Second of His Name

This page is about the episode. For the short, see: Second of His Name (short)

Second of His Name
House of the Dragon
Season 1
Episode 3
Episode information
Air date	September 4, 2022
Run time	64 minutes
Written by	Gabe Fonseca Ryan Condal
Directed by	Greg Yaitanes
Chronological information
Year	115 AC
← Previous	"The Rogue Prince"
Next →	"King of the Narrow Sea"

"Second of His Name" is the third episode of the first season of House of the Dragon. It is the third episode of the series overall. It premiered on September 4, 2022 on HBO and HBO Max. It was written by Gabe Fonseca and Ryan Condal, and directed by Greg Yaitanes.

Premise

Daemon and the Sea Snake battle the Crabfeeder. The realm celebrates Aegon’s second nameday. Rhaenyra faces the prospect of marriage.

Synopsis

In the Crownlands

Three years have passed since King Viserys's marriage to Alicent Hightower, in which time Queen Alicent has given birth to a son, Prince Aegon. The royal court is preparing to depart for a grand hunt in the Kingswood, with Viserys excited to leave the politics of court behind even as his new Master of Ships, Ser Tyland Lannister, badgers him about the prospect of Prince Daemon and Lord Corlys being defeated in the Stepstones. Ser Otto Hightower dismisses Tyland's concerns, insisting that Daemon and Corlys's military campaign was commenced without the king's blessing and that to send aid to them now would make the Crown look weak, while Viserys is more concerned about the notable absence of his daughter. Alicent finds Princess Rhaenyra brooding in the Red Keep's godswood; Alicent tries to make friendly overtures to her old friend turned stepdaughter, but Rhaenyra is disinclined to listen and storms out. In private, Otto's elder brother, Lord Hobert Hightower, urges his brother to encourage Viserys, now that Aegon's infancy is over, to name the boy as heir apparent to the Iron Throne, in keeping with Westerosi tradition.

The royal family arrives in the Kingswood.

The royal family travels to the Kingswood in a closed wheelhouse; Rhaenyra expresses surprise the heavily pregnant Alicent is accompanying them, though she replies that the maester assured her being out in the fresh air will do her good. Rhaenyra is left discomforted when Viserys expresses hope she will soon marry and make him a grandfather. The mood grows further tense when Viserys insists she should accompany him on the hunt in her capacity as his heir, as he claims she has been shirking her duties as princess; Rhaenyra scoffs at the idea, insisting that none of the nobles present at this hunt are here for her, a conclusion that is only strengthened upon their arrival at the royal hunting encampment, where Lord Hobert leads the cheering for the infant Aegon, hailing the boy as the "Second of His Name", making it clear to Rhaenyra at least some of the realm's nobility consider Aegon, not her, Viserys's heir.

Jason Lannister courts Rhaenyra.

Within the royal pavilion, after enduring the conversations of the noble ladies present and growing angry at their denigration of Daemon's campaign in the Stepstones, Rhaenyra exits the pavilion only to be approached by Lord Jason Lannister, who plies her with honeyed wine made in Lannisport and waxes lyrical about the privileges offered by Casterly Rock. Rhaenyra is confused when Lord Jason admits he does not possess a Dragonpit but does have the means to build one; when Rhaenyra questions why he would need such a thing, Jason replies he would build one to satisfy his Queen...or his lady wife. Realizing that Lord Jason is trying to make a marriage proposal to her, Rhaenyra takes her leave and storms back into the royal pavilion to remonstrate with Viserys.

Rhaenyra argues with Viserys.

When she confronts her father, Viserys insists Lord Jason's proposal is merely the latest in a long list of offers for her hand he's been receiving since she came of age, and Rhaenyra has snubbed every effort Viserys has made to engage her in the discussion. Rhaenyra protests she has no interest in marriage, to which Viserys angrily rages that he was expected to marry again for tradition and duty, so she is no different. Before the argument gets more vicious, Otto interrupts with a report that a white hart has been sighted by the Royal Huntsman, insisting catching and killing such a creature, hailed in local lore as the "King of the Kingswood" would surely be an auspicious portent on Prince Aegon' nameday. Before departing with Otto, Viserys insists Rhaenyra will marry.

