House Of The Dragon Black Trailer – Here Is The Latest

It has been well over a year since we were last in Westeros, though it feels much longer than that. With the last episode of House Of The Dragon Season 1 airing on the 23rd of October 2022, the countdown for season 2 began on the 22nd of March this year, with HBO announcing an official release date, 16th of June, alongside not one, but two new trailers for the upcoming season. I’ll be discussing the Black trailer below, which focuses on Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and their husband/uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) as they mount forces to reclaim the Iron Throne in the coming war, canonically known as the Dance of Dragons.

Meanwhile, the Green trailer is aimed at supporters of the new King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and the Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Without giving too much away for those who haven’t read the books, the 1.57-minute trailer promises a great deal of fire and blood worthy of the House of Targaryen; as the tension between the houses reached breaking point at the end of season 2, the war became inevitable. 

The official Black trailer opens with what looks to be Prince Lucerys Velaryon’s (Elliot Grihault) funeral, Rhaenyra’s son, who we saw killed at the end of the previous season 1. We see the Black Queen herself surrounded by grieving family members as the funeral pyre burns, and we hear her say the following: My father chose me, his firstborn child, to succeed him. He held to his decision until death. And yet, Alicent’s son sits my throne.

With parallels to Queen Daenerys Targaryen’s bid to claim the Iron Throne in Game Of Thrones (which is set 200 years after House of the Dragon), we get a glimpse of Rhaenyra and her council using Dragonstone as a base for her side of the coming fight. 

We then watch as King Aegon takes his seat on the Iron Throne in the Red Keep before Rhaenyra says: I mean to fight this war – and win it, while Daemon Targaryen sits at her side, characteristically smirking. 

During the Black trailer, we see the loveable (depending on which side you’re on) rogue Daemon in his all-black armour, overlooking a camp, as well as riding his dragon Caraxes in another brief clip. We also see what appears to be Daemon negotiating with the opposition, where we hear him say: our terms are very simple. Renounce the false king and bend the knee to the queen, or your House burns. This is likely during Daemon’s attack on Harranhall, which we’re set to see in Season 2. 

For those who haven’t read the entire Game Of Thrones series of books (by George R.R. Martin), this new season of House of the Dragon will see both sides of the war gathering forces to wage war. With notable characters joining either side, like the criminal’s Blood and Cheese, whom Daemon recruits to the cause, as well as other familiar names. Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) was sent to the Vale at the end of season 1 to enlist the help of the Arryn family – bonus points for those who remember Rhaenyra’s late mother, Aemma, whose death during childbirth we saw in Episode 1, was actually an Arryn herself. 

Beyond that, the quest for allies will see Jacaerys heading even further north, with clips from the Black trailer depicting men in the all-too-familiar black cloaks of the Night’s Watch. The man showing Jacaerys around The Wall is likely Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor), bringing everyone’s favourite House Stark onto our screens once more. 

Unlike the first, this season will only have eight episodes, as opposed to the ten of season 1, which means we’re missing out on two hours of content. But it should ensure those eight episodes will be jam-packed with everything we love to see in Westeros: a lot of dragons, a lot of fighting and a lot of blonde hair.