House of the Dragon Episode 2: The Opening Titles Turn the Targaryen Family Tree Into a River of Blood

The new opening title sequence introduced in House of the Dragon episode 2 is a Targaryen family tree drawn in blood. Stone dials represent members of the dynasty, and a river of blood links them into a chain of violence. That sequence is only the start. The look of the series just gets better and better, so here are the visual details and deeper layers of meaning in The Rogue Prince, from the titles to the small council to Daemon's standoff on Dragonstone.

The opening titles turn the Targaryen bloodline into a chain of violence

The sequence is set to Ramin Djawadi's Game of Thrones theme. Using the same song cynically suggests that the petty games played by the people of Westeros 200 years later are the same ones about to be played by this generation. Where the Game of Thrones opening used map imagery, this one uses stone dials. Blood snakes through each dial, forming a symbolic chain of violence begetting violence. It is also a family tree, a literal bloodline.

Each dial represents a specific member of the Targaryen family. Because a dial turns, each link in the chain could change the direction of the bloodline depending on that person's moral alignment. A recurring crown sits on many of the dials. It is the one worn by Viserys and, before him, Jaehaerys: the crown of Aegon the Conqueror. It marks whoever was king on that generational tier, and it is usually paired with a dial for a marital union. The blood drowning each dial represents that ruler's death, but each death begets a new generation of bloody rulers.

The dials trace the Targaryens from Aegon's conquest down to Viserys

The first dial belongs to Aegon and shows Dragonstone swarmed by dragons. These dragons are not a loving family. The audio description says they are in combat with each other, so every episode of the show opens with dragon versus dragon. The gates of Dragonstone pop upward, the tableau sinks, and blood floods outward to drown the whole realm. The river forks down a wall carved with dragons torching infantry, cavalry and archers, which is likely Aegon's conquest. It flows into two dials for his sisters Rhaenys and Visenya, then into a dial for Rhaenys's son Aenys.

There is no dial for Maegor the Cruel. His would likely sit on the other side of that earlier left dial. The bloodline then zips to paired dials for Jaehaerys and Alysanne, and the blood explodes into branches the way the family tree did at that point. Two dials already drowned in blood represent Jaehaerys's late son Baelon and his wife Alyssa, the parents of Viserys. In the background the river snakes toward a blue wall with a dial bearing the Velaryon seahorse. The blood touching it represents Rhaenys, daughter of Aemon and the Queen Who Never Was, who married Corlys.

Another branch flows into a crown dial that does not flood. That is Viserys, unflooded because he was still alive, for now. Beside him is a flooded Arryn dial for his late wife Aemma, who died in episode 1. Viserys's bloodline branches left toward a green wall, where the Greens, the Hightowers, are waiting. It is a telling sign of Viserys moving on to Alicent in this episode. The bloodline then flows into a dial with the Hightower lighthouse representing Alicent, soon to be queen, with a dial for her father Otto on the level above.

Rhaenyra's dial rises above the blood, and the sequence ends on the model of Valyria

Next come the three interlocking circles of the Valyrian steel necklace Daemon gave Rhaenyra in episode 1. That dial is clearly Rhaenyra, and it rises high above the blood, untouched by it. We then pass under a gate showing a dragon fanning its wings over the houses of Westeros. I believe those sigils are Baratheon, Hightower, Blackwood, Dustin, Star Pike, Lannister, Velaryon, Stark, and maybe Greyjoy. Some are important and some are lower houses, but they all look cool.

Finally, all of these dials rest on the layers of Viserys's stone model of Valyria. That proved our theory from episode 1 correct, that the model might be part of the new opening titles. Pairings representing the marriages the royal lineage ran through descend the middle of the model. Near the bottom, a few isolated dials show the bloodline ending, because it was not yet clear which characters would bear heirs to the crown. My advice was not to look at a family tree, or you would spoil yourself. When I wrote this after episode 2, I said I would be monitoring the sequence closely for updates as characters died or produced new heirs, because I am crazy.

The titles end on the golden Targaryen sigil, with all of these rivers of blood feeding the fire beneath the words Fire and Blood. Those are the Targaryen house words and the title of the novel the show is based on.

The cold open shows the Crabfeeder's victims through Corlys's fear

The opening shot shows two hands impaled on wood as crabs pick at them. That parallels the maggots gnawing the flesh from King Viserys's hand later in the episode. From a nameless casualty to the king himself, these are all corpses on borrowed time. Crabs pick at a barnacled skull, echoing the barnacled bust in Corlys's chamber at the end of the episode. This crucifixion imagery is really seen through Corlys's existential fear. It is his song of ice and fire, or really his song of sea and crabs.

