Inside the Episode - S2, Ep 1 | House of the Dragon | HBO

Showrunner Ryan Condal, director Alan Taylor, and the cast discuss where the story picks up in the new season, finding Rhaenyra deep in grief, Aegon facing his first challenges as king, and Alicent seeking comfort in an unexpected companion. Stream House of the Dragon S2 Sundays at 9PM on @Streamonmax.

[FakeAnarchist]

Rhaenyra and Jace sharing a moment to grieve together was my favourite moment in the episode.

[agogischesparerib]

Underrated moment: seeing the Nights Watch still be a respected and honored faction instead of the exiled criminals from GoT

[J_ads]

Nearly all of Rhaenyra’s scenes made me tear up and she hardly says a word :(

[DoJoStan]

The ending was a little weird but the best moment of the episode was Jacaerys reporting back to the queen and seemingly breaking down in front of his mom. That part had me tearing up.

[TaylorJohnson]

I just knew Blood and Cheese were going to be in the initial episode. Rhaeneyra's one line was brilliantly chilling. Well done.

[Divine_Chareka]

It was such a joy to go back home to Winterfell again. The emotions were at an all time high I swear

And Tom Glynn-Carney (King Aegon II) was the MVP of episode 1 for me, he brought his A game to the character and I'm loving it.

[isabellajensen]

Daemon flies Rhaenys’ father’s dragon and Rhaenys flies Daemon’s mother’s dragon. There’s a lot of mutual respect between them but Daemon as usual has no chill

[johnnywhite]

The scene where Aegon The Dragoncock is relaxing with his pals on the iron throne was very well done. A few laughs before the horror

[RationalCatholic]

The sound design in the blood and cheese moment was perfectly nauseating

[OcarinaSapphr-]

Losing her father, & two of her children in such a short span of time would be absolutely heartbreaking- it's almost merciful that she didn't get to see BabyVisenya take her first breath, or grow into her own person, like she did her son - Luke is a young life cut tragically short- I can't even begin to imagine getting into that headspace; she doesn't have time to mourn her father's death, or her daughter's, but she's made focus on the usurpation of her promised throne- politics, rather than the personal - but then it all just compounds in the loss of Lucerys...

[Maxisamo]

Literally didn't realize Emma only had ONE LINE in the entire episode

They did a great job silently acting in the other scenes

[nyyankees]

As bad as Aegon is, it’s still interesting to see he has compassion for people in some capacity. He’s still not as bad as Joffrey…….yet

[Rockycheungrules]

Rhaenyra lost 2 children in a span of like a week… she didn’t just lose luke. Her grief is insane.

[mrknight]

The amount of pain and loss for Rhaenyra from the very beginning is heartbreaking and she bottles it all up. Loosing your mum, loosing your best friend, painful labours and still borns, her fathers death, dealing with the death of her children’s father, Daemons abuse, Luke’s death, having to cover up the fake death of her ex husband, loosing her family home and the crown. My god it just keeps getting worse for her.

[melissak]

The opening scene with the raven flying back to Winterfell then to the wall, back to Jace and Rhaenyra. King Aegon wanting to show his son and heir the ropes at the beginning with the exterminators with rat traps in the background foreshadowing what was coming. That final scene with Helaena and the little ones and her previously saying she's not afraid of the dragons, but the rats. Welcome back House of the Dragon.

[TyrannosavageRekt]

Eve Best deserves more credit for her role in the show. She inhabits Rhaenys better than I could have ever imagined. If only they hadn’t passed over her for Viserys. Emma D’Arcy is just continuing to kill it. Such an insightful and talented actress.

[DNotzz]

The cinematography and those large establishing shots really reminded me of early GoT, but even better. It’s nice seeing locations like the North and the Wall shown again almost through new eyes, like it’s the first time. I really enjoyed the opening scene. And seeing smaller things with the Dragons is always awesome, like Meleyes returning to Dragonstone, Syrax searching the coast with Rheanerya, and the rushed landing to reach Arrax’s wing. Love that stuff. I know it’s expensive but it makes the Dragons feel more real and less like a special effect only saved for battles or “epic” moments…I really hoped we’d see more of Jace in the north tho. I don’t know if that’s all there was but I don’t see them flashing back to it in other episodes, which kinda sucks.

And as always Ramin Djawadi is a blessing to this world and it’s stories.

I just hope the audience remembers that these characters are flying by the whims of their emotions, and their reactions to certain individuals, who have a constant need to prove themselves and make chaos in their wake. This isn’t GOT, this story really is about revenge and the horrible things that occur between super powers at war. There is no crumb of a happy ending for anyone we see in screen. So it could get very depressing. With no “Jon rides off into the woods” or “Arya sets sail” final note to end on. It really is fire and blood.

[zhixinli]

i thought rhaenyra finding luke's cloak and the remains of arrax was heartbreaking, but them sharing a moment was the breaking point for me 😭

[nicholasgarrick]

Absolutely horrific ending especially with that sound effect. Poor helaena, and her son hat off to pahia sagan she was amazing in that scene the sheer panic feels as she run away with jahaera ? is so well down. Im sure the audience felt intense panic as well.

[PGHPulse]

Man, if I could, I would watch all eight episodes right now. This show just brings unmatched levels of excitement and hype. Can’t wait to watch it all play out this season.