Given the name of the series, it's no shock that dragons will play an awfully important role in "House of the Dragon" season 2, especially after what happened during that shocking season 1 finale. (You know, when Aemond Targaryen's dragon Vhaghar killed Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon Arrax, kicking off the big succession war in House Targaryen.)
And while we met plenty of mythical monsters in the first season of the "Game of Thrones" prequel series — from Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) she-dragon Syrax Syrax, to the scarlet-hued Meleys ridden by Rhaenys (Eve Best), to the ferocious Caraxes mounted by Daemon (Matt Smith) — the Dance of the Dragons means that there are undoubtedly more creatures to come in the show's second season. (New episodes will kick off on HBO and Max on June 16 at 10pm Eastern Time.)
The aforementioned fire-breathers will be back for the second installment (well, except Arrax, for obvious reasons), as well as fellow first-season creatures like Seasmoke, Vermax, Dreamfyre and Vermithor. Joining them will be new-to-viewers dragons like Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) golden beast Sunfyre and Moondancer, the dragon of Daemon's daughter Baela — we've already gotten a peek at those two the brand-new "House of the Dragon" trailer — as well as Silverwing and Tyraxes. There are also several wild dragons on Dragonstone, who might make appearances in the upcoming season.
And if you're having a hard time remembering which dragons belong to Team Green (the political faction that supports the claim of Aegon II Targaryen on the Iron Throne) versus Team Black (those that back Viserys's daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen's as heir to the crown), Daemon handily broke it down in the season 1 finale.
"They have three adults, by my count," he said of the Greens. As for the Blacks, "we have Syrax, Caraxes and Meleys. Your sons have Vermax, Arrax and Tyraxes. Baela has Moondancer...There are also unclaimed dragons. Seasmoke still resides on Driftmark. Vermithor and Silverwing dwell on the Dragonmount, still riderless. Then there are the three wild dragons, all of whom nest here...Dragonstone has 13 to their four. I also have a score of eggs incubating in the Dragonmount." So going into the second season, Team Black has the advantage of more dragon power, but we doubt that Team Green will be going down without a fight.
All of those dragons will no doubt give a fiery boost to those battles between the Targaryen siblings: in a new HBO featurette, "House of the Dragon" showrunner Ryan Condal declared: "Season two, there is a war brewing. We were excited to get into it because this is the juicy part of the drama ... Both sides have dragons. The stakes keep going up and up and up."
Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to "House of the Dragon" season 2, including new trailers and behind-the-scenes clips, casting info and insights, episode details and, yes, dragon-based data. In the meantime, you can catch up with all of your favorite "HOTD" characters — and their fire-breathing friends — by rewatching the show's first season with a Max subscription.
