Editorial

House of the Dragon Season 2 final trailer breakdown: Rook’s Rest, Cregan Stark, Alyn of Hull, and more

Published

6 months ago

May 15, 2024

Credits: Max

With Season 2 of House of the Dragon just around the corner, HBO has released the final official trailer for the show. This comes when Entertainment Weekly released its chess-themed House of the Dragon photoshoot.

Fans will soon begin the detailed analysis of everything in the trailer and speculate what certain scenes may allude to. Official sources have already started revealing new information about characters from the series, and we can expect a lot more to follow in the coming days. Here’s everything we noticed in the House of the Dragon season 2 official trailer.

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11 Minutes Read

House of the Dragon Season 2 official trailer

Watch the full trailer here:

Daemon and the Iron Throne

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The trailer starts with Daemon Targaryen entering the throne room of King’s Landing and facing the empty Iron Throne. This visual alludes to a plot point that many people speculate about.

The Fall of King’s Landing may very well happen this season itself. Given that the Greens currently hold King’s Landing, it makes no sense that Daemon, on the opposing side, would never be granted access to the throne room otherwise. Later in the trailer, Daemon says to Rhaenys, “We’re going to King’s Landing”, which again implies that the attack on the city, which was scheduled to happen later on, is being moved up in the series.

Given the empty room, we can only guess that the Greens have been defeated or have fled the capital by this time, and Daemon, with his ambition-filled gaze, has strolled into the throne room to gaze upon the seat he covets so much. More about this is revealed later in the trailer.

The other possibility, though less likely, is that the Daemon has snuck into the Red Keep using the same secret passages that Blood and Cheese use. Though this seems pointless and improbable, the number of changes from the book canon means that there is a slight possibility that this may be the case.

The three dragon eggs

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A shot in this trailer gives us an unexpected throwback to Game of Thrones. Three dragon eggs are shown nestled within flames. Who these eggs belong to is anybody’s guess. the most likely answer is that this is part of the clutch that Syrax laid back in season 1, which Daemon so happily retrieved from the dragon lair on Dragonstone.

However, this shot is significant because it resembles Daenerys Targaryen’s three dragon eggs from Game of Thrones. In the sequel series, Daenerys placed three dragon eggs on her husband Drogo’s funeral pyre, from which she hatched Viserion, Drogon, and Rhaegal.

From the House of the Dragon, we know that placing dragon eggs in fire is one of the best ways to hatch them, as they mimic a mother dragon’s flames. We saw Rhaena back in Pentos unsuccessfully trying to hatch a dragon, and this is most likely what is happening here, as no hatchling dragons are scheduled to show up during the war.

The conflict between the Blacks and first look at Rook’s Rest

Rook's Rest House of the Dragon Season 2 trailer

Credits: Max

The trailer shows us the lead-up towards the Dance of the Dragons. The Greens are gearing up for war, and while Alicent preaches caution, Aegon is screaming for revenge. The revenge in question most likely refers to the murder of his son Jaehaerys, who was killed by Blood and Cheese and sent Aegon off the edge. Otto counts on the support of his bannermen and various houses, many of whose coat of arms we can see as they gear up for a battle, which is most likely Rook’s Rest.

On the Blacks’ side, it is evident that Daemon is surprised at the amount of support the Greens have managed to amass as he states, “I did not think they would be so eager to die.” Daemon is likely surprised to face opposition, given that the Blacks have more dragons, which gives them a tactical advantage. The Velaryon fleet, too, lies with the Blacks and Corlys and tells Rhaenyra he is loyal to her.

Daemon believes the realm needs a ruler ‘strong enough to unite them in this crisis.’ Given Daemon’s personality, we can only assume he refers to himself. At this time, Rhaenyra asks Daemon whether he accepts her as his queen and ruler, to which Daemon does not reply, hinting at the conflict brewing amongst the Blacks.

Sunfyre the Golden

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We finally get a shot, which many fans have been incredibly eager to see. King Aegon II Targaryen, at long last, mounts his dragon Sunfyre and flies atop King’s Landing. He is wearing the conqueror’s crown on top of his dragonrider armour. From various sources that have analysed the armour, we know that the design is accurate to the books as designed by artist Amok.

What is more complicated to determine is when precisely this scene takes place. We already know that Aegon and Sunfyre will be part of a major battle this season, the Battle of Rook’s Rest. However, it seems unlikely that this shot was taken from that battle since Aegon is seen flying above the capital city.

Some have speculated that this happened during his son Jaehaerys’ funeral. It is possible that Aegon swears revenge and sets out to attack the Blacks during the funeral itself. There is also a likelihood that the armies will move towards the Rook’s Rest at the same time as the funeral.

However, we have also seen shots of a riot happening during the funeral, with Helaena and Alicent fleeing from the chaos. A line of speculation assumes this may coincide with the fall of King’s Landing, which is the battle that Aegon is flying out to participate in.

Cregan Stark

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Another shot that will have fans ecstatic is the face reveal of the Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark. Actor Tom Taylor also appeared as Cregan in the last trailer, though we only saw the back of his head. Now we see him in full, alongside Jacaerys at the wall.

His armour is reminiscent of Ned Stark and Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. He is clean-shaven and does not sport a beard like many Stark men in Game of Thrones. this supposes that he is on the younger side, which differs slightly from his portrayal in the book. This change may have brought him closer to age with Jacaerys, with whom he bonded and formed a pact.

