Inti Navia 
The second season of the critically-acclaimed prequel to “Game of Thrones,” “House of the Dragon” is demanding that the audience pick a side. Will you be on the side of The Greens – Queen Alicent, and her son King Aegon? Or on the side of The Blacks – Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful queen of Westeros, and her husband Daemon, along with her son Jace.
Oh, yeah, and both sides ride dragons. Producers of the show even raised a 270 foot tall installation of the one called Vhagar on top of the Empire State Building, in a viral marketing stunt on the cusp of the season’s premiere.
The first episode mainly just focuses on the two rival characters– Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and Alicent (Olivia Cooke). Rhaenyra deals with the direct aftermath of her youngest son, Luke, being eaten by a Green’s dragon last season. D’Arcy brings an incredible performance of grief and rage. They don’t have that many lines, but their facial expressions say it all. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were nominated for an Emmy this year.
Cooke has a really nuanced and complicated character to play, and she does her job perfectly. People tend to be on the side of The Blacks more (their colors correspond to the outfits they wore during season one), but Cooke makes it so you could just as easily be on her side throughout the whole drama.
War is inevitable between the two families, and they’re gearing up for battle. Daemon (Matt Smith) especially is out for revenge for the death of Luke, and he does something which will shake the viewers to the core.
Episode two focuses on the fallout of episode one, with added drama between two characters that have been quietly developing a rivalry since season one. The knights Sir Erryk and Sir Arryk, twins in the show and played by twins Luke and Elliot Tittensor in real life, chose opposite sides in the conflict. In episode two, they’re forced to prove that they’re more loyal to their queen than they are to each other.
“House of the Dragon” season two is off to a strong start, and it teases more to come. This season will have eight episodes, with weekly releases every Sunday at 8PM Central on Max. There’s also a new spin-off prequel series filming, titled “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” set to release in 2025.
By Inti Navia, Sophomore, Columbia College Chicago
All Platforms: @intinavia
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