House of the Dragon’s first season came and went all too quickly and we’re already fired up about season 2. We know that a second season of the hit HBO show is happening and we even have an indication of when, but apart from that what else do we know about the next batch of episodes?
Here’s what we’ve learned so far about House of the Dragon season 2.
There will be a season 2 of House of the Dragon
For starters, is the second season of House of the Dragon even happening? Yes. HBO had such confidence in its Game of Thrones spin-off that it actually renewed it for another season barely a week after the first episode was released.
It’s unsurprising given House of the Dragon’s record-breaking numbers, but good to know all the same.
What will season 2 be about?
We’re not going to go into too many House of the Dragon spoilers here, there are books for that, but if you’re unfamiliar with the concept of the show just know that it focuses on a civil war amongst the Targaryen family, referred to as the Dance of Dragons.
In season one we’ve been introduced to the key players in this war, including Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) who is named the first female heir to the Iron Throne by her father. She must fight to keep her place as heir after her ex-best friend and the Queen, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), attempts to usurp her throne with her son, Aegon, instead.
After the season 1 finale, we know that war in Westeros is primed to explode between the Greens and the Blacks, after a season-long build-up.
Writer and producer Sara Hess told The Hollywood Reporter in October last year that we’ll see more of Rhaenyra and Daemon’s relationship in season 2:
“Right now, we’re writing season two and figuring out, what is the nature of [Daemon’s] relationship with Rhaenyra? There are many interpretations [in George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood] to that,” Hess said.
Executive Producer Ryan Condal told The Sunday Times in the UK that while season 1 of HOTD was a lot of set-up, season 2 will dig into the war:
“We will get to the spectacle. But you have to understand these people’s complexities before they’re thrown into war,” Condal said.
“Series 2 will hit the rhythms people came to expect from the middle run of Game of Thrones, but it will have been earned, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work in.”
Condal also told Entertainment Weekly that season 2 will move into a similar format to that of Game of Thrones, which had multiple weaving character storylines.
“[Season 2] does fall into that ensemble piece where you’re following multiple characters. They’re not all in the same place, but this is still very much a story of Alicent and Rhaenyra and their families pitted against each other. We’re not gonna suddenly pull away from telling their stories. It’s just the nature of this thing, in season 2, it really opens up the world in a big way and the sprawl grows quite a bit.”
The EP also confirmed to Deadline that the time jumps in the series are now over and we’re sticking with the actors we’ve got:
“I will say, as a reward to our wonderful audience for following us through all the time jumps and recasts, they are done. We tell the story in real time from here forward. The actors are playing these characters until the end. We’re not recasting anybody. We’re not making any huge jumps forward in time. We are now in the Dance of the Dragons, and we’re gonna tell that story.”
Which cast members will be in season 2?
The cast for season 2 of House of the Dragon has been confirmed to include season 1 veterans Emma D’arcy, Matthew Needham, Rhys Ifans, Olivia Cooke, Tom Glynn-Carney, Phia Saban, Ewan Mitchell, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell and Jefferson Hall.
Sadly, it doesn’t look like Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, who played Rhaenyra and Alicent in their younger years, will be returning any time soon. Condal confirmed there are no plans to include them in season 2, but didn’t rule out the actress’s return entirely in future seasons.
George R.R. Martin revealed in a blog post that we’ll meet Alicent and Viserys’ fourth, oft-thought-forgotten, son Daeron in season 2. Apparently, the story didn’t allow for his introduction in season 1, and fair enough there are a lot of Targaryens already, but it seems he’ll be a part of the show moving forward.
Some of the newcomers to season 2 include Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower, Gayle Rankin as Alys Rivers and Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull. Amanda Collin will play Jeyne Arryn, Kieran Bew as Hugh Hammer, Robert Rhodes as Silver Denys, Sam C Wilson as Blood, Mark Stobbart as Cheese and Steven Pacey as Gunthor Darklyn.
House of the Dragon Season 2: When will it be released?
Season 2 of House of the Dragon is still a while off, but we do have a light at the end of the tunnel. Filming managed to be completed throughout the guild strikes this year and wrapped at the end of September.
HBO Network Chief Casey Bloys then announced at a press conference in November that House of the Dragon season 2 will release “early summer” in 2024, which equates to some time between June and August for those of us in the Southern Hemisphere.
All that considered, we’re looking at a 2024 release for more House of the Dragon.
And now my watch begins.
Where can you catch up on season 1?
Season 1 of House of the Dragon wrapped up on October 24, 2022, and all ten episodes of the series have since been available to binge. Here in Australia, you’ll find them all streaming on BINGE.
We recapped House of the Dragon episodes weekly throughout season 1, which you can read below:
- Episode 1 ‘The Heirs of the Dragon’
- Episode 2 ‘The Rogue Prince’
- Episode 3 ‘ Second of His Name’
- Episode 4 ‘King of the Narrow Sea’
- Episode 5 ‘ We Light The Way’
- Episode 6 ‘The Princess and the Queen’
- Episode 7 ‘Driftmark’
- Episode 8 ‘The Lord of the Tides’
- Episode 9 ‘The Green Council’
- Episode 10 ‘The Black Queen’
If House of the Dragon has inspired you to rewatch Game of Thrones, you find out exactly how long that will take you here.
This article has been updated with additional information.
Lead Image Credit: HBO/Binge
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