated at the decisions she's made following Viserys's death, not undermine her in front of her sons, otherwise they will stop heeding her counsel altogether.
Otto agrees that he must work with Alicent to rein in her sons.
Alicent also vents her anger at Aemond for destroying their diplomatic efforts to convince Rhaenyra to submit peacefully by killing Lucerys, no matter how justified he felt over exacting retribution for the loss of his eye. Otto admits Lucerys's death was a mistake, but defends his grandson's loyalty to their cause. Alicent notes that Aegon still heeds them, and once the novelty of ruling has worn off for him, they can direct their cause to victory as they see best. Otto agrees, but warns Alicent that the path to victory is now one of violence, as the Blacks surely won't accept a peaceful resolution following Lucerys's death. Alicent replies that she knows that, but it doesn't mean the Greens must sink to wanton brutality.
Three returns to Dragonstone
In Blackwater Bay, the Velaryon fleet intercepts one of the last ships leaving King's Landing. Ser Erryk Cargyll of Rhaenyra's Queensguard leads a boarding party to search the hold for stowaways, and finds a bedraggled Mysaria, who managed to escape Larys's agents burning her house. They recognize each other, as Erryk was present alongside his twin brother when Mysaria met with Otto to negotiate the return of Aegon. He has her taken back to Dragonstone and presented to Daemon, who furiously asks how long she has been Otto's agent. She explains that she has been selling secrets to Otto for as along as he had gold to pay for them, but this was entirely transactional and she has no loyalty to him. When he accuses that she returned Aegon so he could be crowned, she says that either the Hightowers would have found him or Aegon would have returned to the Red Keep for gold and respite sooner or later; she merely profited from expediting the matter. Daemon furiously shouts that in doing so, Mysaria contributed to Rhaenyra's throne being usurped and her son being murdered. Unfazed by Daemon's anger, Mysaria retorts he is only lashing out at her because those he wants to hurt are beyond his reach. Daemon demands to know what else she knows of Otto's plans; when Mysaria insists she knows nothing, as her arrangement with Otto was strictly business, Daemon storms out, commanding that she be put in a prison cell and treated as a traitor. Erryk tries to speak up in Mysaria's defense, insisting she is telling the truth: he was there and she was trying to extort Otto. Unappeased, Daemon then rounds on Erryk, demanding to know why Erryk didn't kill Aegon when he had the chance either, to which Erryk says his duty was conflicted as he had taken holy vows to defend the entire royal family, and his vows didn't specify what to do when the royal family was split down the middle.
"I want Aemond Targaryen."
They are interrupted by the sight of Syrax returning to the castle. Rhaenyra dismounts from Syrax at the stables but in a state of shock, and she numbly walks through the entire castle to the Chamber of the Painted Table without saying a word. As she slowly walks toward the table she ignores Rhaenys's report on the blockade and Daemon's request to seize Harrenhal with his dragon. Finally she faces the council and says only four words: "I want Aemond Targaryen."
Jace returns to his mother from his journey north.
Soon afterward, Rhaenyra's son Jace then returns from his journey north. He reports to his mother in their private chambers: his mission was a success, and both the Starks and Arryns will declare for her. Choking back tears, he says that Jeyne Arryn requested a dragon be sent to the Eyrie for its defense, and Cregan Stark is sending 2,000 men, before words fail him mid-sentence, as he and his mother fall into each others' arms sobbing over Luke's death.
Funeral, prayers, and plots
Rhaenyra, Jace, and Joffrey at Luke's funeral.
Rhaenyra and her family hold a funeral for Luke at the mountain-top Valyrian altar on Dragonstone. Having no surviving body to cremate, they burn his clothing and belongings. Rhaena Targaryen weeps, as Luke was her betrothed.
At the same time, Alicent visits the Grand Sept in King's Landing. As is her custom, she lights votive prayer candles for the departed: her long dead mother Alyrie Florent, her recently deceased husband King Viserys, and (after some hesitation) a third one for Lucerys Velaryon.
Alicent lights prayer candles.
Daemon then visits Mysaria in her prison cell, demanding to know what spies she still has in King's Landing who would know both a way into the Red Keep and the comings and goings of its inhabitants, but she is unwilling to play his highborn games anymore. Acknowledging this, he presents a simple transaction: he will release her in exchange for information.
Blood and Cheese
Daemon sneaks into King's Landing and hires assassins.
