In this episode of Previously On, Emma D'Arcy (Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen) and Olivia Cooke (Queen Alicent Hightower) recount the dramatic events of ‘House of the Dragon’ season one from memory. In the video they navigate the Targaryen family tree, power struggles, shocking deaths, and the fiery build-up to the Dance of the Dragons. Check out this recap before the highly anticipated season two premiere on HBO.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00The kids are not being looked after because you're on the beach with Daemon.
00:05Excuse me?
00:08The kids aren't accounted for because you were out shagging your uncle.
00:12Hello, I'm Emma Darcy.
00:14I'm Olivia Cooke.
00:16And we are going to try to recap the whole of House of the Dragons series 1 from memory.
00:21There is spoilers.
00:25Here are some characters that you should know before heading into season 2.
00:28Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful heir to the throne.
00:31Her late father Viserys I Targaryen, late King of the Seven Kingdoms.
00:36Alicent Hightower, me, Rhaenyra's childhood friend.
00:39Stepmother.
00:40And a person in her own goddamn right.
00:42Thank you very much.
00:43Aemon Targaryen, Alicent's middle child.
00:46Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra's uncle, lover and husband.
00:50Aegon II Targaryen, Alicent's eldest son.
00:54Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the so-called Queen Who Never Was.
00:58Otto Hightower, Viserys' Hand of the King.
01:00Corlys Velaryon, also known as the Sea Snake and head of the Velaryon Navy.
01:05And his and Rhaenys' late son, Laenor Velaryon.
01:09Ser Harwin Strong, something to do with Rhaenyra's children.
01:12An all-time nice guy.
01:15Ser Criston Cole, he's the newest member of the Kingsguard.
01:20Rhaenyra lost her virginity to him.
01:23And he's mine now.
01:25And he's a man in his own right.
01:26Sometimes.
01:27Crucially, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
01:32So it's a Targaryen dynasty, where the Targaryen's at the height of their power.
01:37In the age of dragons.
01:38Right, lots of dragons.
01:39And Viserys gets made heir.
01:41But it should have been Rhaenyra's.
01:43It could have been.
01:44It could have been.
01:45But the men wouldn't have it.
01:46Jump forward a little bit.
01:47We're pals.
01:48Yes, and two families that are sort of enmeshed.
01:51The Hightowers and the Targaryens.
01:53Otto Hightower, Alicent's father, is Hand to my father, Viserys.
01:59We grow up together.
02:00Viserys' reign is quite peaceful.
02:01We see a tawny.
02:05Viserys needs an heir.
02:06And my mother, Emma, is pregnant.
02:10She goes into labor, and it is a boy.
02:13You have a son.
02:15It's a boy.
02:16A new heir, your grace.
02:18But Emma is killed in labor, and the child dies shortly after also.
02:24Viserys, in that time period, names Rhaenyra, his only remaining child, heir to the throne.
02:31Rhaenyra Targaryen, princess of Dragonstone, and heir to the Iron Throne.
02:40This makes Daemon angry. Daemon, who is Rhaenyra's uncle and sort of love interest.
02:46Yeah, sexy uncle.
02:48He feels that the succession, it ought to be him.
02:51Ten years you've been king, and yet not once have you asked me to be your hand.
02:56But he's a bit of a rogue, and can't be trusted, and very tempestuous.
03:01Right?
03:02Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:03Then, do we jump now?
03:04Oh, no.
03:05So, Viserys is widowed, and Otto schemes to marry his daughter, Alicent, to the king.
03:13And that is in fact what happens. The plan works perfectly.
03:16Alicent is married to Viserys, they have loads of babies, putting into question Rhaenyra's
03:21legitimacy for the throne.
03:23Yes, they...
03:24Because I've got three sons?
03:27One of which is called Aegon, and another of which is called Aemond.
03:30And there's a Daeron that we've not mentioned in season one.
03:33But he does exist, apparently.
03:37So, tension builds between Alicent and Rhaenyra.
03:41There's a question that builds around the succession, now that Viserys does indeed have sons.
03:46Then we jump, and then we come in.
03:47Ten years later.
03:48Alicent and Rhaenyra have different heads.
03:50And we see lots of bitterness has happened, and there's a fractious nature to our relationship now.
03:57Yes, I suppose it's a power struggle, one could say.
04:00In the meantime, Rhaenyra's also popped out a load of kids, and she's married Laenor Velaryon,
04:09son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen.
04:14They haven't been successful in having children, and Rhaenyra has been having a relationship with a lovely man called Harwin Strong.
04:23And she's had three children, and there's a question mark around their parenthood.
04:29And Rhaenyra has just gotten off a birthing bed.
04:32So you can't...
04:33That's what they called it in the old days.
04:35And I request to see the child, to see if he indeed looks like Laenor and decides that he doesn't.
04:42Wait, who dies before?
04:44Oh, no.
04:45Day...
04:46Thingy.
04:50Lena.
04:51Oh, Damon is in a relationship with Lena, who we haven't mentioned yet.
04:56She dies tragically also in childbirth.
04:59No, she sets the dragon on herself because she doesn't want to die in childbirth.
05:03Yes, yes.
