House of the Dragon Season 2: Analysis of the Final Trailer
After many rumors and much anticipation on the part of fans, the final trailer of House of the Dragon Season 2 was distributed a full day ahead of schedule by Martin’s followers. On May 15, HBO held its usual meeting with investors, during which it showed images, teasers, and exclusive clips of the upcoming TV series coming out on the platform within the current year. The final trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2 was also supposed to debut but it was released a day early because the trailer was inexplicably stealthily leaked on social media. HBO was ready and didn’t wait until May 15th, so from May 14th, we can all admire what is, all things considered, the trailer of the series. With well over 2 minutes of video, HBO reveals a lot about the plot of the new season of the Game of Thrones spin-off series but at the same time leaves some relevant plots in the gray area. We carefully analyzed frame by frame and here is our detailed analysis of the final trailer of House of the Dragon Season 2.
Necessary premise: since this is an analysis carried out by those who have read Martin’s novel Fire and Blood over and over again, a book that is adapted into the TV series in question, spoilers are guaranteed. We are not sure that what Martin wrote will be transposed slavishly but considering that the first season was rather faithful as regards the main implications of the text, we presume that the various sources of Fire and Blood will find light even in the small screen for House of the Dragon Season 2. To all this, we must add that the following analysis aims to reconstruct the events in chronological order, for this reason, some scenes that we assume will be shown at the same time or refer to the same episode will be analyzed together by us.
House of the Dragon Season 2: All is Not as It Seems
The final trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2 opens with a voice-over from Rhaenyra admitting to Rhaenys that the king or queen of Westeros is also the protector of the realm. Too bad the Rhaenyra realm can no longer protect him since his enemy has usurped his throne. Once again the queen of blacks shows the guidelines of her policy: on the one hand to let Aegon, her half-brother, pass through (note that she never calls him that but only “my enemy” and “the son of Alicent” to always underline plus the absence of an emotional bond), like the usurper unworthy of sitting on the Iron Throne; on the other, her attention towards the well-being of her people. It will be really interesting to remember this phrase to contrast it with what we will see later which involves the Green team.
Meanwhile, previously seen images of the Queen, Rheanery, the North, and Aegon follow one another. The opening clip is dedicated to Daemon who seems to be already in King’s Landing. In this clip, we can begin to develop theories. The Rogue Prince may have reached the capital for Blood and Cheese, an episode known to fans of the novel which in the second season of the TV series will take place in the first episode called A Son for A Son. The writer doubts that Daemon will remain physically fixed in the capital until the end of the season. In fact, in the trailer, Daemon himself declares his intention to conquer King’s Landing from Rhaenys but this will only happen after Raven’s Rest. Those who have read the book know what will happen during that specific battle, so at the moment in which he communicates his decision to Rhaenys, it is too early to conquer the capital. If this happens during the new chapters of the second season it will only happen in the finale.
Possibly this opening clip of the trailer could also be a vision, a dragon dream or a magically induced image of Alys Rivers. Other very interesting frames quickly follow. We start with Alicent in an open green area, perhaps in the land of rivers, even if we know that the queen’s mother is unlikely to leave King’s Landing during the Dance. In the opinion of the writer, this image is the result of a vision or a dream of Alicent or of her daughter Haleana, who as we have already seen in the first episodes of the series is perfectly capable of predicting the future. Rhaenyra’s crown falling does not bode well, rather it is a symbol of rapid fall and imminent damage. The three dragon eggs instead represent both the dragon seeds that we will see during the season and at the same time are a clear Easter egg to Daenerys’ eggs in the first season of Game of Thrones.
Team Green VS Team Black
This new trailer is also full of parallels and seems almost studied in a mirror to contrast the green team with the Black team.
In the trailer, there are images of the Green Council during which Aegon appears very impatient to act against the blacks (probably post Blood and Cheese) while Otto and Alicent are decidedly more moderate, and strong in their trust in the houses of the realm. In fact, in the background, we see that several armies are on the march (including that of the Lannisters) ready to go into battle. On the field or rather in flight, Aemond will also reach the Rest of Corvi on the back of Vhagar and Aegon, who we see in the trailer for the first time on SunFyre. We warn you right now that Crow’s Rest will be the most important battle of the season and you are not ready for the consequences of such a clash. Continuing the analysis of the complex internal dynamics of the Green team, it is worth underlining that the relationship between Alicent and Aemond in this second season of the show will be very different compared to what we have seen in previous episodes. Aemond is brash and ready for anything, he no longer minces his words, and he has too much self-esteem and rebellion in his veins. On the other hand, Alicent still seems to have a moral compass and we don’t think she’ll take very kindly to what her son did at the end of the first season. At the same time, Aemond believes his mother is not very lucid because she is still tied to Rheanryra and confesses this lack of respect towards the maternal figure to the least suitable person of all: Ser Criston Cole, the one who will be nicknamed “the kingmaker”. The two characters will be thick and thin in HOTD 2, and not in the warmest and most positive sense of the word.
