*Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 9.*
House of the Dragon episode nine might have been missing half of its main cast, but that doesn’t mean we were starved of explosive moments.
Those of us in the UK who stayed up overnight were treated to a tense, intimate episode with a grand finale, as Rhaenys (Eve Best) escaped King’s Landing.
With Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) crowned king only moments before Rhaenys’ frightening entrance to the Dragonpit, the war seems underway.
After years of watching tensions rise, things have finally reached a breaking point, and House of the Dragon’s big finale looks like it won’t disappoint.
We’ve taken a deep dive into the trailer to find the biggest talking points.
Rhaenyra and Daemon are back
Oh thank goodness – we were a little bit lost without you, Daemon and Rhaenyra (Picture: HBO)
Many fans of House of the Dragon were gutted when it appeared that Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) were to be absent from The Green Council, but there was a crucial reason behind them not being present: the Greens, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), didn’t want them there.
However, the title of the season finale, The Black Queen, suggests very strongly that Rhaenyra and Daemon will be the central focus.
Not only that – Alicent doesn’t seem to appear in the trailer for episode 10. If episode nine is anything to go by, that could mean we’ve seen the last of Alicent Hightower for now.
Rhaenyra prepares to enter into a war with her childhood best friend (Picture: HBO)
As for Rhaenyra and Daemon, Rhaenys has landed to give them the grave news that none of the Blacks are safe now that Aegon II has been crowned King of the Seven Kingdoms. Daemon says to his sister in the trailer: ‘Do not bend the knee to the Hightowers – they stole your birthright.’
However, it appears Daemon isn’t the only one pushing Rhaenyra to take action. Later in the trailer, Rhaenys says that ‘every man standing around the Painted Table urges her to plunge the realm into war’, and she’s not wrong, as one lord says she must ‘lay siege to the Red Keep’ in King’s Landing.
A trip to Storm’s End
We’d recognise that massive chin anywhere – the world’s oldest dragon at Storm’s End (Picture: HBO)
A moment that many readers of George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood have been eagerly anticipating seems as if it’s going to be greeting us next week. Fire and Blood is the fictional historical novel written by Martin and published in 2018 that details the history of House Targaryen and how it rose to establish a dynasty.
A decisive scene from Storm’s End, which takes place shortly after the death of King Viserys (Paddy Considine), looks set to be shown to us in the season finale. In episode nine, it was mentioned that Lord Borros Baratheon would be a crucial ally for both the Greens and the Blacks – both sides will need him.
And it’s at Storm’s End where the dragons will go to next. As rain pours and lightning crashes (come on, they don’t call it Storm’s End for nothing), we see Vhagar’s silhouette against a dark sky, while another, much smaller dragon is approached by its rider (it looks like Lucerys to us) nearby.
The Dance of Dragons begins…
Erryk – not Arryk – Cargyll swears fealty to Rhaenyra on Dragonstone (Picture: HBO)
The conflict from George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood, the war between the Greens and the Blacks, is known as The Dance of Dragons. It’s been building for years by this point in House of the Dragon, with King Viserys holding a fragile peace while somehow making everything worse after trying to please everyone.
The family dinner scene from episode eight, which seemed peaceful at first, appears to have foreshadowed the coming conflict. As soon as Viserys leaves the room to go to bed, the Targaryens and Hightowers begin fighting. Now Viserys has died, the war he’d been working to prevent has now kicked off.
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After we see Rhaenys fly to Dragonstone, we’re also shown that Ser Erryk Cargyll (Elliott Tittensor) has defected from the Greens to the Blacks already, as he swears fealty to Rhaenyra: ‘I swear to ward the Queen’, he states, as he holds her golden crown aloft.
Here we go, everyone. Brace yourselves.
House of the Dragon returns on Monday at 2am on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
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