SPOILERS for the first episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 are ahead. Read with caution, and make sure to watch the Game of Thrones prequel with a Max subscription . When it comes to House of the Dragon , you know there is going to be a crazy amount of deaths.

So, of course, House of the Dragon Season 2 had to start with one of the most gruesome ones yet – a death that was highly anticipated by book fans and a shock to those who didn't know – and the showrunner knows precisely how he'll deal with the backlash. The finale of House of the Dragon was released in 2022, signaling the start of the Targaryen Civil War, otherwise known as the Dance of Dragons. The first season was spent trying to learn who was who on the Targaryen family tree , the power dynamics between them and who had which dragon , but now, the real drama starts.

And, of course, Blood and Cheese finally happened in the Season 2 premiere – i.e., one of the sons of Helaena Targaryen was killed in vengeance for Lucerys Velaryon's unjust death.

I had the chance to talk to showrunner Ryan Condal about how he brought this eventful moment to life for the small screen – and how he mainly made it a misdirection for people who watch the show: Yeah, it's a multilayered, multidimensional process. I think it started with the writing of the scene, and it was something that I think became clear to us early on that that's how we wanted to end the season premiere episode. And the episode is intentionally a bit of a mi.