After that (somewhat underwhelming) House of the Dragon finale, fans are disappointed, elated, and everything in between. It’s been a wild ride for sure, and to go out withOUT a bang has left most fans wanting more. Is that because the episode is genuinely bad or because fans had expected more plot development? Well, that’s what I’m here for. Let’s dive into that controversial season finale and see what all the hype (and lack thereof) is about.
Amassing an Army
We’ll start off with Tyland Lannister, who is currently negotiating with the Triarchy for a fleet of ships — for which he honestly does not seem qualified. He’s a little shy. Anyway, the Triarchy decides that what they want in exchange for the ships are the Stepstones, a land mass that the Crown and the Triarchy have been fighting over since day one. Lannister agrees in a “might as well” moment and meets the captain, the iconic and intimidating Admiral Lohar. So far, so good.
What’s Up With the Greens?
Remember how Aemond ran away, scared, from Dragonstone in the last episode? Well, apparently, he was so angry about being outmatched that he flew directly to Sharp Point, the home of one of Rhaenyra’s council members. He didn’t stay for a visit, though; he just burned the entire thing to the ground. Problem child of the century.
This next scene occurs between Larys Strong and Aegon, who is still badly burned and quite resentful of it. Larys tells him about Rhaenyra’s dragons, to which he responds, “So what was the fucking point of all this then?” He, along with the rest of Westeros, is starting to realize what Rhaenyra has already known — a war between dragons does not take politics or bloodlines into account; this war will be all-out bloodshed. So far, we haven’t gotten much in the way of plot development, but we’ve gotten some necessary insights into the positions and opinions the characters hold on the war.
The next part of this scene has Larys trying to convince Aegon to flee the violence and protect himself, only to return much later to rebuild the broken kingdom. At first, Aegon refuses. The best way to describe the following dialogue is like this:
Larys: “Aegon, your brother is literally going to kill you.”
Aegon: “Well, I will just not get killed.”
Eventually Aegon agrees, only after Larys assures him he will return as a hero.
Corlys Velaryon’s Character Arc
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra visits Coryls to discuss strategy, and Corlys points out that while they currently have the upper hand, it will likely not be for long. Rhaenyra was operating under the assumption that her fleet of dragons would only be fighting against Vhaegar, which might not actually prove to be true. Helaena, Alicent’s daughter, and Daeron, Alicent’s son in Oldtown, both possess powerful dragons and may yet come to the Greens’ aid. Because of this, Corlys believes the Blacks should strike immediately while they have the upper hand, but Rhaenyra holds steadfast in her hope that the simple existence of her dragons will be enough for now. Once again, almost nothing of consequence happens in this scene, save the mention of Daeron.
Speaking of Corlys, he has gone through one hell of a character arc. As you might recall, in the first season, Corlys was brash, arrogant, and selfish. The second season brought out some more kindness and loyalty in him, ultimately leading to some great character development after Rhaenys’s death. He’s now realized that everything he has done was for himself and his ambitions; even his ship, the Sea Snake, was named after himself. This makes it all the more sweet when he tells Rhaenyra that he has renamed his ship “The Queen Who Never Was” after Rhaenys. He says, “What I do now, I do for her.” I may not cry much, but I cried about that.
A Betrayal
Remember Ser Alfred Broome? That really annoying guy on Rhaenyra’s council that she sent away to assess Daemon’s loyalty in Dragonstone? Well, he finally got there after multiple episodes and immediately declared his loyalty to Daemon as King. That’s right, not to Daemon as King Consort or as commander of Rhaenyra’s army, but to Daemon as the true King. It really makes you wonder why, after months of undermining Rhaenyra’s authority and being a total pain in her ass, she sent a man she knew was a total weasel straight into the arms of someone she already suspected of betraying her? Was there a strategy to that, or did she just really, really want him gone? Either way, the guy sucks.
Leave Helaena Alone!