Daemon sneaks into King's Landing, rowed in on a fishing boat at night. As the former commander of the City Watch he knows the ins and outs of the city and finds one of his loyal former gold cloaks (nicknamed "Blood"). They then visit a ratcatcher (nicknamed "Cheese") recommended by Mysaria who works in the Red Keep and knows all the ins and outs of the secret tunnels built at the order of King Maegor the Cruel. Daemon says he wants to hire them to assassinate Aemond One-Eye in the royal apartments: half the payment in advance, half after they bring back his head. Cheese asks what they should do if they can't find Aemond when they get there – at which Daemon has a wry grin.
Blood and Cheese sneak through the secret tunnels.
Blood and Cheese then sneak into the Red Keep by going in through the sewers, which connect to the secret tunnels. They exit near the throne room, where Aegon is drinking with his cronies after a stressful day of petitions. Cheese says to just calmly walk across the back of the chamber; all the guards and servants simply assume that they must have permission to be there otherwise they wouldn't have been let through the main gate (not knowing they really came in through the secret tunnels).
Criston and Aemond plan to attack Rosby and Stokeworth.
In the upper floors, Aemond and Criston are going over a map on their own, and decide that Rosby and Stokeworth would be good targets, because they're small castles in the shadow of King's Landing that would quickly surrender if faced with a dragon and add their levies to Aegon's. Criston agrees, and suggests they could petition King Aegon privately to be allowed such a campaign, but Aemond dismisses the idea, insisting Aegon is beholden to Alicent and Otto, who are still convinced war can be avoided. Aemond also bitterly complains that Alicent is blaming him for starting the war in earnest by killing Lucerys, when it was her choice to flout Viserys's wishes and have Aegon usurp the throne that prompted Rhaenyra to call her banners in retaliation. Criston tries to defend his former queen (and lover), blaming it on Rhaenyra having "intoxicated" Alicent when they were girls. Otto then enters and is annoyed they are discussing strategy outside of the council. After ordering Criston back to his post, Otto urges Aemond to check his impulses and show patience.
Blood and Cheese pass through the Red Keep posing as ratcatchers.
Entering another secret passageway, Cheese admits that he's only a ratcatcher on the main level, so they'll be immediately suspected if they walk around in the royal chambers on the upper floor. Blood angrily points out that they're being paid to kill a royal, so they need to go to the royal chambers to find one. Cheese relents and says he does know of a staircase that leads up to them but he won't know his way around once they get there, so they'll have to slowly figure out where Aemond is while avoiding detection.
They exit another secret passage in the very room that Aemond and Criston were in previously, but now the room is empty, and a thunderstorm breaks outside. They split up as they search, and Blood says to set some rat traps for appearances. Blood then rounds a corner and is seen by a handmaid, and though he points out his rat traps, when he turns around she has fled, apparently not believing him. Realizing they don't have much time until the guards may be roused, he rushes to find Cheese.
He finds his partner in Queen Helaena Targaryen's chamber, holding a knife to her throat. Blood says Daemon told them not to leave empty-handed, and (if they couldn't find Aemond) to at least claim "a son for a son"—but Aegon's wife isn't a son. Cheese points across the darkened room and Blood sees that Aegon's twin son and daughter, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, are asleep in their beds.
Cheese holds a knife to Helaena's throat.
Unable to tell the twins apart, and rushing before the handmaid can alert the guards (so they don't have time to check), Blood insists that Helaena quickly point out which one is the boy. Cheese says they'll just kill all three of them if she doesn't answer right away. Terrified, she tries to bribe them with her necklace but they ignore it. Realizing the most she can do is save her daughter, Helaena points to her son Jaehaerys. Blood initially assumes Helaena is lying, insisting she wouldn't sacrifice the King's heir so readily, but Cheese concludes she's telling the truth.
They shove her aside and quickly rush to Jaehaerys. Aghast, while they are distracted she quickly scoops up her daughter and turns to flee the room. Behind her, the assassins cover the boy's mouth as young Jaehaerys wakes up screaming, and stab him to death. The fleeing Helaena hears slicing sounds as they hack the boy's head off.
In shock, Helaena rushes through the darkened Red Keep, running down the stairs to her mother's bedchamber—where Alicent is in the middle of having sex with Criston Cole. Unfazed at this due to the horror she just went through, Helaena collapses on the floor with her daughter and says: "They killed the boy."
Kurt Egyiawan is added to the main cast with his name appearing in the opening credits, starting with this episode. Egyiawan appeared in the first season in a co-starring role.
Rhaenys: "It was a raven that brought me news of Laena's death. I existed for weeks in torment, refusing to believe what I'd been told. It was only when I saw my daughter's mortal remains that I could begin to mourn her. A raven has told Rhaenyra that her son is dead. She needs to know it for certain."