It is yet unclear why they are at the Wall, though some speculation led us to believe that we may see a reappearance of the wights and the White Walkers, who may have existed in Westeros during this period. the passing of Viseyrs’ dagger to Rhaenyra and his retelling of Aegon’s dream, the Song of Ice and Fire, point towards this. We may see Jacaerys realise the truth about the prophecy at the Wall.

Alyn of Hull

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The trailer gives us our first glimpse of Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull. Though previous trailers had shown us shots of Addam of Hull, this is our first glimpse at Alyn, who will become an important figure in Westeros. Though his brother has long hair and dreadlocks, Alyn’s head is clean-shaven, making him look vastly different from his brother.

We see him in a fishing boat, already wearing Velaryon armour. This indicates that Corlys has already acknowledged him as his legitimate heir. It could also suggest that Alyn is part of the Velaryon army before Corlys learns about his true lineage.

Baela chasing Cole

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The previous trailer and set photos show that Baela Targaryen will likely participate in the Battle of Rook’s Rest. This is a departure from the books, as Rhaenys and Meleys initially faced the Greens alone.

In the show version, we are likely to see Baela and Rhaenys team up to fight against Criston Cole and the Green armies when they try to attack the Black stronghold. This plot point seems to be confirmed in a shot where we see Baela riding her dragon, Moondancer.

The trailer has various shots of Meleys and Moonbdancer, indicating the prominent role they are about to play in Season 2. However, one shot in particular has captured the attention of fans.

This shot shows Baela and Moondancer flying across an open field. In the next shot, Criston Cole rides away from a field into a forest with other knights.

Although we don’t know if these shots do indeed happen one after another or whether they are just edited into the trailer to appear that way, Baela will likely end up facing Cole’s army during this battle. In Fire and Blood, Cole had an ambush to lure Rhaenys and Meleys out before summoning backup.

Their retreat into the woods may make it harder for Baela and Moondancer to track them. This would align with previous shots of Moondancer flying above a forest.

During the Dance of the Dragons, forested areas have been used for tactical advantage in other battles. This strategy is possibly a reference to this. Cole may lead Baela and Moondancer away from the castle while the Greens’ surprise attack ambushes Rhaenys.

The duel between the Cargyll Twins

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An event that will most likely occur in Season 2 is the fight between the Cargyll twins, Erryk and Arryk. During this duel, both the twins, who were on opposing sides, killed each other.

The battle happened at Dragonstone after Arryk, disguised as his twin, infiltrated the castle. Twitter users have noticed that Rhaenyra is lying on a bed in the background in a shot where the Cargyll twins are fighting.

This would likely point to the likelihood that Arryk was on his way to assassinate Rhaenyra before being stopped by Erryk.

Aemond and the brothel madame

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A shot in the trailer shows Aemond Tragryen lying unclad in the arms of an unknown woman. While initial speculation led to the belief that this was Alys Rivers, fans have uncovered the unknown woman’s real identity.

Aemond appears to be lying in the arms of the brothel madame whom we saw at the end of Season 1. When Cole and Aemond went hunting for Aegon, the brothel was one of the first places they visited, as it was one of Aegon’s regular haunts.

Though they could not locate Aegon there, the brothel madam recognised Aemond, commenting that he had grown. This shows that Aemond once frequented the brothels along with his brother Aegon.

Tumblr user magnificentdelusionr is the source for this information. The user noticed that the woman in the trailer has a scar on her hand that is identical to the one that actress Michelle Bonnard, who plays the brothel madame, has on her hand.

The scene in the trailer shows Aemond at his most vulnerable since he claimed Vhagar as a child. Since that fateful day, Aemond has only appeared as a stoic, determined warrior to the viewers.

However, his fatal flaw at Shipbreaker Bay, when he accidentally killed his cousin Lucerys, made him break his composure. The aftermath of this event and his role in beginning the Dance of the Dragons may have been the cause for Aemond’s visit to the brothel.

Mysaria, Blood and Cheese

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A scene in the trailer shows us Mysaria stating, ‘There is more than one way to win a war, ‘ followed by multiple ominous shots.

One of these is a silhouetted shot of Blood and Cheese. Mysaria hired these two henchmen through Daemon to infiltrate the Red Keep. They were responsible for the brutal murder of Prince Jaehaerys in Fire and Blood, although it is unclear whether they will commit the same act in the show.

There is a shot of the City Watch, aka Gold Cloaks, trying to control a crowd. This could imply multiple things. Firstly, Blood was a butcher who was once a member of the Gold Cloaks. The show version may still have Blood as a part of the City Watch, assisting Daemon in infiltrating the city.

Secondly, a plot point during the Fall of King’s Landing prominently involved the City Watch. Daemon founded the Gold Cloaks and was their first commander. The men of the City Watch were fiercely loyal to him.

Thus, even after Daemon left the city, the Gold Cloaks remained loyal to him. When the Blacks attacked King’s Landing, the Watch assisted in infiltrating the city, which also led to the death of one of the Greens’ most integral commanders.

Rhaenyra and Vermithor

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The most compelling shot appears at the end of the trailer, where Rhaenyra stands in front of the dragon Vermithor, the Bronze Fury. Vermithor is the second largest dragon after the ancient Vhagar, ridden by Aemond Targaryen. Though Rhaenyra is unlikely to ride Vermithor, the fact that she stands so close to his face is impressive.

In season 1, only Daemon was brave enough to rouse Vermithor, singing in Valyrian to soothe him. The fact that Rhaenyra now stands astride him shows her growth as a queen and leader and the courage she has acquired. In addition to the fact that Vermithor once belonged to the Old King Jaehaerys, this sets up Rhaenyra symbolically as the true heir of the Conciliator.

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