SPOILER ALERT! This story contains details from the season 2 finale of House of the Dragon on HBO.
Rhaenyra was more than ready for battle.
With an additional three dragons under her banner, The White Worm telling her that God was on her side and Daemon finally returning from his strange holiday to declare fealty, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) was all but assured she could overtake King’s Landing and return to the throne that is rightfully hers.
But then Alicent (Olivia Cooke) came calling with a surprise promise: Rhaenyra should hightail it to King’s Landing where she’ll find the mad Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) temporarily out of pocket and the gates open so can “enter as a conquerer.” In return, Alicent will hit the road where she can be “at last myself, to die unremarked, unnoticed and to be free.”
Someone has to die, however, Rhaenyra reminds her — and it won’t be another one of her kids. This time, it’s Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) turn: the pretend King has to lose his head if Rhaenyra is to resume proper control of the realm.
“A son for a son,” Rhaenyra declares simply.
Reluctantly and tearfully, Alicent agrees and walks into the sunset.
Sadly, the second season finale ends there, without the battle we were all expecting. Instead, we’ll have to wait until season 3 to see if Rhaenyra truly has the upper hand. It seems doubtful, with Aegon being squirreled out of town and the fleeting image of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) behind bars. Is someone about to spring him so he can throw a wrench into Alicent’s plans?
The episode did offer a welcome Easter egg for fans of Game of Thrones. When Daemon touches the bleeding Weirwood tree, he sees the future which includes white walkers and the backside of Daenerys sitting with her baby dragons. Daemon realizes the future doesn’t look so bright for the Targaryens and that winter is, after all, coming.
“I saw that we cannot withstand it,” he says to Rhaenyra.
Check back to Deadline tomorrow for comments from Executive Producer/co-creator Ryan Condal.
