Episode 2 of House of the Dragon showcased its own opening theme and has set up its first major battle scene to come next episode.
Game of Thrones fans’ ears were ringing with thunderous applause and cheers as the iconic opening score played once again! The second episode for House of the Dragon, titled “The Rogue Prince” finally debuted its opening theme with intricate visuals and nostalgic music. Additionally, a spoiler moment has been teased for episode three based on the events in episode two—fans could hope to see their very first big action set piece from the series.
The epic, complex opening vividly showed audiences a river of blood flowing through King Viserys’ model of Valyria since the Targaryen house was known to have Valyarian ancestry. Some fans noted that the opening displayed an abstract family tree of House Targaryen. Then, the blood poured from cog with three dragons—which symbolized Aegon the Conqueror and his sisters, Rhaenys and Visenya.
Afterwards, the blood streamed into other activated cogs that represent the other Kings of Westeros. This example was shown with King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne’s cogs which came together and blood poured out into many various streams—a reference to their many children. The blood that swept over some parts of the model could be representing the Targaryens who have been killed or died off and those not overtaken by blood were the ones still alive.
House of the Dragon’s opening sequence was more focused and smaller-scaled than Game of Thrones, which showcased the splendid assortment of geographies such as Winterfell, the Wall and Dorne. However, this series was already said to be primarily in King’s Landing and Dragonstone. While this was the first introduction theme, Game of Thrones was known to have its theme change over the season(s). Whether it was based on newly introduced locations or if something significant changed.
Overall, some fans were a little disappointed that the same opening score was reused, but I personally was excited to hear it play live on TV again. Also, it was bloodier than ever! Touching on more exciting news for what is to come next week, some spoilers will begin now.
SPOILERS BELOW!
HBO already posted their episode three trailer on YouTube, which looked like it will finally feature the House of the Dragon’s first battle ensemble. The trailer teased that the Sea Snake and Daemon Targeryen would be teaming up to fight the Crabfeeder—also the show’s first real villain. Like the name implies, the Crabfeeder would nail his enemies to spikes and feed their remains to crabs.
The teaser also showcased the Crabfeeder and his men wrecking up shop and tearing the battlefield apart against King Viserys’ men. It may be the first 1v1 showdown for the series as well, along with some classic dragon-fire-breathing fun. Some other shots revealed that the succession plans appeared to be heating up and getting more complicated as everyone’s blood begins to boil.
The series premiere was on Sunday, August 21, and met success with its 10 million viewers on HBO that day and 20 million for the first week. Due to its great viewership numbers, House of the Dragon was recently announced to be renewed for a second season. No further news was reported on the second season’s filming status, when the next season would be released or which new cast members would be joining the show.
Fans of Game of Thrones will surely not want to miss another episode of this prequel series! House of the Dragon episode three will air on HBO this Sunday, September 4 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET.
