'House of the Dragon' Season 2: Cryptic mural in Aemond Targaryen's room hints at tragic ending
Contains speculation and spoilers
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 1 premiered on HBO on June 16, 2024, and the fans were overjoyed as the return of the much-anticipated action-thriller series produced an episode for the ages that set up the season perfectly.
The episode had a bit of everything that makes 'House of the Dragon' a fan-favorite series. From politics to romance to gruesome action and twists, viewers reveled in the beauty of layered storytelling offered by the 'Game of Thrones' prequel.
One of the highlights of the show, however, was Blood (Sam C Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart), two hired killers who killed Prince Jaehaerys, the son of Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). Their original target however was Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell).
As they enter Aemond's room in the disguise of rat-catchers, a frame captures them looking at a mural which foreshadows something that will be a turning point in the Targaryen Civil War.
What was the mural in Aemond Targaryen's room?
The mural in Aemond's room shows the castle at Harrenhall being burned down by the Balerion the Black Dread, the dragon of Aegon, the conqueror. The event is an important one in the history of the Targaryens as it was a turning point in how the Seven Kingdoms were united.
Harrenhall is of strategic importance because of its proximity to King's Landing and its connection to the rest of the Riverlands. The size of the castle makes it difficult to conquer.
Harrenhall however, has a cursed castle, and in Season 1, we see the curse of the castle being blamed for the death of Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) and his father. We did learn later that the fire was caused by Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) who then went on to become the Lord of Harrenhall.
What happens to Harrenhall in Season 2?
Harrenhall is currently an ally of the Green faction with Lord Larys Strong firmly loyal to Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her son Aegon. The castle however is there to be occupied and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Aemond both want to do that at the earliest.
The only reason Aemond hasn't gone to conquer Harrenhall yet is because his dragon Vhagar is needed currently in King's Landing to safeguard the throne from an attack. Vhagar is the biggest dragon and keeps the Blacks firmly away as we saw in the first episode.
In George R R Martin's 'Fire and Blood', the castle of Harrenhall is surrendered to Daemon Targaryen who makes it an important base for the Blacks to attack the nearby locations.
There is a deviation in the show from the book though, as Daemon is already at Harrenhall when Blood and Cheese happens in the book, so it will be interesting to see how Daemon takes the castle.
How to stream 'House of the Dragon' Season 2?
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 started streaming on HBO Max on Sunday, June 16, 2024. Episodes of the series will continue to air every Sunday until August 4, 2024.
To watch the series, you will need a Max subscription. The streaming platform typically offers three packages that you can choose from depending on your budget.
The low-cost plan that supports advertising costs $9.99 per month or $99.99 annually. The second package, which does not support advertising, costs $15.99 per month or $149.99 annually.
Meanwhile, the third package, titled Ultimate Ad-Free, costs $19.99 per month or $199.99 annually.
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 trailer
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 started streaming on HBO Max on Sunday, June 16, 2024.