05:10The kids are all scrapping.
05:12Yeah.
05:13At the funeral of Laenor's.
05:14Right.
05:15Eamond, Alison's son, loses an eye.
05:24But before that, the kids are...
05:28They're not being looked after because you're on the beach with Damon.
05:32Excuse me?
05:35The kids aren't accounted for because you were out shagging your uncle.
05:39Yeah, right.
05:40Yeah, and where were you?
05:42I was asleep.
05:43I was knackered.
05:45Alison comes at me with a knife.
05:47Alison, stay with the king!
05:49Hold her around!
05:53Big scrap.
05:54Big scrap.
05:55I love your son's eye then in return.
05:56Yes, yes.
05:57What happens after that?
05:58Another time jump.
05:59Yep.
06:00Yes.
06:01The kids are grown up now.
06:02Ish.
06:03Yes, they've grown up.
06:04Oh!
06:05There's a question around Lucerys who should inherit the Driftmark Throne.
06:10The petitions are being raised around that order of succession.
06:14It's an attempt to, again, undermine me.
06:17Rhaenyra is pulled back to King's Landing.
06:19Everybody's there.
06:20It looks like no one will stand with Rhaenyra.
06:23And, miraculously, Viserys, who at this point is incredibly ill.
06:27Oh, he's rotten.
06:28Yeah, he's so ill.
06:29Yeah, it's very sad.
06:30And he kind of unexpectedly turns out for Rhaenyra.
06:33King Viserys of House Targaryen!
06:35Who are you trying to get in there?
06:37Vaemond.
06:38Vaemond!
06:39Vaemond!
06:40Vaemond!
06:41Corlys's brother!
06:42Yes.
06:43Yes!
06:44And he says he's the rightful heir of Driftmark.
06:45Yes.
06:46Not unreasonably.
06:47And then before any court in front of everyone in the throne room, he calls you a whore and
06:52your sons.
06:53Bastards!
06:54And then...
06:57Oh, and then Daemon beheads him.
06:59Yeah.
07:00We'll have your tongue for that.
07:05He reaffirms Lucerys as heir to Driftmark.
07:09We have a lovely dinner.
07:10A really nice dinner.
07:11We have a lovely dinner.
07:12Viserys sort of seeks the reunification of his family.
07:16The crown cannot stand strong.
07:18The house of the dragon remains divided.
07:21Set aside your credences.
07:24It looks like there's a possibility of some sort of healing happening here.
07:28You say nice things about me.
07:29I say nice things about you.
07:30Rhaenyra takes her family back to Driftmark.
07:32And then in the meantime...
07:34On Viserys' deathbed, I think, Alicent thinks, that he says,
07:39I know what I said a few hours ago, but I actually want Aegon to be on the throne.
07:44Aegon.
07:45His dream.
07:47The Song of Ice.
07:50And finally...
07:53It is true.
07:54That's a lot of work.
07:55Yeah.
07:56Luck.
07:57I didn't say it.
07:58Don't make the rules.
07:59And then we have a hasty coronation for Aegon.
08:02Otto is like the driving force of like...
08:05This guy needs to get on the throne now if this is what Viserys wants.
08:09I wasn't there.
08:10No one was there.
08:11Only you were there, Alicent.
08:12So this all stinks a little bit.
08:15The coronation happens quickly.
08:17Rhaenys finds a way to her dragon.
08:20So she comes up through the dragon pit and starts lighting everything on fire.
08:24Ultimately, she doesn't incinerate me or Aegon and flies to Driftmark where you are.
08:29Finally, Rhaenyra, who is very pregnant, receives word that not only is her father dead but that the Greens have used up her throne that Aegon has been crowned publicly.
08:41The sort of stress and shock of this causes Rhaenyra to go into labour prematurely.
08:47She loses the baby and is forced to sort of return as quickly as possible to her wartime council.
08:53Finally, she sends various sort of envoys out to bring allies to the Black Cause, one of whom is Lycerys, her son.
09:03I expect you will receive a very warm welcome.
09:06When he flies to meet Lord Baratheon, he discovers that Aemond Targaryen is already there.
09:13They have a battle on Dragonback and Lucerys is killed.
09:18Rhaegor!
09:20No!
09:21No!
09:26And the final thing that we see in series one is Rhaenyra receive the news of her son's murder.
09:43And that is everything you need to know before season two.
09:46Just about.
09:47Whose lover is killed by Sir Christen Cole during the marriage celebration.
09:53Is that what?
10:00Oh, of course. First one.
10:01Yeah.
10:06But we weren't there.
10:07I wasn't there.
10:08Famously, we weren't there.
10:09Too old.
10:10Too old.
10:11I was concerned about Tone.
10:13But we were bueno.
10:14Which was why?
10:16Which was a man...
10:18Two years ago a man's attack.
10:19But did you do understand?
10:21That wasn't such justice, you know?
10:22And did all not get you said-
10:24That wasn't some contemplative news?
10:25It wasn't st opposing Pete's at all or, you know?
10:27It wasn't that surprise.
10:28You're on the right side.
10:30I'm sorry.
10:31I need to control the gaticals.