Spoilers for House of the Dragon seasons 1 and 2 ahead. The legendary Targaryen civil war finally begins in House of the Dragon season 2. HBO's fantasy hit, the Game of Thrones prequel based on the George R.R. Martin novel Fire and Blood, depicts an earlier time in the Targaryen family dynasty when the strongest family in Westeros split into two factions battling over the Iron Throne. On one side we have King Viserys I's named heir Rhaenyra (played by Emma D'Arcy), the first woman to get this close to the crown. On the other, we have the king's wife Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), the oldest living male descendant.
HotD season 1 was a time-jumping prologue to the epic conflict, illustrating how Alicent and Rhaenyra went from best friends to strained enemies as tension built amid discussions of succession and the inevitable fighting among their heirs. After Viserys (Paddy Considine) died in episode 8, both opposing sides, known as the Greens and the Blacks, crowned their rightful monarchs of Westeros, setting off a war that set family member against family member, and dragon against dragon.
