The Dance of the Dragons begins! New episodes of the hit Game of Thrones prequel series from today exclusively on Sky and streaming only on NOW every Monday at the same time as the United States.
In the autumn of 2022, the shock of the way in which the events between the Targaryens and the Hightowers, or better yet between the greens hey Blacks, they made us hate the fact that we would have to wait more than a year before we could see the sequel. An unbearably long time. But time, which is more relentless than the power plays of Westeros, has finally passed and the new season of House of the Dragon is finally here, exclusively on Sky and streaming only on NOW from today, June 17, every Monday with a new episode at the same time as the United States. The spin-off prequel to Game of thrones is still the most spectacular series you can see on TV right now. Seductive to the eyes with its worlds and its unique elements, starting with dragons, lots of dragons, and a constant sinking in the heart with its unsettling stories.
Watch the new season of House of the Dragon streaming on NOW!
And the new season surprises from the very first seconds, recalling great moments of the time spent in Westeros and creating a splendid symmetry with Game of thrones to immediately plot a route. “Winter Is Coming” (Winter is coming), which was also the title of the very first episode, seems like a past concept. For some still crucial, but past (although it would be better to say future). Now it’s “War Is Coming” the warning around which all things revolve. War is inevitable. Everything is tainted by a feeling of imminent danger. Revenge is the dominant feeling, which blinds every character. And we know, being this a story that comes from the pages of George RR Martin’s book Fire and Blood and from the stories handed down to those who lived two centuries later, how all-encompassing and destructive the clash will be.
The new season of House of the Dragon: The events that led to the beginning of the end
Set approximately 200 years before A Song of Ice and Fire tell about it Game of thrones, House of the Dragon recalls the events that led to the disastrous fall and end of the rule of House Targaryen; up to the so-called Dance of the Dragons, the civil conflict that erupted in the Seven Kingdoms between two branches of the same house. The Greens, which includes supporters of King Aegon II Targaryenand the Blacks, the group that supports the Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. The latter, eldest daughter of the late King Viserys I Targaryen, expected to become the first queen regnant of the Seven Kingdoms. But the palace plots, the more or less well-founded rumors, the precarious interests of the Hightowers and in particular of Alicent Hightoweronce Rhaenyra’s best friend who grew up with her at the Red Keep, later becoming the second wife of Viserys and her father Ser Otto HightowerHand of the King, brought Aegon, firstborn of Viserys and Alicent, to the Iron Throne.
Watch the new season of House of the Dragon streaming on NOW!
This would be one of those usual family feuds if it weren’t for the fact that the power and wealth that comes with the crown are immense and, above all, if it weren’t for the fact that many of these characters are dragon riders. The only ones among the noble families of Westeros to possess and know how to control these imposing, almost indestructible and very powerful creatures, it was the dragons who transformed what at first seemed like squabbles between blood relatives into a bloody open war. The point of no return was – in the last episode of the inaugural season (already available on Sky and streaming on NOW) – the showdown between the Prince Aemondthird son of Viserys and Alicent, and the Prince LucerysRhaenyra’s second son, after the latter had stabbed the other in the eye as a child.
Arriving at Storm’s End as her mother’s ambassador to urge House Baratheon to keep the oath of allegiance already sworn to Viserys’ daughter, Lucerys found herself in the lurch when she discovered that Aemond, at the behest of his brother Aegon, in exchange for his support he promised himself to marry one of the daughters of Borros Baratheon, who succeeded his father Boremund and therefore, according to him, freed from the latter’s oath to Rhaenyra. Leaving the fortress on the back of his enormous dragon, Vhagar, Aemond charged into the storm in pursuit of Lucerys and her Arrax. The two dragons, having escaped the control of their riders, faced each other in flight, with the result that the most inexperienced ones – Lucerys and her dragon – lost their lives. We saw the dismay of Aemond, who was eager for revenge against his nephew but not to the point of killing him. And, in the last moments of the finale, the shocked and at the same time angry expression of a Rhaenyra who up to that moment had shown herself very indulgent (hoping to negotiate a peace with the Greens without further bloodshed), like her husband and Uncle Daemon he had often complained to her. It thus became clear to everyone how inevitable the war was now. That the Dance of the Dragons was about to begin. Exactly what is about to happen.
The new season of House of the Dragon: What awaits us?
In a world dominated by men, from the beginning House of the Dragon focused on two women divided by power: Rhaenyra and Alicent. If in the previous episodes we had seen them cultivate the hope of reconciliation in their hearts, for the good of their children and grandchildren, the new season sees them irremediably at odds. TO Dragonstone, we find Rhaenyra overwhelmed by grief over the gruesome death of her son, to the point of giving the impression of having lost contact with reality. Especially in the eyes of the bellicose Daemon, who is pushing for an immediate and equally ferocious response. Rhaenyra’s pain is that of a mother: she asks only to be consumed and internalized. Which is why it won’t be long before we see her take the initiative. Meanwhile, ad King’s Landing, the winds of war blow strong outside and inside the Red Keep. The situation has never been so tense. Faced with the awareness of the impending war, the Hightowers close ranks, advising a young king who is too superficial and reckless. On both sides, we are questioning ourselves – openly or in whispers – about the most effective strategy, exposing dangerous internal divisions. And he will surprise you to discover – or maybe not, knowing Martin’s predilection for apparently insignificant characters and puns – that sometimes it would be enough to simply observe and listen more carefully to find the solution. Or prevent the worst.
As you may remember, shortly before the end of the first season Rhaenyra had sent her children Jacaerys and Lucerys on a mission to call Houses Arryn, Stark and Baratheon to live up to their oath of allegiance. In anticipation of a war, dragons will be essential but will not be enough to cover the many fronts at sea and on land. We know what happened to Lucerys. What happened to the eldest, Queen Rhaenyra’s heir? The new season begins exactly where the first one left off, in the far North. Familiar places much loved by fans of Game of thronesWhere we will meet the first Starks of House of the Dragon, ancestors of Jon Snow and the others, who like them and the other Starks who came before them do not forget an oath. As anticipated by George RR Martin, not only the author of the novels but also the co-creator and executive producer of the spin-off, the beginning of the new season is “very dark. It might make you cry,” adding that “it’s powerful, emotional and heartbreaking”. It is, in fact. The point of no return has been passed. The destructive culminating moment of the “mythical” Dance of the Dragons is ever closer. And all the rancor and desire for revenge will further exacerbate the rivalry between the Greens and the Blacks, with upheavals that – as Martin said – “will break my heart”. So, let the dancing begin!
Watch the new season of House of the Dragon streaming on NOW!