Rhaenyra walks in the Kingswood with Criston

Furious and hurt, Rhaenyra storms out of the pavilion, mounts a horse and flees the encampment; Ser Criston Cole sees her doing so and mounts up to follow Rhaenyra in his capacity as her sworn shield. Rhaenyra races through the Kingswood with Criston in close pursuit, begging her to stop, before finally catching her on the shores of a small lake. Rhaenyra bitterly laments her father trying to marry her off to Jason Lannister, though she is briefly cheered up when Criston jokingly offers to kill him. Criston urges they return to camp, but Rhaenyra suggests they explore the Kingswood for a while, as she has no desire to return yet. As they walk through the forest, Rhaenyra asks Criston if he was betrothed; he replies that his status as the son of Lord Dondarrion's steward would have allowed him to wed a common girl, but there was never any he had his eye on. Rhaenyra confesses to being envious of his freedom, lamenting that despite being named her father's heir, she wields no real power and authority, being little more than a figurehead. Criston counsels her otherwise, reminding Rhaenyra that she was the one who raised him to the Kingsguard, the highest honor that anyone from House Cole has ever received.

Jason gifts Viserys a spear.

Back at the royal pavilion, as Viserys gets drunk and waits for reports from the Royal Huntsman the white hart has been tracked down, Lord Jason Lannister approaches the king and tries to press his suit for Rhaenyra's hand. Unfortunately, his comment that as Lady of Casterly Rock, Rhaenyra will be well compensated for her loss in station as Viserys's heir angers the king at the assumption he intends to replace Rhaenyra as his heir. When Lord Jason admits there has been idle talk amongst some of the lords regarding the suggestion, Viserys angrily accuses Jason of allowing treasonous talk to foment amongst his bannermen and dismisses him. Viserys is further exasperated when Otto approaches him, suggesting an alternative betrothal for Rhaenyra: Prince Aegon (in a transparent attempt to move his grandson closer to the Iron Throne). Viserys laughs incredulously at the notion, insisting the boy is only two years old. Otto suggests it would put an end to further suits from the nobility for Rhaenyra's hand and the bother this has caused Viserys, but Viserys dismisses the matter out of hand, along with Otto, and sinks deeper into his cups.

Viserys talks with Lyonel.

Later in the evening, he engages his Master of Laws, Lord Lyonel Strong in conversation, lamenting that despite being Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, he is unable to control his seventeen year old daughter. Lord Lyonel jokingly suggests it might be a Targaryen family tradition, given that while Viserys's grandfather, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, ruled over half a century of peace, he was driven near to madness by the antics of his children, particularly his daughters, eliciting some amusement from Viserys. Lyonel asks if the King wishes his advice on the matter; Viserys irritably assumes Lyonel means to put forward his own son Ser Harwin Strong as a candidate for Rhaenyra's hand, but Lyonel instead advocates the best choice for Rhaenyra might be a marriage to Ser Laenor Velaryon; as the Sea Snake's son, he is heir to the wealthiest House in Westeros, of pure Valyrian descent with Targaryen blood from his mother, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and such a marriage would help heal the rift between Houses Targaryen and Velaryon, only made worse by Viserys spurning Laenor's sister, Laena Velaryon in favor of Alicent. Though Lyonel does note the proposal depends on Laenor surviving his father's campaign in the Stepstones, Viserys clearly gives the matter considered thought.

Rhaenyra camps with Criston.

Out in the Kingswood, Rhaenyra and Criston make camp for the night. Rhaenyra asks Criston if he believes the realm will accept her as Queen; Criston demurs and insists they will have no choice but to. A rustling in the foliage nearby disturbs them; when Criston draws his sword and goes to investigate, a wild boar charges out of the bushes, trampling Criston and attacking Rhaenyra before Criston and Rhaenyra overpower and kill the animal, Rhaenyra delivering the killing blow in a wrathful frenzy. Back at the royal encampment, a heavily drunk Viserys laments to Alicent his fears he made a mistake naming Rhaenyra his heir; his obsessive pursuit of the prophetic vision he had, of a son born to him wearing Aegon the Conqueror's crown, resulted in Viserys losing Queen Aemma and becoming estranged from Rhaenyra. He'd hoped naming Rhaenyra as his heir might begin to repair the damage his obsession caused, both to his family and to the realm, but despite Alicent's reassurances, a tearful Viserys wonders, now he has a son born to him, was he wrong to put Rhaenyra first.

Viserys kills a hart.

The next morning, Viserys and his courtiers accompany the Royal Huntsman to a clearing in the godswood; unable to track down the white hart, they have caught a large stag for Viserys to kill instead. Using a spear borrowed from Lord Jason, it takes a conflicted Viserys two strikes to slay the animal. Elsewhere in the kingswood, a dishevelled and bloodstained Rhaenyra and Criston encounter the white hart; Rhaenyra merely admires the animal before letting it go unharmed and returning to the royal encampment with the boar's carcass.

Otto pressures Alicent to convince Viserys to name Aegon heir to the throne.

