House of the Dragon continues its strong showing this week with a second episode that raises the stakes. In it, Viserys Targaryen chooses Alicent Hightower as his wife, Daemon makes a play for the Iron Throne by claiming Dragonstone as his own, and Rhaenyra steps up to prove herself worthy to be the heir. But beneath all of these recent developments are a lot of hidden details and fun trivia from the world George Martin created. We take a look below at the best House of the Dragon episode 2 easter eggs and what they truly mean.
House of the Dragon episode 2 easter eggs
Ser Ryam Redwyne
As Rhaenyra tries to make her presence felt in a Small Council meeting, those present suggest that she aid in the choosing of the next knight to join the Kingsguard. This need is borne out of the death of the Lord Commander, Ser Ryam Redwyne.
In the novels, Ryam Redwyne is a revered figure in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. The late Lord Commander of the Kingsguard has been mentioned several times by prominent personalities, such as Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister, and Robb Stark.
The mention of several important Houses
Rhaenyra's task of choosing a new member of the Kingsguard entails seeing them in person. Right before she makes her choice, the princess is presented with several knights from the different Houses of Westeros. Some of these include Houses Mallister, Tarly, Corbray, and Dondarrion.
House Mallister is among the most loyal families to House Tully. Meanwhile, Beric Dondarrion, one of the most well-known knights in Game of Thrones comes from a house that bears his last name. House Tarly, of course, is where Samwell comes from.
The Free Cities
During a Small Council meeting, Corlys Velaryon brings up the matter of an armed force attacking his ships. He urges the crown to take action against these forces led by Craghas Drahar, more well-known as Crabfeeder. Corlys adds that he comes from one of the Free Cities in Essos.
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Save Rhaenyra, those present in the meeting would want nothing to do with Corlys' predicament against Crabfeeder, and ultimately the Free Cities. In the books, Drahar is affiliated with the Triarchy, an alliance between Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys. These locations are three of the nine Free Cities, some of which were visited by Daenerys Targaryen herself in Game of Thrones before she went over to Westeros.
Dorne
During Rhaenyra's questioning, Ser Criston Cole mentioned that he spent around a year fighting in the Dornish Marshes, an area of Westeros where Dorne, The Reach, and the Stormlands meet. This leads to the detail that at this point in time, Dorne isn't an official part of the Seven Kingdoms yet.
In the novels, Aegon the Conqueror never managed to take Dorne, as compared to other nations in Westeros. But unlike other wars of conquest, this feat was accomplished through a royal marriage 100 years before Robert's Rebellion occurred and a significant amount of time after Aegon invaded the continent.
Viserys's recounting of Old Valyria
Before taking her as his wife, Viserys often showed Alicent a scale model of Old Valyria in his room. As he does, the king recounts the presence of bloodmages and the Valyrian Freehold, which he suspects was home to around a 1,000 dragons at the peak of their power.
Bloodmages were a part of Game of Thrones as Mirri Maz Duur was one of them. It should be remembered that Durr was responsible for the death of Khal Drogo in the first season of the hit series. Meanwhile, the claim of a thousand dragons living in Old Valyria before its doom may hold some truth in it as the source material tells us that there were 40 noble houses back then. Each of these houses owns several dragons and adding the wild ones to the mix, it can be easily assumed that such a number of these monsters did exist at some point.
Vhagar
In House of the Dragon, the passing of Balerion years before the show's start means that there is only one dragon left from the time of Aegon conquering Westeros – Vhagar.
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In a scene that disturbed many, Viserys is seen walking with Laena Velaryon, the 12-year old daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys who is being set up to be the next queen. The young lady asks the king where Vhagar is as it is the oldest dragon in existence during that time. Viserys admits that he doesn't know where the creature is as it doesn't fit the Dragonpit anymore.
In the books, it's revealed that Laena herself will ride Vhagar and Prince Aemond Targaryen, the second son of Viserys and Alicent, after her. Furthermore, Vhagar will play an important role in the Dance of the Dragons, a disruptive civil war within House Targaryen.
Dreamfyre
During the first half of episode 2, the Small Council discussed Prince Daemon and how he has claimed Dragonstone as his own. Along with this development is finding out that he has taken a dragon egg that belonged to Dreamfyre. Of course, this conflict was resolved when Rhaneyra flew herself to Dragonstone and convinced her uncle to surrender the egg without causing any bloodshed.
Back in the source material again, Dreamfyre was flown by Rhanea, granddaughter of Aegon the Conqueror. Elissa Farman, her lover, stole three dragon eggs. Later on, they were speculated to be the same eggs Daenerys obtained in Game of Thrones. It remains to be seen whether House of the Dragon will follow this theory.
The Second Sons
Right before the episode ended, Corlys and Daemon spoke together about their common predicaments. For the former, though, it was more about Crabfeeder and the effect he has on his business. Corlys asked Daemon's help to end him and told the prince about his history of being a second son and working hard to achieve what he has. The Sea Snake reminded Daemon that they are the realm's second sons.
This phrase can allude to the Second Sons, a sellsword company led by Daario Naharis and employed by Daenerys before she crossed over to Westeros. It can also allude to other famous second sons in Game of Thrones, particularly Stannis Baratheon.
Although there are a lot more to be dissected from this episode, these easter eggs were the most prominent of them all. This will continue as the various conflicts continue in House of the Dragon episode 3 and beyond.
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