Crabs pick at a gash on a man's foot with the bone exposed, and then he stirs. He is still alive, being eaten alive as a victim of Craghas the Crabfeeder, leader of the Triarchy that was ravaging the Stepstones. The wide shot shows the stakes set in the path of a tidal river, where the crabs come in. Like the opening titles, it is a river of blood bringing death.

That smash cuts to another red river, an overhead shot of wine pouring into a golden cup. The red liquid pouring into a golden pit mirrors the blood pouring into the Targaryen sigil in the credits.

The small council treats everyone as a piece on a game board

The small council is discussing the death of Ser Ryam Redwyne, the bearded Lord Commander of the Kingsguard seen in the background of episode 1. Corlys arrives late, wanting to strike back at Craghas and the Triarchy, which is funded by the Free Cities, many of which appeared in Game of Thrones. Master of Coin Lyman Beesbury points out that the Seven Kingdoms have never entered open war with the Free Cities and asks what reason the Crabfeeder has to fear them. Corlys focuses his anger on Beesbury, a man who likely takes money from the Iron Bank in Braavos. That is a major conflict of interest on the council.

Throughout the meeting, Corlys's ball token stays on the centerpiece and is never moved to his plate, reflecting how he was never really part of it. By the end of the episode, Rhaenyra is booted from a meeting for pitching the one good idea, and the doors shut behind her. That is an homage to the final shot of The Godfather, where Michael shuts out Kay.

Ser Harrold goes through the Kingsguard candidates, each represented by a figurine. The ornamentation marks how seriously the Kingsguard was taken in this era, and it fits the way the show uses dials, balls and other tokens to represent people. Everyone is a piece on a game board. Candidates come from houses including Mallister, Corbray, Crakehall and Tarly, and Otto notes that the Mallisters of Seagard protect against reavers from the Iron Islands, meaning the Greyjoys. Ser Criston has no heraldry. He comes from House Cole of the Stormlands and is actually a Dornishman, so his figurine is a simple, unadorned pillar.

Criston Cole's war record makes Rhaenyra's choice a wartime one

Otto lurks behind Rhaenyra while Rhaenys watches from the balcony, more interested in how the named heir makes her first official decision. In every shot of Rhaenyra with Otto, Rhaenys can be seen snooping in the background. The Queen Who Never Was is deducing that if Rhaenyra is shut out of the small council, she and her husband Corlys might be able to play on the king's succession anxieties, and get their 12 year old ready to present to him.

Rhaenyra asks whether Criston saw combat in the Stormlands. He says he fought for a year as a foot soldier against Dornish incursions and was knighted by a Dondarrion after they razed two watchtowers along the Boneway. The Dornish Marches lie between the Stormlands and Dorne, and the Boneway is a treacherous pass through the Red Mountains. Aegon the Conqueror's attempt to conquer Dorne failed, and that campaign killed his sister wife Rhaenys and her dragon Meraxes. Between offering Syrax to fight in the Stepstones and wanting a Kingsguard who has actually seen combat, Rhaenyra is a natural wartime ruler.

Viserys's broken dragon and festering wound point to a setting sun

Viserys describes Valyria to Alicent: the dragonlords lived on the volcanic face closest to the source of their magic, and this was where the blood mages worked their craft. The Doom of Valyria was believed to be an eruption of the Fourteen Flames, a chain of interconnected volcanoes that erupted simultaneously and sank the whole peninsula. Many believe it might have been triggered by magic, either by accident or by design. Viserys bleakly believes humanity's best days are behind it and that Old Valyria's glory will never be seen again, while breaking a dragon figurine that reflects his house's broken future.

He drops it because of his wounded finger, which was also bandaged during his speech to Rhaenyra at the end of episode 1. It is a literal form of his family's unhealable wound, the lie of their dragon power and their mad dreams. The low sun silhouettes Viserys and Alicent here, and it hangs low throughout the episode, foreshadowing the sun setting on Viserys's reign. In nearly every shot of Viserys, even the close ups, the hilt of his Valyrian steel dagger pokes into the frame. Aegon's song of ice and fire is always on his mind.

Alicent's prayers with Rhaenyra are really manipulation

Alicent and Rhaenyra pray in the sept beneath a statue of one of the Seven. The audio description calls it a woman, which suggests this is the Mother. That makes sense, because both are praying to their dead mothers. At times the camera cuts to a high angle on the two with the statue out of frame, so we see these daughters from the Mother's point of view above.