Back at the Red Keep, Otto and Alicent share a private conversation: Otto insists Alicent urge Viserys to name Aegon as his heir, claiming letting Rhaenyra pass over him to ascend the Iron Throne would incite chaos. Alicent reminds her father that the nobility of the realm, including House Hightower, swore obeisance to Rhaenyra as Viserys' heir and that she will not raise her son to steal his sister's birthright. Otto retorts that Aegon is the one being robbed, as by tradition and precedent, as Viserys' son, he is his father's rightful heir, and the next King of Westeros. Later that evening, Alicent goes to speak with Viserys, who reveals he has received a petition from Ser Vaemond Velaryon, requesting reinforcements in the Stepstones, as well as frustratedly insisting that Rhaenyra needs a husband of suitable rank to support her and rule by her side as King-Consort, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter. Alicent urges Viserys to give Rhaenyra at least the belief she can choose her own husband, as well as sending reinforcements to the Stepstones, since it is better for Westeros that the Velaryons and Daemon, rather than the Crabfeeder, are victorious.

Viserys gives Rhaenyra leave to choose her own husband.

The next morning, Viserys summons Rhaenyra to the Small Council chamber. He reveals his intention to send reinforcements to Daemon; Viserys refuses to let his younger brother die out of pride. He asks Rhaenyra's thoughts on the matter, to which she retorts he and his Small Council have made it frequently clear her thoughts on matters of governance are immaterial, prompting Viserys to exasperatedly ask if his daughter intends to become as much a thorn in his side as his brother. He apologizes for trying to foist Jason Lannister on her, insisting that he only wanted to help Rhaenyra by providing her House Lannister's wealth and power through marriage; Rhaenyra scoffs that in her mind, it was her father making a pretty transparent effort to get her out of the way so he could replace her. Viserys insists he is not trying to replace Rhaenyra, but reminds her, even though his marriage to her mother became a happy one, it was originally arranged for political gain, as have most royal marriages in Westerosi history. Viserys urges Rhaenyra to pick a husband, both so she can have the happiness of starting a family of her own and build support for her claim to the Iron Throne with her husband's family, but insists he will allow her to choose her own consort.

In the Stepstones

Craghas executes Velaryon soldiers.

It has been three years since Lord Corlys Velaryon and Prince Daemon Targaryen led an invasion fleet to the Stepstones to put an end to the depredations of Craghas Drahar. On the beach of Bloodstone, as Drahar amuses himself by executing prisoners while his men loot the wreckage of a Velaryon ship, Daemon descends atop Caraxes, the dragon's fire incinerating many of the Triarchy's soldiers on the beach, while the rest retreat with Drahar into the island's caverns where Caraxes cannot pursue. Volleys of arrows from Triarchy archers on the cliffs overlooking the beach force Daemon and Caraxes to retreat.

The Velaryon war council at Dwarfstone.

Several weeks later, at the Velaryon camp on Dwarfstone, Corlys, along with his son Laenor and brother Vaemond discuss their situation as Daemon returns from another dragonborne sortie against Drahar's stronghold. Corlys lists that their supplies are about to run out, the men are demoralized, and ships bound to resupply them from Driftmark are still weeks away. Laenor proposes a desperate gambit, using Daemon as bait to lure the Crabfeeder's forces into the open to eliminate them all at once, despite his uncle's misgivings. The war council is interrupted by the arrival of Ser Addam, a messenger from King's Landing sent by Viserys, promising his brother reinforcements. Enraged at the notion of being bailed out by his older brother, Daemon attacks the messenger, beating him with his helmet before the Velaryons intervene. Daemon later departs for Bloodstone alone in a rowing boat.

The Velaryon army comes to Daemon's aid at Bloodstone.

Fashioning a white flag from the wreckage of previous battles on Bloodstone, Daemon goes to one knee, holding out Dark Sister in a gesture of surrender. When one of Drahar's soldiers moves to take the sword, Daemon stabs him with a dagger, recovers Dark Sister, and cuts down any man standing between himself and Drahar. The Triarchy archers bring Daemon down short of his goal, but as Triarchy soldiers move in to finish him off, they are set ablaze by Laenor Velaryon astride his own dragon Seasmoke, who then wipes out the Triarchy archers overlooking the battlefield. As the Triarchy forces reel, Corlys and Vaemond lead a brutal counterattack against the enemy, while Daemon pursues Drahar into the caves. As the Velaryon forces claim victory, a blood-stained Daemon emerges, dragging the upper half of Drahar's bisected corpse behind him.

