The Season 1 finale of House of the Dragon ended with a devastating, dragon-toothed crunch that shook the realm and set in motion the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. But with that epic cliffhanger comes the horrifying realization that we have to wait for Season 2 to find out what will happen next.
The hiatus may be dark and full of terrors, but we now know when we can expect our next dose of House of the Dragon. Plus, based on the show’s source material, George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, we have a few predictions as to the chaos coming our way. Here’s what we know so far about Season 2.
What is the release date for House of the Dragon Season 2?
More dragon fights incoming! (At some point.)
Credit: Courtesy of HBO
House of the Dragon Season 2 will be taking flight in early summer of 2024, HBO and Max CEO Casey Bloys confirmed in a press event on Nov. 2, 2023. The season will be made up of eight episodes instead of the first season’s 10.
Here’s what happens next in Fire & Blood.
All hail the Black Queen!
Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO
If you absolutely need to know what happens after Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) dons her war face at the end of Season 1, you’ve come to the right place. House of the Dragon has been mostly faithful to its source material so far, so I’m fairly confident that it will continue to adhere to the book in the aftermath of the death of Lucerys (Elliot Grihault). I’ll be going full spoilers here, so if you don’t want to know the future of the Dance of the Dragons, turn away now.
Rhaenyra and Daemon (Matt Smith) will retaliate against Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and her family in a big way. The Blacks will attempt to shore up their forces by finding riders for riderless dragons like Vermithor and Seasmoke. Meanwhile, Daemon will attack Harrenhal on dragonback and win it without bloodshed, striking a major blow to the Greens. In Fire & Blood, this attack happens while Jacaerys (Harry Collett) and Lucerys are on their missions. Now, with the tragedy of Luc’s death fueling Daemon, it’s highly likely the show’s version of the attack at Harrenhal will be on the more violent side.
And the violence will only continue! Because Daemon’s next move in the book is among the most horrifying events in Westerosi history. (If you’re having any doubts about spoilers, now’s definitely the time to turn back.) Using his connections to the underbelly of King’s Landing, Daemon enlists the help of two unsavory characters known only as Blood and Cheese. They attack the Red Keep and force Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) to choose which of her sons they will kill. They then proceed to murder the son she doesn’t name. The attack is Daemon’s doing in Fire & Blood, but given the rage in Rhaenyra’s eyes at the end of the finale, is there a chance she’ll get involved as well?
As chaos rages down south, Jace will travel north to the Eyrie and beyond, to Winterfell. On his trip north, he’ll secure allies from Houses like the Arryns and the Manderlys. He will also befriend Lord Cregan Stark and win him to Rhaenyra’s cause. So you can expect a mixed bag of sorts from the start of House of the Dragon Season 2. On the one hand, we get the Starks back. On the other, we get more traumatic child murder.
Brace yourselves, fellow viewers: Our wait may be long, but the coming Dance will be one heck of a jig.
Season 1 of House of the Dragon is now streaming on Max.
UPDATE: Nov. 2, 2023, 12:29 p.m. EDT This article has been updated to reflect “House of the Dragon”s summer 2024 release date.