House of the Dragon fans shocked by brutal scene where mother must make ultimate ‘sacrifice’

Stephen Porzio

It has earned comparisons to Game of Thrones’ infamous ‘Red Wedding’.

The massive Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon is back on screens for its second season and it has returned in the franchise’s trademark dark and twisted fashion.

A major part of the season two premiere saw Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) seeking revenge for the death of her son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) in the first season finale at the hands of her half-brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell).

As such, her husband Daemon (Matt Smith) enlists the services of two assassins, named Blood and Cheese (Sam C. Wilson and Mark Stobbart), to sneak into the castle and cut off Aemond’s head.

After being tasked with the job, the two hitmen ask Daemon what they should do if they cannot find Lucerys’ killer.

While we do not see Daemon’s response, it soon becomes clear that he replied with a line that gave the season two premiere its title: “A son for a son.”

Upon entering the castle, Blood and Cheese fail to locate Aemond but instead find his sister and Rhaenyra’s half sister Helaena (Phia Saban) with her twin son and daughter.

Committed to killing the boy, the assassins are unable to distinguish the mother’s kids apart and force Helaena to identify her son to be killed.

While we don’t see the murder being carried out – the camera instead focuses on an in-shock Helaena and her daughter fleeing to safety – the subtitle captions for the noises heard off-screen reads: “Flesh and bone being sliced” – heavily implying that the young boy’s head was decapitated.

As can be expected, viewers were shocked by the killing – with several fans comparing it to Game of Thrones’ infamous ‘Red Wedding’ sequence.

What the **** did I watch last night? Blood and Cheese – House of the Dragon 😭😭😭😭, it might be up there with the red wedding 🥴. #HouseofThedragon
— Dani ‘the truthful’ Gooner (@DaniSaadu) June 18, 2024

They were NOT joking when they said the House of the Dragon S02 premiere would rival the Red Wedding….
— Evan Winter (@evan_AtoZ) June 17, 2024

As a mom, last nights episode of House of the Dragon had my sobbing through the majority of the hour.

Rhaenyra finding Arrax’s wing

Rhaenyra and Jace’s reunion hug after losing Lucerys

Blood and Cheese

Phew. That was a lot.
— Shelby🤙🏼 (@ShelbyMcIvor) June 17, 2024

I have zero complaints about House of the Dragon's portrayal of the Blood and Cheese incident. Halaena's absolute terror in her face and watching the wheels turn, is 100% more effective to me than seeing the violence. What a supurb acting job by Phia Saban.
— Tony (@Tony_M816) June 17, 2024

I just watched the House of the Dragon premier and it was great. Stunning performances all around. My heart broke for Rhaenyra and Helaena. Can't wait to see what comes next
— Jessica (Pixels) (@GermaricanMix) June 17, 2024

House of the dragon season 2 spoilers

I keep coming back to Helaena’s eyes during that scene and I realized what haunts me so much about it. It’s the bulging eyes and showing eye whites of a cornered animal. Pure primal fear like you’d see in the eyes of a deer
— ghidorahstan64 (@petiteocs) June 17, 2024

the first episode of the second season of House of the Dragon was so depressed like… FCK BLOOD AND CHEESE MY BABY HELAENA DESERVE THE FCKING WORLD AN MORE!!#HouseoftheDragon
— RedEagleGroups 🇮🇹 🇵🇸 🏳️‍🌈 🔻 (@R4dEagleGroups) June 17, 2024

The first episode of House of the Dragon season two is available to stream on NOW and Sky Atlantic with the rest of the season’s episodes dropping weekly.