WARNING: There are spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon Season 3! Actor Steve Toussaint seems to have confirmed some casting news for House of the Dragon Season 3 that fans already suspected. In a now-deleted Instagram post, Toussaint shared a photo of the cast list for Season 3 Episode 4, which included Prince Daeron Targaryen. This is the third son of King Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, who has been fostered by his mother’s relatives House Hightower in Oldtown up until now. Daeron has been mentioned a few times now, and fans were fairly certain he would show up on screen in Season 3, but this is our best confirmation yet.

Toussaint plays Lord Corlys Velaryon, a.k.a. the Sea Snake on House of the Dragon. he is currently Rhaenyra’s Hand of the King, and is in control of the naval fleet guarding Blackwater Bay. Toussaint quickly deleted his post featuring the cast list, but screenshots were captured by fan accounts and circulated on other social media platforms.

Daeron is the younger brother of King Aegon II, Queen Helaena, and Prince Aemond Targaryen. With two princes present at King’s Landing, Daeron was sent off to live with his maternal family, which has happened entirely off screen. He’s been mentioned a few times in the show up until now, including a heartfelt conversaiont between Alicent and her brother, Gwayne. However, Otto Hightower is the one who has gotten to the heart of Daeron’s significance — he is another dragon-rider who can join their cause and turn the tide of war.

[RELATED: Game of Thrones Fans Split on the Most Hated Character (But There’s No Wrong Answer)]

Daeron rides the blue she-dragon Tessarion, though it’s not clear how old she is. In George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, we’re told that Daeron had bonded with Tessarion by the time he was six years old, but it’s not clear if she was a hatchling. Many Targaryens of this era are given a dragon egg to sleep with them in their cradle. Either way, Tessarion is large enough to ride and fight by the time war breaks out. Daeron is about the same age as Rhaenyra’s son and heir, Jacaerys.

Toussaint’s post comes with a few other revelations as well — it tells us that Episode 4 does not include key characters Addam, Aemond, Baela, or Otto, while it does include Lady Jeyne Arryn. Jeyne appeared briefly in Season 2, and if she has a greater role to play in Season 3, it gives us some major hints about where the story in the Vale is headed — especially with context clues from the book.

There are other insights from this cast list, but they venture far into the territory of spoilers and speculation. Fans who want to get ahead can find Fire & Blood now in print, digital, and audiobook formats. House of the Dragon Season 3 is now in production, and is expected to premiere sometime in 2026 on HBO and Max.

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House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal just teased some major developments in Season 3, and fans got right to work trying to figure out what they are. The show is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s fictional history book Fire & Blood, so it’s easy to make predictions about the pacing and progress of the story based on that bird’s-eye-view. Condal spoke at a panel on Thursday with some of the show’s biggest stars and other creative voices. He teased “four major events from the book” coming in Season 3, and knowing that the show is aiming for four seasons, we may be able to pin down what they are.

WARNING: there are spoilers for House of the Dragon ahead!

“Season 2 is huge. Season 3 is huger, in many ways,” Condal said. “There are, by my quick count on stage, four major events from the book that we get to adapt and realize in three dimensions in this season. That’s really exciting on a scope-and-scale perspective, and I think it’s the thing the show does really well. The things that we’re building are mind-boggling. But what I’m most excited about from a dramatic perspective is that we got to have a little fun this season, and there’s a conceptual episode, meaning that it isn’t in the traditional vernacular of what we’ve laid out as the structure of a House of the Dragon episode. It’s very character-driven, and I think it’s really great and I’m really excited to see it rendered.”

House of the Dragon adapts a small portion of Fire & Blood. The book covers approximately the first half of the Targaryen dynasty in Westeros, from the year 1 AC (“after conquest”) to 136 AC. House of the Dragon is about the civil war known as “The Dance of the Dragons,” which takes place from 129 AC to 131 AC. However, the show started much earlier in the timeline to give us some set-up on these characters, and it may end far after the war is over for the same reason. Not knowing where the show will end is the biggest challenge in predicting how far Season 3 will go.

[RELATED: Game of Thrones’ Next Spinoff Will Lack One Thing Fans Love]

Battle of the Gullet

Even then, our first guess is relatively easy — Season 3 will almost certainly begin with the Battle of Gullet, as Condal has said in other interviews. This battle seems to have been meant for the end of Season 2 before HBO cut the show’s episode count at the last minute. The Battle of the Gullet will be a naval battle pitting the Triarchy warships against House Velaryon’s blockade in Blackwater Bay.

This is shaping up to be one of the biggest naval battles we’ve seen in Westeros — even counting Game of Thrones, where naval warfare was downplayed compared to the books. It will also allow the eccentric Admiral Sharako Lohar to make more sense, and perhaps even give Prince Jacaerys something to do for once.

The Fall of King’s Landing

This is a bit out of order, but the ending of Season 2 made it feel as though Rhaenyra would capture King’s Landing any moment. This would be a slight change from the book, but it makes sense — especially as the writers have made it clear they want the show to center on the relationship between Rhaeyra and Alicent. With Alicent a prisoner in the Red Keep, it will be very easy to keep these two heroines together in the spotlight.

This is a pretty bloodless fight, relying on the city watch’s continued loyalty to Daemon, so there may not be much spectacle here. I, fact, it’s possible this wasn’t even one of the big events Condal was referring to at his panel. If not, there are others to chose from below.

Battle of the Red Fork

The next major engagement in this war is the Battle of the Honeywine, but there’s a theory growing in popularity among fans that this may be abbreviated in the TV show. All we really need from this battle is the on-screen debut of Prince Daeron Targaryen and his dragon Tessarion, who have both been sequestered in Oldtown for the entire story so far. This might be one of the big set pieces Condal was talking about, but we may also see the aftermath of this battle and nothing more, like the fight between the Brackens and Blackwoods in Season 2.

Instead, I’m predicting that the next big event Condal mentioned referred to some of the major battles in the Riverlands around this time. The show may conflate some of these fights into one, such as the Battle at the Red Fork and the Battle at Acorn Hall. Here, the Lannisters and their bannermen win some decisive victoryies, but they lose a lot of their key leaders in the process, including Lord Jason Lannister himself.

The Battle by the Lakeshore could be included in this “event,” but it could also stand on its own as the third major event Condal referred to. That fight is significant because it finally shows House Stark arriving from the North and joining the fight. This is believed by maesters to be the “bloodiest battle of the Dance,” and is grimly nicknamed “The Fishfeed.”

Ironborn Attack

If not the Fishfeed, Condal’s next big event has to be the Ironborn joining the war. Lord Dalton Greyjoy has been mentioned several times on the show, and while he refused any arrangement with Aegon II and the Hightower faction, he is happy to raid western shore while it’s vulnerable due to war. Rather than offering Greyjoy new titles and honors, Rhaenyra and Daemon simply ask him to attack the Westerlands while House Lannister is distracted.

Greyjoy — a.k.a. “The Red Kraken” — takes his Ironborn raiding and pillaging all the undefended lands on the west coast, sacking Lannisport and Fair Isle. They are able to overrun the country and take what they want, though they can’t break down the defenses of Casterly Rock itself. All this fighting may seem inconsequential to the war between Targaryens, but it falls right in line with Martin’s pervasive anti-war themes.

Butcher’s Ball & First Tumbleton

There’s enough material here to fill out the season if it’s all given maximum screentime, but the pace this show is setting may not allow for that. Therefore, I’ll mention the next two fights that could conclude Season 3. First comes Butcher’s Ball — a crafty confrontation between the forces of House Stark and Ser Criston Cole. Here, the Northmen hide among the corpses scattered across a battlefield in the Riverlands until Cole’s army is passing by. They then rise up ad attack with the element of surprise, overwhelming the Hightower forces.

Butcher’s Ball needs to be on the show because of its unique setup and gruesome nature, but it wouldn’t be all that surprising if it was somehow combined with the Fishfeed for brevity. The more likely season ender seems to be the First Battle of Tumbleton, fought between the Hightower army and Rhaenyra’s loyalists. Here, Daeron and Tessarion go to battle again, and it would make sense to book-end the season with their involvement. On top of that, the dragonseeds Ulf and Hugh fly in to join this battle on dragonback, and this show definitely needs to maximize its dragon time wherever it can.

You can read about these battles and make your own predictions in Fire & Blood, available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats. House of the Dragon Season 3 is expected to debut sometime in 2026. In the meantime, a new spinoff called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms hits HBO and Max sometime this year.

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Nearly six years after the controversial finale of Game of Thrones and with House of the Dragon now carrying the torch for the franchise, fans are still passionately debating one of the show’s most engaging questions: who deserves the title of Westeros’ most despicable villain? A recent Reddit thread in the r/gameofthrones community has reignited this discussion, revealing that while Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) and Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon)  lead the pack of loathed antagonists, the spectrum of hatred spans widely across the show’s ensemble. The thread, which generated hundreds of responses, demonstrates how the series’ complex characterization created villains that resonated differently with viewers, from scheming politicians to sadistic torturers, with many fans presenting detailed arguments for why certain characters earned their particular enmity.

The Reddit conversation began with user bebo_bunty declaring they hated Shae (Sibel Kekilli), Tyrion Lannister’s (Peter Dinklage) former lover, even more than the notoriously cruel Joffrey Baratheon, calling her “an entitled piece of work.” This controversial opening sparked immediate debate, with many commenters quickly expanding the discussion to include a wide range of contenders. Joffrey Baratheon remains a perennial favorite for most hated, with Reddit user 111tejas praising Gleeson’s performance: “They cast his part perfectly. He just looked like an entitled little b-tch.” Ramsay Bolton emerged as another leading contender, with multiple commenters describing him as “evil incarnate” and noting his calculated sadism made him more frightening than Joffrey’s impulsive cruelty. As Reddit user theflyingpiggies explained, “Where Joffrey was no doubt a psycho, his evil often felt like it was bred from entitlement and immaturity, while Ramsay felt sadistic on a whole other level.”

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Beyond these front-runners, the thread revealed a surprising diversity of answers. Littlefinger/Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) received significant mention for his manipulation and betrayals, with user Downtown-Bat-5493 specifically citing his responsibility for the deaths of numerous Game of Thrones characters: “He was directly responsible for deaths of John Arryn, Ned Stark, Lysa Arryn, Joffrey, Ros and was responsible for starting war between Starks and Lannisters.” Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) maintained a steady presence in the discussions, while Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) was frequently mentioned specifically for burning his daughter Shireen at the stake. The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce), Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk), Walder Frey (David Bradley), and Craster (Robert Pugh) all received multiple nominations, each representing different types of villainy that resonated with viewers. Interestingly, several fans expressed disdain for later-season Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright), reflecting the controversial reception of the character’s storyline in Game of Thrones’ final seasons.

What Makes the Perfect “Love to Hate” Character in Westeros?

The Reddit thread reveals a fascinating distinction in how fans categorize their hatred. Some characters like Joffrey and Cersei were described as ones fans “loved to hate” – villains whose scenes were compelling despite (or because of) their reprehensible actions. As Reddit user KiddPresident noted, “I loved to hate Joffrey. Ramsay genuinely freaked me out.” In contrast, characters like the show’s version of Euron Greyjoy were described as simply frustrating to watch, with the same user lamenting that he “made every scene he was in worse with his presence” and “didn’t do anything hard enough to actually seem scary.”

This distinction highlights what made Game of Thrones villains so effective when they worked well: believable motivation combined with exceptional performance. The most hated characters often had clear psychological profiles that made their villainy comprehensible, if not justifiable. Cersei’s protection of her children, Littlefinger’s class resentment and unrequited love, and even Joffrey’s upbringing under Robert and Cersei all provided context for their actions. Several users specifically mentioned the quality of acting as crucial to their hatred, praising actors like Gleeson, Rheon, and Headey for creating truly detestable yet three-dimensional antagonists.

The thread also highlights how the show’s adaptation choices influenced character reception. Several comments contrasted book and show versions of Game of Thrones characters, particularly noting how Shae’s characterization differed significantly between media. “In the books she is a girl of whom we don’t even know if she was really a prostitute before Bronn took her to Tyrion, she is naive and instinctive… In the series thanks to the b-llshit of girl power and forced romanticization they created a somewhat hateful character,” wrote Reddit user DinoSauro85, underscoring how adaptation choices shaped viewer responses.

For all the criticism of the show’s final seasons, the lasting impact of these characters demonstrates how successfully Game of Thrones created memorable antagonists who continue to provoke strong reactions. The diversity of responses also reflects the show’s sprawling narrative and moral complexity. Unlike many fantasy series with clear heroes and villains, Game of Thrones presented characters operating in various shades of gray, with even the most despicable figures occasionally displaying sympathetic qualities. This moral ambiguity also extended to supposedly “good” characters — several commenters mentioned disliking Catelyn Stark for her treatment of Jon Snow or Daenerys Targaryen for her increasing self-righteousness, highlighting how the show complicated traditional notions of heroism and villainy.

Game of Thrones is available to stream on Max. House of the Dragon Season 3 is expected to premiere sometime in 2026 on HBO and Max. Martin’s books, including Fire & Blood, are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.

Who’s the worst Game of Thrones villain in your opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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House of the Dragon Season 3 will introduce something very prevalent from George R.R. Martin’s books that has never been seen on screen — and fans think they know what it is. Showrunner Ryan Condal mentioned this new set piece in the latest episode of his podcast, The Stuff Dreams are Made Of, which is all about movie props and design. He said that the new season would include an “in-world thing” that was not featured on Game of Thrones, but is very present in A Song of Ice and Fire. He then downplayed it as “a smaller detail, it’s not a big thing,” but fans already have their hopes up. Read on for the most popular theory about what it could be.

WARNING: Spoilers below for A Song of Ice and Fire and possibly House of the Dragon!

“We have some very specific things we have to build, and one of them is a very in-world thing that we’ve heard a lot about over from the text of the books, but we haven’t really ever seen on screen in a specific way,” Condal said. “It’s a smaller detail, it’s not a big thing, but I just thought it was cool. It’s one of those things where you just have to go read all the little snippets that are in the books and you try to put the thing together, take all the information you have and then connect dots as best you can and then fill in the rest. So excited to see that come along, it’s a fun one.”

On Reddit and other forums, the most popular theory by far is that Condal is referring to a Valyrian glass candle. we’ve never seen these on TV, but they’re set up to be very important in the books. They’re also the kind of magical element that Condal has emphasized in House of the Dragon after they were ignored in Game of Thrones. The show has already shown us a Green Man at Harrenhal and taken us into some Weirwood visions with Daemon, so a glass candle would actually fit quite well.

[RELATED: 3 House of the Dragon Moments That Need to Happen in Season 3]

What is a Valyrian Glass Candle?

Glass candles are magical artifacts from Valyria, which come in the colors green and black as far as we know. They are made of obsidian — a.k.a. dragon glass — and they seemed to be a focus for Valyrians’ telepathic powers in the same way the Weirwood trees are focuses for Greenseers. Glass candles purportedly allowed sorcerers to see things happening all across the world, and to communicate with other sorcerers around the world. They could also give people visions and dreams, allowing them to communicate with regular people to some extent.

At the height of Valyria’s power, these candles could “burn” without melting away. In use, they would give off a harsh, mesmerizing light. By the time of A Game of Thrones, we don’t know of anyone who can still use a glass candle, though the maesters constantly try to make them light. Many fans theorize that the Targaryens could still use them in secret when they first conquered Westeros, and perhaps they still could by the time of House of the Dragon.

Glass Candles in House of the Dragon

Commenters on Condal’s new podcast are guessing that Helaena Targaryen may be the one to use a glass candle in the new season. She appeared in one of Daemon’s Weirwood visions at the end of Season 2, suggesting that the candles and the trees share one unified astral plane. This seems to be the case in the books as well, since Melisandre sees Bran and the Three-Eyed Crow in her fire, and they stare back at her.

The candle would also fit this show aesthetically since Martin has told us that they come in black and green — the signature colors of these two warring factions. It’s worth noting that, aside from the Targaryens, House Hightower is the group often theorized to have access to glass candles and similar magic. Their home is an ancient fortress created by dragon fire, and it is said that they can see the whole world from atop their tower. The books even describe the contemporary lord of House Hightower locked away up there studying ancient spells.

Burning New Fan Theories

If House of the Dragon Season 3 does employ glass candles, it would open up all kinds of new possibilities for fan theories and speculation. Confirmation that Targaryens could still use glass candles this late in the game would support the theories that other rulers had used them, and might even cast some of the “Mad Targaryens” in a different light. The visions and prophecies that consumed this monarchy might all have been coming from this access to an astral plane, and from other sorcerers trying to influence them.

