SPOILERS for the first episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 are ahead. Read with caution, and make sure to watch the Game of Thrones prequel with a Max subscription.
When it comes to House of the Dragon, you know there is going to be a crazy amount of deaths. So, of course, House of the Dragon Season 2 had to start with one of the most gruesome ones yet – a death that was highly anticipated by book fans and a shock to those who didn't know – and the showrunner knows precisely how he'll deal with the backlash.
The finale of House of the Dragon was released in 2022, signaling the start of the Targaryen Civil War, otherwise known as the Dance of Dragons. The first season was spent trying to learn who was who on the Targaryen family tree, the power dynamics between them and who had which dragon, but now, the real drama starts.
And, of course, Blood and Cheese finally happened in the Season 2 premiere – i.e., one of the sons of Helaena Targaryen was killed in vengeance for Lucerys Velaryon's unjust death. I had the chance to talk to showrunner Ryan Condal about how he brought this eventful moment to life for the small screen – and how he mainly made it a misdirection for people who watch the show:
Yeah, it's a multilayered, multidimensional process. I think it started with the writing of the scene, and it was something that I think became clear to us early on that that's how we wanted to end the season premiere episode. And the episode is intentionally a bit of a misdirection – we come in a couple of days after the events of the end of Season 1, after Aemond's betrayal of Luke over Storm's End. And we're seeing how that event is rippling through both the Green and the Black side of the conflict. But those pieces are still sort of beginning to be moved on the board. And Aegon's faction and Rhaenyra's faction are trying to figure out who is going to raise armies and banners for them.
Condal also said that because raising armies for medieval warfare typically takes a long time, it would make sense for this "hard left turn" to happen with Daemon, who takes action with Rhaenyra's demands instead of waiting around:
While they're kind of locked in this Cold War waiting for the other side to make their first move, Daemon acts and takes Rhaenyra's demand for the head of Aemond and puts it into action, and sets this horrible plot in motion that of course ends in great tragedy for Aegon and his family. And we wanted to kind of set up an episode that felt like it was an episode, seeing where everybody is on the board, getting all the pieces moving, reminding us where we are and where we're going. And then suddenly we take this hard left turn into that sequence at the end of the show.
Condal continued, saying that making the scene come to life took many months, praising the writers, the director and the music especially, commenting that it took them "over a year" just for that one specific moment of the war:
It essentially took over a year to put together in full, but I think it's landed and stuck with a lot of people. And yeah, it's really the catalyst for all the events that are going to follow in this season.
I commented that I hoped he is prepared for the online backlash – because for fans who didn't read the books, the idea of a child getting brutally decapitated in his sleep might not sit that well with folks. But Condal had only a few words to say to that:
Oh, bring it on!
With any show that takes place in the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire, violent and brutal instances like this are expected. There are plenty of moments from Game of Thrones that have blown our minds or made us cry, and I have a feeling that House of the Dragon is going to do the same this year because the war has only just begun.
However, it's nice to know that Condal is ready and waiting for any backlash he gets, so sharpen your pitchforks.
To see where the show goes after this horrific death, you can catch new episodes of House of the Dragon as they air on the 2024 TV schedule every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