Appearances

Main page: Second of His Name/Appearances

Firsts Velaryon knight Prince Aegon Targaryen Ser Tyland Lannister Samwell Ser Howland Sharp Lady Ceira Lannister Lord Jason Lannister Brett Lannister Ser Harwin Strong Larys Strong Lady Lynesse Hightower Lady Joselyn Redwyne Ser Addam Ser Vaemond Velaryon Ser Joffrey Lonmouth Triarchy lieutenant Seasmoke

Deaths Velaryon knight Triarchy lieutenant Prince-admiral Craghas Drahar

Cast

Starring Paddy Considine as King Viserys I Targaryen Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole Milly Alcock as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen Emily Carey as Queen Alicent Hightower Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling Matthew Needham as Larys Strong Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister and Ser Tyland Lannister

Co-starring Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos (credited) Bill Paterson as Lord Lyman Beesbury (credited) Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin Strong Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon Steffan Rhodri as Lord Hobert Hightower Solly McLeod as Ser Joffrey Lonmouth Jonny Weldon as Samwell Daniel Scott-Smith as Prince Craghas Drahar Edward Rowe as Ser Howland Sharp Lucy Briers as Lady Ceira Lannister Joanna David as Lady Joselyn Redwyne Alana Ramsey as Lady Lynesse Hightower Thom Ashley as Brett Lannister Oscar Salem as Ser Addam Aron von Andrian as a Velaryon knight Clea Martin as a royal handmaiden Kathryn Delaney as a wet nurse Chris Jarman as Triarchy lieutenant Uncredited Ant Wright as a Stark squire

Notes

• 10 of 14 starring cast members appear in this episode.
• Starring cast members Emma D'Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen), Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower), Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen), and Sonoya Mizuno (Mysaria) are not credited and do not appear in this episode.
• Matthew Needham (Larys Strong) and Jefferson Hall (Tyland and Jason Lannister) make their first appearance and are added to the opening credits, having being absent from the previous two episodes.
• Eddy Beckett, Marco Bertagna, Tola Bishi, Robert Bowen, Phil Campbell, Liam Carey, Yusuf Chaudhri, Joel Conlan, Alexander Corne, David Cronnelly, Tom Crowley Ellis, Will Dent, Adrian Derrick-Palmer, Levan Doran, Sam Durrani, Josh Dyer, Ben Essex, Doren Farmer, Isky Fay, Jonathan Fee, Eduardo Gago, Luke Gomes, Ryan Green, Dan Griffiths, Richard Hall, Richard Hansen, Lyndon Hellewell, Matt Hermiston, Robert Hladik, James Horan, Paul Howell, Rowley Irlam, Erin Jameson, Paul Joseph, Jamie Karitzis, Mathew Kaye, Robbie Keane, Conor Kenny, Kenny Knight, Andre Layne, Richard Leggett, Lukaz Leong, Saul Lockwood, Leigh Maddern, Leona McCarron, Kye Mckee, Stefan Mihalache, Christian Mills, Nikita Mitchell, Theo Morton, Elliot Murray, Pete Olivant, Kat Pickering, Oleg Podobin, Dominic Preece, Josh Ravenscroft, Daniel Rawlins, Andrej Riabokon, Hasit Savani, Fenix Searle, Paul Shapcott, John Sharpe, Sam Stefan, James Stewart, Harvey Taylor, Arran Topham, Anthony Traher, Vincent Wang, Josh Wheeldon, Richard Wheeldon, Reoben Williams, William Willoughby, Eledro Wolf, Leo Woodruff, Ramón Jiménez and Anthony Knight were stunt performers in this episode.