When Alicent places her hand on Rhaenyra's arm, her thumb is still raw from picking at it. Six months of lying to her friend about moving in on her father have filled her with anxiety. Even this supposedly sweet moment is actually manipulation.

Corlys's storm analogy fits a sailor, not a king who sits still

Corlys again asks Viserys to intervene in the Stepstones, warning that with a storm, "you can either sail into it or around it but you must never await its coming." It is a great analogy for a seafarer adrift on a vessel, but not for a land bound castle dweller like Viserys. He gave up dragon riding years ago and now just sits in place, fearing a winter that is unavoidable according to his great great grandfather's dream.

While Viserys and Rhaenyra dine, his model of Valyria frames them in the foreground. He is trying to prop up his dynasty on the ruins of Valyria. The secret moments he has been sharing with Alicent are what is bringing father and daughter together. It is almost as if Alicent is in the room, chaperoning them.

A long running theory suggests the maesters could be behind the king's rot

Viserys's small cut has festered into an infection. From a paper cut. To me, this is further proof that cuts from the Iron Throne are uniquely unhealable and, in a way, cursed. There is also a long running theory that the archmaesters, who hail from Oldtown along with the Hightowers, could be conspiring in an Illuminati style plot to weaken the dragons and the influence of magic in the world through duplicitous, science backed advice and medical malpractice. Oldtown was the former seat of power in Westeros before the Targaryens arrived, and there is a maester in every castle, all talking to each other. Could that be connected to the message Otto sent back to Oldtown?

I have to admit that what we call conspiracy is often more likely incompetence. But I do not know. The king's slow rot could be one of the deaths by design that Mellos warned of in episode 1. Otto's necklace is a chain reminiscent of the chains worn by Citadel maesters. Maybe he is another link in that chain, and all of these Oldtown figures are connected.

Otto and Corlys push their daughters on the king in opposite ways

I like how the episode shows the difference between Otto's tactics and those of his rival Corlys. Their strategy is ultimately the same: both are pushing a young daughter on the widowed king to raise their family's station. Corlys pushes his agenda aggressively and makes no secret of it. Otto is sneaky. He slips his daughter into the room and invokes his own dead wife to appeal to Viserys's grief, so the king feels compelled to replace his queen for duty's sake.

In rhetorical criticism, this tactic is called enthymeme. You never explicitly state what you want the person to do. You use a highly charged emotional argument so they reach the conclusion in their own heads and believe it was their own idea.

Meanwhile, young Laena chats with Viserys about Vhagar, the massive, still living dragon once ridden by Aegon's sister Visenya. Vhagar lives somewhere, and workers in Spicetown report hearing her song, which they say is a sad thing; Laena imagines even dragons get lonely. She is really talking about Viserys's loneliness, and these talking points were fed to her by Corlys, who wrongly assumes Viserys is lonely because he no longer rides a dragon. Hinting that Driftmark folk know where Vhagar is could be a benefit House Velaryon offers the crown. What the Velaryons do not realise is that Viserys thinks dragons should not exist at all; they are too large for the world.

Alicent's mended figurine shows dragons as Viserys wishes they were

Behind Rhaenyra and Rhaenys is more explicit artwork, what looks like a coupling between humans and a dragon. Among the dark magic practised by the blood mages of Old Valyria was believed to be cross breeding humans with dragons. So the practices that led to the Doom of Valyria are celebrated on the walls of the Red Keep by their doomed descendants.

Alicent's gift of the repaired dragon figurine is perfect for Viserys. It symbolises her ability to mend the fractures in his family, and it represents dragons as he wishes they were: lifeless, cast in stone and small enough to fit in his hands. As he holds it, the figurine covers the hilt of Aegon's dagger. When duty knocks, Viserys stiffens, the dagger sticks out again, and he deepens his voice. Given the explicit art on every surface of this castle, there are clearly undertones to Otto walking in on the two of them.

Daemon's Dragonstone standoff is a stunt, and Caraxes sings a love song

The dragonkeeper reports in the hour of the bat. There is a Westerosi custom of naming the hours of the night after animals, and the hour of the bat comes right after sunset. After sneaking around in episode 1, Daemon again proves he knows Maegor's secret passageways in King's Landing that no one else does. Rhaenyra asks about Dreamfyre, the dragon ridden by Rhaena, older sister to Jaehaerys. Rhaena married her brother Aegon, and they were attacked by Maegor when he made his bid for the throne. When Aegon died, Maegor took Rhaena as one of his Black Brides. So there is history in Dreamfyre being used as a pawn by rogue princes grasping for the throne.

