House of the Dragon season 2 got all the pomp and circumstance of its standing as the most anticipated summer TV show this year at its London premiere, and What to Watch correspondent Matt Higgs was in attendance on the red carpet to ask many of the cast members some questions about what fans can expect. As Aemond Targaryen himself (Ewan Mitchell) says, "all out war."
Of course that should be of little surprise seeing as it was his character's (and his dragon's) actions in killing Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra's son, in the final moments of season 1 that serves as the first official casualty of the war between the Blacks (those loyal to Rhaenyra and her claim to the Iron Throne) and the Greens (those supporting Alicent and her son Aegon II as the new king).
"Season 1 saw this family's world on a knife's edge and all it was going to take was a push from either side to draw blood," said Mitchell. "Aemond drew first blood, so season 2… it's all out war."
Adding to the hype of the new season were returning cast members Bethany Antonia (Baela Targaryen) and Harry Collet (Jacaerys Velayron). "It's crazy," Collet said, "I can't put it into words without saying too much, but it's brilliant." Antoia managed to find some words though, claiming "Everything's bigger, everything's better, everything's times 10 this season." She also added that fans can expect "a lot of dragon riding,” including from characters they have not seen before, as well as some classic Game of Thrones chaos.
Many fans have their favorite characters in the series, but so do members of the cast. So we asked new and returning members which character that isn't their own would they like to portray? Collet opted for Daemon Targaryen (played by Matt Smith), but the most popular character for people to switch to was Aemond Targaryen picked by Antonia and new cast member Abubakar Salim (though Salim also offered a second choice, Lord Larys Strong).
Check out more from our red carpet interviews at the House of the Dragon season 2 premiere in the Instagram reel below:
House of the Dragon season 2 premieres Sunday, June 16, on HBO and Max for those in the US. It premieres on Monday, June 17, on Sky Atlantic for UK viewers.
