Episode 2 of House of the Dragon was a welcome break from the whirlwind that was the premiere, which introduced us to a whole new cast of Westeros characters and featured a shocking birth scene. This allowed the show’s flagship series, Game of Thrones, to focus more on its political storylines, which helped boost its ratings. The new teaser for the show shows that the board is now set and it is ready to move forward. The third episode’s promo, “Second of His Name,” suggests there will be another time leap for the audience to experience. Six months had elapsed since King Viserys (Paddy Considine) lost two of the most significant members of House Targaryen, and one storyline in episode two focused on the King’s decision to marry again.
The teaser confirms that not only will this wedding go a place, but that when we return to Westeros next week, he will already be the proud father of a boy named Aegon. Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), who has just been crowned the first Queen to sit on the throne, is warned by Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) that her status is already in danger. Since she has no plans to give up her position as a result of her marriage, this is likely to cause tension between her and her father.
The next episode will likely begin with an attack that was previewed at the close of this week’s, in which Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) established an unexpected alliance to combat a gang that has been feeding Westerosi sailors to crabs. King Viserys has not approved of the attack. The first episode of the highly anticipated Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon, debuted on HBO on August 21, and it rapidly surpassed the cable network’s viewing record: approximately 10 million people turned in (either on conventional TV or on HBO Max). The subsequent days saw a doubling of that figure, and as a result, HBO quickly renewed the epic series for a second season.
The show is inspired in part by George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novel series, but more so by the mythology of Westeros that Martin created and developed to build a stronger narrative. House of the Dragon is set some two hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones and follows the Targaryen family as they rule for a very long time before losing the Iron Throne to the Baratheons. On September 4th, HBO and HBO Max will air the third episode of House of the Dragon.