Swooping into foggy Dragonstone, we pass the crown flagship with a dragon head on the bow and grasping dragon claws, which maybe help keep the ship from crashing against the rocks. The meeting on the bridge between Otto's detachment and Daemon's Gold Cloaks is framed from overhead, like two bloodlines meeting midstream as in the opening credits. Only one can flow forth; the other is dammed, in both senses. Daemon's first gesture is to toss the egg casually from hand to hand. If he truly cared about it as a nest mate for his baby, he would not be so loose with it, proving this is a stunt. When Otto says the king would never lower himself to entertain such a mummer's farce, Ser Harrold's reaction shot counts. He was present when Otto stopped Viserys from going himself, and he seems to note that Otto wanted the win for himself. Or maybe Otto wanted the king left alone with his daughter for a night.

Then Caraxes enters. This series distinguishes its dragons much better than Game of Thrones did, by appearance, colour and sound. Joanna Robinson, on The Ringer-Verse podcast, quoted Paula Fairfield, who created the dragon sound design for both shows. Fairfield said Caraxes's whistles and clicks were based on a specific mix she made for young Drogon in the Astapor episode of Game of Thrones, and that Miguel Sapochnik said Caraxes should sound like a dragon with a deviated septum. As Caraxes roars, you can see down his gullet and his windpipe quivering awkwardly, as a deviated septum would. That the sound designer considered this a pathetic love song for Syrax suggests Daemon's true affections may lie with his niece. Caraxes still wears his Targaryen saddle. These dragons always wear saddles, even when not ridden, as an attempt to tame them and to show everyone whom these weapons answer to, or whom they want people to think they answer to.

A second roar follows, and the fog parts like ocean waves, like the crest of a great white shark or Godzilla. As Syrax passes the low sun, its dim light shows through her translucent wings, a visual effect that interacts with the physical environment to make her more lifelike. I love it.

Rhaenyra sees through Daemon's farce, in a change from the book

Otto called this a mummer's farce, and Rhaenyra sees right through the theatrics too. Mysaria is not pregnant, so there is no crib for the dragon egg. That is a change from the book, where Mysaria is with child. It makes Daemon more of an agitator and Rhaenyra a bolder fixer.

Daemon consoles Mysaria in a room that looks a lot like the Game of Thrones room holding Aegon's Painted Table. That table would exist at this point in history, since Aegon created it, but it is not visible here. Maybe this is a different room that just looks similar, or maybe a glassy surface in the foreground is the Painted Table, tucked in a corner.

Viserys's marriage announcement breaks Rhaenyra's heart

Before announcing his marriage plans to the small council, Viserys gazes out the window at the Dragonpit. It is a telling sign that this decision will lead to the Dance of the Dragons, turning dragon against dragon in the years to come. He checks in with his daughter first, and once again the reaction shots are perfect. When Viserys says he intends to marry the Lady Alicent Hightower, the length of her father's gaze makes her smile fade as she suspects something. Viserys looks at Alicent, Alicent looks at Rhaenyra, and Rhaenyra already knows the two formed a relationship without her knowledge.

As the tears well up, Rhaenyra connects the dots. Alicent's moments with her in the sept were all manipulation. She has no friend, and her father did not really know her at all. Even the hall she storms into is lying to her, because some blue screen was left in the shot without being digitally removed.

Corlys and a family of rogue princes

On Driftmark, Corlys's desk holds sea maps with compasses, a dragon skull, various seashells and the barnacled bust, a visual reminder of his men's fate in the Stepstones. The episode circles back there as Craghas nails a man to a stake to feed him to the crabs. Corlys calls House Velaryon the realm's second son, whose worth is not given but must be made. He has no older brother. He means House Velaryon is the metaphorical younger brother to House Targaryen, passed over because they are not dragonlords.

The episode's title, The Rogue Prince, comes from George R.R. Martin's 2014 novelette about Prince Daemon and his relationship with Viserys. The new bloodline opening suggests this dynasty was built on marriages, but stable marriages have been the exception to the rule. Maegor was a rogue prince who stole the Iron Throne from its rightful lineage, and the rightful Rhaenys was passed over for another rogue prince, Viserys. Daemon knows his is a family of rogue princes, and ultimately fortune will favour the bold.

Do you think the maester conspiracy theory could explain Viserys's festering wound, or is it simply incompetence?