This would dovetail nicely with the other Game of Thrones spinoff premiering this year, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. It takes place about halfway between the times of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, when all the dragons are extinct but House Targaryen still firmly rules over Westeros. There are a lot of cryptic prophecies to consider in that story, and the addition of glass candles could really light up the intrigue.

As for the books, fans are usually circumspect about applying TV revelations to Martin’s writing, but glass candles have been such a hot topic for book fans lately that this would definitely warrant some conversation. In recent years, Reddit user u/gsteff has been visiting a university library that hosts a collection of Martin’s drafts and correspondences. They noticed that the early drafts of A Feast for Crows gave a lot of background on glass candles, and hints about how they might play into the plot later on. These drafts aren’t canon, of course, but they provide a great jumping off point for theories and speculation.

Of course, Condal could easily be talking about something else here, and we’ll probably have to wait until House of the Dragon returns in Season 6 to find out for sure. The series is filming now. In the meantime, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres in 2025 on HBO and Max, and Martin’s books are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.

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When Game of Thrones became the most-watched show in the world, breaking records and becoming a favorite for so many people, it was clear that a well-done fantasy adaptation could easily win over the general public. With its massive success, House of the Dragon came in as the spin-off, and since it premiered in 2022, it’s managed to hold its own, capturing the attention of fans eager to dive into the story of the Targaryen family. With a war to decide who gets the Iron Throne, Team Black has won most people over, leaving Team Green as the true villains.

However, with that said, one of these so-called “villains” has stood out way more than any other character over the first two seasons. If there’s one flaw in House of the Dragon, it’s that character development seems to be a weak spot, definitely. But Aemond Targaryen is the exception (and a pretty big one, at that). The second son of Alicent Hightower and Viserys I Targaryen is easily the most well-developed in the show, which makes him one of the best – if not the best – figures in the entire series.

With so many characters and only a few episodes per season, it’s understandable that it’s tough to dive deep into everyone. There’s just a massive story to focus on. But the real magic in exploring a character’s backstory and every little moment of their life is that it automatically gets the audience to root for them (which is why people end up liking villains a lot these days). Unlike many others, Aemond was shown from childhood as someone who was wronged – and that alone is enough for some fans to relate to him. Unlike his brothers, he never got a dragon, and he wasn’t exactly the favorite. Through the first season, we saw Aemond as someone just trying to prove he was worthy of being a Targaryen.

But in terms of the plot, being the outcast actually worked in his favor. He didn’t let it break him down, and he showed a bravery and boldness that’s hard not to admire when he went after the biggest dragon – Vhagar. That’s the first point to really highlight because, naturally, people wonder how he managed to earn the creature’s respect so easily while still being just a kid. When this leads to a huge fight with Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon, causing Aemond to lose one of his eyes, that’s when everything shifts. From then on, he’s driven by a need for revenge, and at this point, it’s hard for anyone to see that as a bad thing. Who wouldn’t understand his desire to get back at those who belittled and hurt him all his life?

[RELATED: 3 House of the Dragon Moments That Need to Happen in Season 3]

As Aemond grew older, he became an exceptional fighter (second only to Daemon). He focused on his goals and didn’t present himself as someone walking a fine line. This was clear even in his encounters with Rhaenyra’s children. Due to his upbringing, Aemond had always been driven to pursue what he wanted, which led him to develop more maturity than his brother Aegon. As an adult, he stood out not only for his skill in battle but also for his intelligence – particularly with his words. One of his most interesting traits is that, because of this, he even manages to show the potential he has to be a true king. The level of his influence within House of the Dragon was built and displayed gradually, and one thing is certain: never underestimate the power of a man with nothing to lose.

As his ambition grew, especially after Aegon bullied him in a pivotal moment of vulnerability in the second season, Aemond’s rise became unstoppable. By then, he was already part of The Green Council, but he was still not in control. That changed when he tried to kill his brother, setting Aegon on fire during the Battle of Rook’s Rest, and claimed the title of Prince Regent. Before that, Aemond had already eliminated Rhaenys as well. In this moment, we see a character who knows exactly what’s needed to navigate the brutal politics of Westeros.

Since the days of Game of Thrones, war has been the central theme, and in this world, anything goes. However, what’s fascinating about Aemond is that, at no point, does he come across as a psychopath. Instead, he feels human in his choices – even when they are morally wrong. He sticks to the rules, demonstrating how much of a dangerous and strategic player he truly is. Though his emotions fuel him (as seen with Lucerys’ death), in general, he is smart enough to never let them cloud his reasoning. With confidence, patience, strategy, and an intimidating presence, Aemond knows how to be calculating and take what he wants.

It’s impossible not to notice that he steals the show, and that’s because of how well his character is written. Aemond effortlessly personifies both danger and humanity. With him, nothing is left out. Because of that, it might seem like the script prioritized his development, almost as if the others didn’t receive the same level of attention. Characters like Alicent, for instance, weren’t fully fleshed out, and her arc still feels messy at times. Others, like Daemon, could have been better explored when given the chance. But Aemond’s prominence isn’t solely due to the script; a big part of it comes from Ewan Mitchell’s performance.

The actor masterfully added depth and complexity to the character, making him undeniably compelling; ruthless but also tragic, and carrying both physical and emotional scars that shape who he is. This duality reminds us that well-developed antagonists (even though it’s wrong to describe him this way in a show like this) elevate the story, challenging others while mirroring the flaws of the world around them. Aemond is more than just a destructive force – he’s a catalyst for conflict, a central figure that enriches the entire plot. The adaptation of Aemond Targaryen on screen is undoubtedly one of the highlights of House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon is available to stream on Max.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!

The post This Is the Best-Developed Character in House of the Dragon (And It’s Not Even Close) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Game of Thrones fans are in for some huge moments in Westeros back to back, according to HBO executive Francesca Orsi. She spoke to Deadline on Wednesday about all the projects in the works, including House of the Dragon Season 3. She confirmed that House of the Dragon is about to begin filming and teased that the highly anticipated “Battle of the Gullet” cut from the end of Season 2 will start off this new season with a bang. She revealed how far along the set design and pre-production already is, and the some of the incredible talent behind this naval encounter.

House of the Dragon Season 2 was originally planned with 10 episodes in mind, but it was trimmed to eight episodes very late in the production process, leaving the creators with little time and few resources to restructure the story. As a result, the battle meant for the big finale was cut, but Orsi promised it will pay off in Season 3. In the process, she hinted at how far along the production is.

“I’m really excited. I think you’re going to be in for a great surprise on how we start the [season] with an exciting battle,” she said. “You know what, it was worth the wait. I was just on set and saw all the elements and what was behind it. I’m so glad we waited because it’s going to be better than ever, and I don’t think we had the time at that point to do what it is that we’ve achieved now this season.”

[RELATED: 10 Game of Thrones Cameos You Completely Forgot About]

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s fictional history book Fire & Blood, which means readers typically know what is coming in the show but only in a secondhand context — not a direct narrative like the show gives us. That means readers were anticipating the “Battle of the Gullet,” but showrunner Ryan Condal previously said that they would enjoy it more if it was moved to Season 3 rather than rushed in Season 2. Orsi seemed to agree.

“It’s just so massive, we needed the time to build it,” Orsi went on. “One of the lead producers on it [Kevin de la Noy] worked on Titanic, so all that he brought in terms of acumen of what happened on the Titanic and how that entire experience is built, he brings that expertise to it.”

You don’t need to have read Fire & Blood to imagine how great this will be for the series. House of the Dragon Season 2 ended with Aegon II’s Master of Ships, Tyland Lannister, returning from Essos with a fleet of ships from the Triarchy, heading straight for the blockade set up by Rhaenyra’s allies, House Velaryon.

House of the Dragon is expected to go on for four seasons, but HBO hasn’t officially renewed it yet. The franchise won’t end there, as Orsi teased a third spinoff show is “very promising.” The network has considered many potential spinoffs set in the world of Westeros, but Orsi said she was referring to another one about “the Targaryen line,” which narrows down our guesses quite a bit. It’s most likely a show about Aegon’s Conquest, the war in which House Targaryen first took over the Seven Kingdoms and united them into one realm.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is expected to premiere sometime in 2026 on HBO and Max. The first two seasons are streaming now on Max. Martin’s books, including Fire & Blood, are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.

The post House the Dragon Season 3 Gets an Exciting Update (and Teases an Epic Battle from the Books) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Little Women star James Norton has been cast in House of the Dragon Season 3. According to Variety, he will portray the character of Ormund Hightower, who is the Lord of Oldtown. This will mark the first time Ormund will be seen on-screen, after previously being referenced through dialogue in House of the Dragon Season 2. During that second season, it was confirmed that Ormund was making preparations for a march out of Oldtown. Per the character description, he and his forces are en route to King’s Landing “to support his house against Rhaenyra.” Ormund is the nephew of Otto Hightower and cousin of Alicent and Gwayne Hightower.

Outside of portraying John Brooke in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women adaptation, Norton has appeared in a variety of films and shows. He earned a BAFTA nomination for his turn in the TV series Happy Valley. Other notable credits include episodes of Doctor Who and Black Mirror.

HBO recently confirmed House of the Dragon Season 3 will not premiere until at least mid-2026. As fans wait for the show’s return, another Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will debut this year. It is unknown when House of the Dragon Season 3 will begin production.

[RELATED – 3 House of the Dragon Moments That Need to Happen in Season 3]

House of the Dragon Season 2 ended with a cliffhanger, concluding the final episode before a major battle between the Black and Green factions starts. As one of the key members of the latter faction, Ormund should have an intriguing role to play on the show as the civil war heats up. In particular, it will be fascinating to see if there are any deviations in his portrayal when compared to the source material. House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, but there are some key differences between the two. Last year, Martin made headlines when he criticized House of the Dragon for changing the book’s “Blood and Cheese” sequence and suggested there would be “more toxic butterflies to come” as the show continued. Perhaps Ormund’s role in the narrative will be one of those changes, but it’s too early to know for sure.

Norton’s casting could mean House of the Dragon Season 3 will start rolling cameras in the near future. If the show is to return next year, principal photography will almost have to take place at some point this year, giving the creative team plenty of time to handle post-production responsibilities such as extensive visual effects shots. It’ll be interesting to see if there are any other actors who join Norton as newcomers to the show’s stacked ensemble.

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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight premieres later this year, but it may leave some fans of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon disappointed. The show will be much smaller in scale than the others, and less fantastical, with a focus on knighthood and medieval life in Westeros but little magic. The show will have no white walkers, and perhaps most devastating of all, no dragons. However, the story of Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg have enough heart to make up for all that — as long as fans give it a chance.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is an adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s ongoing novella series The Tales of Dunk & Egg, which is a prequel to A Song of Ice and Fire starting about 90 years before A Game of Thrones. It takes place right between the extinction of dragons and their return via Daenerys Targaryen. In the timeline of Martin’s books, it takes place 56 years after the death of the last dragon, but even that was a small, sickly dragon that never flew to war or breathed fire. By the time of this story, it’s been at least seven decades since Westeros saw a true dragon-rider.

That’s not to say that dragons won’t be an important symbol to this story. House Targaryen is still firmly in control of the Seven Kingdoms, and they rely on their connection with these mythical beasts to inspire awe and obedience from their subjects. This can manifest in good ways or bad ways — One of the main characters in this story is the Targaryen prince Aerion Brightflame, who is mentioned several times in the main series as a prime example of “Targaryen madness.” Years after this story, he will go on to die by drinking wildfire, believing it will transform him into a dragon himself.

[RELATED: 7 Game of Thrones Mysteries That Are Still Unsolved]

The Latest on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

HBO officially ordered A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight last year after years of development. It filmed from June to September, and it was scheduled to premiere sometime in 2025. On Tuesday, Martin gave us some of the biggest updates on the series so far — it is well into the post-production phase, with rough cuts of the episode already finished. It will likely premiere in the fall, and Martin loves the finished product.

Martin also seemed to reveal that the show has been renewed for a second season. Martin has written three novellas in the series so far, and he wrote that “we’ll be moving on to” the second one, The Sword Sword. He also wrote that he plans to tackle the fourth novella, The Village Hero, after he finishes The Winds of Winter, suggesting that he wants to get the source material prepared before this show can catch up with him. He has mentioned plans for as many as 12 novellas in total, though more often he has described a plan for eight or nine installments.

This prequel will premiere later this year, with an official premiere date and a trailer coming soon. In the meantime, all three novellas are collected in a book also titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

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House of the Dragon Season 2 was light on the action but heavy on the intrigue. Most fans assumed that the first season was going to be the build-up to the Dance of the Dragons, and Season 2 would include multiple bloody battles between the Blacks and the Greens. However things went a different way, and now fans are looking forward to House of the Dragon Season 3 for some of the biggest moments in the war. Season 2 had its critics, so Season 3 needs to impress fans and get them behind the show again.

The best way to do this is by including the climactic battles of the Dance of the Dragons. There are three that fit into the time period of the third season and if done correctly, could remind fans why they love spending time in Westeros.

WARNING: Spoilers below for House of the Dragon

The Battle of the Gullet

The Gullet is the entrance to Blackwater Bay, the body of water that King’s Landing sits next to. In House of the Dragon, the Velaryon fleet blockaded the Gullet, cutting King’s Landing off from support from the sea. In the last episode of the second season, Tyland Lannister went to Tyrosh and was able to get the help of the Triarchy and Admiral Sharako Lohar. The season ended with the fleet sailing to the Gullet, ready to break the blockade of King’s Landing.

In the books, the battle saw the two fleets clash, with Jacaerys Targaryen leading the Blacks’ dragon into the battle as the Velaryon fleet tries to hold out against the power of the Triarchy’s fleet. The battle ended up going badly for both sides; the Velaryon fleet lost a third of its strength and Jacaerys is killed in the battle. The Tyroshi fleet didn’t come out much better, losing all but 62 of the 90 ships they sailed out with. They were still able to attack Driftmark, seat of the Velaryons, and Spicetown, sacking both. Everyone expected House of the Dragon Season 2 to include this battle, so it’s a must for Season 3.

The Sack of Bitterbridge

The end of Season 2 of House of the Dragon introduced several dragons and new characters, including Daeron Targaryen, the youngest child of Viserys I and Alicent. Daeron Targaryen spent his early life in Oldtown with his Hightower family, but joins his Targaryen relatives to help even up the dragon odds with the Blacks. After Rhaenyra and her forces take King’s Landing, Daeron is considered the greatest threat to her rule, his dragon Tessarion and Hightower army forcing the surrender of the Shield Islands, House Oakheart, and House Rowan.

In the books, Daeron’s nephew Maelor, the youngest child of Aegon II and Helaena, is killed at Bitterbridge and Daeron unleashes his army on the castle, giving no mercy to House Caswell. Maelor isn’t in the show, but the Sack of Bitterbridge is an extremely important part of the Dance of the Dragons. There are other ways to make it work, and it would be awesome to see. It’s Daeron’s most infamous act. If the show wants to sell just how dangerous he is, including the Sack of Bitterbridge is the best way to show non-book readers that Daeron means business.

The Battle Above the Gods’ Eye

Daemon Targaryen and his nephew Aemond Targaryen are two sides of the same coin. Each of them is the most feared member of their faction. Daemon was the more experienced of the two, having won the War for the Stepstones. Daemon was considered something of a loose cannon, and his dragon Caraxes was fierce and battle-hardened. Aemond seemed to pattern himself after his uncle and became known for his ruthlessness and tactical skill, helping Criston Cole plan many of the Greens’ successful battles. Aemond is the rider of the oldest and most powerful dragon, Vhagar, and killed Rhaenys Targaryen. In the show, Aemond was also responsible for injuring his brother Aegon II, taking the throne while he convalesced. The second season saw both of them flirt with turning against their monarchs; Daemon decided against it, bringing the Riverlands under Rhaenyra’s banner, while Aemond’s betrayal of his brother sees him in charge of the Greens.

Aemond is driven out of King’s Landing by Rhaenyra, and begins the burning of the Riverlands. Daemon decides to try to stop him and challenges the headstrong young dragonrider, waiting for him Harrenhall. After 14 days, Aemond arrives. The two have one last face-to-face conversation before mounting their dragons and beginning the duel. In the books, it is said that is one of the most magnificent battles ever, with the two skilled warriors going at each other with everything they have. The ending is just as epic as the rest of the battle, with Daemon jumping up off Caraxes and impaling Aemond through his good eye as the two dragons fall into the Gods Eye, a massive lake.