Daemon: "She was a fool to go alone. What if Aemond were to happen upon her?"
Rhaenys: "Then I would pity Aemond. The queen was wise to recuse herself. She has not acted on the vengeful impulse that others might've."
Daemon: "If you'd have acted when you had the chance, Aegon's line would be extinguished and Luke would be alive."
— Rhaenys and Daemon[src]
Daemon: "Was it honor that made you stand by and watch as the Hightowers usurped the throne? You and your traitorous twin?"
Erryk: "No, my prince. I'm shamed by it. It's why I abandoned the Kingsguard and my brother and came here."
Daemon: "I don't care. Aegon was in your grasp. You should've killed him yourself."
Erryk: "Arryk and I were named to the Kingsguard at just eight and ten. And we swore the same oath: to defend the whole of the royal family. So what were we to do when they turned against one another?"
— Daemon and Erryk[src]
Alicent: "We only need to mind Aegon until the novelty of rule is spent. Once he tires of it, you and I can steer our course to victory."
Otto: "A fine strategy, daughter, but you must accept that the path to victory now is one of violence."
Alicent: "I know it, but that does not mean it must be wanton."
— Alicent and Otto[src]
"I want Aemond Targaryen."
―Rhaenyra Targaryen
"Words are wind."
―Aemond Targaryen
Behind the scenes
General
The title of this episode derives from the chapter of Fire & Blood it is adapted from, "The Dying of the Dragons — A Son for a Son." Specifically, it refers to the order that Daemon gives to Blood and Cheese.
On December 6, 2023, George R.R. Martin shared his thoughts on the rough cut of this episode, as well as the following one:
"The highlight of the trip, though, had to be the sneak preview that Ryan gave me of the first two episodes of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, season two. (Rough cuts, of course). Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work… but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great. (And they are not even finished yet). Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did). Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending. Just the sort of thing I like. (What can I say? I was weaned on Shakespeare, and love the tragedies and history plays best of all)."[7]
As explained in the behind the scenes video, the primary sets for King's Landing and Dragonstone have been drastically expanded for Season 2. Whereas before the Red Keep exterior was a single courtyard, it has now been expanded about 400% to include the adjoining city streets. Ryan Condal explained they did this because while they do film some street scenes in Caceres, Spain, it's a world heritage site so they can't risk damaging it in action scenes.
Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor returned for this episode, who was one of the directors on that series very first season including the pivotal final two episodes "Baelor" and "Fire and Blood." Taylor went on to direct another four out of ten episodes in the second season, and later returned for Season 7's major action episode "Beyond the Wall."
Cast and crew stated in several premiere interviews that about ten days have passed between when Rhaenyra received the letter that Luke had died at the end of the Season 1 finale, and when we see her again searching for him in this episode. In the final cut of the episode no one gives this number in dialogue.
Several characters throughout the episode remark that the weather has turned and summer is ending (Cregan to Jace, Alicent to Criston, Aegon's petitioners). In the book, the Citadel released the special white ravens signifying the season change just as the civil war began. This parallels how in Game of Thrones, the small council in King's Landing did receive a white raven on-camera in the Season 2 premiere, "The North Remembers".
This episode marks the first time that a messenger-raven has appeared on-screen in House of the Dragon, during the opening shot of a raven bringing news to Winterfell that Luke has been killed. Ravens were mentioned in Season 1 but never appeared on-screen - in large part because the season was so geographically concentrated (i.e. the first episode entirely takes place within King's Landing).
At several points in the episode characters use the turns of phrase "much and more" and "little and less", which are frequently used in the source material. Aemond's remark that "words are wind" is also a commonly repeated saying. Several other lines are also direct quotes from the book:
Daemon refers to Vhagar as a "hoary old bitch" ("hoary" is an archaic word for "withered with age").
Aemond remarks to Criston that they have wasted valuable time on this "War of Quills and Ravens". This is how the in-universe historian refers to the early phase of the war when both sides sent out diplomatic letters courting potential allies, before the real fighting began in earnest.
Tywin Lannister also used the phrase "Some battles are won with swords and spears, others with quills and ravens."[11] He presumably meant the secret correspondence with the other conspirators of the Red Wedding (the Freys, Boltons, and Westerlings).
Cheese's line that he knows the secret tunnels in the Red Keep "better than the shape of my own cock" is directly from the book.
