A heartbreaking shot of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) in HOTD season 2’s first trailer hints at a character’s shock return after their brutal fate.
The first trailer for House of the Dragon season 2 features a devastating shot of Rhaenyra Targaryen that hints one deceased character may make a brief yet tragic return. The acclaimed Game of Thrones prequel returns in summer 2024 after the climactic ending of House of the Dragon season 1, which saw King Viserys I Targaryen’s children Rhaenyra and Aegon separately crowned as Queen and King in the wake of his death, the Blacks and Greens strategically plan alliances with other Westerosi houses, and the death of Rhaenyra’s second-born son, Lucerys Velaryon. As the Dance of the Dragons kicks off, House of the Dragon season 2’s trailer teases several devastating moments to come after season 1’s twists.
One of the most upsetting upcoming scenes is expected to occur in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1. Nearly as devastating as Rhaenyra’s facial change in the season 1 finale upon hearing the news of Lucerys’ death, House of the Dragon season 2’s trailer depicts Emma D’Arcy’s character angrily staring out at Shipbreaker Bay, the body of water at Storm’s End where Aemond Targaryen and his dragon Vhagar tragically killed her son. At what appears to be the same location, Rhaenyra is seen with soot on her face, hinting at some significant changes to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, a possible character return, and gut-wrenching story implications.
Though the somewhat unreliable accounts of Fire & Blood’s narrators indicate Rhaenyra didn’t go to Storm’s End to collect Lucerys’ body, the trailer reveals otherwise. Lucerys and his dragon Arrax’s bodies were said to wash up on the shores of Storm’s End in the days following their deaths, and House of the Dragon revealing that Rhaenyra travels to House Baratheon’s home suggests the deceased Lucerys could appear in the premiere. The image of soot on Rhaenyra’s devastated face implies that she will use her dragon Syrax to burn something after Storm’s End, which, by Targaryen tradition, would presumably be the dead body of her son.
Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon season 2’s first teaser is out. The minute of footage is packed with story details and foreshadowing for the season.
Consequently, Elliot Grihault’s Lucerys Velaryon could briefly return as Rhaenyra heartbreakingly reunites with her deceased son and lays his body to rest. Just as Aemma, Baelon, and Visenya Targaryen received funeral pyres in House of the Dragon season 1, Rhaenyra will likely have Syrax burn Lucerys and Arrax’s bodies, which could occur at either Storm’s End or Dragonstone. Regardless, physically reuniting with Lucerys in House of the Dragon season 2 for his funeral will only fuel the fire of revenge that already sparked in Rhaenyra after the deaths of her father, Viserys, and stillborn daughter, Visenya.
Lucerys’ House Of The Dragon Return Would Repeat Devastating Young Rhaenyra Moment From Season 1
If House of the Dragon season 2’s trailer shot of Rhaenyra with soot on her face truly encompasses a scene in which she burns Lucerys’ body, then the Game of Thrones prequel will be directly repeating a tragic scene involving Young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock). House of the Dragon season 1, episode 1 concluded with the funerals of Rhaenyra’s mother, Aemma, and stillborn brother, Baelon, with teenage Rhaenyra being the one to heartbreakingly utter the command, “Dracarys,” to burn their bodies. With Rhaenyra now expected to repeat this High Valyrian command for Lucerys and Arrax, House of the Dragon season 2 would highlight the many tragedies the Queen endured before officially declaring war on Alicent and Aegon.