This is the coolest battle of Dance of the Dragons and is the perfect way to end Season 3. The Battle Above the Gods’ Eye is exactly what Season 3 needs to make the naysayers forget about their disappointment with the second season.

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At the end of 2024, DC fans finally got an update about Matt Reeves’ The Batman Part 2 but instead of inspiring excitement for moviegoers, the news was met with frustration. The eagerly anticipated sequel to The Batman was being pushed back once again, with the film now targeting an October 1, 2027, release date. That means that, should this release date hold, the sequel to the Robert Pattinson-starring film will open more than five years after the first film opened in theaters. And The Batman isn’t the only entertainment project that fans find themselves having to wait for. Television projects were also revealed to have long gaps between seasons in 2024, with House of the Dragon Season 3 not expected to arrive until mid-2026 making it two years between seasons and Euphoria’s third season won’t arrive until 2026 either, making it a four year wait between seasons.

These extended waits have started to become the norm when it comes to entertainment — especially television. But while this lag is being normalized, it didn’t used to be this way. Follow ups to movies and television series used to move at a faster pace with moviegoers often waiting just a year or so between sequels and television audiences in particular waiting mere months for new seasons that were longer than 8 or 10 episodes. That timely turnaround is something that entertainment needs to get back to. These long gaps between sequels and new seasons of television simply needs to end because audiences and projects are suffering the wait.

Before we jump into why these long delays and gaps need to end, it’s important to acknowledge and address some (very valid) reasons why delays sometimes happen. Most recently, the Covid pandemic led to a full production halt in Hollywood which, in turn, led to long delays. 2023 also saw both the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes which slowed things down as well. But while that accounts for some delays, we’re now more than three years from Hollywood firing up again post-Covid and more than a year past the strikes and the delays continue.

[RELATED: These Batman Movie Delays Are a Bad Sign for the New DCU]

Delays Diminish Audience Interest

First and foremost, big delays and gaps between installments can result in a diminishing of audience interest and engagement thanks to a loss of focus. The reality is that there is a lot of things vying for audience attention. Not only are studios putting out a lot of content, but streaming services also offer viewers seemingly endless back libraries of things to consume. With so many things available to watch, a long wait to find out what happens from one season to the next can easily result in viewers not only losing interest in a series or story but forgetting what happened previously in the first place which then in turn feeds disinterest. An example of this is House of the Dragon. While viewership did steadily increase by the end of Season 2, the Season 2 premiere had a 22 percent viewership decline as compared to the first season.

On top of that, many viewers noted that so much time had passed since Season 1 that weren’t initially engaged or had outright forgotten things by the time Season 2 arrived. While some went back and re-watched Season 1, not every viewer did so and it’s not logical to assume that viewers will do that just for a season of television. When a story is delayed long enough, viewers either aren’t going to come back to find out what happened next or if they do, they might not be as engaged as perhaps they were when the series was new – or would be if the new season had arrived in a timely fashion.

Delays Can Fundamentally Change the Story

There is also the issue of long delays resulting in the general premise of a show or movie changing. This is likely to be the case with Euphoria. That series follows a teen drug addict (played by Zendaya) struggling to find her place in the world after leaving rehab. The story is set with the characters being in high school — and indeed, many of the topics explored in the series center around that high school setting and experience — but by the time we get to the third season in 2026, so much time will have passed that a time jump within the story is likely. This shift will fundamentally change elements of the show, meaning it will no longer be centered around teens and their high school experience. That could entirely change the trajectory of characters and stories viewers have become attached to as well as cause the show to fail to deliver on elements and plotlines from the end of Season 2, thus leaving fans hanging. This sort of thing is functionally asking for viewers to take on a completely new series, just one with characters they happen to know and it may have mixed or negative results not only in terms of audience satisfaction, but quality of the series as well.

These issues are also present when it comes to long delays for movie sequels. While some gaps between movies are generally understandable — think the one-year space between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame which had other installments of the MCU released between them that were pertinent to the story — other gaps make less sense and may be detrimental. Wicked is an example of this. The first part of that overall story hit theaters in November and while the story is split into two for time reasons (Wicked: Part 1 alone was nearly three hours long and Wicked: For Good is expected to have a similar length so a full version of both together would be incredibly long) why wait a full year? In this franchise’s case, both parts were filmed at the same time and there aren’t any movies or shows coming in between the two films that impact the story. A year-long delay doesn’t make sense and while the first film was hugely popular, will the audience return for part 2? A shorter, perhaps months-long gap makes more sense, letting the momentum from the first film carry into the second while also keeping the story fresh in the minds of audiences.

Delays for sequels that haven’t even been filmed yet, however, are an entirely different situation but also present major issues, such as is the case with The Batman. When that film was released in 2022, it was presented as a new approach to Batman, one that leans into him being a younger character newer on his journey but with The Batman 2 now not opening until 2027, Pattinson will be older than Christian Bale was at the end of his journey as Batman in Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy — and that final appearance was of a seasoned vigilante, not someone just starting out. Will audiences even care about Pattinson’s Batman if we have to do a hard jump from new vigilante to something more seasoned? Will this story be as interesting now that Batman isn’t “young”? Will the universe The Batman began even be relevant with series like The Penguin coming in and telling their own stories set within that world?  

Going even further than that, this large delay will also see a complete shift in DC’s overall entertainment universe take place before the film arrives. James Gunn’s DCU is set to kick off this summer with Superman and we could very well see a full shift in terms of what superhero movie audiences are looking for, tonally. The Batman Part 2 simply might not fit in this new landscape when it comes to viewer appetites or even DC’s vision for its live-action superhero offerings, especially with other Batman projects in the works. While that doesn’t mean The Batman Part 2 won’t happen, it might mean that a change in what’s expected could lead to audience apathy for this particular sequel – and studios simply don’t want that.

While it is unreasonable to ask for new seasons and sequels of things on demand because the creation process does take time, it is equally unreasonable to ask audience to wait years for continuations as well. We live in a culture where there is never a shortage of things to watch. Thanks to the constant churn of content as well as streaming offering viewers literal decades of entertainment – including complete series – all movies and television series no matter how they are released are competing with, well, everything for audience. By making viewers wait and wait and wait, studios aren’t creating better content; they’re just signaling that they don’t care about the audience experience. A story without momentum isn’t worth following and the long, momentum killing delays with movies and television need to stop before audiences finally walk away for good and entire IPs and franchises collapse under the weight of waiting.

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Debuting in 2011, Game of Thrones became the most-watched television series worldwide, and its spin-off House of the Dragon, which debuted in 2022, almost hit the same numbers and even set a record as the most-watched premiere in HBO’s history with nearly 10 million viewers. The success of George R. R. Martin’s universe is undeniable, so it’s no surprise that more spinoffs are coming in the near future. However the toughest part for fans is the wait. With House of the Dragon not expected to return for its third season until 2026, fans are counting on spinoffs to fill the void.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is already in the pipeline to hit TV in 2025, a movie also appears to be on the way, and other projects have already been mentioned but while major projects have been confirmed, only a few might get the chance to premiere before the continuation of House of the Dragon. What are they, and what can we expect?

Upcoming Projects in the Game of Thrones Universe

Before the next season of House of the Dragon premieres, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms will arrive to present a new story in Westeros. This new series will have fewer episodes than the others already released, as well as a very different tone. It will be based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg saga, set about 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, but just after the events of House of the Dragon. The series follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, who would go on to become a legendary member of the Royal Guard, and his bond with his squire, Egg.

It features Martin as an executive producer, along with Ira Parker handling the scripts. After it was wrapped up, the author was full of praise for the project, in contrast to House of the Dragon, where he was critical of some changes. The series is already scheduled to premiere between the summer and fall of 2025.

[RELATED: House of the Dragon Showrunner Explains Why Season 2 Finale Skipped That Major Battle]

Another confirmed production is a Game of Thrones movie. So far, there is no director or screenwriter officially announced for the project, but during a 2025 production preview event in November, HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys stated that it would be in the development stages with Warner Bros. However, nothing about the plot has been revealed.

“They’ll develop an idea, we’ll see if it’s good. We’ll read the scripts along with them. I think it could be fun and interesting. That’s the point of development: you see, is there a story that’s worthy of being in theaters and a big spectacle? I think it would be fun,” he said.

A feature film has been a near certainty since Game of Thrones first aired, when showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss admitted that they wanted to conclude the story with a trilogy. In 2014, Martin also revealed that discussions had taken place to get it off the ground. Now it’s real, and various speculations are already being made by fans. Adding fuel to the fire, news of a recent meeting between Martin and Maisie Williams, who played Arya Stark, has sparked more theories and raised expectations.

Announced Projects in the Game of Thrones Universe

Within the universe of Game of Thrones, the Targaryen family plays a major role due to their long-standing rule over the Iron Throne. Because of this, a spin-off about their arrival in Westeros wouldn’t surprise, but would excite many fans. This is an idea that is already in development. Set before the events of House of the Dragon, Aegon’s Conquest will tell the story of Aegon Targaryen, along with his sisters/wives Rhaenys and Visenya, as they arrive with their dragons and conquer territory before uniting the Seven Kingdoms.

Mattson Tomlin, known for his work on Matt Reeves’ Batman and its upcoming sequel, is the creator and screenwriter of the new prequel series. He has revealed that he is in constant communication with Martin for consultations and that the story includes inspiration from Napoleon and Alexander the Great. The project was announced in April 2023 and later confirmed, but no premiere date has been set yet.

But the world of Game of Thrones isn’t all about the Targaryens, and a new spin-off that was canceled and then brought back to life this year is 10,000 Ships. The story would also be a prequel, set about a thousand years before the events of the original series, and would follow Princess Nymeria, the founder of the Dorne region and ancestor of House Martell. The warrior was accompanied by her army in ten thousand ships to Essos, later ordering them to be burned to prevent any possibility of turning back. However, no release date has been announced yet.

The Game of Thrones universe is known for its complexity, which opens the door for a wide range of spin-offs. While some projects are confirmed to be in development for the future and others remain uncertain, one thing is clear: if the audience continues to stay strong, it could very well turn into something groundbreaking, with countless stories to be explored for generations ahead.

Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are now streaming on Max.

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Every fan of Game of Thrones, and of course House of the Dragon, knows the pain of waiting – it’s just a fact. HBO is already getting ready next year’s premieres, and the previously released “Coming To Max in 2025” trailer offered a glimpse of what’s on the way. Which brings us to the problem, House of the Dragon isn’t part of the mix, and season 3 is unfortunately getting pushed back even further. JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, confirmed the news at the Wells Fargo TMT Summit (H/T Deadline) where he shared more about House of the Dragon and other HBO shows in the pipeline.

According to Perrette, the new season of the House of the Dragon is likely to premiere around the middle of 2026. “As we look even beyond that we’ll see the third season of Euphoria probably in early 2026, then we get back into House of the Dragon Season 3, so we’re now in a cadence of having at least 2 or 3 of our major tentpoles every year.”

Despite the wait, George R. R. Martin’s universe will soon be explored in a different way on HBO. According to the CEO, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to be released in the summer of 2025. However, it’s worth noting that his statement slightly contradicts what Casey Bloys, President and CEO of HBO, said earlier this year where he teased a 2025 Q4 debut. According to the trade, that timeline still seems likely, but nothing official has been announced.

[RELATED: Game of Thrones’ Jon Snow Sequel Could Still Happen (But Not Anytime Soon)]

The cliffhanger that House of the Dragon left at the end of season 2 is something every fan may still be thinking about. Fans might get hit with another cold shower however when they learn the cast haven’t received scripts for the new episodes yet. At New York Comic Con in October, Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Fabian Frankel (Criston Cole), and Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon II Targaryen) revealed that none of them were on the same page about season 3.

Glynn-Carney mentioned that he hadn’t received any scripts for the new episodes, while Smith said he hadn’t heard anything from House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal. Standing in contrast to his costars, Frankel teased (via Variety) “I’ve heard some things that I couldn’t possibly share here.”

In the time since House of the Dragon season 2 premiered, George R.R. Martin was publicly critical of the last batch of episodes. On his blog, the writer shared criticism about certain details and even the different choices the adaptation of his book made in production. The last season of House of the Dragon also earned criticism from fans who felt the episodes dragged on with a slow pace. Based on the ending of season 2, it’s clear that the new season of House of the Dragon will bring more of the action fans have been waiting for. Winter is coming once again, along with the test of patience for all fans.

Seasons 1 and 2 of House of the Dragon are available to stream on Max. The series has already been confirmed to conclude with season 4, which may not arrive until 2028 if HBO’s timeline holds true.

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HBO chief executive Casey Bloys just confirmed that Warner Bros. is developing a possible movie spin-off of Game of Thrones. Bloys spoke at a press event on Tuesday, where he addressed the recent reports about a movie set in Westeros. While the project is real, there’s no guarantee it will get the green light, and Bloys didn’t share any significant details about the plot.

Bloys said that Warner Bros. is looking at ideas for a film spin-off of Game of Thrones in collaboration with author George R.R. Martin. According to a report by Variety, he said: “They’re going to develop ideas. We’ll see if it’s good. We’ll read the scripts along with them. I think it could be fun and interesting. I mean, that’s the point of development, you see is ‘Is there a story that’s worthy of being in theaters and a big spectacle?’ I think it would be fun.”

With no other details to go on, fans can only speculate about what this movie might be about. Many are assuming this is the latest iteration of the reported prequel about Aegon’s Conquest – the war in which House Targaryen unified the Seven Kingdoms into one realm. In the last few years, some reports have suggested that this project might be a movie or a series of movies, but they’ve never suggested it would be outsourced from HBO to WB.

Aegon’s Conquest

Last we heard, Aegon’s Conquest was being developed by screenwriter Mattson Tomlin – one of the scribes behind The Batman, and the showrunner of Terminator Zero. Tomlin discussed the project in an interview with Entertainment Weekly back in May, saying that he was consulting with Martin directly.

Like House of the Dragon, an adaptation about Aegon’s Conquest would be based primarily on Martin’s history book, Fire & Blood. Tomlin said: “Unlike the original series, I don’t have thousands of pages to go off to adapt. I’ve got a couple hundred that I’m really focused on, and in those pages of Fire & Blood, there are a lot of clues. It kind of turns into doing Napoleon or doing Alexander the Great or doing some great historical figure where we know a lot about the guy. We know where he was, we know who he conquered, we know who lived, and we know who died. That all becomes the plot, and then it becomes my job to go, but what did it mean thematically? How did it feel? What were the emotions when this person died and this person lived? We don’t have the context. We don’t know what anybody said.”

Blackfyre Rebellions

Another popular idea is that this movie might be about the Blackfyre Rebellions – a series of wars that took place in the decades before Game of Thrones. Not only is this an action-packed part of Martin’s history to put on the big screen – it would be a symbiotic tie-in to the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. That show will adapt Martin’s novellas The Tales of Dunk and Egg, which start between the first and second Blackfyre Rebellion. While those tell a close, personal story focused primarily on two characters, a movie about the wars themselves could give context that would enhance the experience for fans.

While fans have longed to see more of the Blackfyre Rebellions – both on the page and on screen – there have never been any substantial rumors about this story getting adapted. However, these wars will be a huge part of Martin’s upcoming history book Blood & Fire, so it’s not out of the question.

Other Ideas

Considering how much background Martin has provided on his fictional world, there are many other things this movie project could be about. We can safely assume it won’t cover the same material as the TV shows, which means it won’t do the Dunk and Egg novellas nor the Dance of the Dragons – the civil war that House of the Dragon is about. However, the movies could pick up one of the ideas that was already in development for a TV series. That includes The Sea Snake – a prequel about a young Corlys Velaryon sailing around the world, and Ten Thousand Ships – a prequel about the Rhoynish exodus from Essos to Westeros. There’s also the scrapped pilot Bloodmoon, which was about the ancient “Age of Heroes” in Westeros.

Sequel

Finally, some fans are holding out hope that this movie will be a sequel to Game of Thrones that will help vindicate the series’ reviled ending. This wouldn’t be based directly on any of Martin’s writing, of course, but it’s an idea that has circulated plenty before. HBO developed a sequel series with Kit Harington, who would have reprised his role as Jon Snow, and just this week Martin mentioned a meeting with Maisie Williams as well.

Whatever Warner Bros. is working on, it’s in the early stages now and there’s no guarantee we’ll see it come to fruition. For now, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are streaming on Max, with The Hedge Knight slated to premiere in 2025 and House of the Dragon Season 3 scheduled for 2026. Martin’s books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

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The Game of Thrones spinoff series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight has apparently wrapped production. Shooting on A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms began back in June, and production mostly took place in Northern Belfast, Ireland. There are only six episodes slated for the first season of The Hedge Knight, so that timeline of production tracks.

