House Of The Dragon Season 2 Teases A 'Heinous' Moment That Might Break Fans

Season 2 of "House of the Dragon" — the "Game of Thrones" spin-off and prequel — is finally returning this June, and showrunner Ryan Condal recently told Entertainment Weekly to expect some serious gore and drama when it does.

In an interview about the massively popular show's sophomore season, Condal, who also worked on "Game of Thrones," said that he thinks the original series helped prepare fans for just how upsetting life in Westeros can be ... and that they can expect more stomach-turning moments from Season 2 of "House of the Dragon. "'A Song of Ice and Fire' and 'Game of Thrones' have really conditioned people to expect the unexpected and expect the horrible," Condal told the outlet about an upcoming plotline focused on two characters named Blood and Cheese. "But, yeah, that one's pretty horrific. We'll see what people make of what's to come."

Condal also spoke to what fans can expect from Season 2 after the explosive Season 1 finale of the series. "Season 2 is the march to war," Condal revealed. "It's really a cold war because each side is trying to undeniably win the throne for themselves without going to all-out dragon war. We do that through plotting and backstabbing and assassination and spy games and all the things that you would see in a classic James Bond Cold War thriller." In that same article, some of the show's stars weighed in — and apparently, they're just as anxious about this upcoming Blood and Cheese moment.

Olivia Cooke, who portrays the adult version of Alicent Hightower in "House of the Dragon," also spoke to EW about the upcoming moment that's already far too familiar for fans of "Fire & Blood" (the novella written by George R.R. Martin, on which the series is based). "God! I'd just say, it is 'Game of Thrones,' expect the worst," Cooke revealed. "Expect the very worst possible, and then double it. I dunno what else to say without heavily spoiling it, but it is heinous."

Alicent, who leads the show's "Green" faction — on behalf of her powerful Westerosi family the Hightowers — will be smakc in the midst of a war against her own kin when Season 2 begins, which is brought on by an argument over who deserves to sit atop the Iron Throne. As the widowed queen of the late King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), Alicent believes her eldest son, Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) belongs on the throne, but must fight against her childhood friend and stepdaughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), who was named heir by her father Viserys before he died. Though the infighting is mostly petty squabbles for a bit — save for an incident where one of Rhaenyra's children attacks Alicent's son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who loses an eye — the end of "House of the Dragon" Season 2 really takes things to a horrifying new level.

After Alicent goes ahead and crowns Aegon as king in the penultimate episode of Season 2 of "House of the Dragon" and provides Rhaenyra with a deal where she'll renounce her claim to the throne but retain her royal status (a deal Rhaenyra soundly rejects), the Targaryen civil war officially kicks off. Rhaenyra, determined to regain what she believes is her rightful place on the Iron Throne, throws her own coronation and starts trying to secure allies in the Season 1 finale "The Black Queen." She then her second-eldest son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) on dragonback to bargain with the powerful Baratheon family, only to discover that Aemond and his enormous dragon Vhagar are already there and offering the Baratheons a much better deal — namely, a political marriage. Lucerys, dejected, leaves on his own dragon Arrax, and Aemond pursues him on Vhagar, leading to a dangerous battle in the middle of a storm. Whether or not Aemond intends to kill his nephew is unclear, but Vhagar furiously attacks the smaller dragon and younger rider, killing and even consuming the two while Aemond watches in horror.

Rhaenyra, told of her son's brutal death, abandons all thought of any sort of compromise, vowing revenge against the Greens and rallying the power of her own Black faction to stand behind her. That's where two characters named Blood and Cheese come in.

The first episode of Season 2 of "House of the Dragon" happens to be titled "A Son for a Son," which suggests that audiences may meet Blood and Cheese far sooner than they thought. Blood and Cheese — a former swordsman and a rat catcher who work as hired assassins — are enlisted by Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), a powerful spymaster working for Rhaenyra's uncle and husband Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) to kill a child belonging to King Aegon II. 

In "Fire and Blood," the two invade the Green stronghold The Red Keep in King's Landing, tie up the dowager queen Alicent, and wait for her grandchildren to come visit (though we don't see their wedding, Aegon II and Helaena, his sister and Alicent's only daughter, are married and have multiple children together). When Helaena and her children arrive before they retire to bed, Blood and Cheese hold them all hostage and order Helaena to choose which of her two sons will die, all the while torturing the queen and her children and threatening even more horrifying acts. Helaena eventually chooses her youngest son Maelor simply to prevent all three of her children from being killed ... and what happens next is even more stomach-turning, but we won't spoil it just yet.

"House of the Dragon" returns for its second season on June 16, so fans will have to wait and see if Blood and Cheese make their first appearance in the huge HBO hit.