Cregan explains to Jace that they are just experiencing a "summer snow". These were previously mentioned on-screen in Season 1 of Game of Thrones. The years-long seasonal cycles in the world of Westeros are more akin to little Ice Ages of a sort, long periods of overall cooling or heating, but there is some variation within them. Thus Winterfell and the North are known to receive "summer snows". George R.R. Martin has remarked that this was one of the first, evocative lines that came to his mind when he was inspired to write the first chapter of the first novel: "finding orphaned direwolves in summer snows".
According to Fire & Blood, Cregan and Jacaerys reached an agreement, called by Munkun as the Pact of Ice and Fire; it is the only mention of the phrase "ice and fire" in the book.
The North
Jace's time in the North with Cregan Stark was limited to only the opening five-minute scene, though Cregan has his own backstory and the Starks of this era have their own ties to the rest of the story (such as that the Starks were one of the few Houses who voted for Rhaenys/Laenor in the Great Council at Harrenhal). Cregan was also rumored to have a bastard half-sister named Sara Snow. It's possible that more of Cregan's backstory will be revealed in later episodes.
The TV series invented the story point that the Starks at this time have a custom to draw lots at the start of winter, to send every tenth able-bodied man to the Wall. This does fit with an issue from the books: though the Watch had been slowly declining for centuries, it rapidly declined after Aegon the Conqueror unified the Seven Kingdoms, because their main source of recruits were condemned men from the losing sides of the constant wars between them. The TV series thus added the explanation that Torrhen Stark at least tried to address the manpower shortage by having men draw lots, but apparently this practice was abandoned at some point in future generations.
The costumes and buildings of the Night's Watch are in a noticeably better state of repair than during Jon Snow's time, because their numbers haven't dwindled so low yet. In the behind the scenes video, it was pointed out that they made the ice and snow of the Wall "whiter" than it was in Game of Thrones, because it's "newer" (i.e. the Builders are repairing it more often).
Cregan Stark is of course carrying Ice, the ancestral Valyrian steel greatsword of House Stark.
Actor Tom Taylor stated that he had to learn to use a Northern England accent for the role: that is, Cregan "talks like" Ned Stark or Jon Snow because they all do have the same regional accent.
Jacaerys comments that in this place Aegon I and Torrhen Stark treated, which is incorrect as they treated at the Inn of the Kneeling Man near the Trident, not the Wall. Even if he was referring "here" as in the North, it still is incorrect as the region where Torrhen bent the knee was in Riverlands.
Cregan Stark says that he is going to send 2,000 "greybeards" who can be spared to join Rhaenyra's forces, but they are all still war-capable and experienced veterans. They are nicknamed the "Winter Wolves" in the book, and the label on a costume rack in the behind the scenes video confirms they are also called this in the TV show.
Cregan mentions that Vermithor and Silverwing (in the book - Silverwing only) refused to fly beyond the Wall. According to the book that greatly troubled Alysanne, as she wrote her husband, but she could not figure the reason; perhaps, as Cregan hints, the dragons somehow detected the presence of the Army of the Dead.
Note that Daenerys's dragons had no difficulties flying beyond the Wall ("Beyond the Wall"). Perhaps they, in contrast to the dragons in the former generations, could not detect the danger - and that resulted in the death of one of them.
Dragonstone
Notice when Rhaenys dismounts Meleys that for the first time the TV series clearly shows the riding chains that are used when mounting a dragon. As seen when young Aemond first claimed Vhagar in "Driftmark", even with a saddle and reins someone can easily fall off of a dragon making high speed turns or drives. Therefore it was custom for the Targaryens in the book to chain themselves down to their saddles.
As Viserys's younger brother, Daemon is also Rhaenys's first cousin - not to mention his mother-in-law as he was previously married to her daughter Laena and had two daughters with her. Nonetheless, while they did appear in several scenes together in Season 1, this episode is the first time that they exchange dialogue with each other.
A few reviewers were confused when Erryk Cargyll said he and his twin brother Arryk were named to the Kingsguard at only "eight and ten", as this sounds like "eight years old and ten years old", far too young to be a knight and they should be the same age as twins. What he meant was "when we were both eighteen": people in Westeros frequently give ages in the archaic form of the first the single digit "and" the tens digit, i.e. "he died at the age of three and sixty" to say "he died at age sixty-three (63)."
An easy way to tell the twins apart is that "Arryk" with an "A" is the one who sided with "A"-egon, while Erryk sided with Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra finds the torn wing of Arrax washed up on the shore as proof that her son Luke is dead: in the book, it was Arrax's severed head that washed up. Luke's body was never found.