Behind the scenes

General

• The title of this episode refers to Prince Aegon Targaryen, specifically Hobert Hightower proclaiming him "Aegon the Conqueror-babe, Second of His Name." It may also be a nod to the similarly titled Game of Thrones: Season 4 episode "First of His Name."
• There is a three year time skip between "The Rogue Prince" and this episode. It's stated in dialogue that three years have passed, and that Rhaenyra is now 17 years old (give or take a few months from her nameday, as she was 15 in "The Rogue Prince"). As Ryan Condal points out in the Inside the Episode, this is the first significant time skip of Season 1, albeit somewhat small compared to others that will come. The six month time skip between episodes 1 and 2 wasn't significant because no one was recast. This three year time skip, however, now introduces baby Aegon, and Laenor Velaryon has been recast (though the child version of Laenor only appeared in the first episode and never had speaking lines). As the season progresses, even Rhaenyra and Alicent will be recast as they grow older.
• The first airing of the episode seems to contain an editing error. When King Viserys gives the note to be sent to Prince Daemon, green cloth (which should have been digitally erased) can be seen on the character's left pinky and ring finger whereas the rest of the episode depicts the character's same fingers as having been clearly severed in the middle. According to HBO, they plan on remedying the error in the near future.
• In the Inside the Episode, showrunners Condal and Sapochnik state that the "theme" of this episode is "childhood's end": Rhaenyra, Alicent, Viserys, and Daemon all go through a crucible and come out the other side determined who they will be in the next phase of their lives:
  • Faced with his new son Aegon turning two years old (and thus having survived the cradle), Viserys is faced with a crisis of faith about whether his decision to name Rhaenyra the heir was the right one, but ends the episode determined that Rhaenyra will remain his named heir.
  • Rhaenyra begins the episode frustrated that she will be replaced as heir by Aegon, and any marriage will simply be a means to get rid of her. She has a moment of catharsis in the woods unleashing all her pent up anger stabbing the boar. By the end of the episode she is sitting at her father's Small Council table (literally if not officially) and having a heart to heart discussion that her position as heir is secure, though intellectually she knows she must still marry.
  • Alicent began the episode somewhat innocently thinking she could still mend her friendship with Rhaenyra, and not particularly concerned about the political implications of giving birth to a viable male heir. By the end of the episode she's come to acknowledge her father's advice that no matter what she does, many lords in the realm will not allow male-preference inheritance to be challened by allowing Rhaenyra to inherit the throne instead of Aegon - one way or another this will end in conflict.
  • Daemon begins the episode as an exiled prince playing at war with mercenaries in the Stepstones, but the campaign is going badly and he may have to rely on his brother's support to bail him out again. In the climax, he makes a daring "suicide run" against the Crabfeeder's forces as human bait, carving a path through his men and personally cutting him down. Daemon has been reborn on the battlefield and reforged his reputation as the self-confident maverick he will be from here on out.
• Viewership for this episode is somewhat difficult to compare to the first two episodes, due to Labor Day holiday in the United States. According to Deadline, the overall viewership three days after the premiere was 16 million in the US across all platforms, which would generally put it on pace with the first two episodes. Viewership on HBO Max alone (not counting the HBO cable channel) was up 27% over the previous episode within the first 24 hours after the premiere.
• Most of the sub-plots in the episode (among them the entire hunting trip) do not occur in Fire & Blood; others are narrated very concisely and generally (the siege of Bloodstone). Rhaenyra's encounters with the boar and the white stag/hart are loosely based on Robert Baratheon's fatal hunting trip (see below).

Filming locations

Filming locations for this episode included:

• The royal hunting camp in the Kingswood was a fully realized, practical set constructed in the woods of Surrey, England - near Caesar's Camp, outside of Aldershot.
• The battle scenes in the Stepstones were filmed on Hollywell Beach in Cornwall, England

