Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith tease House Of The Dragon season 2

The countdown to more House Of The Dragon started as the credits rolled on the explosive and tragic season one finale in October 2022. Almost 20 months later, HBO’s epic drama is finally back with more dragons (duh), battles, bloodshed, and unbelievably braided wigs. More importantly, there’s also heartbreak, especially regarding one of the show’s beloved couples—er, if that’s how you want to refer to an uncle-niece marriage.

Season two picks up in the aftermath of a fiery battle that led to Lucerys Velaryon’s (Elliot Grihault) death, thanks to an aggravated Vhagar and Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). So now, along with mourning her dead dad, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) has to deal with the shocking, brutal demise of her second-born son. Grief naturally impacts her relationship with Daemon (Matt Smith), her husband/uncle.

In a press conference attended by The A.V. Club on June 3, the actors discussed Rhaenyra and Daemon’s ongoing crisis in the eight new episodes. It sounds emotionally devastating, especially because she’s also coping with Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) death. “I don’t know if they can find solace in each other in the losses,” D’Arcy said. “I don’t feel like Daemon can share his experience of losing his brother, so there is a dislocation taking place.”

The trailer itself puts a spotlight on their struggles, with Rhaenyra questioning whether he even sees her as a queen. If you’ve seen HOTD, you know Daemon tends to act on his impulses, which may or may not complicate his wife’s conquest of the Iron Throne. Smith described his character’s traits as “a vortex of chaos” while addressing their marital status.

“I think they can’t unburden themselves from this shadow. The way Viserys died was so horrendous, and they were next to him seeing him decompose. It’s uncomfortable for them both,” Smith said, agreeing with D’Arcy, but quickly noting, “I believe there is a deep sense of love that is challenged and tested in season two. He also feels unaccepted by her, and reacts as Daemon reacts.”

Rhaenyra’s other relationship, a.k.a. the one with Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), continues to worsen in season two as well. The former BFFs turned stepmother-stepdaughter turned enemies barely share scenes as they’ve divided the realm (and the fans) into Team Black vs. Team Green. Now that Aemond is responsible for Lucerys’ death, all bets are off. Showrunner Ryan J. Condal teased that, despite being on opposite sides, there are still parallels to both their arcs. “In the editing, we found ways to connect those characters even if they’re literally islands apart. It adds dimensionality to this story.

Finally, another common thread between Rhaenyra and Alicent is the very, very annoying Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Again, if you’ve seen HOTD, you know he felt jilted by Rhaenyra for not choosing him, so like most dudes, he flipped out and made it his mission to bring her down. So now he’s firmly Team Green, helping Alicent take down his former lover. In the process, Criston has garnered plenty of haters. Don’t worry, Condal and Frankel are aware.

“Criston has always fascinated me,” Condal explained. (Sure?) “He’s rare in this world because he’s a self-made man. He got to where he is because of his skills. He’s embraced it as he wears this white cloak around his neck. He’s proud of it and it’s also the burden he carries. Whatever you think of him, he’s a deeply interesting character. In season two, as we’ve moved from peace to wartime, it applies interesting pressure to his character.”

For what it’s worth, this writer thinks Criston Cole deserves the lament, and hopes he’s dragon fodder soon. We’ll have to wait only a little bit longer to find out his fate, and the fate of Rhaenyra and Daemon’s, um, love story in the face of continuous tragedy. House Of The Dragon premieres on HBO on June 16.