(París) After two years of waiting, the House of the Dragon series returns for a second season promising even more blood, fire and power struggles, the ingredients that made its big sister Games of Thrones a success.
The major strike of writers and actors in the United States delayed by several months the arrival of these eight new episodes which take place on the mythical continent of Westeros, almost two centuries before the events of Game of Thrones.
The series will be broadcast in Quebec on the Crave platform from June 16
House of the Dragon picks up where fans left off with the main characters: Rhaenyra (Emma Darcy), the daughter of the deceased King Viserys, is vying for the throne with her newly invested half-brother Aegon (Ty Tennant).
If the plot of this second season is kept under lock and key, fans believe they know, from the few extracts circulating, that women will play an essential role. Just like the dragons which, in Game of Thrones, only appeared in the last seasons.
“Everything gets bigger, there are more places” for intrigues and battles, explained the creator of this universe, writer George R. R. Martin, in a promotional video.
“It’s a very immersive world. And even if it is sometimes thrilling and spectacular, I think it’s the connections between the characters that will keep viewers coming back,” Ryan Condal, the series’ screenwriter, told AFP.
Launched in 2022, the first season was a public success. The first episode attracted nearly 10 million viewers in the United States during its initial broadcast, the highest audience for an original series in HBO history.
For Condal, House of the Dragon is darker and “solemn” than Game of Thrones, filled with colorful characters, dark humor and salacious situations that delighted (and sometimes shocked) audiences.
“This series primarily focuses on the main family (the Targaryens). But we will introduce a number of new characters from less privileged sections of society,” he explained. “A lot of the humor in the original series came from that culture clash between people from different backgrounds.”
The series writer believes that the most unpredictable character is undoubtedly Daemon (Matt Smith), Rhaenyra’s uncle and husband, loyal to his queen, but also obsessed with the throne.
“Daemon remains the most unstable character, but I hope there will be many more in the season,” he said.
“In a way, you can see House of the Dragon as a metaphor for nuclear power. There are two superpowers, the House of Black and the House of Green, both of which have dragons. But these dragons are living beasts. And just because a human rides a dragon doesn’t mean they control it,” he clarified.
The third season is already being written.