In the Crownlands

• The entire royal hunt sequence that features in this episode is not in the source book Fire & Blood, though as the book was an outline and not a full narrative, something like this could have happened. George R.R. Martin himself may have pushed for this: he has publicly complained that one of the scenes he most regretting when working on Game of Thrones is that Robert Baratheon's royal hunt in Season 1 was limited to just five men on foot walking in a forest, not a grand royal expedition with dozens of mounted lords and hunting hounds as he described in the novels.
• The White Hart or white stag is a widespread symbol in real-life folklore, beginning in ancient Celtic myth and then filtering down into Arthurian romance, among others. "Hart" is an archaic term for stag. This specific plot point of Viserys hunting a white hart as an omen to see if Aegon should be the heir doesn't happen in the books, but it is re-using an incident that happened in the first A Song of Ice & Fire novel: when King Robert goes hunting in the Kingswood, it is mentioned that a white hart was sighted there, and that successfully hunting a white hart is seen as a great omen in Westerosi culture. Robert failed to find the white hart, however, and trackers only found its remains after it was devoured by wolves. Robert was frustrated, until another report came in that a large wild boar had been sighted, which he then pursued - and ended up mortally wounding him. Due to budget cuts almost none of this appeared in the Game of Thrones TV series, while both a boar and stags appear in this episode.
• The new Prince Aegon Targaryen should not, strictly speaking, be addressed as "Second of His Name", because this is tantamount to saying he is king already, or at least the official heir, when he is not: only ruling monarchs get assigned numbers. King Jaehaerys I Targaryen had an older brother named Aegon, but he was killed by Maegor in a civil war, and thus history remembers him only as "Aegon the Uncrowned". Viserys seems to laugh off Hobert Hightower's praise of "Aegon the Conqueror-babe, Second of His Name" as just a joke, when it's already been revealed in private with Otto that he intends to supplant Rhaenyra with Aegon.
• The political intrigue in this episode centers around how both of Viserys's children have just reached important ages at roughly the same time. Aegon just turned two years old, which means he has officially survived infancy - an important milestone due to the high rate of infant mortality even among the nobility (Aemma even mentioned that Viserys had a third son before the TV series began, but he died in the cradle). Beyond the Wall, infant mortality is so high that the wildlings have a custom to not even name their babies until they turn two years old. Rhaenyra, meanwhile, is stated to be 17 years old - she officially came of age to marry at 16 years old, though as Viserys points out she hasn't been pursuing it seriously (for the past year or so). The gathering of all the lords in honor of Aegon turning two brings the issue to a head again.
  • In the books, there's a smaller gap between Rhaenyra and Aegon, of only 10 years - though Viserys still thinks the gap is big enough they shouldn't be married to each other in Targaryen fashion. Rhaenyra was aged up by seven years in the TV show. Thus Rhaenyra's coming of age couldn't have loosely coincided with Aegon's second nameday like this in the books - but due to Rhaenyra's age-shift, they now line up like this.
  • In the books, the legal age of adulthood in Westeros is 16 years old. As part of aging up the younger cast, Game of Thrones at times implied that it was 18 years old - when Samwell Tarly said that his father threatened to kill him if he didn't join the Night's Watch, because he was a grown man now and set to inherit. Samwell said this was the morning of his 18th nameday in the TV show, but his 16th nameday in the books. In contrast, House of the Dragon presents that "coming of age" legally occurs at 16, as in the books: Rhaenyra is considered old enough to marry, and she remarks that she is officially "Princess of Dragonstone" now (which only legally happens when the heir apparent reaches the age of adulthood).
• During the three year time skip, two of Viserys's fingers on his left hand have been amputated. He cut his pinky finger on the Iron Throne in the first episode, and six months later in the second episode it had become badly infected, and Mellos was using maggot therapy in the hope he wouldn't need to amputate it. Not only did this not work, the infection spread and he lost his ring finger as well. This has been expanded from the books, in which this only happened much later in his reign, and the infection stopped after amputating two fingers.
  • Viserys usually covers up his missing fingers with his gloves, but their absence is visible in several private scenes where he isn't wearing them. The camera never specifically points this out with a closeup of his hand. The effect was achieved by the actor wearing green sleeves over his fingers, which were then removed as a greenscreen effect.
• The scene of Lannister and Redwyne noblewomen gathered around Alicent Hightower and discussing royal politics isn't in the books, but may be acknowledging a general trend occurring at this time: as new political factions began to form at court, the Lannisters and Redwynes became prominent allies of the Hightowers.
  • The other noblewoman discussing royal politics with Alicent Hightower and Ceira Lannister is Lady Joselyn Redwyne (her first name is known from the credits). This character was invented for the TV show, may be a nod to Olenna Tyrell - who was actually born "Olenna Redwyne" before marrying Lord Luthor Tyrell. Like Olenna, she is a sharp-tongued woman of House Redwyne critiquing figures at the royal court with shrewd political insight.
  • The news of Johanna Swann's abduction by the Triarchy is straight from the book - which went on to explain that while the Triarchy did offer to ransom her, her famously stingy uncle refused to pay, and so she was sold to a brothel in Lys.
• Lyonel Strong's sons are introduced in this episode: elder son Harwin Strong (called "Breakbones" for his great strength) and Larys Strong, a cripple known for his prominent clubfoot. The books mention that Larys has a keen mind, rarely talking if he doesn't have to but always paying attention to those around him. Notice that during the political discussion by the noblewomen, Larys is deeply invested in the conversation even though he isn't saying anything.
• Viserys sarcastically quotes that as a child, Rhaenyra was known as "the Realm's Delight" - which was indeed her nickname as a child at the royal court.
• When they meet in the Small Council chamber, Rhaenyra accuses Viserys that "you mean to replace me with Alicent Hightower's son!" - note that she doesn't phrase this simply as her "brother". In the book, it's noted that Rhaenyra always pointedly refers to Aegon as "my half-brother", never "my brother", because of the rivalry between them.
• When Viserys laments that he can't even control his own daughter Rhaenyra, Lyonel Strong commiserates that he shouldn't feel too bad, because even King Jaehaerys I Targaryen - his grandfather and immediate predecessor, who reigned over half a century of peace and prosperity - was driven near to madness by his children, particularly his daughters. Jaehaerys was briefly seen at the beginning of the first episode. Jaehaerys's struggles with his nine children (those who survived the cradle) form an entire separate prequel era unto themselves in Fire & Blood, before the prequel era about the reign of Viserys I, and take up roughly the second quarter of the entire book.
• Viserys mentions that he was betrothed to Aemma Arryn when he was 17 years old. In the books, he indeed married Aemma when he was about 17 years old - and she was 11 years old, though the marriage wasn't consummated for another two years. The overall age gap between them was not great (six years), but their young marriage may have been because his father Baelon was named the royal heir ahead of Rhaenys only the year before, so he wanted to show that his line was secure.
• The game master estimated the white hart's weight to be "upward of 35 stone". Westeros generally uses the same Imperial measurements still used in the United States, because it is a medieval society based on custom (not abstract principles, like the metric system). The only two uncommon measurement units that really come up in the narrative are "leagues" (three miles) and "stone" (a real-life unit equal to about 14 pounds). Thus a 35 stone hart weighs about 490 pounds (roughly 222 kg).

