Shocking Return to Iconic Game of Thrones Location in House of the Dragon Episode 1!

Warning, the following details the plot of the first episode of House of the Dragon season 2, available on the Max platform. If you haven’t seen it yet and don’t want any spoilers, it is strongly recommended that you stop reading this article right now.

Several surprises awaited fans for the return of House of the Dragon. The first episode of season 2 of the Game of Thrones prequel notably opened with a sequence set in Winterfell. The iconic citadel of the Northern kingdom received a visit from Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, son of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.

The Blacks versus the Greens

The latter is contesting the Iron Throne with her brother Aegon II Targaryen, son of the late Viserys I from his second marriage to Alicent Hightower. This rivalry between the Targaryen heirs turned into a bloody conflict following the assassination of Lucerys Velaryon (Jacaerys’ younger brother) by their uncle Aemond at the end of season 1.

Each of the camps (the Blacks being Rhaenyra’s supporters, the Greens those of Aegon II) is forming alliances with the armies of the seven kingdoms in anticipation of the inevitable showdown. On this occasion, Jacaerys inspected the Wall guarded by the Night’s Watch.

Return to Winterfell

In the exclusive interview he gave us, Harry Collett (the actor playing Jacaerys) discussed the filming of this scene. The 20-year-old British actor confessed to feeling some pressure at the thought of revisiting such an iconic and popular location from the Game of Thrones series:

It was very stressful, but also a lot of fun, to return to such an iconic place and to work with Tom Taylor, with whom I have become very good friends, who plays Craig in the series, we really wanted to do things right for the fans. Obviously, Winterfell holds a special place in the hearts of fans and the pressure was all the greater as this scene introduces season 2.

Season 2 of House of the Dragon marks a fresh start

One of the major new features of this new season of House of the Dragon is the exploration of the various kingdoms of Westeros. The first season mainly took place in the Red Keep in King’s Landing, both for story reasons and due to health restrictions (the shooting took place under a strict COVID protocol limiting travel).

Let’s remember that the plot of House of the Dragon takes place more than 150 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The series is set when the Iron Throne is occupied by the House of the Dragon, the nickname given to the Targaryen clan. This period also marks the end of the dragon era, culminating in the famous Dance of the Dragons…

Episodes of the second season of House of the Dragon can be found weekly exclusively on the new streaming platform Max!