 There will likely be additional months needed for reshoots or pickups that are needed, as well as post-production (visual effects, editing). That creates an interesting release window for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms; as of now, it looks like late summer or fall of 2025 would be the most likely slot for the premiere. If that’s the case, then the new spinoff series will perfectly fill the gap between House of the Dragon Season 2 this year, and House of the Dragon Season 3, which is expected to arrive in 2026. 

Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin recently sparked controversy by criticizing Season 2 of House of the Dragon, but in a recent interview, he made sure to let fans know that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is looking great: 

“I visited the set in Northern Ireland in July and loved what I saw. Great cast. [The lead characters] Dunk and Egg look as if they walked out of the pages of my book. My readers are going to love them. I certainly do. [Showrunner Ira Parker] is doing a great job,” Martin told THR. 

Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Cast & Story

Synopsis: A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros…a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne, and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.

The series stars Peter Claffey (who plays the legendary knight Ser Duncan the Tall), and Dexter Sol Ansell (as Duncan’s squire, Egg). The larger cast of characters includes Edward Ashley (Masters of the Air) as Ser Steffon Fossoway; Henry Ashton (My Lady Jane) as Daeron Targaryen; Youssef Kerkour (House of Gucci) as Steely Pate; Daniel Monks (Netflix’s upcoming film Kaos) as Ser Manfred Dondarrion; Shaun Thomas (How to Have Sex) as Raymun Fossoway; Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (Avengers: Infinity War) as Plummer; Danny Webb (HBO’s The Regime) as Ser Arlan of Pennytree; Finn Bennett as Aerion Targaryen; Bertie Carvel as Baelor Targaryen; Tanzyn Crawford as Tanselle; Daniel Ings as Ser Lyonel Baratheon, and Sam Spruell as Maekar Targaryen. 

Source: Redanian Intelligence

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Author George R. R. Martin may have strong criticism for HBO’s House of the Dragon, but when it comes to new Game of Thrones spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, his opinion appears to be much higher. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Martin didn’t comment on his criticism of House of the Dragon, but instead had nothing but good to say about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms currently in the works and expected to arrive on HBO sometime next year.

“I visited the set in Northern Ireland in July and loved what I saw,” Martin wrote in a statement. “Great cast. [The lead characters] Dunk and Egg look as if they walked out of the pages of my book. My readers are going to love them. I certainly do. [Showrunner Ira Parker] is doing a great job.”

Martin’s praise for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms comes just a week after the Game of Thrones creator took to his blog to address what he called “toxic” story changes in House of the Dragon. In the since deleted post, Martin outlined that one of his issues with House of the Dragon centered around the erasure of Aegon and Helaena Targaryen’s youngest child, Prince Maelor. In the book’s version of the Blood & Cheese storyline, the young prince’s existence is a major facet with significant ramifications later on and, Martin indicated that initial conversations with House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal indicated the character would still appear, albeit later on. However, that did not end up coming to fruition as the series is set to end with Season 4, prompting Martin to reveal that it could result in an impact to the final two seasons of the series as well as hinted that “there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if House of the Dragon goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…”

HBO later responded to Martin’s criticisms, acknowledging the difficult changes that the series had to make when it came to adapting the source material.

“There are few greater fans of George R.R. Martin and his book Fire & Blood than the creative team on House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO,’ the statement reads (via Variety). “Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow. We believe that Ryan Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.”

As for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Martin has had positive things to say about the series before. Earlier this year, Martin took to his blog to comment on the tone of the series as well as praise Parker and his team.

“The Hedge Knight will be a lot shorter than Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, with a much different tone… but it’s still Westeros, so no one is truly safe,” Martin wrote. “Ira Parker and his team are doing a great job.”

He added, “Oh, and we have our director as well: Owen Harris, a terrific British director whose credits include helming ‘San Junipero’, my all-time favorite episode of Black Mirror. Owen will direct three of our six episodes.”

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, set a century before the events of Game of Thrones and following two unlikely heroes as they wander Westeros, Ser Duncan the Tall and his diminutive squire, Egg, is expected to arrive on HBO sometime in 2025.

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HBO is responding to George R.R. Martin’s criticism of House of the Dragon. On Wednesday, in a now-deleted blog post, Martin made good on his promise from his August 30th post and went into detail about the things he felt had gone wrong with House of the Dragon’s second season, specifically citing changes from the pages of his book to screen when it came to the “Blood & Cheese” plot from the season premiere and what it meant for the story further down the road as well as teased larger concerns in future seasons. Now, in their response, HBO acknowledges the “difficult choices” the series has had to make and expressed confidence in showrunner Ryan Condal and his team going forward.

“There are few greater fans of George R.R. Martin and his book Fire & Blood than the creative team on House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO,’ the statement reads (via Variety). “Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow. We believe that Ryan Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.”

In his post, which has now been deleted, Martin outlined that one of his issues with House of the Dragon was the erasure of Aegon and Helaena Targaryen’s youngest child, Prince Maelor, whose existence is a major part of the book’s version of the Blood & Cheese storyline and has ramifications further along. Martin wrote that when Condal first spoke with him about the plan for Maelor, he came to understand the practical reason for it, but also was assured that the character was merely being postponed.

“I did not argue long or with much heat, however. The change weakened the sequence, I felt, but only a bit. And Ryan had what seemed to be practical reasons for it; they did not want to deal with casting another child, especially a two-year old toddler. Kids that young will inevitably slow down production, and there would be budget implications. Budget was already an issue on House of the Dragon, it made sense to save money wherever we could. Moreover, Ryan assured me that we were not losing Prince Maelor, simply postponing him. Queen Helaena could still give birth to him in season three, presumably after getting with child in late season two. That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and acquiesced to the change. I still love the episode, and the Blood and Cheese sequence overall. Losing the ‘Helaena’s Choice’ beat did weaken the scene, but not to any great degree.”

But he went on to explain that with the character eliminated entirely, there could be impact to the final two seasons to the series, which is set to end with Season 4, by revealing potential spoilers based upon the book, but he also went on to suggest that there were more concerns with House of the Dragon, adding “And there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if House of the Dragon goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…”

What is House of the Dragon About?

Based on George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra respectively. The series is set to enter production on Season 3 in “earlyish 2025.”

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Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin is throwing major shade at House of the Dragon and some of the changes the show has made – and will make – to the lore he established in his book “Fire & Blood”, which chronicles the history of House Targaryen. 

In a seemingly now-deleted post in his “Not a Blog” personal journal, Martin went down the rabbit hole of discussing the infamous ‘Blood & Cheese’ sequence from the House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere. He finally addressed the divisive changes to Blood & Cheese’s story in House of the Dragon – namely, the removal of a pivotal character from the sequence: King Aegon II and Queen Helaena Targaryen’s third and youngest child, Prince Maelor. The show only featured the twins Prince Jaehaerys and Princess Jaehaera, while Blood & Cheese forced Helaena to choose between her male and female child to be the one who lived. In Fire & Blood, it’s written that Helaena had to choose between all three of her kids, and chose Maelor to die as he was too young to understand. In a sadistic turn, Blood and Cheese killed Jaehaerys instead, leaving Maelor to live a life knowing that his mother was willing to sacrifice him. 

Prince Maelor’s arc doesn’t get any better later on: (MILD SPOILERS) The boy never made it past the age of three before he, too, was killed during the “Dance of Dragons” Civil War between the Targaryens. In fact, Maelor’s death (killed in a mob of commonfolk trying to capture him, while fleeing the war) became a powerful metaphor for just how unforgivably far the war between Queen Rhaenyra’s Black and King Aegon II’s Greens had gotten. 

In his blog post, George R.R. Martin revealed some of his own frustrations with the changes to Blood & Cheese’s story, saying “I found myself agreeing with both sides,” i.e., agreeing with those critical of the choice to remove Maelor Targaryen from the show. Martin then confirms that Maelor was never going to be a part of HotD: 

“Sometime between the initial decision to remove Maelor, a big change was made,” Martin wrote. “The prince’s birth was no longer just going to be pushed back to season 3.  He was never going to be born at all. The younger son of Aegon and Helaena would never appear.”

Martin likens cutting Maelor from the show to the “Butterfly Effect,” wherein one minor change causes a snowballing effect of many bigger changes down the line. He runs through some MAJOR SPOILERS about the latter part of the Dance of Dragon conflict, pointing out how one of the most brutal and shocking moments of that conflict (Maelor’s death at the hands of the mob) is no longer a possibility for House of the Dragon to depict. And judging from his words, George R.R. Martin is nervous (at best) and/or upset (at worst) that there is no certainty when it comes to replacing some bigger themes that come with that side story: 

“What will we offer the fans instead, once we’ve killed these butterflies?I have no idea.I do not recall that Ryan and I ever discussed this, back when he first told me they were pushing back on Aegon’s second son.Maelor himself is not essential… but if losing him means we also lose [REDACTED SPOILERSl… that’s a considerable loss.”

Game of Thrones Creator Teases “Toxic” Changes to House of the Dragon

If all that wasn’t controversial enough, Martin ended by outright casting a whole shadow of doubt on Hosue of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal and the work being done on House of the Dragon Seasons 3 and 4: 

“And there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if HOUSE OF THE DRAGON goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…” Martin wrote. 

It seems likely that the powers-that-be at HBO and House of the Dragon caught wind of this post going up, and that’s why it just as quickly vanished from Martin’s blog page. Too late, though: this is surprising tension to be found between Martin and Condal. It’s also fuel for Martin to get flamed by some searing backdraft, if fans come at him about not cementing his lore in fully-completed texts for the shows to follow. We’re STILL waiting on those final two Game of Thrones books… 

Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are streaming on HBO. 

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There’s a new update for one of HBO’s spinoffs of Game of Thrones. With Season 2 of House of the Dragon now concluded, we’re now in a waiting period for the third season to arrive. There are spinoffs such as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight up next in the pipeline, along with Aegon’s Conquest, which details how the Targaryen’s conquered Westeros and kicked off many of the events in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon. Mattson Tomlin, the writer of Aegon’s Conquest, recently revealed how his discussions with author George R.R. Martin are helping to shape the series.

“It starts with what George has done. I’ve now gotten to spend quite a bit of time with him, and there have been a lot of pinch-me moments of just kind of going through fire and blood, highlighting passages, and asking him, What did this mean? What is this? What I think it is. You know sometimes really grilling him going, I don’t understand, what’s happening here,” Tomlin told the Game of Thrones site Westerosies (via Nexus Point News). 

“And then other times going, I think that it could mean this. But it’s really taking that text and treating it like it’s real history. That’s one of the things that my approach to it was to [that] fire and blood is written like a real history and these things happened. We know the history of Alexander the Great; we know the history of Napoleon. We know what the battles were. We know a lot of the people who died. We know in some cases what was said or what might have been said, but we don’t know everything,” he continued.

Tomlin concluded with, “For me, it’s about making sure that I respect George and I respect the text. And then also, it still has to be a dramatic story. Those characters have to go on a journey; they have to change; they have to go from a beginning to a middle to an end. Figuring out how to do all of that with the clues that that textbook has left for me and go, okay, I’m going to interpret this very real history and try to make it a really vivid show that hopefully people love and don’t hate, doing the best I can.”

George R.R. Martin has an issue with House of the Dragon

Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon creator George R.R. Martin is going to address his issues with House of the Dragon. That’s what he stated in a recent blog post, and while he didn’t give any clues as to what he found wrong with the Game of Thrones spinoff, he revealed that he will address it as some point in the future.

The main focus of the post covers his time in Santa Fe for “the Burning of Zozobra (the original Burning Man, for those of you who have never heard of him).” Martin also discusses how this has been a trying time not only for him, but for the entire world. “This has not been a good year for anyone, with war everywhere and fascism on the rise… and on a more personal level, I have had a pretty wretched year as well, one full of stress, anger, conflict, and defeat,” he says.

He then turns his attention to some of those things that have been causing him grief this year, and states how he’s not looking forward to writing about them, including House of the Dragon. “I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that’s gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON… but I need to do that too, and I will,” George states. “Not today, though. TODAY is Zozobra’s day, when we turn away from gloom.”  

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George R.R. Martin declares that he will soon address all of the things he found wrong with House of the Dragon. The second season of the hit HBO original series concluded earlier this summer, and with that came news that House of the Dragon will end with Season 4. There will be a bit of a wait between Seasons 2 and 3, with production beginning in the early part of 2025. The finale of House of the Dragon Season 2 was light on the action, leaving some fans disappointed. There are certainly other parts of House of the Dragon you can nitpick, but when the creator of the Game of Thrones universe speaks up about inefficiencies he’s spotted, you tend to take notice.

A new post on George R.R. Martin’s personal blog is where he addresses House of the Dragon. The main focus of the post covers his time in Santa Fe for “the Burning of Zozobra (the original Burning Man, for those of you who have never heard of him).” Martin also discusses how this has been a trying time not only for him, but for the entire world. “This has not been a good year for anyone, with war everywhere and fascism on the rise… and on a more personal level, I have had a pretty wretched year as well, one full of stress, anger, conflict, and defeat,” he says.

He then turns his attention to some of those things that have been causing him grief this year, and states how he’s not looking forward to writing about them, including House of the Dragon. “I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that’s gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON… but I need to do that too, and I will,” George states. “Not today, though. TODAY is Zozobra’s day, when we turn away from gloom.”

What does George R.R. Martin find wrong with House of the Dragon?

The blog post from George R.R. Martin is vague, and doesn’t point out the faults he’s found in House of the Dragon. Of course, he states that he will address what went wrong at a later date, leaving fans to speculate on what those issues could be.

Much of the online discourse surrounding Martin’s anti-House of the Dragon post is targeted at his Game of Thrones novel series still not being completed, with fans waiting years for the story to come to its official conclusion. Plus, House of the Dragon hasn’t garnered as much negativity as the final season of Game of Thrones.

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Funko Games, an imprint of Goliath Games, has announced a new House of the Dragon-themed game. House of the Dragon: Dark Dealings is a new card game that mixes bluffing, negotiation, and hidden agendas. The game plays out over a number of rounds, with each player vying for control of three areas of influence – Politics, Military, and Economy. Each player has cards valued between 1 to 3 in each of these influence, along with character cards with effects and deceit cards that indicate one suit but actually belong to another. In the game, each player puts one of their cards inside a vault, which has a small open to show what suit they (allegedly) played. Once each player puts a card in the vault, the vault is opened and each suit is revealed and tallied. Each player that contributed to the highest suit draws a scoring card, but if all players used the same suit, only the first player of the round scores a card. 

Players can choose whether to “reveal” what card they placed in the Vault by placing it at the front of the Vault, thus showing all future players what they put inside. However, thanks to deceit cards, this could be a bluff, or a feint to help push players into a specific direction. 

This marks one of the first House of the Dragon tabletop games to be released, which is something of a surprise given the overall Game of Thrones franchise’s popularity. Plenty of tabletop games have been made based on both the Game of Thrones book series and the television shows, House of the Dragon has not yet seen the same level of attention.

House of the Dragon: Dark Dealings will cost $24.99. The game is currently available for purchase on GameStop’s website. 

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Even Game of Thrones star Kit Harington can admit that there were major issues with the ending of the series. In a new interview, Harington opened up about the ending of GoT, and was quite candid about it, saying in no uncertain terms that “there were mistakes made” with a Final Season that was “rushed.” 

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think there were mistakes made, story-wise, towards the end maybe,” Harington said to GQ. “I think there were some interesting choices that didn’t quite work.”

Kit Harington Explains Why Game of Thrones Final Season Failed

According to Kit Harington, the downfall of Game of Thrones‘ Final Season was deep fatigue amongst the cast and crew:

“I think if there was any fault with the end of Thrones, is that we were all so fucking tired, we couldn’t have gone on longer,” Harington explained. “And so I understand some people thought it was rushed and I might agree with them. But I’m not sure there was any alternative. I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn’t have another season in me.” 

That fatigue was readily apparent all throughout the final press tours for Game of Thrones Season 8. Daenerys Targaryen actress Emilia Clarke went viral for red carpet awkwardness when trying to answer whether Season 8 landed the plane; in the years since Game of Thrones ended, many other stars of the show have opened up about their displeasure with the finale season – including Varys actor Conleth Hill, who echoed Harington’s take that Season 8 was “rushed”: 

“I thought I’d done something wrong. Right up until the last two series, I had no complaints at all,” Hill told The Times last year. “I just felt frustrated with the last couple of series because Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been. I think the writers wanted to do one thing to end it and the studio HBO wanted to do another. I felt that last series was a bit rushed. I was inconsolable, but now I’m fine about it.”

