Last week, House of the Dragon showed the consequences of revenge and mistakes, with the series adapting the infamous Blood and Cheese arc from George RR Martin’s book.
As both the Green Team and the Black Team struggle to come to terms with what happened, behind the scenes there are many puppet masters trying to turn this horrific event into a political statement. Meanwhile, others seek further revenge, which only leads to more bloodshed.
If you want to catch up on what happened in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 2, we’ve rounded up all the major plot points below. We also have a similar article for the first episode, A Son for a Son.
Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2 below. Want to stay spoiler-free? Read our review of episodes 1 and 2.
King Aegon II declares war
The episode opens with the Red Keep plunged into darkness, the staff panicking as they learn of the gruesome fate of the young heir Jaehaerys, who was decapitated in the night by a rat catcher and a guard.
Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is distraught, destroying his model city with his sword and constantly asserting that he will kill the guilty – that it is now war.
Elsewhere, other members of Team Green are darker. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) mourns the loss, while the Hand of the King, Otto (Rhys Ifans), begins to speculate about who is responsible. Aegon’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) finds a loose coin that Blood has thrown to the ground.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
The Crown launches an investigation after one of the perpetrators was caught fleeing with a severed head. However, his instincts told the king that it was the work of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy). While this isn’t technically true, Aegon isn’t far off the mark.
Otto sees this as a chance to gain support for the crown. He suggests parading the child’s body through the streets in a funeral procession, so that the town can witness the horrors for themselves. He suggests that Queen Helaena Targaryen and Alicent are traveling in a chariot, so their grief is evident.
No one wants their grief manipulated in this way, but all parties reluctantly agree for the benefit of the kingdom. The body, crudely sewn, is carried through the streets as King’s Landing looks on and cries.
Lord Larys Strong (Matthre Needham) learns that Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) has hired Blood (Sam C. Wilson), who easily gives up the information. His quick confession doesn’t mean much, as Aemon enters the cell and bludgeons the assassin.
Rhaenyra’s party takes a step back
At Dragonstone, Rhaenyra learns of Jaehaerys’ beheading. She confronts Daemon and accuses him of weakening her claim to the Iron Throne in a messy revenge scheme.
He becomes furious when she also claims he is using her to get closer to power. As such, he leaves for Harrenhal in anger at Caraxes to help raise an army.
Theo Whitman/HBO
Theo Whitman/HBO
Theo Whitman/HBO
In his absence, the Black Queen struggles to limit the damage. She asks Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) to fly to King’s Landing on the dragon Moondancer to observe the city and see what they have planned. Baela later admits to Jacaerys (Harry Collett) that she may hate her father.
To try to get to the bottom of what happened with Jaehaerys’ murder, Rhaenyra questions captive Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), while relating to Daemon’s past behavior. Shortly after, the queen lets the captive go free, even though it represents a risk.
This later proves the difference between life and death.
Ser Cristen Cole is not a very useful hand
Cristen (Fabian Frankel), a member of Kingsguard, had already been accused in the episode of neglect of his duties by Aegon. The knight claimed he was sleeping when Blood and Cheese infiltrated the castle, but he was actually busy sleeping with Alicent Hightower.
This guilt seems to eat away at him, as he sees the bloody sheets of the dead child and claims to Alicent that there is “no absolution” for what he did.
Instead of atone for his sins, he fights with Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) by asking him to change into a clean white cloak because it is a symbol of purity and loyalty. He then goes further by demanding to know where the knight was at the time of the murder and accusing him of not having prevented it.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
When the knight rightly retaliates, Cristen loses his temper and asks Ser Arryk to go to Dragonstone to kill Rhaenyra while posing as his twin brother Erryk (Elliott Tittensor), who serves Team Black. Arryk points out that this is a suicide mission, but Cristen threatens to go to the king if there are any complaints.
This act puts the Guardian in the good books of Aegon, who believes him to be proactive. Otto Hightower, however, is not as impressed with the project.
He is also frustrated by the king’s decision to hang all the city’s rat catchers. Aegon wanted revenge and the series confirms that they killed the attacker. However, he also murdered innocent husbands, brothers and sons, which might not go down well.
After implying to his grandson that the late King Viserys never wanted to crown Aegon, the king removes him from his position, passing on the title of Hand of the King to Ser Cristen Cole, who celebrates his promotion in… sleeping with Alicent again.
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
Ollie Upton/HBO
While the new Hand is having fun across the land, Arryk finally arrives at Dragonstone and easily outruns the guards as he sneaks through the castle.
He heads to Rhaenyra’s bedroom, but is interrupted by Team Black’s true loyalist, her brother Erryk, who was warned by Mysaria.
The two men get into a bloody and brutal fight, and it’s hard to tell which is which because they are both dressed the same. In the end, Erryk wins, but it is an unsuccessful victory as he commits suicide, consumed by guilt.
Two unnecessary deaths, all because Ser Cristen Cole couldn’t find another way to make up for his mistakes. Are these deaths a sign of what awaits us in the future? Tune in next week to find out.
Secondary plots
- After meeting Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) last week, in this episode we are reunited with her brother Addam (Clinton Liberty), who looked up curiously at the Seasmoke dragon flying above. Are we going to get a new dragon rider?
- In a brothel, Aemond Targaryen admits he knows his brother is afraid of him – perhaps a sign of a coming power shift
- Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), who has recently been promised economic support by the king, discusses the difficulties he and his family are facing, which could cause unrest among the townspeople.
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