HBO’s House of the Dragon Season 2: Plot, release date, and more

The Game of Thrones is set to return sometime in 2024. Here’s what we know about Season 2 of House of the Dragon.

Game of Thrones became a phenomenon so big that the makers of the show decided to extend the legacy and create a prequel of the fantasy drama. This gave birth to the series titled House of the Dragon. The first season of the show came to a close in October 2022 with a great response from the audience. The prequel was such a hit that HBO greenlit a second season almost immediately after the first season began.

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms were merged by the Targaryen Conquest. It takes place nearly 200 years before the occurrence of Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. The first season introduced us to the key characters of the show and took us roughly to the start of the conflict. Considering the amount of drama that went into season 1, one can only try to predict what 3House of the Dragon’s season 2 would look like.

Expect to witness many major events in Season 2 including conspiracy within the Red Keep, Rhaenys Targaryen mounting Meleys once again, and the search for more Dragonriders. One crucial scene from George R.R. Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood called the Blood and Cheese could also be a part of Season 2. The show’s writer, Sara Hess, had dropped a hint about the big moment during an interview with Variety.

The first season of House of the Dragon concluded with Aemond killing Lucerys during a dragon fight in a big storm. Rhaenyra, who had been trying to keep the peace between the greens and the blacks, gets the bad news of his son’s death. And the last episode shows her enraged after learning that Alicent’s son killed hers. She is not going to play friendly any longer.

The filming of the show will begin soon. Matt Smith, who plays Prince Daemon Targaryen, confirmed that he received the script for Season 2 during an appearance at the Middle East Film and Comic Con in March. The filming is reportedly kickstarting on 17 April in Cáceres, Spain. The team will then shoot some crucial scenes in Warner Bros. Studios in England and will wrap up the production in December 2023.

Most of the main cast is expected to return for House of the Dragon season 2. So expect to see Emma D’Arcy return as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith return as Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke return as Alicent Hightower, Eve Best return as Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint return as Corlys Velaryon, Ewan Mitchell return as Aemond Targaryen, Harry Collett return as Jacaerys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel return as Criston Cole and more.

Unfortunately, fans won’t be seeing Paddy Considine in the new season as his character, Viserys Targaryen, died in the first season. Milly Alcock, who essayed the role of young Rhaenyra will also not return for any flashback scenes. Showrunner Ryan Condal also hinted earlier that Emily Carey, who played the young Alicent, would also not reprise her role for the new season. New actors who are expected to join the cast include names like Emily Beecham (for the role of Alys Rivers) and more.