What happened at the Battle at Rook’s Rest? House of the Dragon Season 2 battle explained

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the Targaryen civil war infamously known as the ‘Dance of the Dragons’ didn’t end in a single night. Smaller conflicts snowballed into massive massacres, and the result was the unprecedented destruction of a once mighty family with their own hands. A bloody chapter from George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon will continue the path it was set on at the end of Season 1, i.e. death, despair, rage, and funerals.

As the second season of the massively popular HBO series House of The Dragon progressively films to completion, a number of pictures from the production sites have been made public thanks to the various leaks. Game of Thrones shooting sites have always piqued the fans’ interest, and it should come as no surprise people flocked to the sets of House of The Dragon to catch a glimpse of their favorite characters in action.

What do we know from the House of The Dragon leaked pictures so far?

Most of the leaks, which have also provided much of the information behind the scenes, come straight from the Spanish cities Cáceres and Trujillo, where at least two important scenes from the second season of House of The Dragon were shot. From the pictures, it is easy to see that one scene belongs to a victory procession, held by the new King Aegon II Targaryen, showing off a massive prop that resembles a huge spikey head being pulled on a cart through the streets of the King’s Landing.

The other sequence that was filmed was that of a royal funeral, with a little golden casket being carried to the Sept. Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and her daughter Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) were spotted in a dark funeral attire following the prop, indicating it was someone from the family who had died.

Picture by Splash News

All these clues hint towards a major battle sequence, called the Battle at Rook’s Rest, that is supposed to take place in Season 2 of House of The Dragon.

Filming updates after House of the Dragon moved from Spain back to the UK

House of the Dragon crew arrives in Surrey: After several days of filming in Wales and Spain, the crew was spotted setting up camp in Aldershot and Bourne Woods in Surrey.

Aemond Targaryen spotted in Leavesden Studios: A series of leaks sent the internet into a frenzy when a YouTuber with a drone revealed secrets from within the WB studio.

A fiery crater appears: One of the several props that popped up in Bourne Woods confirmed that the place was indeed a site being used to film the Battle of Rook’s Rest. Most probably the death of a famous dragon and key character.

House Lannister prepares camp: Actor Jefferson Hall (Jason & Tyland Lannister) is spotted in Aldershot leading some Lannister soldiers.

Filming in Salisbury Plain: Crew sets up camp in Salisbury Plain, though it is not clear yet what scene is being filmed here.

The Greens headed by Criston Cole arrive: Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) lead the Aegon and Hightower army to battle.

Soldiers screaming and running: A recent clip shows the soldiers of the Green Army terrified of something from up in the sky and running away.

What happens after Lucerys’ death in Fire & Blood?

Here’s an abridged version of the events that take place in Westeros after Lucerys’ death, the point where House of The Dragon Season 1 ended, in chronological order.

Death of Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen

Lucerys’ death at the hands of Prince Aemond officially triggered the civil war, with Rhaenyra’s young son as the first casualty. The Blacks wouldn’t sit quietly, however, and Prince Daemon retaliates with the principle: ‘eye for an eye, son for a son’. At Daemon’s behest, Mysaria employs Cheese, a ratcatcher, and Blood, a former Serjeant of City Watch, from the Flea Bottom, to infiltrate Helaena’s chambers. Blood brutally murders Jaehaerys, Aegon II and Helaena’s oldest son, in front of Helaena’s eyes, turning her mad in despair. He would later be caught and tortured to death by the Greens.

King Aegon II Targaryen’s campaign

The Greens had already suffered a few losses, after the assault on Harrenhal, the Battle of the Burning Mill, and the taking of Stone Hedge, all steered by Daemon. Aegon II was getting restless and fearful, and replaced his grandfather Otto Hightower with Criston Cole as his new Hand. Together they started a campaign to bring down the lords supporting the Blacks. They first arrived in Rosby and Stokeworth, whose lords were Blacks but had been arrested in King’s Landing during the initial coup and consented to bend the knee to save their own lives.

Sack of Duskendale

A force of around 3,000 men arrived at Duskendale comprising knights, sellswords, and men-at-arms, reinforced with dragons. House Darklyn, who had close ties with the Blacks and was the liege of Duskendale, was unprepared for the surprise attack. The head of the House, Lord Gunthor Darklyn, was executed. The news had reached Rook’s Rest, the seat of House Staunton, and they began to prepare and sent for help.

Battle of Rook’s Rest

The Battle at Rook’s Rest was the first large battle where a Targaryen fought a Targaryen in the civil war. The Greens laid siege to the castle at Rook’s Rest. After nine days, Princess Rhaenys arrived with Meleys and burned down quite a good number of the Green soldiers.

King Aegon II arrives to fight atop Sunfyre, but the young Targaryen is no match for the Queen Who Never Was’ experience. Aegon and Sunfyre are badly injured in the fight, when out of nowhere, Prince Aemond descends on Rhaenys and Meleys with his dragon, Vhagar, killing both of them.

Lord Simon Staunton is captured and killed along with all of his men after Rhaenys’ fall. The Greens parade the heads of Lord Staunton and Meleys through the streets of King’s Landing.

If you want to have a quick recap of everything that has happened in House of The Dragon so far, click on the link below.

Read Next: When is House of the Dragon Season 2 coming out? Everything we know about the second season

 

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