"And no war so bloody as a war between dragons." Sadly, by the time those words are uttered, both kinds of war have come to seem inevitable.
King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) is dead, and his bratty son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) has usurped an Iron Throne that rightfully belonged to his older half-sister, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy). Season 1 ended with the spilling of first blood, when Aegon's brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) watched his dragon, Vhagar, devour Rhaenyra's son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault).
It doesn't matter that Aemond didn't intend to kill the boy. Lucerys' death, which came so soon after that of his peace-loving grandfather, sets off a wave of violence that mounts as the second season of the Game of Thrones prequel progresses.
As Rhaenyra's Black faction and Aegon's Green slide slowly toward all-out civil war, House of the Dragon cements its place in George R.R. Martin's dark universe by rejecting platitudes about honor and bravery that suffuse so many fantasy epics. Instead, this harrowing season exposes the unique forms of grief and guilt that result when one nation-and the family that leads it-declares war on itself.
In a welcome break with the relentlessly expository first season, which raced through decades' worth of traumatic births and deaths at a pace that made it tough to feel immersed or even invested in the palace intrigue, the first half of Season 2 unfolds patiently, in the immediate aftermath of Lucerys' fatal flight. His older brother, Rhaenyra's heir Jacaerys (Harry Collett), is at Winterfell, confirming the loyalty of the Starks.
Denne historien er fra July 15, 2024-utgaven av Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July 15, 2024-utgaven av Time.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
How Trump Won
THE FORMER PRESIDENT'S RE-ELECTION IS THE NEXT STEP IN A POLITICAL CAREER UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN AMERICAN HISTORY
Zak Brown The McLaren Racing CEO on Formula One in the U.S., his team's chase for a championship, and the future propulsion of the automobile
The McLaren F1 team is in the running for its first Formula One constructors' championship since 1998. What's that like? I'm kind of living on the edge of my seat. That's why sport is always going to be one of the most engaging forms of entertainment for people around the world.
Say Nothing speaks volumes
IN 1972, AT THE BLOODY HEIGHT OF the Troubles, home invaders abducted a widowed mother of 10 named Jean McConville from her Belfast apartment. Her children never saw her alive again.
Portrait of the artist in his ninth decade
AS A CURATOR AT THE PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART, Eleanor Nairne is very particular about how an artwork should be placed. \"I always say that you have to ask the work if it's sat comfortably,\" she says.
No rest for the songs of Wicked
THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST HAS BEEN A FIXTURE in American culture for nearly 125 years. After coming to life in 1900 with L. Frank Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, she rose to prominence onscreen in 1939, portrayed by Margaret Hamilton as a sinister old lady intent on ruining an innocent girl's wish to go home.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
With Here, Robert Zemeckis stays true to his unlikely blend of new technologies and old-fashioned storytelling
TIME 100 CLIMATE
These are the 100 most influential leaders driving business climate action
BABY TALK
UNSURE ABOUT HAVING KIDS? THERAPIST MERLE BOMBARDIERI CAN HELP YOU FIGURE IT OUT
The many horrors of the Pelicot rape trial
THE TRIAL OF DOMINIQUE PELICOT, THE MAN IN THE South of France who pleaded guilty in September to charges of secretly drugging his wife of 50 years, Gisele, and, over the course of about a decade, filming dozens of men as they had sex with her while she was sedated, would have been disturbing enough just as the story of an epically vile husband.
Health Matters
COVID-19 MAY NOT BE A PUBLIChealth emergency anymore, but you still need your yearly shot. In fact, it seems to peak about twice a year: once during the traditional respiratory-disease season in the fall and winter, and once during summer.