When Rhaenyra dismounts from her dragon on the beach, it isn't a completely CGI shot: the behind the scenes video shows that Emma D'Arcy (or a stunt double) slid down a bluescreen form, then the CGI dragon was added around the actor.
When Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone she is in a state of shock, walking robotically in a haze. The lighting is dark, but notice that she still has Luke's torn cloak tightly clenched in her left hand throughout this entire sequence.
Emma D'Arcy (Rhaenyra) only speaks four words this entire episode, the one line "I want Aemond Targaryen".
During Luke's funeral, his younger brother burns on his pyre a little toy horse - apparently the same toy horse that young Luke was playing with in "Driftmark", which may have been later given to Joffrey as a hand-me-down.
Dragonstone's mountaintop Valyrian altar is now a digital set in Season 2.
In House of the Dragon Season 1, this mountain-side Valyrian altar previously appeared for Rhaenyra and Daemon's wedding in "Driftmark" and then prominently in the finale "The Black Queen" for the cremation of Rhaenyra's stillborn daughter and then her impromptu coronation. In Season 1, the Valyrian altar scenes were filmed on a mountaintop in Portugal, at Monsanto. Filming did not return to Portugal in Season 2, so this altar now appears to be a digital set. The production team explained that as it was indeed a remote mountain-top, the actual logistical needs of filming at Monsanto were very difficult: everything needed to be transported to the mountain via helicopter.
King's Landing
The behind the scenes video explains how the Greens have shuffled around the royal chambers now that Viserys is dead: Aegon is living in his father's chamber, and Helaena has moved into Alicent's chamber (as the new queen). Alicent, meanwhile, moved into the chambers on the lower level that used to belong to Rhaenyra (before she moved to Dragonstone six years ago). Thus, as Olivia Cooke points out, Alicent has sex with Criston in literally the same room that he also had sex with Rhaenyra.
This means that Helaena's frantic flight from her bedchamber to her mother's at the end of the episode is a direct mirror of the prominent tracking shot used to introduced adult Rhaenyra after the ten year time skip in "The Princess and the Queen", both of them carrying their child. In the season 1 episode, Rhaenyra carried her new born son Joffrey through the castle and up the flight of stairs, while Helaena goes in the reverse order down the same stairs carrying her daughter. Both scenes were filmed with extensive use of Steadicam rigs held by cameramen moving along with the actors.
As explained in the behind the scenes video, the current status of each of the three rooms reflects each of the three characters. Aegon doesn't really care about decorations and furniture so he simply moved into his father's chamber without changing anything, to him it's just a place to sleep. Alicent hasn't changed around any of her chamber from the way it was set up when Rhaenyra lived there, the idea being to visually hint that Rhaenyra's presence is still there for her. The queen's chamber, however, was drastically changed in the less than two weeks that Helaena has been living in it: Alicent is a woman of faith so she kept her decorations minimalist and ordered, evoking a convent. In contrast, Helaena not only moved in her extensive insect collection, but as the habit of scrawling images from the prophetic dreams she has onto books she has laying around - and when she runs out of parchment, she goes right on scrawling these images onto the walls. The camera doesn't focus on it in this episode and the final scene at night is darkly lit, but look closely at the walls when Aegon first arrives to take Jaehaerys with him to the small council.
Aegon's inability to tell apart his own twins when seen from behind foreshadows that later in the episode the assassins also can't tell which one is the boy. Similarly, Helaena's cryptic remark that she isn't afraid of dragons but of "the rats" is prophetic foreshadowing of the assassination by ratcatchers.
Notice that Jaehaera doesn't react at all when her father leans over to check her face, she just keeps intently focused on her activity without even glancing away. In the book, Jaehaera is described in such a way that she seems coded on the autistic spectrum. The TV writers decided to extend this backward a generation, that TV-Helaena is on the autistic spectrum: thus it's not so much that "Jaehaera is like Helaena", but "TV-Helaena is like Jaehaera". In an interview a week before the premiere with the History of Westeros podcast, showrunner Ryan Condal said that their medieval society "doesn't have a term" for Helaena's behavior and they don't really understand what it is.[12]
In the official HBO podcast for this episode, actress Phia Saban was asked about how Helaena Targaryen fits the classic trope of the Cassandra -type character: someone who has visions of the future and tries to warn others of impending danger but is ignored. Saban responded that she in fact played Cassandra in a drama school production of The Trojan Women - but went on to say that it was so long ago that she doesn't remember it clearly, and it had no impact on her performance as Helaena ("I should know better!").[13]
House Greyjoy is mentioned for the first time in this prequel series, more specifically young Lord Dalton Greyjoy, who will be a major character later in the story. At the end of the Targaryen Conquest, Aegon I hammered the Iron Islands with his dragons and elevated up the Greyjoys to rule over the survivors. Realizing that their rule depended on the Targaryens, the Greyjoys kept their heads down and prevented further uprisings, so that from then until the time of the Dance of the Dragons their rule was entirely uneventful. They had no presence at court, and the names of subsequent rulers aren't even given for a full century until the time of Dalton Greyjoy. This is also why the Greens feel they need to woo him to their side with an offer of a seat at the Small Council as the new Master of Ships: they don't have close ties to either the Greens or the Blacks.