House Lannister

Major characters Jason and Tyland Lannister are introduced in this episode. As they are identical twin brothers, they are both played by the same actor: Jefferson Hall, who actually appeared previously in Game of Thrones: Season 1 as Ser Hugh of the Vale, who was killed by Gregor Clegane in the joust.

• Tyland Lannister is now Master of Ships, since Corlys Velaryon resigned in protest when Viserys rejected the marriage pact with his daughter Laena Velaryon. In the books, Corlys resigned from this post much earlier when Rhaenys was rejected as the new heir; Tyland is only mentioned as Master of Ships later in Viserys's reign. It's unknown if Viserys had a different Master of Ships earlier in his reign.
• Unlike Game of Thrones, the Starks and Lannisters do not yet have a significant position in royal affairs - they largely gained those positions due to the events of Robert's Rebellion, which hasn't happened yet. The books state that the noble families closest to the crown in the first century of Targaryen rule were the Velaryons, Hightowers, and Baratheons. There is no mention in the books of any Lannister serving on the Small Council before Tyland, and it is possible he is the first Lannister to ever hold a position at the royal court.
• Because the Lannisters played such a small role in royal affairs prior to this generation, not much is known about their full family tree connecting to other time periods. Loren I Lannister was defeated by Aegon the Conqueror but raised up as the new Lord Paramount of the Westerlands, then by the era of the Faith Militant uprising, Lyman Lannister appears in the narrative to some extent (his exact relationship to Loren is unknown). After Lyman died in 59 AC, no Lannister character is mentioned for another forty years, when it is said that Lord Tymond Lannister appeared at the Great Council of 101 AC. It is unknown if Jason and Tyland are meant to be his sons, or perhaps his grandsons or nephews, etc. This episode also introduces Ceira Lannister, a character invented for the TV show, who is apparently their mother.

Jason gives several details related to Casterly Rock and Lannisport:

• He says that Casterly Rock is three times taller than the Hightower in Oldtown, and taller still than the Wall in the North. This comparison is straight from the books: the Hightower is about 800 meters tall, and the Wall is about 700 meters tall. The Hightower is still the tallest structure in Westeros, because Casterly Rock is a mountain, with halls and chambers excavated into it.
• Jason mentions that the expensive spear he presents as a gift to Viserys was made in the Golden Hall, which is one of the main chambers in Casterly Rock.
• Jason offers Rhaenyra a fine honeyed wine made in Lannisport: Fire & Blood mentions that Lannisport is known for making a spiced honey wine.

