WARNING: Spoilers for the season finale of House of the Dragon
Westeros prepares for war.
Lannister & the Triarchy
The finale opens up with Tyland Lannister doing what he did not want to do – strike a deal with the triarchy to break through the blockade walling the waters of King’s Landing. The tension between the leaders of the triarchy and Tyland proves that neither side is willing to trust each other, but the Triarchy calls the bluff of Tyland. Team Green needs the Triarchy more than Tyland and what he can provide for them. This results in the introduction of Admiral Sharako Lohar, who decries Tyland for his meek nature. Knowing how important the Triarchy’s sea arsenal will be for Team Green, Tyland accepts Lohar’s challenge of strength to prove himself. Tyland’s character has spent most of the time in a chair for the majority of the season, so to see him step out of his comfort zone and get his hands dirty was a nice change of pace.
Aegon, the Realm’s Delight
The young king while still bedridden and recovering from his flesh wounds, also comes to terms with his current state of being. Despite Aemond going off the rails and burning Sharp Point to ashes, Larys enters Aegon’s chamber to convince him to relocate to Essos. However, Aegon remains rattled with self-loathing. The once young arrogant and vengeful king now lies in bed, unable to stand or even urinate properly. After being so bent on ruling the Iron Throne through fear and power, the consequences of his hubris have left him alone, crippled, and permanently scarred the young king wonders what was the point of it all. Larys reminds Aegon that regardless of the current circumstances there will come a time when Aegon can reclaim the throne when all the chaos between his brother and half-sister is finished, and he will be welcomed back as a reborn leader.
Raging Bull
The Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen has gone full-blown mad king. Rhaenrya has amassed three more dragon riders, and Aemond takes it upon himself to force his sister, Helaena to mount her dragon and fly for Team Green. Alicent refutes Aemond’s intentions as a blinded rage that taints the crown. Aemond’s character throughout this season has gone down a dark path fueled by egotistical rage, deep-seated unaddressed trauma, and a twinge of chaotic unchecked mentality. Between burning his brother alive and massacring the townsfolk by starvation or fire, Aemond has arguably done more damage to the goodwill of Westeros than his brother did while on the throne. To take it a step further, Aemond has also proven to be more of a tactile antagonist for the throne than Aegon ever did.
Part of A Larger Story
Daemon has finally achieved what he set out to do – raise an army in the Riverlands. At Harrenhal, Daemon is brought to a weirwood tree by Alys, where he witnesses the future and demise, Daemon then understands his place in the larger tapestry of history still being written. Rhaenrya arrives at Harrenhal soon after and to Ser Alfred’s surprise pledges his allegiance to Rhaenrya and recognizes her as the queen to unite all people. Daemon’s character has undergone a bit of an awakening, going from a tyrant king consort to a loyal partner to Rhaenrya, the opposite trajectory his nephew Aemond took. The inevitable showdown between the two is sure to have massive repercussions on the future of House of the Dragon.
The Beginning of The End
Alicent surprises Rhaenrya at Dragonstone, offering to surrender King’s Landing to end the bloodshed and conflict. Rhaenrya dismisses this entirely and elaborates that the only way this ends is “A Son for a Son.” To make her claim to the Iron Throne legitimate, Alicent must put Aegon forth to die. This is not only a bit of a twist, it’s a reversal of what transpired in the third episode. Rhaenrya tried to do this very thing before it got to the point where it is now, and Alicent refused. The season ends with armies gathering and preparing for war to come in Westeros. It was recently confirmed that House of the Dragon will conclude with a fourth season, and given that this series is based on the book Fire & Blood it is no surprise that the series will have a much shorter conclusion than its predecessor Game of Thrones.
All episodes of House of the Dragon are available on HBO & Max.