Otto's nephew Ormund Hightower is mentioned for the first time, that he is assembling the Hightowers' main armies at Oldtown. As seen in the first half of Season 1, Otto isn't the head of House Hightower - his older brother Hobert Hightower was. He was last seen at Rhaenyra's wedding to Laenor over 16 years ago, so he passed away at some point in the intervening time and was succeeded by his son.
While all four daughters of Borros Baratheon were seen on-screen in the Season 1 finale, this episode states for the first time in dialogue that the one Aemond agreed to a marriage-pact with is named "Floris Baratheon". In the book he was given his choice of daughters, from the eldest one (who could receive the best dowry) to the smart one, but it isn't said which one he ultimately picked. The TV show gave the answer that he chose Floris, described as "the comely one".
This episode marks the first time that the Crownlands have ever been referred to by name in TV dialogue - not just in this TV series, as they were never referred to by name during the entire eight season run of Game of Thrones. Otto refers to a new tithe on sheep in the Crownlands, and later Aemond says to Criston that they can easily force Rosby and Stokeworth to submit, after which the rest of the Crownlands will be theirs within a fortnight. The Crownlands were created after the Targaryen Conquest, by carving out lands from neighboring kingdoms to support the new Targaryen capital at King's Landing - essentially creating a ninth administrative region in the "Seven Kingdoms" (the eighth being the borderlands between the seven known as the Riverlands). Under the feudal structure of Westeros, the Crownlands are the Royal Domain sworn directly to the Iron Throne, not to one of the Great Houses such as the Starks or Lannisters. The original Game of Thrones TV series only focused on King's Landing and Dragonstone, but there is considerably more to the Crownlands beyond them (Stokeworth was seen in exactly one scene in Season 5).
This episode is the first time that Alicent's long-dead mother has been named in the TV show or the book: "Alyrie Florent".
Viserys I's memorial statue in the throne room.
The throne room scenes show that work is finishing up on a new commemorative statue of Viserys I Targaryen, to join the statues of the four prior Targaryen kings that currently adorn the pillars. Viserys's statue depicts him holding one of the towers from his scale model of Old Valyria's capital city, highlighting his nature as a peaceful scholar.
In the behind the scenes video production designer Jim Clay explains that the views out the background windows in the Red Keep's Small Council chamber were done using VFX extension shots in Season 1, but this was both costly and time-consuming, so for Season 2 they switched to having a large painted background. Given that it's an out of focus landscape shot seen through the curtains, the visual difference is negligible. As Clay notes, this is an old cinematic trick, and also one they used before during the Steptstones battle scene in Season 1's "Second of His Name" (in that case there weren't curtains to obscure the details, so they relied on smoke from the battlefield).
Ryan Condal explained that he specifically asked for a new vertical war map for the Red Keep's Small Council chamber because all the prior shots of war maps on flat tables have proven difficult to film: to actually convey information from the map, the camera has to switch to a top-down angle. This takes more time to set up and means the actors can't really be seen interacting with the map the same time that their hands are pointing at it. In contrast, a vertical map "like a World War II war map" means that the map will be prominently displayed in most shots through the entire sequence, and characters can walk up and interact with it in wideshot. In-universe the map is made of ivory panels fit together.
The detailed flat parchment map that Aemond and Criston look over later at night while planning to attack Rosby and Stokeworth appears to be a copy of the high-quality fan-made map projects at Atlas of Ice & Fire.[14]
Alicent and Criston
Alicent having sex with Criston is not described in the book, though as an in-universe history text it wouldn't be able to record what happened in private. Fire & Blood gave rival, alternate accounts on why Daemon was exiled a second time by his brother, and the TV version chose a separate version between them: the book suggests that either Daemon or Harwin took Rhaenyra's virginity, when the TV series presented that it was Criston. Thus the source material never specifically described Criston having sex with Alicent or Rhaenyra as he did in Season 1.
