A Son for a Son

"A Son for a Son"
House of the Dragon episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 1
Directed by	Alan Taylor
Written by	Ryan Condal
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	P.J. Dillon
Editing by	Frances Parker
Original air date	June 16, 2024 (2024-06-16)
Running time	58 minutes

"A Son for a Son" is the second-season premiere episode of the HBO fantasy drama television series House of the Dragon. Written by Ryan Condal and directed by Alan Taylor, it first aired on June 16, 2024.

This plot directly follows the end of the first season finale, depicting the aftermath of the death of Rhaenyra's second son, Lucerys Velaryon, and his dragon, Arrax, at Storm's End. Rhaenyra finds Arrax's remains and then announces her revenge on Aemond. In response, Daemon, Rhaenyra's uncle-husband, appoints two assassins in King's Landing to kill Aemond. However, the assassins are unable to find Aemond and instead decide to kill King Aegon II's son and heir, Jaehaerys.

The episode received highly positive reviews from critics, with praise going towards the writing, character development, set up for the upcoming war, improved pacing and lighting compared to the first season, and performances of its cast, particularly Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke.

Production

Writing

"A Son for a Son" was written by showrunner and executive producer Ryan Condal, marking his fifth writing credit for the series, following "The Heirs of the Dragon", "The Rogue Prince", "Second of His Name", and "The Black Queen".

Filming

Alan Taylor made his return as director for the franchise.

The episode was directed by Alan Taylor who joined the show's second season as executive producer. It marks his return to the Game of Thrones franchise and his eighth directorial credit in the franchise. He previously directed the Game of Thrones episodes "Baelor", "Fire and Blood", "The North Remembers", "The Night Lands", "The Prince of Winterfell", "Valar Morghulis", and "Beyond the Wall".

Casting

The episode stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Phia Saban, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Jefferson Hall, Kurt Egyiawan, Kieran Bew, Abubakar Salim, and Tom Taylor. It marks the first appearance of Bew as Hugh Hammer, Salim as Alyn of Hull, and Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark. Egyiawan portrayed recurring character Grand Maester Orwyle in the first season and was upgraded to the main cast for the second season.

Salim's casting was announced in April 2023. Meanwhile, the casting of Bew and Taylor was announced in December 2023.

Reception

Ratings

"A Son for a Son" was watched by a total of 7.8 million viewers, which included linear viewers during its premiere night on June 16, 2024, both on HBO and Max. This was a 22% decrease from the first season premiere, which was watched by 10 million viewers.

Critical response

The episode was met with highly positive critical reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 100% based on 16 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.

Alec Bojalad of Den of Geek and Haley Whitmire White of TV Fanatic both gave it a perfect 5 out of 5 stars. Louis Chilton of the Independent and Amanda Whiting of Vulture rated it 4 out of 5 stars, while James Hunt of Screen Rant gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Bojalad described it as "a muscular return", and Hunt praised the episode for effectively setting up the upcoming war. Helen O'Hara from IGN scored it 7 out of 10, noting, "We may look back on [the episode] as effective groundwork, but it's undeniably lacking in the kind of excitement that this series can offer at its best." Similarly, Katie Doll of CBR and Carly Lane of Collider also gave it a 7 out of 10. Doll wrote, "With dynamic performances and savvy writing, House of the Dragon is off to an eventful start for Season 2, even if planting the seeds of war can be a chore at times." Lane opined that the episode "feels more like a prologue for much bigger events rather than a first chapter." Kayleigh Dray of The A.V. Club graded the episode a B+ and called it "a pretty stellar season premiere". Erik Kain of Forbes echoed this sentiment, calling it "a brilliant season premiere". Josh Rosenberg of Esquire remarked, "By now, House of the Dragon season 2 is already feeling like a massive step up for the series. The pacing is much better, the side characters are just as compelling as the leads, and it's clear we’re building up to a war."

Emma D'Arcy's performance in the episode was widely praised by critics.

Critics praised the performances of its cast, particularly those of D'Arcy, Cooke, Saban, Glynn-Carney, and Collett. Regarding D'Arcy, Screen Rant's Hunt wrote, "They did excellent work in season 1, of course, but take it to another level in the season 2 premiere. Rhaenyra's grief is palpable, her pain so clearly etched into every fiber of D'Arcy’s performance." Collider's Lane called their performance "magical" and praised their body language in portraying a grieving mother, despite uttering only four words in the episode. Hunt also highlighted Olivia Cooke's more nuanced performance, while Lane noted that Cooke "continues to offer depth and dimension to Alicent, who feels torn between clashing loyalties."

Specific scenes singled out by critics included Jacerys's visit to Winterfell and the introduction of Cregan Stark, though some felt the scene was too brief, as well as the killing of Jaehaerys; critics appreciated the reduced violence in the scene in comparison to the book version. However, Hunt found it underwhelming compared to the book, noting it ended the otherwise solid premiere on a somewhat disappointing note. Additionally, critics lauded the character development of Alicent, Daemon, Aemond, and Aegon, as well as the improved lighting, which had been criticized for being too dark in the first season by both critics and fans.

External links

• "A Son for a Son" at HBO
• "A Son for a Son" at IMDb