In the Stepstones

• Caraxes reacts with pain when Daemon is hit in the shoulder with a flaming arrow. It is strongly implied in the books that dragons and their riders have some sort of unconscious psychic bond - not quite "telepathy" with words or images, but an empathic/spiritual bond, perhaps even a homing instinct.
  • Daemon is hit by the flaming arrow at the beginning of the episode: notice that in the sequence at the end of the episode, some time later, Daemon has a burn wound from it on his right shoulder/collarbone. George R.R. Martin has repeatedly said that Targaryens are not "fire-proof" under normal circumstances, and that Daenerys surviving Khal Drogo's funeral pyre was a one-time magical event due to the blood sacrifice that hatched her dragons. The TV writers later had Daenerys survive burning the khals in Season 6, but this drew the criticism that it probably won't happen like that in the books because of Martin's statements to the contrary. There are multiple examples in the books of Targaryens being burned to death.
• Corlys and Daemon's quagmire in the War for the Stepstones is reminiscent of the First Dornish War: dragons are very dangerous on the battlefield or against castles, but they aren't as useful against guerrilla warfare using hit-and-run attacks. Dorne resisted the Targaryen invasion (about one century before this episode) because its forces simply fled and dispersed into the desert when the dragons came, then returned to ambush their supply lines when the dragons left. The books don't specifically describe Triarchy forces hiding in caves on Bloodstone, but generally include the point that dragons can take locations, but men are needed to hold them. Corlys and Daemon's private army is very small: in the episode Corlys says they only have about 700 footmen and 60 knights.
• There are about a dozen islands in the Stepstones but names for only two have been provided in the novels: Bloodstone is the largest, and Grey Gallows is another island south of it. Preview chapters for the sixth novel also mention a third island named Torturer's Deep. This episode introduces a new island not specified in the books: "Dwarfstone", the island that the Velaryon army camp is located on before they attack Bloodstone.
• This episode introduces Vaemond Velaryon, Corlys's younger brother. In the book, "Vaemond" is Corlys's nephew, but there are also almost a dozen minor Velaryons from younger branches of the family. In the TV show, all of them were condensed into Vaemond, who was then simplified from being a nephew to a brother.
• It is difficult to see in the battle shots, but new heraldry for several new houses is visible, including House Staunton, House Bar Emmon, House Sunglass, and House Celtigar.
• Daemon beating a messenger half to death simply for delivering news he didn't like happened in the book, but in a different context. In the book, Daemon did this in reaction to receiving news that his brother Viserys was remarrying to Alicent Hightower, barely half a year after Queen Aemma died - because this meant that relatively soon, Viserys could produce a new male heir, pushing Daemon even farther back in the line of succession. He was also in the Vale at the time, after Viserys forced him to return to his lawful wife Rhea Royce there. This episode moves the incident around, so that Daemon gives this reaction when told that Viserys will sent reinforcements to bail out his stalled campaign in the Stepstones. Daemon came there to prove himself without his brother's help, so this news motivates his bold all-or-nothing ploy to defeat the Triarchy forces before the reinforcements arrive.
• This episode introduces the dragon Seasmoke, ridden by Laenor Velaryon, making him the third to appear on-screen in this TV series. He appears to have roughly the same body proportions as Daenerys Targaryen's later trio of dragons. The showrunners explained that in developing the Dragon designs for the show, they came up with the idea that there are three kinds or breeds: those with "dinosaur" shaped skulls (what was already seen with Drogon and his brothers), but also dragons with "wolf-shaped" skulls (Caraxes), and then dragons with "horse-shaped" skulls between those two extremes (Syrax). Seasmoke is apparently the same "breed" as Daenerys's dragons.
• Daemon's heroic attack, all by himself, resembles Jaime Lannister's conduct at the Battle of Whispering Wood (according to the novel): when the battle seemed lost, he attempted to cut his way through the Northern host to slay Robb Stark in single combat; he was halted before he could reach Robb, while Daemon managed to reach and kill Craghas.

Timeline

• It is stated in dialogue that the War for the Stepstones began three years ago (at the end of the previous episode), and this episode centers around a royal hunt held to honor Aegon's second nameday. Rhaenyra was stated to be 15 in episode 2 but is now stated to be 17. Thus slightly less than three years have elapsed (Rhaenyra's own nameday hasn't occurred yet in this year).
• The first episode began in the ninth year of Viserys I's reign, but Queen Aemma died in childbirth during the second year of his reign in the books: this change was made to age-up younger characters such as Rhaenyra. Because of this and other changes we can't simply re-use dates that events occured in the books.
• It's dated in dialogue that about half a year passes between episodes 1 and 2. The actors have confirmed that both Rhaenyra and Alicent are 14 years old in the first episode, but Rhaenyra is stated to be 15 in the second episode - within those six months she turned 15. Thus episode 2 would be either late 112 AC or early 113 AC.
• A little less than 3 years have passed, because Rhaenyra hasn't turned 18 yet. If episode 2 ended in late 112 AC, that would put this episode around mid-115 AC; if episode 2 ended in early 113 AC, plus 3 years would be early 116, but minus a few months because it wasn't a full 3 years would bring it back to around late 115 AC. Either way, it appears this episode could broadly be said to take place in "115 AC".
  • This loosely matches up with the principle that the TV series pushed back most events by "7 years": in the books, Daemon killed Craghas Drahar in 108 AC.

In the books

Main page: Differences in adaptation/House of the Dragon: Season 1#"Second of His Name"

This episode is adapted from the chapter "Heirs of the Dragon — A Question of Succession" from Fire & Blood. It is also influenced by the following chapters of A Game of Thrones:

• Chapter 43, Eddard XI: A king hunts for a white hart.
• Chapter 47, Eddard XIII: A bloody encounter with a boar.

Gallery

Videos

Season 1 Episode 3 Preview / House of the Dragon (HBO)

House of the Dragon / S1 EP3: Inside the Episode (HBO)

Criston Cole Saves Rhaenyra Targaryen's Life / House Of The Dragon / Max

Images

Stills

Screenshots

Concept art

External links

• Second of His Name on A Wiki of Ice and Fire
• Second of His Name on HBO
• Second of His Name on IMDb
• Second of His Name on Wikipedia