'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 4 Preview: Dance of the Dragon looms as it is too late for peace
Contains spoilers for 'House of the Dragon'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 3 dropped on HBO on Sunday, June 30, 2024, and fans who had waited for a week for their favorite action-adventure series, were in for a gripping episode of storytelling that served as a calm before the storm that's brewing.
The episode saw some important developments in character arcs and featured a conversation between Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy). Contrary to the first couple of episodes, this episode was not about fighting and was more about trying to avert the war.
The episode offered some intriguing conversations and moments that set up an intriguing next episode. As Dance of the Dragons looms, here's a preview of 'House of the Dragon' Episode 4
When will 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 4 release?
HBO will follow a weekly schedule for 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 and as per the schedule, Episode 4 will release on Sunday, July 7, 2024, at 9 p.m ET / 6 p.m PT on Max.
The episode is directed by Alan Taylor and it is titled A Dance of the Dragons. To watch the episode, 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.
What happened in 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 3?
The episode begins with a fight between Blackwoods who ally with the Greens and Brackens who have committed to Blacks. Brackens and Blackwoods have a history as revealed by Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) later in the episode.
Ser Simon Strong surrenders the castle of Harrenhall to Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) without putting up a fight. He refuses to accept Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) as his Lord and is willing to ally with Daemon despite Larys being an ally of the Greens. Daemon promises to unite the houses at Harrenhall and march to King's Landing to take the throne.
Elsewhere Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel) decides to march to King's Landing. He is accompanied by Alicent Hightower's brother Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox). Rhaenyra asks Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) to take Aegon III Targaryen and Viserys II Targaryen to take Pentos. She unwillingly agrees. Tyraxes and Stormcloud are small dragons who accompany Rhaena and the other children. Rhaenyra also sends unhatched dragon eggs
Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) discuss succession and what the war could cost them. Rhaenys tries to advise Rhaenyra against going to war and asks her to meet Alicent.
Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) decides to go to war himself wearing the armor of Aegon the Conqueror. Larys Strong convinces him not to do so by faking a rumor about the small folk wanting him to go so that Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchel) could rule.
Baela Targaryen ( Bethany Antonia) and her dragon find Cole and Gwayne as she chases after them but they escape into the forest and go out of sight. Daemon suffers from the guilt of the murder of Jaehaerys as he begins to hallucinate them in Harrenhall.
Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) finds a way of taking Rhaenyra to the Red Keep. Alicent and Rhaenyra begin a conversation recalling their initial days. They discuss avoiding war but when Alicent talks about Viserys's last words Rhaenyra knows that it is a misunderstanding and he meant Aegon, the Conqueror as the prince that was promised and didn't name Aegon II Targaryen as his heir. Alicent thinks it's too late now.
What to expect from the 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 4?
The war is inevitable now and the next episode is also titled Dance of the Dragons so there is no turning back. Criston Cole is already heading towards Harrenhall and Daemon already plans to march to King's Landing.
If the book 'Fire and Blood' is to be followed, the next act in this saga is the Battle at Rook's Rest. The battle will end up being the first victory for the Greens as Criston Cole kills Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon.
The battle will also cause significant damage to Cole's team and Aegon will be significantly injured along with his dragon Sunfyre. As the dust settles, this will provoke the Blacks to rethink and find Dragonriders.
This episode also revealed some amount of insecurity between Aegon and Aemond, it will be interesting to see where that goes. We also saw Daemon suffer from some grief, is this going to be his downfall?
Episode 4 will have all the answers. The episode is expected to be an action-packed one after this episode was more about conversations.
Episodes 1- 3 of 'House of the Dragon' Season airs streaming on HBO MAX