To his credit, Kit Harington tried to jump back into the Game of Thrones Universe: Harington was attached to a Game of Thrones sequel series that would follow Jon Snow after the events of the original series. However, HBO recently canceled that series while still in development:

“We spent a couple of years back and forth developing it. And it just didn’t… nothing got us excited enough,” said Harington in the same interview. “In the end, I kind of backed out and said, ‘I think if we push this any further and keep developing it we could end up with something that’s not good.’ And that’s the last thing we all want.”

Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are streaming on Max. There are three additional spinoff shows in development. 

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Former members of the Game of Thrones cast and crew have had a variety of reactions to the prequel series House of the Dragon, and in the wake of the Season 2 finale of the series airing earlier this week, Jon Snow actor Kit Harington admits that he doesn’t think he’ll “ever” watch the prequel. Harington was a key figure in all eight seasons of Game of Thrones, with the experience occupying a decade of his life, so it’s understandable that he won’t ever be able to enjoy the fantasy franchise the way audiences do, especially with rumors and reports that he could reprise his role as Jon Snow for a sequel series.

“I just can’t watch it. For me, it’s just I spent too long there. And I wish them all the best and I hear it’s wonderful and going really well, but I don’t think I’ll ever watch that show,” Harington confirmed to the Associated Press. “I don’t think I’ll ever watch Game of Thrones again for very many years.”

While everyone involved in Game of Thrones have different connections to the massively successful HBO series, Harington has been one of the more vocal figures who has addressed the toll the experience took on his own mental health. The George R.R. Martin adaptation concluded five years ago, but Harington is still working on finding distance from the experience.

“It’s taken a few years to put it in the rearview and I’m still unsure whether it is fully in the rearview mirror,” the actor continued. As far as why he returned to HBO to join the cast of the series Industry, he noted, “I think it takes a long time but I think now is the right time, or it felt like the thing I wanted to do, was to get into doing a full character arc rather than just an episode of this, an episode of that, or a movie arc, I wanted to do a TV character arc again.”

In the wake of the conclusion of Game of Thrones, it seemed like a given that the concept could expand exponentially, though the coronavirus pandemic and last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes took a toll on those expansion plans. One spinoff earned a pilot before HBO opted not to order it to series, and reports emerge on a regular basis about new projects moving forward or being delayed.

Both Harington and Martin have offered more disappointing updates than promising ones about the Jon Snow sequel series in recent years.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.

What do you think of the actor’s remarks? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk… There were plenty of surprising moments in Sunday’s , but perhaps none as important as the confirmation of Helaena Targaryen’s abilities. In a major change from George R.R. Martin’s source material, Helaena was revealed as a dragon dreamer, aka a Targaryen with a prophetic gift. 

After seemingly predicting the future on different occasions, Helaena appeared in Daemon’s haunting vision in the season finale, telling him about his place in the overall Targaryen story. This was a massive demonstration of power on Helaena’s part, confirming that there is way more to her than anyone expected. Phia Saban, who plays Helaena on the series, spoke to EW after the finale and opened up about her character’s big change.

“I know that people feel so passionately and lovingly towards the original story, but I think that me, as a fan of things, I love a certain level of loyalty,” Saban said. “Then I love the idea that I can be surprised or something could be subverted. It more flatters the audience’s intelligence when you get to surprise them and subvert things, so I like the idea that people didn’t see that coming for Helaena.”

Saban went on to say that she doesn’t know where Helaena’s story is going, nor how far the character’s powers extend. But this puts her at the center of the story in a way that she wasn’t prior to the most recent episode.

“The thing is that I really have absolutely no idea what’s happening next season,” she explained. “I think that moment in episode 8 is an example of how clear and how powerful she can be, but I don’t think that’s the beginning of now she can just communicate like that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she walks away from Aemond, [mimes shaking her head and shoulders and blows out a breath], and she goes inside and goes to her room and that doesn’t happen again for a long time.

“So who knows, but it would be really cool if I got to spend more time in that vision dream world. I would love that. There’s that moment when Daemon’s going over to the tree, and then there’s a guy with a deer head or something. I think Helaena should hang out with him.”

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk… House of the Dragon‘s second season ended in surprising fashion on Sunday night. The entire season seemed to be building towards the devastating conflict known as the Battle of the Gullet, which stands as one of the most pivotal events in the entire Dance of the Dragons war. House of the Dragon cut to black just as both sides were making their way to the war, pushing the battle to next season.

Considering we’re probably two years away from , many were puzzled by the decision not to end Season 2 at the Gullet, but the creative team behind the show had their reasons. Speaking at a post-season press conference (per Variety), House of the Dragon co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal opened up about the situation.

“We were trying to give the Gullet, which is arguably the most anticipated — well, I would say maybe the second-most-anticipated action event of Fire & Blood, trying to give it the time and the space that it deserves,” Condal said. “Obviously, as anybody that’s seen the finale, we’re building to that event. That event will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon. Based on what we know now, it should be the biggest thing to date that we’ve pulled off, and we just wanted to have the time, the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans and in the way it’s deserved.”

Condal went on to say that the writers wanted to “build some anticipation” towards the Battle of the Gullet, which we now know won’t take place until the start of Season 3.

“I know everybody wants this to come out every summer,” he continued. “It’s just that the show is so complext that we’re really making multiple feature films every season. So I apologize for the wait, but I will just say if Rook’s Rest and the Red Sowing are any indication, we’re gonna pull off a hell of a win with the Battle of the Gullet in the future.”

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Showrunner Explains Why Season 2 Finale Skipped That Major Battle appeared first on ComicBook.com.

(SPOILERS) House of the Dragon Season 2 ended by maneuvering its principal characters into the precarious places they needed to be in, as the Targaryen Civil Wars truly got underway. For characters like Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) that meant walking away from the war before the bodies piled too high; for others like Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), it was time to get off sidelines and decide whether he could truly support the reign of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). 

Daemon’s storyline was one of the most divisive elements of House of the Dragon Season 2, as the charismatic rascal was sidelined (literally and figuratively) at Harrenhal, trying to usurp the throne for himself. However, in HotD Season 2 Episode 8 “The Queen Who Ever Was” Daemon was finally moved by something greater than himself when he touched a Weirwood tree in Harrenhal’s courtyard and saw a far-spanning vision of the future, and how the Targaryen bloodline (through Daenerys Targaryen) would stand against the darkness of the White Walkers. The vision has a profound effect on Daemon, instilling him with a sense of higher purpose. The vision is also the clearest depiction of “Greensight” or dream visions – the “superpower” that runs through the Targaryen line and first helped change the family’s fate. 

The Legend of Daeney the Dreamer

Daeneys Targaryen was the daughter of Aenar Targaryen – aka “Aenar the Exile.” Aenar and his family lived in Old Valyria; 12 years prior to the Doom of Valyria, Aenar’s daughter Daeneys had a prophetic vision of the apocalyptic event. Aenar heeded the vision, selling off his holdings in Valyria and moving is family, slaves, wealth, and dragons to Dragonstone in Westeros. When The Doom of Valyria happened, all the families of Valyrian Dragonlords were wiped out – except for the Targaryens. In the era of chaos that followed (known as the “Century of Blood”), Aegon Targaryen expanded his family’s empire, leaving Dragonstone to conquer all of Westeros (except for Dorne) and establishing the Targaryen Dynasty’s rule for generations to come. 

The Dream Is the Song 

House of the Dragon has added some expansive dimensions to the idea of the Targaryens and their prophetic dreams – establishing the gift as one passed down through the family. In Season 1, King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) revealed to Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) that Aegon the Conqueror had the same kind of prophetic dreams of The Long Night that Daeney the Dreamer did of The Doom. Aegon’s visions became “The Song of Ice and Fire” prophecy that foretold the coming of Aegon Targaryen/Jon Snow (Ice) and Daenerys Targaryen (Fire). 

“He [George R.R. Martin] told us very early on in the room – just as he casually mentions the fact that Aegon the Conqueror was a dreamer,” Condal revealed in a previous interview. “He saw a vision of the White Walkers coming across the wall and sweeping over the land with cold and darkness. And but it never made the history book because [Aegon] never told anyone, or at least the people they told didn’t tell the history to the history writers. So it’s in George’s head.”

House of the Dragon Is A Link In The Chain of Destiny

The Season 2 Finale of House of the Dragon has now expanded the power of Targaryen Dream Vision to include two characters from the series: Daemon and Queen Helaena Targaryen. 

Viserys and Rhaenyra heard about Aegon’s visions second-hand through the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy that Aegon passed on to his descendants as a sacred mission: Daemon and Helaena experience it first-hand when Daemon touches the Weirwood – and Helaena has teased an ability to see the future since her introduction. The vision Daemon sees includes an Easter egg cameo from Brynen Rivers, the bastard son of a future Targaryen ruler, who became the first Three-Eyed Raven, as well as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. 

That only further indicates how this secret ability guided the Targaryen bloodline over generations, and helped them make the moves that would eventually save Westeros from the Night King and White Walkers. It also gives legitimate credit to the Targaryens being an almost divinely blessed family, and therefore makes the blood shed in the “Dance of Dragons” even more tragic. 

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO and Max. 

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon! Continue reading at your own risk… Sunday night’s Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon left fans with plenty of questions as the wait for Season 3 begins, especially when the episode cut to black just before a highly anticipated battle could begin. Additionally, one of the biggest puzzles stemming from the finale focused on Otto Hightower, who hasn’t been present for most of the season.

Otto, played by Rhys Ifans, was dismissed from his post as Hand of the King early on in the season, and he said he’d be returning to Oldtown. Fans haven’t seen or heard from Otto since, until a very mysterious scene in the final minutes of the Season 2 finale. Otto was being held captive in some sort of prison cell, only looking up when a light approached. We have no idea how he got there, how long he’s been imprisoned, or who is holding him. Unfortunately, it appears we won’t have any answers until the show returns.

At a press conference on Monday (per Variety), co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal was asked about Hightower’s return, and he kept things as cryptic as possible.

“We were delighted to have Rhys reenter the story, and I will just say that the Otto Hightower tale has not yet come to an end,” Condal explained.

Geeta Vasant Patel, House of the Dragon‘s Season 2 finale director, was also asked about the big Otto reveal in her own interview with Variety. Like Condal, she didn’t reveal any major information.

“I was asked to shoot that scene,” the director said. “I want to know where he is, too. I don’t know! Those guys talk about a lot of things in the writers’ room, and then they don’t tell us. They don’t tell any of us! They don’t tell the actors, either. I don’t think it’s fair.”

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Showrunner Addresses Otto Hightower’s Season 2 Finale Twist appeared first on ComicBook.com.

House of the Dragon will officially be ending with Season 4. HBO has also announced that Season 3 of HotD will begin production in “earlyish 2025,” according to showrunner Ryan Condal. 

Condal also hinted that Season 3 (and Season 3) of the show will also follow the format of Season 2 and consist of eight episodes, stating: “I haven’t had discussions with HBO about it, I would just anticipate the cadence of the show, from dramatic storytelling perspective, will continue to be the same from Season 2 on.”

The news of House of the Dragon ending was revealed during a press conference today, hours after the Season 2 Finale premiered on HBO and Max streaming. The sophomore season proved that House of the Dragon is one of the dominant TV shows in pop-culture right now – it’s also proven the viability of HBO’s Game of Thrones franchise as a larger universe of spinoff shows.  

How Many Game of Thrones Spinoff Show Are There?

House of the Dragon takes place nearly 175 years before GoT; HBO has announced an Aegon the Conqueror series set 300 years before GoT, which would chronicle how the Targaryen Dynasty is first established in Westeros. HBO just revealed first footage of another prequel series in development, The Hedge Knight, which will be set less than 100 years before GoT and chronicle the legend of “Dunk and Egg.” The most recent announcement was that 10,000 Ships, a series set roughly 1,000 years before the events of Game of Thrones, is still in development.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

Via Variety

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The Game of Thrones spinoff series House of the Dragon draws inspiration from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel about the history of House Targaryen. With Season 2 concluding on HBO this past weekend, Funko is launching a new wave of Pop figures that includes Rhaenyra Targaryen, Baela Targaryen, and Jacaerys Velaryon. 

Pre-orders for these new House of the Dragon Funko Pop figures are live here at Entertainment Earth (free shipping on US orders $59+) and here on Amazon now. Details on previously released Pop figures in the House of the Dragon lineup can be found below.  You can also find a ton of new House of the Dragon merch here at the WB Shop. 

House of the Dragon Funko Pop wave 3 included Pop figures of Daemon Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, and a Deluxe Pop Ride of Rhaenys Targaryen with Meleys. 

Again, re-orders for all of these new figures are available here at Entertainment Earth (free US shipping on orders $79+ and here on Amazon now. A Ser Christon Cole Funko Pop is also available as a Target exclusive. As you’ll see below, wave 2 included some pretty eye-popping Chase figures.

• House of the Dragon Funko Pop Ride – Rhaenyra w/ Syrax: See at Entertainment Earth 
• House of the Dragon Funko Pops – Aemond Targaryen with Chance at a GITD Chase: See at Entertainment Earth 
• House of the Dragon Funko Pops- Masked Viserys with a chance at the gnarly unmsked Chase pictured above: See at Entertainment Earth 
• House of the Dragon Funko Pops – Viserys on the Iron Throne: See at Entertainment Earth 
• House of the Dragon Funko Pops- Crabfeeder: See at Entertainment Earth 

• House of the Dragon Caraxes (Metallic) Pop! Vinyl Figure – WB Shop Exclusive
• House of the Dragon Caraxes Pop! Vinyl Figure – Target Exclusive 
• House of the Dragon Daemon Targaryen with Dragon Egg Pop! Vinyl Figure – Funko Exclusive / eBay
• House of the Dragon Otto Hightower Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth 
• House of Dragon Alicent Hightower Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth
• House of Dragon Alicent Hightower with Dagger Pop! Vinyl Figure – SDCC Exclusive 
  
• House of the Dragon Corlys Velaryon Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth
• House of the Dragon Viserys Targaryen Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth
• House of the Dragon Daemon Targaryen Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth
• House of the Dragon Rhaenyra Targaryen Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth
• House of the Dragon Syrax Pop! Vinyl Figure – Pre-order at Entertainment Earth

What Is House of the Dragon Season 2 About?

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Season 2 Finale Brings New Funko Pops appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The second season of HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, came to a surprising conclusion on Sunday night, as the eighth and final episode of the shortened installment wrapped the story up in a way few fans were expecting. No spoilers quite yet, but House of the Dragon Season 2 left things with a pretty massive cliffhanger, with every character on the verge of a key moment in the story. After that finale, fans are already anxiously awaiting the show’s third season, which may still take quite a long time to arrive.

HBO has renewed , but there hasn’t been any information about the next installment of the series. Production hasn’t started on new episodes and the cast haven’t talked about heading back to set just yet. All that to say, House of the Dragon Season 3 is further away than you want it to be.

House of the Dragon‘s first season aired in 2022, which means it took nearly two years for the show to return for Season 2. The production worked around multiple Hollywood strikes and shortened its episode count to eight and still took over a year from filming start to season premiere. Given how massive the scope of the show is, don’t expect a quick turnaround from season to season, though Game of Thrones did prove that annual seasons can be accomplished. The big difference here is the inclusion of the dragons, which take a lot of work to bring to life.

Another factor worth thinking about is the release of HBO’s second Game of Thrones spinoff series, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. That series is already in production and HBO confirmed, with some early footage on Sunday night, that this new spinoff will be arriving in 2025. 

What does that have to do with House of the Dragon? Well, with The Hedge Knight airing on HBO next year, the premium network won’t be in as big of a rush to get House of the Dragon back on TV. The more likely scenario is Hedge Knight airing in 2025, followed by House of the Dragon Season 3 in 2026.

Nothing is confirmed at this point, which means just about anything can happen, but I wouldn’t plan on expecting new House of the Dragon episodes for at least a year and a half.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post When Is House of the Dragon Season 3 Coming Out? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The second season of House of the Dragon has come to an end. Sunday’s new episode of HBO’s hit Game of Thrones spinoff will be its last for some time, as the cast and crew get ready to produce Season 3, but it certainly left fans with quite a lot to talk about in the meantime. Given the title, it should be expected that this is absolutely filled with spoilers from the House of the Dragon finale, but what’s the harm in mentioning it one more time? SPOILERS AHEAD!