As the start of Alicent's first sex scene when she grips a chair handle, it can be seen that she has started picking at her nail beds again, a nervous tick that young Alicent had (when she was played by Emily Carey, but seen for the first time here with the adult actress).
In an interview with Collider, showrunner Ryan Condal was directly asked when Alicent started having sex with Criston: he said it was relatively new, but deliberately ambiguous. He went on to say:
"Are they comfortable with each other? It feels very awkward there. They’re literally talking about the weather. So, that's the thing, it's a brand new relationship...The idea is that these two characters have this very stunted emotional development, particularly in the world of intimacy with a partner."[15]
Olivia Cooke gave a lengthy explanation in the official HBO podcast accompanying this episode about Alicent's new sexual experimentation with Criston Cole. She said that Alicent was always meant to have some attraction to him, citing that several extra lines here and there which were filmed for Season 1 were meant to reflect this (scenes and lines confirmed to exist from the archived Season 1 scripts). Moreover, Cooke said that while not overtly stated, she and Fabien Frankel felt that their liaisons are a new development which only began in the days after her husband Viserys died:
"There were many many discussions...there were bits and bobs, there were longing looks in the later half of last season that were cut out, and different asides to each other, and I think young Alicent sort of professes her instant attraction for Criston Cole with [that exclamation] 'Gods, he's Dornish! He's gorgeous!' and I think that sort of flame for him has sort of lived very quietly in Alicent this whole time, and I think they became closer as she became his personal knight and her sworn protector. Strange things happen in grief and in death. And sex is sort of this, like, the antithesis of death. I think she sort of, even though she is grieving the loss of her husband, she sort of feels liberated from being this, this caretaker.
This was our sort like our headcanon stuff, it's not written, but we thought it sort of happened maybe, like, literally like days after the death of Viserys. And they became closer in Alicent's grief, and I think it's really teenage, I think it's really teenaged for Alicent she's never really been able to have a relationship that's borne out of passion...she bore all these children when she was herself a child [only 14 years old], and now it's like she's on rumspringa! It's like she's lived for other people and she's lived by the rules so exactly, that this is just a little thing that she's taking for herself, within her grief."[13]
Blood and Cheese
The assassination of Jaehaerys Targaryen was somewhat toned down from the book, in which Helaena has a younger son Maelor. As they were only hired to kill one son, Cheese sadistically asked Helaena to choose which of them would die or he'd kill both: she picked Maelor, hoping he wouldn't understand as he was only a toddler (or perhaps because Jaehaerys was King Aegon's firstborn son and heir), but then Cheese taunted Maelor that his mother wanted him dead and Blood killed Jaehaerys. They did still take Jaehaerys's head in both versions as proof of their kill, though the episode puts this off-screen and conveyed only with sound effects. Alicent was also present during the attack: they overpowered her then bound and gagged her, forcing her to watch.
It is unknown whether the vicious "choice" given to Helaena was a part of Daemon's instructions or was the murderers' own idea of further emotional torment. Either way, it probably increased a lot the trauma Haelena would have suffered had the murderers killed her son without toying with her.
In the TV version, the reason they want Helaena to point out which of her children is the boy is because they are rushing and don't want to waste time forcibly checking two struggling children: a handmaid spotted Blood then ran away and he knows they're running out of time before she alerts the guards.
In the book version the frightened children are awake and held by the assassins while they make Helaena choose between them. Showrunner Ryan Condal said that they switched this to have the children asleep in their beds specifically because it would have been too difficult on very young child actors to give such a terrified performance.
