War is coming to Westeros. Again. And it’s a nasty one, probably, if Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best)’s observation plays out: “There is no war more hateful to the gods as a war between kin, and no war so bloody as a war between dragons.”
The first season of House of the Dragon depicted two periods in the lives of its characters. First, the youth of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock), daughter of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), and her friend Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), daughter of Hand of the King Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans). And then, a very tumultuous time some years later, with Rhaenyra played by Emma D’Darcy, and Alicent by Olivia Cooke.
The king, as kings are wont to do, dies. There is, to put it mildly, conflict about who will ascend the throne: His daughter, Rhaenyra, or one of his sons by Alicent, who he takes as his second wife. His eldest son is not the nicest kid, I’d say. But the patriarchy will prevail. And Rhaneyra won’t stand for it.
And that’s what you missed on Glee that’s where we are at the start of season two. The series also stars a delightful and weird Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria. Earlier this year, HBO announced four new characters for season two: Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale), Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), and Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim).
With this trailer, they’ve announced six more: Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull, Jamie Kenna as Ser Alfred Broome, Kieran Bew as Hugh, Tom Bennett as Ulf, Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne. Notably, this brings the Starks and Winterfell into the story. Cregan Stark has a key role to play, but it’s a little further down the line. Generally, these new characters will, as you might expect, take the side of the Greens or the Blacks as the two sides try to rally support for their claims on the throne.
House of the Dragon, which is based on George R. R. Martin’s fictional history of the Targaryens, Fire and Blood, will only have eight episodes in its second season. Dragon war arrives in summer 2024.
