House of the Dragon: the Targaryens set Paris on fire for the season 2 premiere
Olivia Cooke, Ewan Mitchell, Rhys Ifans… All were there to present the first episode of the new season.
Didn't you smell sulfur in the air last night? After New York, it was Paris' turn to be conquered by the Tagaryens and their dragons. On the occasion of the upcoming release of the second season of House of the Dragon, on the front of the Châtelet theater the banners of the royal house flew. On one side, a red dragon on a black background, on the other a gold dragon on a green background – Team Black VS Team Green. Whether you are bannermen of Aegon II or Rheanyra, for the evening, everyone was invited. A temporary truce organized by the streaming platform, Max, to preview the first episode of this long-awaited new season.
Inside the impressive building, guests were greeted by the immense skull of Balerion the Black Terror, one of the largest dragons Westeros has ever known. Like in the prequel series Game Of Thrones, he was surrounded by candles. We left the French capital for the western one, Port-Réal.
Looking over our shoulders and slightly raising our eyes towards the balcony, we could see a few guests dressed in their best cosplays in the front row. Helaena, Alicent and Rhaenyra were there. No more doubt, we were no longer in Paris for one evening. Everyone had only one desire in mind: to discover this episode. But before that, videos of the cast were shown.
Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen) looks back on his final fight in House of the Dragon
The arrival of the actors was then transcribed live for the guests already present in the room. Were notably present Fabien Frankel (Ser Criston Cole) Matthew Needham (Larys Strong), Rhys Ifans (Otto Hightower), Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen), Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon), Harry Collett (Jacearys Targaryen) and Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryion). We were able to hear them talk about the evolution of their character in this second season as well as a few French words here and there. There were good students like Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) who formulated a complete sentence almost without any difficulty, and comics like Olivia Cooke (Alicent Hightower) sighing “tired. And what's more, that's what I am”, And Phia Saban (Haleana Targaryen) who perhaps remembered the most useful word in France: pharmacy.
Then with a show based entirely on dragons, all the actors present could not escape the ultimate question about the name they would give if they had a dragon themselves. An anthology was shared by Allociné on social networks.
So missed Emma d'Arcy (Rhaenyra) who was at the same time in London where she is performing in a play, as well as Matt Smith (Daemon). An evening at which the “blacks” were numerically inferior…
After a brief speech from one of the showrunners, Ryan Condal, the entire cast came to greet the spectators, then in complete darkness, the HBO channel credits sounded followed by the emblematic credits music by Ramin Djawadi. Here we go for an hour of reunion, but also of mourning. Because after the death of Lucerys, one of the sons of the Black Queen, the time is for meditation. It is in the dark corners of the Red Keep that vengeance is brewing and the threat swarms like vermin…
Stop! We won't say more!
“Aemond scares me,” admits actor Ewan Mitchell ahead of season 2 of House of the Dragon
When the episode was over, we needed a little pick-me-up. To do this, head to the after-party where the single Iron Throne sits in the middle of the stage! Ideal for anyone who wants to imagine themselves as monarch of the Seven Kingdoms. And if you were ready to take a ride on the back of a dragon, a simulator was available. Depending on your team, your dragon was different and you flew either on King's Landing or on Dragonstone. In the end, everyone had become true Targaryens!
Season 2 of House of the Dragon will be released on June 16 on Max. In the meantime, if you are planning to rewatch the first season, the marathon must start from today to be on time.