In what is probably one of my favorite scenes of the show, Alicent has a semi-heart-to-heart with Helaena, who tells her, “I was happier before I was Queen.” Alicent, likely knowing that Aemond will want to enlist the help of Helaena and her dragon, hatches a plan and asks Helaena if she would want to leave. Before she can answer, Aemond bursts in and does the exact thing both Alicent and Helaena feared: demands Helaena ride into battle. Helaena says no, Aemond grabs her and tries to drag her away, Alicent yells at him and separates them, it’s a whole thing. Alicent even shows a moment of protectiveness over Helaena, demanding that Aemond stop all the violence and cruelty he has perpetuated as King before he enlists Helaena and breaks her mind completely. This is a far cry from shy little Aemond, who only wanted a dragon like his big brother, isn’t it?
Criston Cole is Not Doing Well
Next, we’re back to Criston Cole, who, unlike his usual demeanor, seems completely defeated. Ser Gwayne Hightower comes in all high and mighty, accusing him of sleeping with Alicent, and Criston just doesn’t seem to care. He basically says, “Yes, I slept with her, but no one is perfect; the world is broken anyway, and we’re all going to die.” Obviously Ser Gwayne is quite taken aback by Criston’s response, so he just kind of sits down next to him in silence. Then, we finally get the iconic quote, “The dragons dance, and men are like dust under their feet,” echoing the sentiments of hopelessness and defeat that seems to be a theme throughout the episode.
Rhaenyra’s Army
Meanwhile, in Dragonstone, Rhaenyra and the dragon riders are having a meal together. Nice, right? Nope. Ulf is being utterly obnoxious as usual, speaking over people, demanding more food, and making jokes. Overall, not behavior you really want to have around a queen. When this exact sentiment is echoed to him by Jace, he says something that we’ve all heard before by people just like him: “A sense of humor would do you all good.” After this trainwreck, everyone has a discussion about strategy going forward, in which they all collectively realize that to win this war, innocent people will have to die. Obviously, no one is happy about this, especially not when Rhaenyra receives word from Lord Strong that Daemon has been acting suspiciously independent of her. Great, it’s time to go babysit Daemon.
A Game of Thrones Easter Egg?
Speaking of Daemon, his weird dream-visions are finally coming to a head. Alys leads him outside for a little midnight adventure, where he finally discovers his place in all this madness. He has a vision of death and destruction, of hope and regrowth. He sees war and dying Targaryens, but he also sees Daenerys Targaryen, rising from the ashes, cradling her three dragon eggs. Above all, he sees Rhaenyra sitting on the Iron Throne. It’s then that Daemon realizes for himself what Alys has been saying all along, that he is just one small piece in a larger puzzle. Thank GOD Daemon has finally been humbled. I can’t say I’ve always loved him, but his character sure as hell has been interesting to watch.
Aemond’s Death Prophesied
After their very calm and rational conversation earlier, Helaena and Aemond find themselves on the balcony. Aemond once again tries to convince Helaena it’s her legacy as a dragon rider to join the fight, but she still denies him. She tells him that she knows he was the one who burned Aegon and that she knows how he will die; he will be “swallowed up in the god’s eye,” whatever that means. So, do we think he’ll finally leave her alone, or will he keep trying? At this point, I genuinely have no idea what he’s gonna do next.
Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
Now we’re finally back with Rhaenyra, who has flown all the way to Harrenhal to take care of the Daemon situation. When she gets there, though, she finds the exact opposite of what she had feared: Daemon bending the knee in front of his entire army (and a very confused Alfred Broome, which was hilarious) and telling her that she is the true queen. It’s honestly a heartwarming moment; Daemon tells Rhaenyra that the realm needs to be united and that she was chosen by her father for a reason. He finally calls her what we all have been waiting for since the very first episode: “Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, first of her name, Queen of the Andals, the Rhoynar and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms, protector of the realm.” Finally!! Here’s to hoping for a Daemon-Rhaenyra power couple in season 3.
