wo trailers for the second season of the highly anticipated House of the Dragon have arrived. The Green trailer offers us glimpses into the world of Alicent Hightower, King Visery’s widow who has placed her son on the throne. After sacrificing most of her life for the endeavour of placing her son on the throne, she now confronts the perils of having placed a drunk philanderer of a son on the throne while an older female heir is alive and hostile. We see glimpses of the Hightower camp getting up in arms and the newly placed King being almost too excited about the prospect of war. There are scenes of him getting comfortable in the new role he was previously petrified to claim. Matters are complicated for both sides with each army having dragons in the mix.

Alicent Hightower, who always wears green, is the lens through which we see the situation in the Green trailer. Her perspective is that of a troubled woman who is, almost against her nature, being led to fight the war against her husband’s daughter and former friend, Rhaenyra. We hear Alicent’s father, Lord Hightower stress the importance of spilling blood. We also hear Alicent telling young Aegon how he cannot conceive the many sacrifices made to put him on the throne. This isn’t surprising from her perspective.

In the first season, a mild-natured and delicate Alicent is manipulated by her father, the hand of the King, to become a consort to the King. Lord Hightower has eyes set on placing his grandson on the throne. On the other hand, Alicent’s heirs have, each of them, a touch of the Targaryen madness in them. So it isn’t difficult to see that Alicent’s lens is full of fear and a feeling of compulsion.

Where we left off in Season 1, Alicent’s son Aemond has turned into a rather evil young prince. After struggling with being bullied as a kid, he has developed a thick skin and a taste for blood. When Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys arrives at Storm’s End with a message, he finds Aemond already there. What ensues is a chase on dragonback. This is followed by Aemond losing control of his dragon, Vhagar, whose sheer size is no match for little Lucerys or his dragon. Lucerys ends up being gobbled up by mighty Vhagar. Even Aemond is shocked, knowing full well the potential consequences of such a transgression.

The showrunner and makers of the show have assured audiences that the second season will pick up pace in terms of action after the first season was (they admit) a slow burn. However, as fans of the show know well, what makes the Game of Thrones universe is not just the action but also the drama between the actors involved that colours it  

This brings us to the second trailer. The Black Trailer, representing Rhaenyra’s perspective. The Black trailer focuses on wanting revenge. She has not taken Alicent’s move well. One assumed that she doesn’t believe that her son was killed by accident. So, the desire for vengeance is compounded. The trailer opens with her claiming that she, as her father’s firstborn child, is the person he wanted to succeed him. Daemon is seen looking amused when she declares war. We then get to the precipice of the Black trailer: Daemon Targaryen announcing his side’s offer, Rhaenyra’s offer. As he puts it, it is very simple. It is renouncing the false king and bending the knee to the Queen or your house burns. It’s a direct threat to all houses siding with the Hightowers.

The stakes are heightened by dragons in both camps. One can see that Rhaenyra is scared of what she has started. Despite her vengefulness, she is aware of what war among dragons means for the world. With fear on both sides, the threat of destruction looming and volatile characters on either side, anything can happen. Judging by the reputation that precedes the show, even the best predictors may not get their predictions right.

The showrunner and makers of the show have assured the audiences that the second season will pick up pace in terms of action after the first season was (they admit) a slow burn. However, as fans of the show know well, what makes the Game of Thrones universe is not just the action but also the drama between the actors involved. This summer’s highlight for HBO is coming to your screens on June 16.

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The author writes on culture and identity in Pakistan. He can be reached at uneeb.nas@gmail.com