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A ‘House of the Dragon’ Party With Not One Silvery Wig in Sight

Where does the story pick up this season on HBO’s fantasy epic “House of the Dragon”?

“So,” the actor Tom Glynn-Carney told a reporter on Monday night at the Season 2 premiere at Manhattan’s Hammerstein Ballroom, everything “hits the fan.”

His character in the “Game of Thrones” prequel, the newly crowned King Aegon II Targaryen, holds a grip on the throne that is tenuous at best. His brother has just killed their nephew in what could best be described as death by dragon chomp. And his sister Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen is on the brink of going nuclear — as Targaryens tend to do — likely with more dragon chomping.

Even as Mr. Glynn-Carney, Matt Smith and other “Dragon” actors laid out the violence in store for the new season — which returns June 16 — the show’s impending civil war stood in stark contrast to the evening’s cocktails and joviality, with not a single silvery wig in sight.

“I think nothing is black and white with Daemon Targaryen,” Matt Smith said of his character.Credit…Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
Emma D’Arcy, who plays Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, in Celine.Credit…Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
Gayle Rankin plays Alys Rivers in “House of the Dragon.”Credit…Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times
Matthew Needham, who plays Larys Strong.Credit…Jutharat Pinyodoonyachet for The New York Times

Some actors have struggled to recognize each other without them, said Phia Saban, whose character, Queen Helaena Targaryen, plays a critical role in an early episode. (There were 114 wigs used this season, HBO’s chief executive Casey Bloys said at the premiere, and — back to the dragon chomping — 33 gallons of fake blood.)

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