Making Final Plans

The Season 2 finale begins with Tyland Lannister pleading the case of the Greens to the Triarchy, hoping to enlist their help in taking down the blockade at sea. The leader of the pirates, Sharako Lohar, tests Tyland and takes a liking to him, agreeing to aid Aegon’s side in the coming battle. By the end of the episode, Tyland and Sharako will lead a horde of ships to war, and there’s a possibility Tyland also tried to help get all of Sharako’s wives pregnant (at her request). It’s also worth noting that there was some mud wrestling involved.

Back in King’s Landing, Aegon continues to struggle through his long recovery. Larys arrives in his quarters and does his best to convince the king to flee the city until the war is over. He believes that Aemond, furious over Rhaenyra’s new dragon army, will come back and take his anger out on Aegon, finishing the job he started at Rook’s Rest. Aegon is wary that leaving will paint him a coward, but Larys is able to sway him into believing that he’ll be able to return a hero, a survivor of a war the people didn’t even want.

Aegon also, unfortunately, made it known that his penis “burst into flames” when he was burned by the dragons. It’s a detail that no one asked for, but everyone will have a hard time forgetting. 

Jacaerys continues his anger over the new “low-born” dragonriders. Add to that the anger over Aemond burning down an entire town of innocent people in his rage and you’ve got one enraged young man. Ulf is disrespectful to him from the jump and Jace doesn’t have patience for it, despite Hugh’s best efforts to keep everyone’s tempers and manners in check. This spills over into a key sequence in which Rhaenyra assembles all of her dragonriders to discuss her battle plans.

This is the moment when Rhaenyra curves into slightly villainous territory. She’s willing to burn down entire areas with their dragons in order to keep her momentum and truly put the Greens back on their heels. Not everyone seems to be on board with the idea, especially Addam, who Rhaenyra appears to have the most trust in when it comes to her riders.

Visions and Armies

Part of Aemond’s grand plan is to get Helaena to ride her dragon, Dreamfyre, into battle alongside him. She refuses, as someone who barely rides and has no desire to harm others. Aemond obviously isn’t one to take no for an answer, but Alicent eventually gets him to leave Helaena’s quarters and drop the subject.

Later, when Aemond tries to appeal to Helaena one-on-one, she again shuts him down. This time, though, she tells him of a couple of her prophetic visions. She saw him try to kill Aegon at Rook’s Rest. She also tells him that she saw him die at the God’s Eye, the lake beside Harrenhal. 

Criston Cole has been gone awhile and finally makes his return in the finale. Confronted by Gwayne over his affair with Alicent, Cole reveals his newly found nihilistic view of the world. Seeing the dragons in battle changed him, and he believes that nothing they do as soldiers matters anymore. 

“To die will be a kind of relief. Don’t you think?”

When Rhaenyra gets a letter from Simon Strong about potential treachery on Daemon’s part, she takes Addam and flies to Harrenhal to confront him. Before she can arrive, though, he touches the Weirwood tree as it bleeds, and he has a chilling vision of what awaits House Targaryen. Daemon sees his own death, as well as the coming of the Night King, and a glimpse of Brynden Rivers, aka the Three-Eyed Raven. He sees Daenerys Targaryen, a couple centuries into the future, hatching her trio of baby dragons in the fires of Khal Drogo’s funeral. He finally sees Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne, wearing her crown, and Helaena appears to tell him that he’s simply one part of the story.

This, thankfully, changes Daemon’s outlook on his entire situation with Rhaenyra. When she appears in Harrenhal in front of his armies, he decidedly kneels before her and pledges his unending loyalty. He has now seen the prophecy known as the Song of Ice and Fire, which Viserys shared with Rhaenyra when she was younger and she recently shared with Jace. 

To Battle

The pieces are in place for the fames Battle of the Gullet, with both sides readying all of their forces for the conflict. As Corlys prepares his ships, he and Alyn have a conversation that has to go down as one of the best of the season. Corlys says he’s trying to help Alyn, which leads the latter to confront his father about only wanting to be helpful after his other heirs have been killed. They’re heading into battle on shaky ground with one another.

Despite the fact that it has felt for a long time that too much has happened for Rhaenyra and Alicent to ever find common ground again, the latter secretly travels to Dragonstone to make a final attempt at peace. She tells Rhaenyra that Aemond is flying to Harrenhal to confront Daemon, which will leave Helaena in charge of King’s Landing. When that happens, she wants Rhaenyra to fly in and claim King’s Landing and the Iron Throne, and that she and Helaena will not offer any violent resistance. Rhaenyra tells Alicent that she has to kill Aegon in order to prove she earned the crown, knowing Alicent doesn’t want to see any more lost children. They separate without coming to any real agreement.

And that sends everyone involved in the story into battle. Daeron, Alicent’s youngest son, flies the dragon Tessarion above the marching Hightower army. Rhaena, who has been tracking down the wild dragon through the Vale, finds Sheepstealer and comes face-to-face with the beast. Aegon listened to Larys’ advice, riding away from King’s Landing in a covered wagon. Otto Hightower was imprisoned at some point, as we see him behind bars. The two Queens just stare out into the distance as the episode ends, knowing that a massive conflict is on the horizon.

The entire season comes to a close on the eve of battle, leaving fans to wait until Season 3 to see the dragons fight once again.

The post House of the Dragon Season 2 Finale Recap With Spoilers appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale! Continue reading at your own risk… Daemon’s vision at the Harrenhal Weirwood tree will likely go down as the most talked-about scene in the , mainly because of the cameos from Daenerys Targaryen and the Night King, as well as the introduction of a young Brynden Rivers. One of the scene’s most important reveals, however, arrives before Daemon’s prophetic vision even begins. In a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, House of the Dragon seemingly introduces a sacred and mysterious order known as the Green Men.

When Daemon is talking to Alys, before putting his hand on the tree, he looks up to see some sort of humanoid being in the darkness. Before the creature disappears, you can hear that its footsteps sound like hooves, and that it has antlers on its head. Unfortunately, it’s so dark that you can’t make out a whole lot of details.

This is likely a member of the Green Men, a sacred order that was tasked with guarding the trees on the Isle of Faces (the island in the God’s Eye just across the water from Harrenhal, which was also seen in the episode when Rhaenyra flew to meet Daemon). The Green Men were created for that very purpose, after a pact was made between the First Men and the Children of the Forest to stop their ongoing war.

Very little is known about the Green Men, as boats are unable to dock at the Isle of Faces due to the order’s interference. For years and years, throughout much of the history of Westeros, the Green Men were the subject of fairy tales. Old Nan in Game of Thrones hinted that the Green Men had antlers of their own, though others believe they wear headdresses.

Seeing both the Isle of Faces and the Green Men in this finale could be setting up a storyline in House of the Dragon. While no men ever sailed to the Isle of Faces, it was said that Addam flew to the island on his dragon, Seasmoke, and sought council with the Green Men. Addam flew over the island in this Season 2 finale, so all of the seeds are there for him to begin asking questions and potentially returning to the forested isle.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale! Continue reading at your own risk… Daemon Targaryen’s eerie visions throughout have focused entirely on his past, but what he saw in Sunday night’s season finale was all about the future. Daemon touched the Weirwood tree in Harrenhal and received not only a vision, but a look into the future of his family and Westeros, one that included glimpses of multiple Game of Thrones characters.

The vision from the tree essentially shows Daemon the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy that Viserys told Rhaenyra about when he decided she would be his heir. Daemon foresaw his death, the devastating winter that would bring the Night King, and the eventual Targaryen queen who would bring dragons back to Westeros.

The one and only Night King made an appearance in Daemon’s vision, showing him the evil that would eventually come. He also saw Daenerys Targaryen, the main character of , who sought to take back the Iron Throne for her family a couple centuries after the events of House of the Dragon. While you don’t see her face, it’s clear that Daenerys is the woman near the end of the vision, as she sits naked on the ground with soot all around her, as three baby dragons emerge from her lap. This is a recreation of the scene at the end of Game of Thrones Season 1, when Daenerys hatched her trio of dragons in the funeral pyre of her late husband, Khal Drogo.

Seeing what the future likely holds for the Targaryen’s caused Daemon to instantly shift his mood. He bent the knee to Rhaenyra and told her he saw what would happen, and that the only way to fight it would be together. He even dropped the iconic Game of Thrones line, “Winter is coming,” though he spoke it in High Valyrian.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Season 2 Finale Brings Back Iconic Game of Thrones Characters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale! Continue reading at your own risk… Daemon’s chilling experiences in Harrenhal have been one of the biggest subplots throughout House of the Dragon Season 2. The rogue husband of Rhaenyra went to the ancient castle to raise his own Riverlands army, but got more than he bargained for as hallucinations of the dead from his past have plagued the majority of his stay. Daemon’s vision in the finale, however, was the most monumental of all, showing him the prophecy known as the song of Ice and Fire. That came with a key character in Targaryen history, who will play a massive part in the future of Westeros.

While the vision included clear looks at the Night King and Daenerys Targaryen from Game of Thrones, there was one more mysterious Targaryen that made an appearance. The young, silver-haired man with the deep red birthmark on his face is none other than Brynen Rivers, the bastard son of King Aegon IV who goes on to become known as the Three-Eyed Raven.

The Three-Eyed Raven (known as the three-eyed crow in George R.R. Martin’s books) is the last living greenseer in Westeros, and that gift of prophecy helps make him an integral part to the fight against the Night King and the dangers above the Wall. Like the Night King and Daenerys, Brynden comes along after Daemon’s time, so this entire vision is based in the future, not his past.

Brynden is known by several defining characteristics, including that birthmark on his face that earned him the name the Blood Raven. According to Martin’s books, Brynden is one of several bastard sons of King Aegon IV, which earns him the name Rivers. A skilled archer and someone who many believe possesses mystical abilities, Brynden eventually makes his way to the Wall and takes over as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch. He ends up serving in that post for 13 years before disappearing north of the Wall.

In Game of Thrones, the Raven was played by Struan Rodger in Season 4 and by Max von Sydow in Season 6.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon: Who Is the Mysterious Targaryen in Daemon’s Shocking Vision? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article includes MAJOR SPOILERS for the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale! Continue reading at your own risk… House of the Dragon‘s second season concluded on Sunday night in dramatic fashion, but the finale definitely didn’t end up where most fans expected it to. Not only did the show’s latest episode cut to black at a surprising time, but it also left everyone desperate for the arrival of Season 3 so we can see what happens next.

As Daemon has built his army in the Riverlands and Rhaenyra has sought out a new batch of dragonriders, it has felt as though Season 2 of House of the Dragon has been leading up to an epic battle between the Blacks and the Greens. So much has been building toward the bloody and all-important Battle of the Gullet, as depicted in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. All the pieces on House of the Dragon are in place for the massive conflict, with just about every known dragon set to participate, but the Season 2 finale stops just short of showing fans the fight.

In the final minutes of the episode, just about every key character is featured in a substantial montage of battle preparations. The new dragonriders are suited with armor, ships sail for the blockade, the army of Oldtown marches to the Riverlands, Rhaena finds Sheepstealer; the list goes on. With Rhaenyra and Alicent both looking out to where the battle will take place, however, the finale abruptly ends, leaving the fight for Season 3.

The Battle of the Gullet will have to wait a while, as House of the Dragon Season 3 will need to be filmed. When the show eventually returns, fans can expect the next installment to begin with the major battle that they thought would take place in Season 2.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale… House of the Dragon really stuck true to its name in Season 2, as the winged beasts controlled by the Targaryens took on a much more prominent role in the show’s story. The Dance of the Dragons has become just that, with more and more dragons joining the fight throughout the season. In the final moments of Sunday night’s Season 2 finale, another pair of dragons finally made their debuts. 

Over the course of the couple of episodes leading up to the Season 2 finale, House of the Dragon teased two additional dragons, neither of which had been seen on the show before. One is Sheepstealer, the wild dragon roaming the Vale of Arryn. The other is Tessarion, who has been growing up in Oldtown with Alicent’s youngest son, Daeron Targaryen.

Both of those dragons arrived in the last few minutes of . Tessarion’s debut was actually revealed in the preview for the finale. She can be seen flying above the army of Oldtown as they march to battle. 

Sheepstealer has been teased for a few weeks now, with Rhaena Targaryen in the Vale, curious about the wild dragon. She spends entire finale wondering through the hills trying to find the beast, only coming face-to-face with the dragon at the very end of the episode. We don’t see her bond with Sheepstealer, but all of the hints point towards Rhaena becoming a dragonrider with the wild dragon, taking over the story of Nettles from Fire & Blood.

The Death of a Dragon

In addition to revealing a couple of new dragons, the Season 2 finale also brought news that another dragon from the series had died, though it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone.

Early in the episode, King Aegon II told Larys that his dragon, Sunfyre, had died after the Battle of Rook’s Rest, where he received his devastating injuries. To this point, we just knew that the dragon remained at Rook’s Rest to potentially heal. According to Aegon, his recovery was going better than Sunfyre’s, which is saying a lot.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

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The second season of House of the Dragon comes to an end tomorrow, and fans of the Game of Thrones spinoff are already eager for more. While a third season will eventually be coming to HBO, it’s not the only thing fans have to look forward to. Author George R.R. Martin recently confirmed that there are currently seven more spinoffs in development. It’s hard to imagine all seven ideas will get off the ground, especially considering shows in this universe have been scrapped before, but it’s safe to say it will be a long time before Westeros is no longer a major part of our television experience. 

Martin recently spoke about the next Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, at the Oxford Writers’ House. The author also dropped the news that seven more series are currently in development, three being animated and four being live-action. While it has not been confirmed what these shows will be about, there’s been a lot of speculation, and there’s a good chance we’ll be getting a live-action series about Aegon the Conqueror. 

Is the Jon Snow Sequel Series Still Happening?

A series about Kit Harington’s Game of Thrones character, Jon Snow, was revealed to be in development in 2022, but the actor confirmed earlier this year that the show seems to be dead. 

“I hadn’t really ever spoken about it, because it was in development. I didn’t want it leaked out that it was being developed, and I didn’t want the thing to happen where people kind of start theorizing, getting either excited about it or hating the idea of it, when it may never happen. Because in development, you look at every angle, and you see whether it’s worth it,” Harington explained to Screen Rant.

“And currently, it’s not [in development]. Currently, it’s off the table because we all couldn’t find the right story to tell that we were all excited about enough. So, we decided to lay down tools with it for the time being. There may be a time in the future where we return to it, but at the moment, no. It’s firmly on the shelf,” he added. 

Is the Ten Thousand Ships Prequel Happening?

While the Jon Snow show probably won’t be moving forward, Martin recently claimed that the scrapped prequel series Ten Thousand Ships is back in development at HBO. Martin took to his blog to congratulate playwright Eboni Booth for winning the Pulitzer Prize for her play Primary Truth. In sharing praise for Booth’s work, Martin also revealed that she’s been working with HBO on expanding the Game of Thrones universe. 

“Never having won a Pulitzer Prize myself, I am at a loss to explain why the medal shows Ben Franklin rather than Joseph Pulitzer, but Eboni has promised to fill me in after the ceremony.She’s an amazingly talented young playwright, and a joy to work with; when not writing and producing her prize-winning plays on- and off-Broadway, she has been kept busy by me and HBO, working on a new pilot for TEN THOUSAND SHIPS, a GAME OF THRONES spinoff about Nymeria and the Rhoynar.We’re all very excited about this one… though we’re still trying to figure out how we’re going to pay for ten thousand ships, three hundred dragons, and those giant turtles,” Martin wrote.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon spinoffs coming to HBO.

The post Game of Thrones: George R.R. Martin Reveals How Many Spinoffs Are In the Works After House of the Dragon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Aemond Targaryen has emerged as one of the most important characters in House of the Dragon Season 2, taking charge of King’s Landing while his brother, Aegon II, recovers from devastating injuries that he himself helped cause. It’s Aemond that has been pushing his family further into war, and pushing away the people of Westeros in the process. Now that he has become the show’s most ruthless and terrifying villain, fans have been wondering if and when Aemond might meet his fate. George R.R. Martin has an answer for that in Fire & Blood, the book that House of the Dragon is based on.  

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, as well as the first seven episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2…

Heading into the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale, Aemond is in control of the army of the Greens, and is waging war against his half-sister, Rhaenyra. That said, the penultimate episode of Season 2 saw Aemond learn of the three additional dragons Rhaenyra recruited to her side, leaving him more vulnerable than he thought.

In Fire & Blood, Aemond continues to rule from King’s Landing and lead the Greens to war, but his hubris continued to get the best out of him. After Daemon leaves Harrenhal, Aemond goes to take it for himself, but his absence from King’s Landing allows for Rhaenyra and Daemon to take the city. This leaves Aemond with little but Harrenhal as a home base, and it’s there he meets his end.

