House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2 recap and Easter eggs: Double trouble

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2 delivers the fallout from the brutal Blood and Cheese storyline. Now, whatever you thought of the grisly opening to the second season, there’s no denying it will have huge repercussions throughout Westeros. As the scales tip towards war in the kingdom too, cracks begin to emerge for both sides from within as well as on a larger scale.

Below, we get into the granular details about everything that happens in the second episode, from the immediate fallout to some game-changing decisions. There’s also a fair few Easter eggs dotted throughout the latest outing, including the introduction of some book characters who have a big role to play in the next stage of this story. For more on that, read on for your complete guide to House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2. But be warned, we’re getting into big spoiler territory from here out, so make sure you’re up to date before reading on.

Pure horror

House of the Dragon season 2 — (Image credit: Sky/HBO)

Episode 2 begins in the wake of Blood and Cheese with panic in the Red Keep as the hunt begins for the men who committed the crime. “I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them all,” Aegon screams as he smashes the model of the kingdom to pieces and vows war. Meanwhile, Aemond realizes that he was the initial target for the killing as he finds a clue as to who is responsible after spotting a coin from the Blacks.

The decision is made by Otto Hightower to use the death of Jaehaerys to let Westeros know the crimes committed, placing the blame at Rhaenyra’s feet. It’s decided that Alicent and Helaena will ride on a procession through King’s Landing with the corpse of the young boy. Meanwhile, the first of the men responsible is caught. Blood is questioned by Larys and he reveals Daemon’s involvement before Aegon arrives and smashes his skull in with a bat.

Across the bay at Dragonstone, Rhaenyra realizes that she’s been played by Daemon as she finds out that he sanctioned the killing. She confronts him, asking him exactly what he told the assassins to do. “You have wounded me, weakened my claim to the throne,” she tells her husband as the splinters between the two only grow larger. Daemon sets off on his dragon Caraxes, leaving Dragonstone behind.

Seeing double

House of the Dragon season 2

(Image credit: HBO/Sky)

Ser Criston Cole struggles to deal with his role in the lack of palace security, so instead places pressure on Ser Arryk Cargyll, questioning his loyalty to the crown thanks to his twin brother. He comes up with a plan to send the knight to Dragonstone to pretend to be Ser Erryk and kill Rhaenera. Meanwhile, Aegon kills every rat catcher, hanging them from the walls of the city. Among them is Cheese, as his poor little dog looks on.

Otto is not too pleased by Aegon’s choice as he feels it weakens their position in the city. It’s a poor play though as he is removed as the Hand of the King, as Criston becomes the king’s new right-hand man. Otto speaks to Alicent about the choice, vowing to go to Oldtown instead and meet Daeron. However, she urges him to go to High Garden instead as we say goodbye to Otto for now.

Meanwhile, back in Dragonstone, Rhaenyra does some scheming of her own, speaking to the White Worm about her role in helping Daemon employ Blood and Cheese. The women reach some common ground, lamenting over being used as pawns by men. Rhaenyra sets her free to sail on a boat out, but as she goes she notices Arryk walking up to the palace and seemingly alerts the guards.

However, she can’t stop him before he finds his way inside towards Rhaenyra’s quarters. He pretends to be his brother, drawing her sword on her, but he’s stopped just in time by his brother as the men fight it out to the death, and end up both dying. Erryk kills Arryk, before falling on his sword for his family’s betrayal. It’s another brutal end to a House of the Dragon episode and sets up more bloodshed to come in this war.

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2 Easter eggs

Addam of Hull: The character is very briefly introduced in the latest episode when he greets his brother Alyn. Played by Clinton Liberty, we don’t know much about him yet, aside from that he’s a shipwright and his brother saved Corlys Velaryon from drowning. However, he actually has much more to him. If you want a spoiler-heavy explainer of who he really is based on the book, click through here.
Hugh Hammer: After his introduction in episode 1, we see another scene with him in episode 2. Not too much goes on in this aside from his continued struggles in King’s Landing, but if you’re wondering about his bigger significance, check out our Hugh Hammer explainer.
Blood and Cheese: After their actions last week, both Blood and Cheese are dealt with pretty quickly. Unlike the changes made to the main storyline, Blood is killed in essentially the same way in ‘Fire and Blood’ but Cheese is never actually found, seemingly getting away with it.
Erryk and Arryk: The death of the Cargyll twins goes a little differently in the books, although it’s worth noting that details differ according to which version you read. Some say in their final fight, the brothers professed their love to each other, while others argue that their fight lasted an hour. A few key differences remain though, it happens before they even get to Rhaenyra’s rooms and the men die from their wounds inflicted on each other, rather than Arryk falling on his own sword.
Daeron Targaryen: In the final few moments, Otto says he’s going to go and see Daeron Targaryen, Alicent’s son. If you’re like us and were left reeling on that one, you’re not alone. He’s not actually been mentioned in the show yet, but he is the fourth child of Alicent and King Viserys. He also plays a big part in the book, which you can read about here.