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The heir to the throne is dead. In the premiere episode of season two of House of the Dragon,<\/em> HBO\u2019s Game of Thrones<\/em> prequel series based on George R.R. Martin<\/strong>\u2019s book Fire & Blood,<\/em> the conflict between the families of friends turned rivals Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D\u2019Arcy<\/strong>) and Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke<\/strong>) takes a devastating turn when Alicent\u2019s grandson is murdered by assassins in the dead of night.<\/p>\n On a brand-new season of Still Watching,<\/em> hosts Hillary Busis, Richard Lawson,<\/strong> and Chris Murphy<\/strong> dive headfirst into HBO\u2019s Game of Thrones<\/em> prequel series, as they discuss and debate who will\u2014and, more importantly, who deserves to\u2014sit atop the Iron Throne.<\/p>\n Although it\u2019s been nearly two years since HotD<\/em>\u2019s first season finale, season two premiere \u201cA Son for a Son\u201d picks up in the immediate aftermath of the death of Rhaenyra\u2019s son, Lucerys, at the hands of Alicent\u2019s one-eyed middle son, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell<\/strong>). Rather than exacting revenge quickly, Rhaenyra takes her time to grieve the loss of her son at Dragonstone. But her uncle-slash-husband, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith<\/strong>), goes rogue, hiring an assassin named Blood and a rat catcher named Cheese to infiltrate King\u2019s Landing.<\/p>\n Daemon has hired Blood and Cheese to murder Aemond. But after they breach the palace walls, they stumble instead upon Queen Helaena (Phia Saban<\/strong>) and her children: Princess Jaehaera and Prince Jaehaerys, the male heir to father King Aegon\u2019s (Tom Glynn-Carney<\/strong>) throne. In a devastating moment, Queen Helaena must choose which of her children to sacrifice to Blood and Cheese. She points to her toddler son, who meets a grisly and untimely end as she escapes with Jaehaerya in her arms. The episode ends with Helaena busting into Alicent\u2019s bedchambers as her mother is in the midst of coital relations with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel<\/strong>). Once there, she utters a chilling phrase: \u201cThey killed the boy.\u201d<\/p>\n In Fire & Blood,<\/em> Busis notes on the podcast, Prince Jaehaerys\u2019s end is, somehow, even worse than it is in House of the Dragon.<\/em> \u201cIn the book version, Helaena has three children\u2014an older son, a younger son, and a daughter,\u201d says Busis. \u201cThey make her choose which of her sons they will kill. She points to the younger one, and then they tell the younger one, \u2018Oh, your mom wants you dead.\u2019 Then they kill the older one anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n Saban also drops by Still Watching<\/em> to discuss the dramatic season premiere. \u201cI didn\u2019t read Fire & Blood<\/em>,\u201d she admits. \u201cDo you know what? I bought it and I didn\u2019t read it. I took it on holiday and then I left it in the sun and it\u2014and all of the pages fell out of it.\u201d Even so, Saban knew about the impossible decision Helaena was going to have to make. \u201cIt\u2019s funny, when you tell people that you play Helaena, they just want to tell you, \u2018Oh, did you know, blah, blah, blah,<\/em>\u2019\u201d she says. \u201cSo I\u2019ve heard it many, many times.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI wonder what is more heartbreaking,\u201d Saban continues. \u201cThat betrayal that happens, or that she tells the truth and then, on her words, that they do it. I guess it depends.\u201d<\/p>\n You could imagine that this would be a difficult scene for an actor to take on. Thankfully, Saban says that the actors playing Blood and Cheese were \u201cjust lovely,\u201d which made the process a bit easier: \u201cI was really trying not to overthink, like, okay, How am I going to build this? How is this going to be huge?\u201d Saban would read poems before shooting to help her get into the right headspace. \u201cI would get in a zone to sort of get excited, but then also not isolate myself because that can be very heavy-handed and intense.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s sort of a balancing act,\u201d Saban adds. \u201cIt was probably the most pressure I\u2019ve ever put on myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Who will be the next to fall victim to this senseless bloodshed? Who will be blamed for Prince Jaehaerys\u2019s death? And who will end the season atop the Iron Throne? Send an email to Still Watching<\/em> at stillwatchingpod@gmail.com<\/a> with all your thoughts and theories, and stay tuned as House of the Dragon<\/em> season two takes flight.<\/p>\n
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