House Of The Dragon season 2 could be bringing back wights from Game of Thrones, though it’s not an easy return to pull off. On the surface, House of the Dragon‘s story has nothing to do with wights, White Walkers, or the Night King. This is, after all, the story of the Dance of the Dragons, and has House Targaryen firmly at its core. It’s still around 170 years from Arya killing the Night King, and has a story much more focused on fire than it does ice.
However, House of the Dragon season 1 inextricably linked the Targaryens and the Night King thanks to Aegon the Conqueror’s White Walker dream. With rumors of wights appearing in House of the Dragon season 2, courtesy of some set photos, then that connection could well be explored even greater depth. It would undoubtedly be a risk after Game of Thrones‘ ending, which included a controversial fate for the Night King, but could also work if done right.
Are Wights Going To Be In House Of The Dragon Season 2? Rumors Explained
A set photo of a sign reading “undead,” in a makeup booth for extras, has resulted in heavy speculation that the wights return in House of the Dragon season 2. Although it would be surprising, the speculation makes sense as there’s not a great deal else that would fit with such a specific word as “undead.” There will be plenty of deaths, which means several corpses will be seen, but it’s not quite the same thing. It’s also possible this could be part of a vision or dream had by a character that isn’t about wights, and instead about the many deaths of the civil war, but it’s not a neat fit.
There have also been set photos pointing to a return to the Wall in House of the Dragon season 2. This was largely assumed to be part of Jacaerys Velaryon’s story with Lord Cregan Stark, since it’s a relatively short journey from Winterfell to the Wall, and otherwise the location – much like wights – play no role in this story. Whether that’s the case remains to be seen, but going back to the Wall (and perhaps beyond it) adds further weight to the notion of wights appearing.
Cregan & Jacaerys Seeing Wights Risks Breaking Game Of Thrones Canon
If Jacaerys and Cregan do visit the Wall, and even venture out beyond it, then it’s possible they will see wights on their travels. It would be a shock for both the characters and viewers, but there is some logic to it. Jace and Cregan agree to what’s known as the Pact of Ice and Fire, which is House Stark’s support for Rhaenyra Targaryen in return for Jace’s firstborn daughter being married to Cregan’s son. If the pair saw wights, and so knew at least some of the old legends were true, then it would add a sense of urgency to getting the deal done and make the pact between the houses more important.
On the flip side, though, is that it would risk creating an almighty plot hole in House of the Dragon’s story. If Jacaerys and Cregan were to see the wights, then they would surely need to do something about it – and if they don’t, then that would need to be explained and overshadow the Targaryen civil war. Despite Aegon’s dream, there are no White Walkers in House of the Dragon and this remains disconnected from the main story, so there’s no room to properly explore it either way. It could just be that the audience sees the wights as a tease, but again that seems too much of a distraction.
Rhaenyra Having Visions Of Wights Would Make Sense (& Fits HOTD’s Story)
Since having characters see wights for real would be too much of a narrative diversion, at the very best, then a more plausible outcome would be wights appearing in visions. There are various characters, such as Viserys and Helaena, who have had dragon dreams. It’s possible that Helaena could have a prophecy about the wights, though it would be a change to actually show what she sees in the vision. Again, though, that’s a little more removed from the story, and the most fitting option for a vision or dream of the wights would be Rhaenyra herself to connect to Aegon’s dream.
Although Rhaenyra hasn’t been shown to have dragon dreams, it would make sense for the character at this point (or at least, be the smartest choice if wights are definitely going to appear). Rhaenyra will be battling to be the rightful Queen in House of the Dragon season 2, and her having a vision of the wights would really underscore the coming threat. She’s the person who is fully aware of what Aegon’s dream is and means, and so that prophecy would reinforce her sense of self-belief and fuel her to push even harder to defeat the greens, not only because she believes it right, but now for the good of the entire realm too.
Is House Of The Dragon Season 2 Having Wights A Good Thing?
If wights appear in House of the Dragon season 2, then it’s likely to be controversial. The way Game of Thrones handled the White Walkers, killing them off with so much unexplained, was disappointing to many, and revisiting that carries the inherent risk of reminding audiences of that feeling of being let down. House of the Dragon works by bringing back the best elements of Game of Thrones, while (so far) avoiding its later flaws; the wights would go against that. Further, there’s also a major concern over wights being too much of a distraction from the main story, since they aren’t wholly relevant to the Dance of the Dragons.
At the same time, that could also have been said of Aegon’s A Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, but instead it was smartly worked into the plot. It had an impact on multiple characters and provided a thematic through line across much of the series, making it core to House of the Dragon in addition to connecting to Game of Thrones. If wights are handled similarly, serving the story and in particular Rhaenyra’s arc, then it could make sense, but there are a lot of potential hurdles to overcome.