In the official HBO podcast accompanying the episode, actress Phia Saban was directly asked what was going through Helaena's mind when she made her choice - i.e. several immediate reviews wondered why she doesn't scream or if she was trying to bluff them (pointing to the boy, but hoping they'd suspect she was lying). Saban said Helaena's mindset and actions were entirely straightforward: she believed the assassins when they said they'd kill both children if she didn't quickly point out her son, she realized she couldn't save him, and she was entirely focused on saving her daughter (if she screamed, the assassins might just kill all of them before guards arrived):
"What she hears from them is, 'We are extremely dangerous men and we are more than capable of killing all of you - and you can make this easier for yourself or you can make this harder for yourself'. And obviously there's nothing easy about it. I would think it's unfair to say that somebody braver would be like, 'No, you won't have either of them!' - I don't think that's an option, I don't genuinely believe that's an option in that moment. And I actually think it's kind of powerful that she's honest the first time, because I think that is exemplary of how high the stakes are for her. Like, 'I am not going to mess this up' or 'I don't have an option here, this is about saving a child's life [her daughter]."[13]
Showrunner Ryan Condal addressed the changes from book to screen in three separate post-episode interviews: with Entertainment Weekly, TheWrap, and even a podcast interview with book fansite Westeros.org. He reiterated across all three interviews that another, major factor contributing to the change was the difficulty in working with child actors:
In EW: "Then there are things that you can and cannot expose children to on a movie set. If you were to try to perform a faithful rendering of that story, you'd be challenged from all angles in terms of getting a performance out of a child. A lot of times it seems like the kid is going through that, but you're using clever cutaways and insert shots." -- For example, even in the aired version, the shot of Blood's gloved hand covering Jaehaerys's mouth isn't actor Sam C. Wilson, but the boy's real-life father.[16]
In TheWrap: "It was not really possible, given the age of those characters, to play realistically what is in the [book],” he said. “I mean, there are things that you actually cannot do with children on set, and rightfully so, sort of from a decency standpoint, and also from a legal standpoint, what children are allowed to see and do on a set would have made shooting it very difficult…The ages of those children are so young that you wouldn’t really be getting actors, you would be getting stand-ins, essentially extras who are played by children, because the child has to be a certain age in order to be to be able to take direction from a director."[17]
In the Westeros.org podcast interview, Condal repeated these issues, and said the only two options were either the one they did use, or to "radically age-up the children" - which wasn't a viable option due to the timeline of Season 1. Condal also confirmed Phia Saban's comments on why Helaena does what the assassins tell her, making no effort to deceive them: she "takes them at face value" when they say that if she doesn't tell them the truth, they'll kill everyone in the room.[18]
In the Entertainment Weekly interview, Condal confirmed that Helaena's second son Maelor doesn't exist in the TV series, though the way he phrased it was "Maelor does not yet exist on this timeline because 30 years is compressed into 20 years". The Westeros.org interview pointed out that he phrased it as that Maelor does not exist "yet", and Condal confirmed that was what he meant to say - implying Maelor may be born at some future point in the TV series.
In the behind the episode video, director Alan Taylor said he wanted to treat the sequence like a classic noir horror movie with rising tension conveyed through cinematography, pacing, and the soundtrack. Specifically, the shots of Blood and Cheese sneaking in through the sewers was influenced by Orson Welles's The Third Man (1949).
While it is infamously known in book fandom as the "Blood and Cheese" assassination, after the nicknames of the two assassins, they aren't referred to by these names in on-screen dialogue. These names are confirmed by the subtitles and titlecards in the behind the scenes videos. Even the book itself says that their real names have been lost to history, and only these nicknames are remembered.
The book itself, written as an in-universe history text, says that many have speculated Helaena's children weren't the primary target of the assassins - it would have made more sense to kill Aegon II himself or another dragon-rider, while killing a child would have no military impact other than to tarnish Rhaenyra's side. In the book, it's suggested Aegon was the main target but they couldn't reach him because the secret tunnels don't connect to Maegor's Holdfast where he was located; in the TV version their target is Aemond and they do manage to reach the royal chambers, but Aemond is simply not present.
Several reviewers have asked why Daemon didn't personally attempt to infiltrate the Red Keep and kill Aemond himself, given that it was established in Season 1 that he does know how to access the secret passageways built by King Maegor the Cruel. In the book, Daemon was in the field at the time and arranged the attack through letters. In the TV version, it seems that Daemon simply feared he would be recognized: the secret passages don't connect all the way up to the royal chambers so Blood & Cheese have to cross through public spaces several times. They apparently anticipated this, explaining why they bothered to bring rat traps as an excuse in case they were questioned. In contrast, Daemon would have been recognized if he tried to casually walk through the back of the throne room.
Cheese the ratcatcher can be seen twice at prior points in the episode: first and a little more prominently just before the Small Council meeting, but also when Aegon hears petitioners on the Iron Throne (in the background of the wideshot, through the main entry doors). Not only does this establish that he works in the Red Keep, the camera doesn't linger on him and the main characters ignore him - establishing that ratcatchers would be beneath notice when they later sneak in for the assassination.
The production team built a real sewer set, with water flushing through at regular intervals, instead of just using a digital set.
Child actor Lulu Barker plays Helaena's daughter Jaehaera: Lulu's sister Ziggy Barker played baby-Helaena in the fourth episode of Season 1.
↑In "A Son for a Son," Daemon Targaryen and Otto Hightower mention that days have passed since Viserys Targaryen and Lucerys Velaryon's deaths. Unlike the first season, no major time jumps are expected; therefore, House of the Dragon: Season 2 takes place in 132 AC.
