House of the Dragon S2 On-Set Footage Hints at Rhaenyra Entering Villain Era
The struggle between the Blacks and the Greens is becoming darker and more violent.
Warning: the following article contains potential spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2.
A viral video from the set of House of the Dragon hints at several plot twists in the second, and perhaps even the third, season of the series. And boy it's about to go dark.
The video shows a coffin being carried through King's Landing, apparently containing a child. At the same time, the town crier can be heard saying "Behold the work of Rhaenyra the Cruel."
Since Alicent Hightower and Helaena Targaryen were also filming the scene, it can be deduced that this is the funeral of Helaena's son Jaehaerys, who died in an incident that book readers know as "Blood and Cheese," and the Greens seem to blame Rhaenyra for that death.
According to the book, Daemon contacted Mysaria and she found a ratcatcher called Cheese and a butcher called Blood who agreed to sneak into the royal chambers.
After capturing Alicent, her daughter Helaena, and the grandchildren, the mercenaries demanded that Helaena choose which of the children would be killed.
Helaena chooses her youngest son Maelor out of desperation, but the outlaws end up killing Jaehaerys, driving the queen mad.
In the book Fire and Blood by George Martin, Blood was soon captured and died under torture, but Cheese could not be found.
In the podcast The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of, showrunner Ryan Condal also hinted at the Blood and Cheese storyline:
"I've been investigating a lot of rat traps recently, so I will say that. And they're very cool. That goes more to book-readers more than anything else, but stay tuned."
Despite the fact that Daemon is behind the murder in the book, in the show this gruesome responsibility will apparently be put on Rhaenyra, which will further inflame the situation between the Blacks and the Greens.
Rhaenyra the Cruel is not just a nickname either. According to the book, when she regains the Iron Throne from the Greens, the war does not end, and a great deal of money is needed to continue it.
Therefore, Rhaenyra imposes harsh taxes that turn the people against her.
As a result, she began to be called "King Maegor with teats." This king was known as Maegor the Cruel and was considered one of the worst rulers. This storyline is most likely to be seen in the third season of the series.
There is no exact release date for the second season of House of the Dragon, but it will most likely be released in the spring or summer of 2023.
Source: The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of