Daemon and Caraxes eventually returned to Harrenhal to face off against Aemond and Vhagar once and for all, pitting the two strongest dragons in Westeros against one another. When two forces that great meet, it usually doesn’t end well for anyone.

The fight, known as the Battle Above the God’s Eye, saw the two dragons duel over the lake beside Harrenhal (the same place where Alys told Daemon he would die). Caraxes eventually latched onto Vhagar, which allowed Daemon to leap from his mount and attack Aemond with his sword, Dark Sister. Daemon killed Aemond by shoving the sword through his blind eye, and the two men fell thousands of feet down into the God’s Eye alongside their dying dragons.

As we’ve seen over the first two seasons of House of the Dragon, the show does take some opportunities to make changes from the book, so things might play out a little differently when the Battle Above the God’s Eye does arrive. But it would be very surprising if the fates of Aemond or Daemon are altered in any significant way.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon: How Does Aemond Die in the Books? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

HBO has released a statement in response to the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon leaking online. The second season of the Game of Thrones spinoff concludes Sunday night, but that hasn’t stopped the online detectives from scouring the darkest corners of the interwebs to spoil not only themselves, but others as well. On Tuesday, several days before the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale is set to air on HBO, several clips from the episode were uploaded to TikTok. The TikTok account appeared to be newly created just for the intended purpose of sharing the House of the Dragon footage on social media. ComicBook reached out to HBO for a statement, which you can read below”

“We are aware that clips from the House of the Dragon season finale have surfaced across social media platforms. The clips were posted after an unintentional release from an international third-party distributor. HBO is aggressively monitoring and removing clips from the internet, and fans can watch the episode in its entirety this Sunday night on HBO and Max.”

Since HBO’s statement was released, the TikTok account and other accounts attempting to pass along the House of the Dragon footage have been taken down. 

House of the Dragon renewed for Season 3

House of the Dragon was renewed for a third season back in July, even before Season 2 premiered.

“George, Ryan, and the rest of our incredible executive producers, cast, and crew, have reached new heights with the phenomenal second season of House of the Dragon,” said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films. “We are in awe of the dragon-sized effort the entire team has put into the creation of a spectacular season two, with a scope and scale that is only rivaled by its heart. We could not be more thrilled to continue the story of House Targaryen and watch this team burn bright again for season three.”

What is House of the Dragon about?

Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. The Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon premieres Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

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Updated with HBO statement. As the Targaryens prepare for battle heading into the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale, HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery have had to battle some substantial leaks online, again. On Tuesday, several days before the House of the Dragon season 2 finale is set to air on HBO, several clips from the episode were uploaded to TikTok, and quite a few fans got a look at what the show has in store.

More than a dozen videos from the House of the Dragon finale, captured by someone filming a screen with another device, were uploaded to a new TikTok account on Tuesday. The account had no prior videos and seemed to serve the sole purpose of sharing the videos online. It’s unclear how this user was able to access the House of the Dragon episode early. ComicBook reached out to HBO for comment who released the following statement: 

“We are aware that clips from the House of the Dragon season finale have surfaced across social media platforms. The clips were posted after an unintentional release from an international third-party distributor. HBO is aggressively monitoring and removing clips from the internet, and fans can watch the episode in its entirety this Sunday night on HBO and Max.”

The account and videos have since been taken down, but not before a lot of fans got their eyes on major House of the Dragon spoilers. More than half of the videos on the account had over 100,000 views prior to their removal. 

House of the Dragon Season 2 has continued to be a major hit for both the HBO network and Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service, Max. The Season 2 premiere earlier this summer helped lead Max to its biggest single day of streams ever. 

The eight-episode season comes to a close on Sunday night, but HBO is already preparing another installment. The series was renewed for Season 3 before Season 2 had even premiered. The current season has continued the storyline of the devastating Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. True to its title, the massive dragons have taken on a much more prominent role over the course of the season.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk… House of the Dragon finally introduced its trio of oft-teased dragonriders in Sunday’s penultimate episode of Season 2. Addam, Hugh, and Ulf have all bonded with dragons and look to add to Rhaenyra’s numbers in the ongoing Targaryen civil war. All three of those dragonriders existed as part of the story in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, but House of the Dragon did make one massive change about their origins, specifically Hugh’s.

In Fire & Blood, the Dragonseeds are revealed as people who may have some traces of royal Targaryen blood still in their veins, meaning they were likely connected to a lord or king generations prior. None of those connections were explained, because they were too far back to trace or completely unknown. In House of the Dragon, however, it was revealed that Hugh was actually a direct relative to King Jaehaerys, the Targaryen that sat on the Iron Throne just before Viserys.

Hugh told his wife that his mother worked in a brothel and was the sister of Jaehaerys, giving him a very clear connection to the Targaryen bloodline. That also helps explain why Vermithor chose to bond with him. Vermithor hadn’t bonded with any human since the death of his previous rider: King Jaehaerys.

A similar situation played out with Seasmoke, who chose Addam of Hull as his next rider. Seasmoke had bonded with Laenor Velaryon, who we know now is Addam’s half-brother. Not to mention Ulf has claimed to be the bastard half-brother of Daemon and Viserys, though he hasn’t yet proven to be a reliable narrator.

So what’s the point of all this? In Fire & Blood, the Dragonseeds just had some distant connections to the Targaryens (save for Addam). Nettles, who hasn’t been on the show at all, wasn’t connected to the family in any way that we know of. House of the Dragon is simplifying the story a bit with this new information about Hugh. We can now connected all of these new dragonriders directly to known Targaryen and Velaryon royals.

It seems like that theory may hold true when it comes to the dragon Sheepstealer. The wild beast has been teased on House of the Dragon, but its rider, Nettles, has yet to appear. Instead, Rhaena Targaryen seems to be getting the Nettles storyline, which would mean all four riderless dragons will have bonded with immediate Targaryen relatives.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

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Believe it or not, House of the Dragon Season 2 ends next week. Sunday night saw the debut of the season’s penultimate episode, as the biggest storyline on the show finally became the main focus. One of the riderless dragons found a companion at the end of Episode 6, and Rhaenyra is looking to find matches for the other two. All of this, of course, is building to an even more violent and devastating war between Targaryen factions. WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk…

The Next Dragonrider Arrives

Sunday’s edition of House of the Dragon picks up right where last week’s episode left off, as Rhaenyra flies out to meet the mysterious dragonrider that has taken flight on Seasmoke. When she confronts Addam of Hull, expecting some pushback, he immediately bends the knee and says Seasmoke sought him out. He pledges loyalty to her and is the first domino to fall with this next wave of dragonriders.

What Rhaenyra doesn’t know, however, is that Addam is Corlys’ son. Addam simply tells her that he is low born, which eventually moves her to put out a call for anyone who has silver hair or could be of Valerian descent to try and bond with Vermithor or Silverwing, even if you aren’t high born. She gets pushback on this from all sorts, including some in the council, the dragon keepers, and her own son, but she continues with the plan. This gets people like Hugh and Ulf to Dragonstone to try and answer the call. More on that later…

Learning of Addam’s ability to ride a dragon, and always thinking of his late wife’s words, Corlys starts handing more responsibility to Alyn. There’s a moment where he brings up Addam’s bond with Seasmoke to his older brother, saying he worries he may lose Alyn to the skies as well. But Alyn replies that he is “salt and sea,” echoing the words that Laena said to Corlys when she turned down his offer to be heir to Driftmark. It’s Alyn’s work that gets word about the dragonrider search to King’s Landing, and helps ship the possible riders back to Dragonstone.

A Struggling King

Things aren’t going well in King’s Landing. As Aegon tries to recover from his wounds and the citizens continue their restlessness, Alicent decides it’s time for a change of scenery. She takes one member of her guard out into the woods to stay for a while, with no set plan or timetable for return.

Aegon continues to try and walk again, but his road to recovery is a bumpy one. Larys insists that he keep up a ridiculous pace, even though the king is exhausted, because be believes needs the young king back in charge.

There’s also a tidbit near the end of the episode involving Alicent’s family that could have a profound impact down the line. Aegon and Aemond’s younger brother, Daeron, has been growing up in Oldtown, and is known there as a good, respectable young man. He also has a dragon, Tessarion, who Aemond is informed has finally started taking to the skies, adding a potential ally for his forces.

A Star Is Born

Remember when Lyanna Mormont burst onto the scene in Game of Thrones and became an instant fan-favorite, despite being the youngest character on the show? House of the Dragon got its own Lyanna in the form of Oscar Tully, who has now taken over as the head of House Tully and Lord Paramount of the Trident.

Oscar is in charge of the Riverlands, as all of the houses in the area have a loyalty to House Tully. Daemon summons him to Harrenhal, along with the rest of the Lords of the Riverlands, to finally put together his army. Oscar makes it clear that he can’t stand Daemon, and is one of the few people to actually put the King Regent in his place. But he knows that his family swore an oath to Rhaenyra, so he agrees to help Daemon.

What Daemon didn’t expect, however, was for Oscar to turn things back around on him and call out Lord Blackwood for his horrible crimes against the Brackens, crimes that were actually instructions from Daemon. Oscar knew that Daemon ordered Blackwood to do heinous things to his rivals, but also knew that Daemon couldn’t acknowledge that in front of the other lords, and that he would need to punish Blackwood in order to gain their respect. Oscar called for Blackwood to be detained and face retribution, forcing Daemon to behead the man who had been his most powerful soldier in the Riverlands.

Oscar hasn’t been around long, but he’s made an immediate impact.

The Dragonseeds

Before heading to Dragonstone to try and ride a dragon, Hugh tells his wife that his mother worked in a brothel in King’s Landing, and that she was actually the sister of King Jaehaerys, who served before Viseerys. He has Targaryen blood in his veins, just as Ulf claimed to.

An entire group of silver-haired people were taken down into the pit to try and tame the massive Vermithor. The dragon attacked, killing most of the group. When a young woman was about to be killed, Hugh stepped in to save her, standing face-to-face with the beast and offering himself as a sacrifice instead. Rather than kill him, though, Vermithor bowed, connecting with Hugh and allowing him to become his rider. 

It’s worth noting that family connection. Vermithor hasn’t had a rider since Jaehaerys, who is apparently the brother of Hugh’s mother. Perhaps Vermithor noted the same blood running through his veins.

While trying to hide from Vermithor, Ulf ran into another cave in the pit, where he was confronted by another dragon, Silverwing. When he thought he was going to be attacked, Silverwing lowered her head, allowing them to bond.

The final scene of the episode saw Ulf ride Silverwing over King’s Landing, causing Aemond to summon Vhagar to follow them. He backs off when he nears Dragonstone, though, as he sees a group of multiple dragons gathering, led by Rhaenyra.

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WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the latest episode of House of the Dragon! Continue reading at your own risk… The Targaryen civil war in House of the Dragon has finally become more about the dragons than the Targaryens themselves. Rhaenyra has made it her top priority to find more dragonriders to challenge Aemond and Vhagar, and she did just that in Sunday night’s new episode. The Queen has three more dragonriders at her side, finally stacking the odds against the Greens, but there was one exchange near the end of the episode that let everyone know that Aemond and Aegon will have some reinforcements as well.

Aemond, Helaena, and Aegon have a fourth sibling, Daeron, who was sent away from King’s Landing to grow up in Oldtown, the home of House Hightower. He was mentioned for the first time on House of the Dragon, when Alicent learned that her son that is furthest from the Iron Throne may have had the best temperament for it. Now, in this new episode, we learned that not only is Daeron doing well, but that he also has a dragon.

During a council meeting in the episode’s final minutes, Aemond is informed that his younger brother’s dragon, Tessarion, has finally started taking flight. That would mean he’s not all that far away from being battle-ready, which would theoretically mean one more dragon fighting on the side of Aegon and the Greens.

Just how long Tessarion and Daeron will need in order to get ready, though, remains to be seen. With Aegon still out of commission, they’ll need all the help they can get. 

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Mentions Another Key Dragon We Still Haven’t Seen appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the latest episode of House of the Dragon! Continue reading at your own risk… The sixth episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 started to introduce the first new dragonrider to the series, fully launching the story of the Dragonseeds. In Sunday’s new episode, Rhaenyra continued the search for more riders with potential Valerian blood in their veins, opening things up to even the low born folks in King’s Landing. By the end of the episode, Rhaenyra’s forces grew by three dragons, as three new riders were chosen.

The first of the new riders was made obvious at the end of the last episode, but it wasn’t made official until the start of this one. Rhaenyra confronted Addam of Hull, who was approached by the dragon Seasmoke to be his new rider. Addam (who Rhaenyra doesn’t know is actually the son of her Hand, Corlys) quickly bent the knee to the Queen and pledged to fight for her.

Two more riders were found after Mysaria sent whispers to King’s Landing, seeking anyone with silver hair who felt they had a shot at bonding with a dragon. Those two characters have been built up steadily throughout the second season of House of the Dragon.

The first was Hugh, the blacksmith from King’s Landing who began the season doing work for Aegon. His daughter was sick and ultimately died, and he told his wife that he felt he was supposed to go work with these dragons. He informed her for the first time that his mother worked in a brothel in King’s Landing and was apparently the sister of King Jaehaerys, who sat on the Iron Throne before Viserys. 

With that lineage in mind, it should come as no surprise that Vermithor chose to work with Hugh, after killing so many other hopeful dragonriders. Vermithor, known as the Bronze Fury, is the largest dragon in Westeros, save for Vhagar. He was previously ridden by Jaehaerys, who now appears to be Hugh’s uncle. There’s a direct connection through their bloodline, similar to how Addam has bonded with the dragon previously ridden by his half-brother, Laenor.

The other dragon in the dragon pit, Silverwing, also found a rider. When Ulf was running from Vermithor and trying to hide, he ventured into another cave that was occupied by Silverwing. Instead of attacking him, she lowered her head and made a bond with the man, making him the third dragonseed of the episode.

Formidable dragons Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Silverwing all now have riders, allowing them to be used in battle against Aemond and Vhagar, potentially putting the odds back into Rhaenyra’s favor.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Reveals Which Dragons Chose New Riders appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Things are looking dire for Aegon Targaryen on House of the Dragon, and fans have been wondering if the young king will pull through or succumb to the injuries he suffered at Rook’s Rest. The show hasn’t made any definitive statements one way or the other, but those looking to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood can find the answers. The book that inspired House of the Dragon has already told the story of King Aegon II from beginning to end. Before we break down the “end” part of that, just be warned that this article contains spoilers for Fire & Blood and, potentially from future seasons of House of the Dragon.

So how does Aegon die according to Fire & Blood? We’ll break it down, but consider this a final spoiler warning. This isn’t spoiling House of the Dragon just yet, but it will likely spoil events of the series down the line.

If you’re wondering how Aegon fares against his current injuries on House of the Dragon, the young man on the Iron Throne is able to overcome the obstacles. Much to the disappointment of some, Aegon spends a year nursing his injuries and taking Milk of the Poppy before being able to take charge of King’s Landing again.

His return isn’t triumphant, though, with his injuries causing him permanent scarring and physical disabilities. He also comes back at a tumultuous time, following the eventual death of Rhaenyra.

After Rhaenyra dies, Aegon takes back his throne and is able to bring Corlys Velaryon into his council. But his forces are depleted and it’s only a matter of time before Cregan Stark’s army arrives from the North to dethrone him. Corlys tries to convince him to take the Black and join the Night’s Watch, but Aegon refuses, leaving him in a tough spot.

It doesn’t take long after that for Aegon to turn up dead, having been poisoned within King’s Landing. Who exactly poisoned him was never confirmed, but that could change once House of the Dragon reaches that point in the story.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. House of the Dragon: How Does Aegon Die in the Book?

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Halfway through the second season of House of the Dragon, a turning point was reached in the war between Targaryens over control of the Iron Throne. A regular battle was turned nuclear when three dragons descended upon Rook’s Rest, fighting one another in the sky and showing all of the soldiers that their battles were now insignificant. One episode later, Rhaenyra put out a call to find more dragonriders to try and even the odds against Aemond and his devastating mount, Vhagar. 

With the search for the Dragonseeds underway, the dragons of Westeros have taken over as the most important figures on the show. The war is now about how many dragons each side wields, and how powerful they can be in battle. 

There are now just two episodes left in House of the Dragon Season 2 and, with new dragons and dragonriders joining the fray, it felt like a good time to break down the full list of the winged beasts currently residing in Westeros. Some of these dragons have been active all season, while others haven’t been seen since House of the Dragon Season 1. There are some who have only been hinted at to this point.

