The second episode of House of the Dragon‘s incredible second season is a cinematic experience. Titled “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” the fallout from Prince Daemon’s murder plot is explosive and full of drama. For the first time, audiences get a closer look inside Helaena’s mind and emotions. Aegon’s inexperience begins to show, and everyone reckons with the part they might have played in Jaehaerys’s death.
Episode two is moving, beautifully written, and heart-rending. There are still no fighting dragons, but the Targaryens are more than enough to keep viewers entertained. This episode also begs questions about how Rhaenyra will respond to the attempt on her life, what Daemon will do in Harrenhall, and what Aegon will do without a male heir. Time to dive into this episode of House of the Dragon!
Placing Blame
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The Red Keep is in mayhem. The Kingsguard forces every courtier from their beds and gathers them in the courtyard while scent hounds start the search for Prince Jaehaerys’s murderers. The Greens grieve, and Alicent blames herself. Otto is already thinking of how to use the murder to their advantage.
At the small council, Lord Larys informs everyone that Blood has been caught. The Hand suggests they should blame Rhaenyra so the smallfolk will sympathize with the Greens more. He lays out a plan for a funeral procession with Jaehaerys’s body so everyone can see “Rhaenyra’s” cruelty.
The procession through the city begins. Shrouded in black, Helaena and Alicent ride behind the prince’s body while the smallfolk cry for them and throw flower petals. When the wagons get stuck in a ditch, people crowd Helaena and reach for her, shouting, “Rhaenyra the cruel, Rhaenyra the kingslayer.” She panics and shrinks away from them.
At the same time, Lord Larys is questioning Blood, who tells the truth. He can’t name his accomplice because he doesn’t know Cheese’s real name. Revenge-hungry Aegon kills him.
The Aftermath
On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s council tells her about the murder and procession. She denies involvement, and when she and Daemon are alone, he admits to paying Blood and Cheese. He insists he paid them to kill Aemond only, not Jaehaerys.
Their conversation explodes into an argument in which Rhaenyra finally confesses how she feels about her husband: that he believes she stole his inheritance and married her to get a piece of it back. Daemon believes that Viserys wouldn’t name him heir to keep him down because he was the better choice for king.
Daemon leaves for Harrenhall on his dragon without a word to anyone. In the Red Keep, Ser Criston blames Ser Arryk for the murder and that to restore the Kingsguard’s honor, he needs to go to Dragonstone and kill Rhaenyra.
Aemond is passing time in a brothel with an older woman. He reveals that Blood and Cheese couldn’t find him because he was with this woman. He confides in her that he regrets killing Luke.
“Her Own Bloody Coin”
Alyn meets with his brother Addam. Addam urges Alyn to let Lord Corlys be grateful to him because he owes them that. Hugh, a blacksmith who petitioned the king in episode one, and his wife grow worried that they and their sick daughter will go hungry because of the Blacks’ blockade.
Back at King’s Landing, Aegon has hanged all of his rat catchers and Otto is livid. He argues that any sympathy they had is gone, but Aegon won’t hear it. He wants action, not diplomacy, and his grandfather doesn’t share his vision. He gives the Hand position to Criston Cole, who Aegon admires for his plot to kill Rhaenyra.
Otto decides to return to Oldtown, the Hightower’s home. He’ll have more luck guiding Alicent’s third son, Daeron. On Dragonstone, Rhaenyra sets Mysaria free and gets her on a ship to Myr. On her way to the ship, she witnesses Ser Arryk arrive and immediately realizes it’s not Erryk. He infiltrates the castle and breaks into Rhaenyra’s room seconds before his brother bursts in.
They launch into a bloody sword fight, and it becomes impossible to know which twin is which. Presumably, Erryk kills Arryk. He can’t live without him, so he falls on his sword. The episode ends with another intimate moment between Alicent and Ser Criston. She slaps and shoves him, and he responds with a kiss.
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