The second season of Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon is up and running – but what happened to Jaehaerys and Jaehaera in last night’s big premiere?
The first episode of season two aired on HBO in the US on June 17, with UK viewers able to watch concurrently via Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW.
Last month, a trailer for the second season was released, which built upon the tension that highlighted season one’s end, when Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) conspired to put Alicent’s son Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) on the throne after King Viserys (Paddy Considine) snuffed it.
Viserys had originally designated daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) as his heir – but a death-bed change-of-mind (conveniently only heard by Alicent) changed all that. Cue a Targaryen civil war, otherwise known as the ‘Dance Of The Dragons’ by readers of George R.R. Martin’s source books.
The trailer sees The Blacks, led by Rhaenyra and Daemon (Matt Smith), plan an invasion of King’s Landing to claim the Iron Throne from the Greens, led by Aegon. Over the course of the intense trailer, we get several glimpses of the bloody and fiery conflict to come, along with a trip to The Wall.
Watch that trailer below:
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The season two reviews have been strong so far, currently sitting on a 91 per cent rating on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.
Which child was killed in House Of The Dragon season 2 episode 1 – Jaehaerys or Jaehaera?
In an action-packed episode one, we witness both sides of the royal feud making moves to gain the upper hand. Rhaenyra, in particular, is keen for revenge following Aemond’s (Viserys’ second son with Alicent) murder of her son Lucerys in the season one finale.
Daemon chooses to act on behalf of his wife, commissioning one of Aegon’s royal ratcatchers and another heavy to sneak into the palace at King’s Landing and murder Aemond while he sleeps. Instead, they encounter Aegon’s wife (and younger sister) Helaena in her chambers with their two young children Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, who are sleeping.
Desperate to fulfil Daemon’s instruction, and as the alarm is raised, the two accomplices panic and decide to kill a different male of the Targaryen household. At knifepoint, they demand Helaena reveal which of her children is the boy (they resemble each other so closely). Helaena gives an answer, which the two follow (despite initially deciding she is lying to protect the king’s male heir). Jaehaerys is beheaded in his bed. Helaena escapes with Jaehaera in her arms. The episode ends.
Despite it being slightly unclear whether Helaena was misleading the attackers as to her children’s identity, NME can confirm it was Jaehaerys who was murdered (and not Jaehaera). There was no double-cross – and Aegon’s only heir is no more. Will he seek retribution in episode two?