Just how many dragons are there on House of the Dragon right now? Which side of the war are they on? Let’s dive in!

Vhagar

Vhagar is the biggest and baddest living dragon during the time of the show. She bonded with the ruthless Aemond and the two of them have proven their might by slaying two different dragons over the first two seasons of the show. 

The beast is the last remaining dragon from Aegon’s Conquest, making her significantly larger than all of the other dragons present for the series. Vhagar is so massive that Rhaenyra feels more dragons are necessary to even make the fight fare, despite the fact that the Blacks have nearly double the number of dragons as the Greens. Aemond’s beast is worth several dragons on her own.

Syrax

Syrax, unfortunately, hasn’t been featured much on House of the Dragon Season 2, though fans did get to see her fly into action at the end of the sixth episode.

The dragon is bonded with Rhaenyra, who has been kept away from the action since the Dance of the Dragons began, in order to stay safe and maintain her claim to the Iron Throne. As the war continues, however, expect to see more of Syrax flying through the skies.

Caraxes

Syrax may be Rhaenyra’s mount, but the most formidable dragon being ridden by a member of the Blacks is Caraxes, Daemon’s dragon.

The terrifying red-scaled dragon is a battle-hardened warrior, and the only beast who might be able to hold their own against Vhagar. The problem is that Daemon left Dragonstone for Harrenhal and has been on his own selfish quest for most of the season. While he and his dragon could provide Rhaenyra with an advantage, he has largely sidelined Caraxes while trying to build an army of his own.

Sunfyre

To say the health of Sunfyre is up in the air would be a massive understatement. The mount of Aegon II was severely wounded in the Battle of Rook’s Rest, where he sustained injuries from both friend and foe.

Aegon is attempting to recover from his injuries under the care of the maesters in King’s Landing. Due to his injuries, Sunfyre stayed back at Rook’s Rest to be looked after. Some believe he won’t survive. Others believe he’s already did. Either way, Aegon’s dragon has not had a good go of things this season. 

Dreamfyre

Dreamfyre is an older dragon bonded to Helaena Targaryen, Aegon’s twin sister and wife. Unlike most of the others in her family, however, Helaena doesn’t ride very much, so Dreamfyre hasn’t been seen since Season 1 of House of the Dragon.

That doesn’t mean she isn’t important, though. While unconfirmed, it is implied in Fire & Blood that Dreamfyre is the mother of the dragons hatched by Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones.

Vermax

Vermax is a green and orange dragon that bonded with Prince Jacaerys Targaryen. Jace and Vermax were quick to develop a good rapport, as Rhaenyra’s son was able to command the dragon at a very young age. The two have basically grown up together.

Moondancer

While Moondancer doesn’t have the size or power of bigger, older dragons like Vhagar, she’s known for being incredibly fast and agile.

Like Vermax and Jace, Moondancer formed a close bond with Baela Targaryen when they were both very young. She was featured prominently earlier in Season 2, when Baela chased Criston Cole’s army from the skies.

Seasmoke

Seasmoke has been without a rider since Laenor Velaryon faked his own death and disappeared back in Season 1 of House of the Dragon. That is finally changing, thanks to Addam of Hull.

Addam, a son of Corlys Velaryon, was approached by Seasmoke at the end of the show’s latest episode, and Rhaenyra rode Syax out to see who had been able to mount Laenor’s dragon. Fortunately for her, Addam is not an enemy.

Vermithor & Silverwing

Vermithor is the biggest reason why Rhaenyra wants to find more dragonriders. The mount of late King Jaehaerys I, Vermithor is the second-largest and second-oldest dragon alive during the Dance of the Dragons, trailing behind only Vhagar in both categories.

Daemon attempted to connect with Vermithor back in Season 1, but to no avail. In Season 2, Vermithor remains beneath Dragonstone with his mate, Silverwing, both of them currently without riders. That will likely change by the time the season comes to a close…

Sheepstealer

While we haven’t officially seen Sheepstealer on House of the Dragon just yet, the presence of the beast was all-but confirmed in the show’s latest episode. Rhaena came across a charred patch of earth and some dead sheep while walking through the Vale of Arryn, and it was later revealed to her that there has been a wild dragon causing problems in that area.

In Fire & Blood, Sheepstealer is tamed by a young woman named Nettles, who becomes a dragonrider and joins Rhaenyra’s ranks. Nettles hasn’t appeared on the show to this point, leaving many fans to wonder if Rhaena will end up taking over her story and bonding with Sheepstealer instead.

Hatchlings and Eggs

Stormcloud and Tyraxes are very small hatchling dragons that belong to two of Rhaenyra’s young sons, Aegon III and Viserys. Rhaenyra sent both dragons to the Vale of Arryn with Rhaena and her boys, hoping they will be able to grow up away from the war.

Rhaena was also sent with a collection of dragon eggs, one of which could hold the dragon Morning, whom she bonds with in Fire & Blood. There is also the prevailing theory that those dragon eggs are the same ones that eventually make it to Daenerys more than a century after House of the Dragon, though the show’s creative team have been going back and forth on that.

The post House of the Dragon: Every Living Dragon We Know About in Season 2 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk… Sunday night’s new episode of House of the Dragon delivered a major tease regarding the dragon known as Sheepstealer, one of the beasts that helps turn the tide of the war and has gone unmentioned to this point. The news of a wild dragon killing livestock in the Vale was undoubtedly exciting for fans of George R.R. Martin’s books who have been hoping to see the creature on TV, but the hints about Sheepstealer have also made the absence of a key human character even more frustrating and confusing. Is Nettles going to be on House of the Dragon at all?

If you’re not familiar with Fire & Blood, Nettles is one of the four Dragonseeds, who bond with the riderless dragons and help Rhaenyra take the fight to the Greens. Three of those Dragonseeds — Hugh, Ulf, and Addam — have been appearing throughout . Nettles, arguably the most popular of these new riders amongst book fans, is nowhere to be found. In Fire & Blood, the young drifter bonds with the wild dragon Sheepstealer and becomes a key part of the war.

For a while, it seemed as though both Nettles and Sheepstealer might have been completely written off, with neither being mentioned or appearing throughout House of the Dragon‘s second season. After all, every other known dragonseed had a corresponding dragon that was already a part of the show. The addition of Sheepstealer in this week’s episode makes it clear that four new dragons will enter the fray, but Nettles is still not around to ride it.

It could be that Nettles will be making a last-minute debut on House of the Dragon, arriving just in time to tame Sheepstealer and become a Dragonseed. Judging by the way the show has handled the other three, however, it seems more likely that Nettles may be replaced with another character.

In that increasingly likely scenario, it feels like Rhaena will be adopting Nettles’ story as her own. There has been a lot of discussion throughout the season regarding Rhaena’s inability to bond with a dragon, and she’s the only potential dragonrider anywhere near Sheepstealer. It would make perfect sense for her to mount the wild dragon and return to Rhaenyra’s side as a formidable ally.

The only frustrating part of this scenario is that it means Nettles was ultimately cut from the story. To many longtime fans, that’s going to be a real bummer.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon: Is a Fan-Favorite Dragonrider Being Kept Off the Show? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6 follow! The adventures of Daemon Targaryen in Harrenhal during House of the Dragon season 2 have been filled with creepy imagery, but also given the series a prime opportunity to bring back some fan-favorite characters (and introduce new ones). Earlier this season on House of the Dragon, Daemon was haunted by a vision of a young Rhaenyra, which allowed House of the Dragon star Milly Alcock to return to the role for two scenes. In this week’s episode of House of the Dragon, the series brought back another heavy hitter in the form of Paddy Considine as Daemon’s brother, King Viserys I Targaryen.

As with the previous visions that Daemon has encountered in House of the Dragon season 2, Paddy Considine returning as King Viserys arrives in a scene that could be described as loaded. All of Daemon’s visions in Harrenhal at this point have been reminders of his own failings, how choices he has made have rippled outward and turned the world into what it is now. Not only that, but how those same decisions have lessened his own ambition. His vision of King Viserys in House of the Dragon season 2 is a repeat of a major moment from the very first episode of the series. 

Paddy Considine’s King Viserys delivers the same dialogue he had in that moment when he revealed to Daemon that he would be making Rhaenyra his heir and that he was exiled from King’s Landing. There are two major differences in the new scene and the one from the first episode however, first is that Daemon doesn’t even attempt to argue in his own favor, only observing his brother with a grimace of sadness on his face. The second is that after he’s finished speaking, King Viserys begins to weep. Emotion erupts out of Daemon in that moment, eventually rocking him out of his vision and back to the reality of Harrenhal. 

Only three episodes remain in House of the Dragon season 2, but Daemon’s visions are getting wilder by the week. Last week saw Emeline Lambert appear as Princess Alyssa Targaryen, the mother of Daemon and Viserys, in a dream that was befitting the Targaryen family. What dead characters might make their return next week? So far these have been fitting moments of character building for Daemon, but also great reminders for us as viewers about how good these actors on the first season really were. 

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Brings Back Another Fan-Favorite Character appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk… As the war between Targaryens rages in House of the Dragon, the focus has shifted from traditional tactics to the flying beasts that adorn the family’s sigil. After the Battle of Rook’s Rest, dragons are now the key to the war, and the side of the greens has a significant advantage in the form of Vhagar, the biggest dragon alive at the time of the show. Especially with Meleys gone, Rhaenyra and her forces have no answer to Vhagar, but those tides may finally be shifting.

At the end of the fifth episode of House of the Dragon Season 2, Rhaenyra put in motion a plan to find the dragonseeds, potential dragonriders for the riderless dragons living beneath Dragonstone: Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Silverwing. As it turns out, there is a fourth dragon that looks to play a part in the conflict, and its arrival on the show was teased during Sunday night’s new episode.

Rhaena was sent to the Vale by Rhaenyra to look after her two youngest sons, as well as her baby dragon and a collection of dragon eggs. While there, she came across a burned area in the grass filled with the scorched corpses of sheep. This was clearly the work of a dragon, and Rhaena gets confirmation later that there is a wild dragon roaming around near the Vale, but it has never been tamed and many don’t think it could be.

Sheepstealer and Nettles

The hint about the dead sheep is enough of a hint to indicate that this wild dragon is none other than Sheepstealer, one of the four dragons that bonds with a dragonseed and fights for Rhaenyra. Fans have wondered if Sheepstealer would appear on House of the Dragon, though, because the beast’s rider has yet to appear.

While Addam, Hugh, and Ulf have all been made a part of , Nettles has been completely absent. The character is a favorite amongst fans of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, an a confident young woman without a family or home, who rises to some power after bonding with Sheepstealer. As the other dragonseeds have debuted, there has been doubt as to whether Nettles was going to be included.

Now that Sheepstealer is being teased, there seem to be two main options for the storyline. First and foremost, Nettles could be on the verge of appearing at any time, showing up to bond with the dragon and immediately becoming part of the story. Secondly, there is a popular theory that Rhaena could be having her story shifted to absorb elements of Nettles’, which would mean she would be the person to bond with Sheepstealer. After all, there has been a lot of talk about Rhaena not being able to bond with dragons to this point. 

Nettles has yet to appear on House of the Dragon, but Sunday’s new episode did enough to confirm that Sheepstealer is definitely around, and that there will indeed be four dragonseeds joining the war.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Just Teased Its Next Important Dragon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk… The fifth episode of House of the Dragon‘s second season kicked off one of the most anticipated storylines of the war. Rhaenyra put into motion a plan to find riders for the beasts dwelling beneath Dragonstone, hoping to even the odds against Vhagar. The search officially began to find the people who will come to be known as the dragonseeds, and Sunday’s new episode of House of the Dragon revealed the first of these new riders.

For weeks now, House of the Dragon has been teasing Addam of Hull as a dragonrider. It has been all-but confirmed that he and his brother, Alyn, are sons of Lord Corlys Velaryon, whose family is full of dragonriders. Laenor, Corlys’ other son, disappeared in Season 1, faking his own death and leaving his dragon, Seasmoke, without a rider. Addam has seemingly had a connection to Seasmoke, watching him from afar earlier in the season. This episode saw the two of them come face to face.

After refusing to bond with Ser Steffon Darklyn (and killing him in the process), Seasmoke got restless and flew off. The dragon apparently went to find Addam, likely knowing he shares blood with Laenor. Seasmoke is seen stopping in front of Addam, but the show doesn’t go as far as to actually depict Addam riding the dragon. 

At the very end of the episode, Rheanyra is given word that Seasmoke has been spotted with a rider, and she goes off to confront the beast, believing the rider to be one of her rivals. While we don’t completely see Addam riding Seasmoke, the episode does enough to let us know exactly who is on the dragon.

There are still a couple of dragonseeds left to be revealed on House of the Dragon. Two of which, Hugh and Ulf, have already been teased on the show, but they haven’t yet had the chance to bond with dragons.

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower. 

The post House of the Dragon Reveals a Brand New Dragonrider appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A brand new episode of House of the Dragon debuted Sunday night on HBO, bringing fans to the final three episodes of the season. The sixth edition of Season 2 picks up the story of Rhaenyra trying to find new dragonriders and turn the tide of the war, while Aegon recovers from his wounds and Aemond rules over King’s Landing. WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Season 2! Continue reading at your own risk…

War Continues

The dragons have changed the rules of war, but armies on the ground and at sea continue to operate as key pieces of the puzzle. The Lannister forces are now in the Riverlands, though they are refusing to launch an attack until Aemond and Vhagar can join them, showing that having a powerful dragon can also have its disadvantages.

Aemond is running the show with an iron fist, prioritizing his military tactics over all else. After Alicent again tries to impart her wisdom onto him, Aemond has her removed from the small council, thanking her for her “duty to the crown.” Even Cole seems to be afraid of Aemond at this point, and many are wondering if they made the right call supporting him.

As Aegon continues to improve, Aemond pushes the maesters to prolong his recovery, keeping the younger brother in power for as long as possible. There’s also the matter of the Hand of the King to deal with, and Aemond doesn’t feel like Cole suits his needs. Larys tries to work his way into the situation but Aemond knows his tricks. He tells Larys to send for Otto Hightower, hoping his grandfather will return to his position.

Speaking of Hands, Corlys accepted Rhaenyra’s request to become Hand of the Queen. At her latest council meeting, she calls on Ser Darklyn, who she has learned shares an ancestry with her family. She wants him to attempt to ride one of the dragons, giving her another knight in the sky. She still isn’t sure if Daemon can be trusted to return.

And then there’s Daemon, who has completely lost it over in Harrenhal. His latest vision featured his late brother, Viserys, and the burial of their mother. He lashes out at those who are living with him in the haunted castle, save for Alys Rivers, who is shaping up to be a serious ally. There’s no confirmation yet, but it seems Alys took it upon herself to kill the old and sickly Lord Grover Tully, masking her interference as an expert healer trying to make him better. Getting the old man out of his seat could allow Daemon a path forward.

Dragons and Smallfolk

Rhaenyra has two potential advantages at the moment: The riderless dragons beneath Dragonstone, and the uprising ready to take place in King’s Landing. Without food or adequate wages, the smallfolk in King’s Landing are ready to riot. Rhaenyra and Mysaria push them over the edge by fanning the flames with spies, then sending boatloads of food across the bay for the people. This is enough to send the streets spiraling.

As for the dragons, the road seems a little more complicated. Ser Darklyn’s attempt at bonding with Seasmoke doesn’t go very well and he is killed in the process. The dragon flees and Rhaenyra feels hope on that front is lost. Little does she know, Seasmoke goes to find one Addam of Hull, who is one of two common-born sons of Corlys Velaryon. Addam’s brother, Alyn, is finally given a prominent position in Corlys’ army, sailing alongside him as his first mate.

In addition to the three dragons at Dragonstone, we learn of a fourth in this episode. There is a wild dragon that has been running loose in the land surrounding the Vale, a dragon hat has been burning and taking sheep from local farmers. For those who have read Fire & Blood, this is likely alluding to the arrival of Sheepstealer, but Nettles is still nowhere to be found.

A New Romance

Things take an unexpected turn in the relationship department in the final minutes of the episode. Having worked side by side for quite a while now, Rhaenyra and Mysaria have gotten very close. When Mysaria shares that she trusts Rhaenyra completely, the Queen embraces her, and that embrace ultimately leads to a kiss. 

Their physical intimacy was cut short by a guard popping in to tell Rhaenyra that Seasmoke had been spotted flying with a rider. Naturally, she believes someone on the opposing side has gotten ahold of the dragon, and she flies off on her own beast to go confront them. 

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