The 2nd time of year of HBO’sHouse of the Dragoncame to an end this past Sunday , and to say that its finis instalment has gotten people talking would be an understatement . TheGame of Thronesprequel ’s latest episode , titledThe Queen Who EverWas , has already been heavily knock by both occasional spectator and television set critics likewise , many of whom have been quick to take for it a deeply thwarting , lackluster , and anticlimactical last . Even those who enjoyed the episode do n’t seem particularly interested in play down its flaws .
That ’s becauseThe world-beater Who Ever Wasdoesn’t wrap up many of its time of year ’s on-going storylines . Instead , it tug multiple crucial subplots right up to the spot of no return , but never beyond it . As a result , while the sequence is n’t a very satisfying one , it has left us with plenty of questions about what we should expectwhenHouse of the Dragonreturns .
1. When will Rhaenyra take King’s Landing?
House of the Dragon‘s season 2 close arrange up a major turn point in its central Targaryen civic war , the Dance of the Dragons , when Alicent Hightower ( Olivia Cooke ) offers to surrender King ’s landing place to her longtime rival , Rhaenyra Targaryen ( Emma D’Arcy ) . After covertly move to Dragonstone , Alicent tells Rhaenyra her programme to start the city ’s gates to her and let her take her place on the Iron Throne without competition . However , The Queen Who Ever Wasstops short of actually putting Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne .
In fact , the episode at the same time sets up several other major crook and conflicts still to come , including a battle between the Triarchy and Corlys Velaryon ’s ( Steve Touissant ) fleet and inevitable collisions between different Green and Black Armies in the Riverlands and the Reach . accept all of that into story , it ’s worth speculating about when Alicent will really enact her programme to put Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne . Will she do so early inHouse of the Dragon‘s third time of year , or will the serial publication habituate Westeros ’ forthcoming military conflicts on both the ocean and the ground to detain Rhaenyra and Alicent ’s boldest move yet ?
2. How will Rhaenyra react to Aegon’s escape?
In its final moments , The Queen Who Ever Wasthrows an straightaway wrench into Alicent and Rhaenyra ’s already tenuous agreement when it reveals that Aegon II ( Tom Glynn - Carney ) harmonise off - screen to Larys Strong ’s ( Matthew Needham ) be after to sidestep any outgoing carnage by secretly traveling to Braavos with him . Aegon ’s leakage represents a major problem specifically for Alicent , whose potential freedom from Rhaenyra ’s wrath hinge on her ability to not only surrender King ’s landing place , but also pass over her Word , Aegon , so that Rhaenyra can end any dubiousness about her claim to the Iron Throne . Now that Aegon has leave with Larys and ( presumptively ) assure no one of their destination , Alicent wo n’t be able-bodied to completely fulfill her end of her and Rhaenyra ’s buy .
So how will Rhaenyra react to this development ? Will she accept her place on the Iron Throne and just be contented to hold off until Aegon finally resurface ? Will she suspect that Alicent had something to do with her Logos ’s disappearance ? If she does , will she broaden even more combine to her former best friend , or will she react with apprehensible suspicion and rage over Alicent ’s failure to deliver Aegon to her ? As frustrative asHouse of the Dragon‘s late intervention of both Alicent and Rhaenyra has been , their canon - breaking deal in the show ’s season 2 finaledoesopen the threshold for their storyline to finally heat back up prompt forward .
3. How much does Daemon know about the future?
In one of theHouse of the Dragonseason 2 finale ’s strangest and most shocking moments , Daemon Targaryen(Matt Smith ) experiences a vision of the future of Westeros after bear upon the Weirwood tree diagram at Harrenhal . His vision includes glimpse of the White Walker army have inHouse of the Dragon‘s HBO predecessor , Game of Thrones , and — even more notably — a abbreviated shot of one of that show ’s biggest character , Daenerys Targaryen(Emilia Clarke ) , entertain her three dragons just after they ’ve hatched . Shortly after his experience with Harrenhal ’s Weirwood tree , Daemon tells Rhaenyra that the humankind is “ not what we recollect it is ” and imply that he knows what role he is mean to work in their kinsfolk ’s narration . He follows up these remarks by bowing before Rhaenyra and again proclaiming her the rightful heir to the Iron Throne .
As dramatically satisfying as Daemon ’s variety of heart is inThe Queen Who Ever Was , his vision conjure a number of doubtfulness , not the least of which being : How much does he know now about the time to come of Westeros ? Does he have sex what is destine to happen to his kin throughout the Dance of the Dragons ? Does he know the full bow of Daenerys ’ story ? Even more importantly , does he already know what ’s going to happen to him and Rhaenyra ? If he does , then how should his noesis of the future either contamination or , at least , alter howHouse of the Dragon‘s interview views his natural action move ahead ?
4. Why is Otto Hightower in a cage?
The closing image ofHouse of the Dragon‘s time of year 2 stopping point are all fairly ego - explanatory — except one . Before it cut to black for the last time , the episode in short trance up with one ofHouse of the Dragon‘s maincharacters , Otto Hightower ( Rhys Ifans ) , who has been drop from the show for multiple installments . During its time of year 2 finale ’s climactic montage , Otto is shown waken up in a batting cage and bet around in confusion at an come on author of Light Within . His whereabouts are left unclear , as is the identity of the person or being that he ’s looking up to see .
The character ’s disappearance following his dismissal as Hand of the King has been noted several time onHouse of the Dragon , but it does n’t seem as if anyone close to him — or any of his rivals — knows what has happened to him . At first , we — like manyFire & Bloodreaders — assumed that the HBO series was keeping him off - screen so as to make his affair inthe Triarchy ’s eventual attackon the Blacks ’ Velaryon fleet as much of a surprisal as possible . However , the series seems to have establish Otto ’s Triarchy plot fromFire & Bloodentirely to Aemond and Tyland Lannister ( Jefferson Hall ) .
It is , therefore , unacceptable to know where Otto is in theHouse of the Dragonseason 2 finale or who has taken him prisoner because his current storyline is an original invention unique to the show . Of naturally , that does n’t mean we ca n’t mull about what has happened to the character since we saw him last . Some buff have even begun to theorize that he may have been take confined on the QT by a Westerosi lord who is truehearted to Rhaenyra , but we ’ll have to wait untilHouse of the Dragonreturns to know the full true statement of the topic .
5. Can season 3 avoid season 2’s biggest mistake?
House of the Dragonseason 2didn’t end up being the rousing success so many viewer had hope it would be . Across its eight workweek on the air , the season run into fans with plenty of breathtaking and memorable instant , but it also spent a deal of fourth dimension walk in band , reiterating increasingly commonplace plot points , and trapping characters in dramatically still situations . The season ’s gait palpate , at times , frozen , and its finale ’s trailer - esque ending has only made it feel even more mismatched and unfinished . By the timeHouse of the Dragonseason 3 premieres in one - and - a half to two years , it will find as though the show has ask viewers to hold back four years for it to get to the , well , good stuff .
In order for its next season to make up for the failures of its first two , House of the Dragonwill have to do exactly that — and without delay . The dependable news is that the series has now put off so many major moments that its third and fourth seasons may turn out to be overflowing with pant - inducing conflict and twist of lot .
At its worst , though , the HBO series has felt reticent to take the bad narrative swings that made its parent show , Game of Thrones , such a electrifying accomplishment for most of its eight - season tally . House of the Dragonwill have to shake off that hesitation if it ever want to reach the same elevation as its forerunner , but it ’s unreadable right on now whether or not the prequel ’s originative squad has the interest or confidence necessary to do that .
House of the Dragonseasons 1 and 2 are stream now on Max .
