House of the Dragon continues to deliver the Game of Thrones flashbacks fans have been craving.
On Sunday’s second episode of the new HBO spinoff, House of the Dragon unveiled its opening sequence for the first time. The clip is cinematically similar to its GoT predecessor — following a trail of blood, not a map of the kingdom — and is set to the same instrumental Thrones theme song.
Last week, following the GoT prequel’s series premiere, HBO renewed House of the Dragon for a second season. The show is set 200 years before Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) quest for the Iron Throne in the original series.
Adapted from George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood, by co-creators and executive producers Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, House of the Dragon features an ensemble cast, including Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, Rhys Ifans as well as Milly Alcock and Emily Carey.
[Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon, season 1, episode two.]
In the second episode of House of the Dragon, maneuvering for the Iron Throne continues despite the fact that King Viserys (Considine) has named Princess Rhaenyra (Alcock) his successor — and that council pledged to honor the decision when the day comes for her to wear the crown.
One of those people still positioning for the seat of power is Lord Corlys Velaryon, aka the Sea Snake, played by Steve Toussaint. The actor tells ET that his character is full of pride and resentment and still reeling from what happened to his wife, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Best), many years prior.
“He doesn’t hide the fact that it irks him that his wife is not on the throne,” Toussaint says, not hiding the fact that he thinks Rhaenys is a far more qualified ruler than her cousin, Viserys. “In fact, sometimes it looks as if it hurts him more than it hurts her because there are moments when he’s just like, ‘It should be you.’ And she’s like, ‘Ahh, leave it. We’re rich.’ And he’s like, ‘No, it should be you.’”
As a result, Corlys’ “motivation for an awful lot of this season is about the pursuit of his family’s legacy and planting their name in history.”
Read Toussaint’s full interview here and find more House of the Dragon coverage below.