I’m gonna take an interlude to note a couple of minor things happening in the background: One, Rhaenyra’s outfits in this episode have been fire. Almost all of them have amazing dragon designs on them, and it’s sick! Also, Alyn of Hull finally stood up to Corlys, his absentee royal father, for not being there his whole life. He wonders why it’s only now that “you wish to scatter the crumbs of your favor?” Good for him. Thirdly, Rhaena is still looking for that dragon in the Vale, as this episode takes several breaks from the A-plots to tell us. It’s honestly hilarious; after every scene or two, we just get a couple of seconds of Rhaena running around. Good for her, too. Lastly, Rhaenyra and Mysaria chat and seem to come to the conclusion that violence (while undesirable) is a necessary evil when trying to prevent the kingdom from falling into the hands of someone who doesn’t favor peace. Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
A Sudden Turn of Events
Maybe regularly scheduled programming was the wrong word because what happens next is anything but regular. Rhaenyra lays awake in her bed in the middle of the night when a servant comes to fetch her. That servant brings her to our very own Alicent Hightower, problem-causer-extraordinaire, standing in Rhaenyra’s foyer. This time, however, Alicent is not here to cause problems. She’s here to solve them. She tells Rhaenyra, in a long speech, essentially everything the audience has known the entire show. Alicent says that she has always resented Rhaenyra because she has never known what she wanted but always got it anyway. She never cared as much as Alicent did about any royal duties, causing problems and scandals and still being named queen. Alicent, however, was always raised on the belief that no matter what, you must always do your duty, be a perfect wife and daughter, and do everything for others, not yourself. So you see, Rhaenyra got everything Alicent wanted and didn’t even care.
After saying all of this, Alicent confesses that she wants no part in it anymore — that she would take Helaena and her daughter and leave it all behind. Understandably, Rhaenyra fumes at this, exclaiming that she can’t just run away from a war that she caused. They argue for a little until Alicent drops a bomb on Rhaenyra; she tells her that in three days, Aemond will join Criston Cole in the Riverlands, and Helaena will be the queen regent. At that time, Alicent says, Rhaenyra can come to King’s Landing, and Alicent and Helaena will personally ensure that every member of the Kingsguard bends the knee. Essentially, Alicent is giving Rhaenyra the crown.
But Rhaenyra knows better than to openly trust an enormous gift such as this, especially from Alicent. Even though she seems entirely sincere, Rhaenyra needs to make absolutely sure. So, while both of them are close to tears from decades of friendship and hatred being brought to the surface, Rhaenyra asks about Aegon. ”I need Aegon’s head if I am to take control,” she says, “you know this.” It’s all either of them can do not to break under the pressure, but they hold their ground as Alicent tries to steady herself enough to answer. She nods.
“History will paint you a villain,” Rhaenyra responds, “a cold queen.”
Alicent, entirely calm and resolved at this point, says, “Let them think what they must. I am at last myself.”
The episode then ends with a montage of soldiers getting ready for battle, showcasing that no matter what house or what side they are on, they are still just people, armor, and weapons. And that’s it! That’s the whole episode! Amidst a growing war, the characters take this entire episode to show the audience their thoughts, feelings, and strategies going forward rather than going straight to the battle.
The Conclusion
Understandably, some people are disappointed. This entire season was building up to a big battle, and it ended before that could come to fruition. Many say the season felt more like a placeholder, mostly fluff to join the first and the third seasons together. Others liked it, though, thinking the character development and B-plots were interesting enough to warrant the length and content of the season. Either way, the episode ended on a cliffhanger so abrupt that I just about screamed. And when I say cliffhanger, I mean literally. One of the last shots was of Alicent standing on a literal cliff.
So, when the whole war has been built around “Rhaenyra versus Alicent,” what happens when Alicent just concedes? The episode may have teased a straightforward end to the war, but as we all know, nothing is easy in House of the Dragon. There are too many moving parts: Aemond is a firecracker hell-bent on domination, Helaena has put herself in danger with Aemond and his ego, Aegon is running away from the fight altogether, Alicent has given in completely, Otto is in jail (for some reason??), Rhaenyra has a huge decision to make, Daemon has undergone a giant character arc, Rhaena found a giant feral dragon, and Ulf is still super annoying. This war could end nicely and neatly, or it could be all-out chaos and war and destruction. The problem is, we have to wait at least a year for these conflicts to resolve. Or you could just read the book, I guess.
What did you guys think? Did you like the extent to which the characters and their motivations were developed in this episode or did you think it was an unnecessary filler that mislead the audience into thinking things would be resolved? Let us know on Facebook, Instagram, or X!
For thoughts and information about the previous episode, you can read our recap!
Want to read more fantasy while you wait for season 3? Check out our bookshelf!