Always remaining in the Green context, two are the most controversial images that have given rise to various debates among fans. In this shot, we see a young woman with hair that seems platinum and therefore potentially Targaryen. It is a dancer from Mysaria and it could be she who goes with Aemond in this second scene or it is at the same time very likely that the Targaryen prince is with Alys Rivers, a very important woman in the second season and a character we have not yet seen on screen.
The Black team otherwise seems stronger, united, and compact. We see the Velaryon ships at the service of Rhaenyra and ready to take the field for their queen, which will probably happen already this season, but between Daemon and his wife, it seems that not everything is going too smoothly. “The only hope for the realm is a leader strong enough to unite them” with this sentence Deamon insinuates doubts in the viewer about his blind trust towards Rhaneyra. Even the wife questions her husband’s faithfulness but the writer has a theory. By uttering this phrase, Daemon wishes to encourage Rhaenyra to go to war. It’s not that he doesn’t deem her worthy of her title or is about to cheat on her. During Rhaenyra’s coronation last season, Deamon already demonstrated her loyalty to us. Despite this, the trailer could make us think that he considers himself more worthy of his wife because on screen we see him on the back of Caraxes, ready to go into battle. In any case, you can rest assured: Daemon has repeatedly reiterated his loyalty towards his wife and queen. The trailer could have merged multiple scenes and lines simply to increase the drama, which is all well and good.
This frame intervenes to increase speculation: an unidentifiable couple shouts on a bed. From his hand, we can guess that it is Daemon, and we understand it from her ring, her face remains a mystery. She could be Rhaenyra, due to the white hair, another person, or even Aemma and in that case, he would be Viserys. This last theory is to be taken into strong consideration because Aemma’s interpreter will have a cameo in HOTD 2. It is very unlikely that the woman is Alys Rivers because in the novel she is a Strong’s bastard, so she should have black hair.
The North, the Battles and the Advancing War
Finally, in the latest trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2, we see the face of Cregan Stark, the lord of Winterfell. As in the last trailer, Cregan is alongside Jace, on the barrier. We don’t know why he chose to lead the young Velaryon right onto the ice promontory, but he may have done it to make him fully understand the threat that has haunted the north for generations: the coming of the White Walkers. Jace is in the North to get Cregan’s confirmation of his faith in Rhaneyra’s cause. He will return to Dragonstone with the loyalty of the North but also with a promise of marriage in his pocket, at least if the TV series chooses to faithfully adapt the novel. In any case, Tom Taylor is perfect for the role of Cregan and we are sure that he will give us great satisfaction.
Before moving towards the conclusion of the final analysis of the trailer, it is appropriate to point out that the battle scenes shown in the various clips all concerning the Crow’s Rest, those involving the dragons, the battle of the windmill, and finally the Daemon’s arrival at Harrenhal. There should be 4 battles in the new season, so we need to see where the series intends to go. We can’t tell you much about the scenes of post-funeral turmoil connected to King’s Landing starring Alicent and Helaena except that the people will not like the war. If they wanted, they could have transferred the typical turmoil of the moment Rhaenyra arrived in the capital to Aegon’s kingdom.
The trailer ends with a clear invitation to the first episode and the now already very famous moment known as Blood and Cheese. We can easily understand this since Mysaria tells us that “there is more than one way to fight a war” and in the background, clear images of a plot and characters who are about to sneak into the red fortress appear. Don’t worry, you won’t have to wait long before seeing with your own eyes what the members of the Black team are planning to take revenge for the loss of Lucerys, given that this episode will be the opening one of the new season of the series. The actual final scene of the trailer has a double twist. On the one hand, we have Rhaneyra who closes the curtain with a truly significant voice “The war is coming and no one could win it”, a phrase which has enormous meaning for those who have already read Fire and Blood. Meanwhile, scenes from Crow’s Rest follow one another, the most epic and shocking battle of the season, a clash that will only confirm Rhaenyra’s phrase.
