'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Trailer Teased an Extremely Brutal Scene From the Book

The trailer for House of the Dragon Season 2 seems to show a glimpse of the most brutal scene the series will have to depict – perhaps even more horrifying than any of the scenes in Game of Thrones. Fans who read George R.R. Martin's book, Fire and Blood have been anticipating this shot with dread since the show was greenlit, and many commented about it online after the trailer dropped. Read on for an explainer, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

House of the Dragon Season 2 will kick off the civil war in Westeros, with Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) trying to rule from Dragonstone and Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) trying to rule from King's Landing. Both are well fortified and defended, so they will need to attack each other's allies and family members in the hopes of gaining some advantage. In the beginning, this will include some major battles in the Riverlands, but it will also include a covert operation known to the fandmo as "Blood and Cheese."

I'm not ready ...#HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/8mVYjlDmby

— In Deep Geek (@InDeepGeek) December 2, 2023

As fans may recall, Rhaenyra's husband Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) was the Lord Commander of the King's Landing City Watch in Season 1. As the Targaryens and Hightowers mobilize all their allies for war, Daemon will reach out to the members of the City Watch who are still loyal to him. With the help of his ex-lover, spymaster Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), he arranges a secret mission for those allies in the city to infiltrate the castle and carry out some assassinations. A duo carries out the operation – a City Watch soldier with the codename "Blood" and a rat-catcher with the codename "Cheese."

How exactly this mission goes is a bit of a mystery in the book. Fire and Blood is a fictional history book with an unreliable narrator, but House of the Dragon tells a more straightforward story, so we will probably get some more insight into this episode soon. What we do know is that Blood and Cheese end up cornering Aegon's wife, Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) and her three children in a chamber with no escape and no way to defend themselves.

This scene is less of a gory battle and more a psychological torture, along the lines of Theon's torture in Game of Thrones. The sadistic Blood and Cheese tell the queen that she needs to choose which of her two sons will die, otherwise they'll kill both of them. Under duress, Helaena chooses her younger son. Laughing, Blood and Cheese kill her older son, leaving Helaena to live with the son she chose to die – and her guilt. The two assailants decapitate the dead prince so they can bring his head back to Daemon as proof that they did their job. However, one of them is captured with the head before he can escape the city.

While this isn't a battle or a dragon fight, in many ways it's the most significant episode in this war. It changes the dynamics between many of the characters – not just the victims in King's Landing, but Rhaenyra and Daemon as well. Furthermore, the horror of Blood and Cheese's actions serve as justification for Aegon II's side to do anything necessary to win this war. For fans who have chosen Rhaenyra's side, it may push the conflict back into a gray area, making it harder for them to root for one Targaryen over the other.

Many fans who have read Fire and Blood expect the episode on "Blood and Cheese" to be House of the Dragon's "Red Wedding" – a shocking story that will take on a pop cultural life of its own. However, there are plenty of other moments coming in this story that will captivate audiences as well. House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres in the summer of 2024 on HBO and Max. Season 1 is streaming on Max now. Fire and Blood is available in print, digital and audiobook formats along with Martin's other books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.