Oh boy, here we are, kids — the final episode of House of the Dragon: Season 1. What a journey it’s been. Honestly, it felt like only weeks ago that these characters were young kids trying to leave their mark. Now, we’re years beyond where we first started and witnessing the beginning of the end, so to speak — the downfall of the Targaryens. This is a long episode — 1 hour and 11 minutes, according to the time bar — so let’s not waste any time and jump right in.
What Happened in House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 10
We begin on Dragonstone where Rhaenyra bumps into young Luke gazing over a battle map in one of the large empty rooms located on the compound. Luke has spent far too much time in King’s Landing and realizes he doesn’t want any of this royal bloodlines bull crap.
“We don’t choose our destiny, Luke. It chooses us,” Rhaenyra tells him. She recalls feeling frightened when King Viserys tapped her as heir to the Iron Throne but accepted the job because it was her duty.
“I’m not like you,” the boy says. “I’m not … perfect.”
“I am anything but,” she says before assuring him that she will guide him during his reign.
This tender moment is interrupted by one of the Sers who alerts Rhaenyra that Rhaenys has arrived on dragonback with important news.
Rhaenys arrives and gets right to the point. “Viserys is dead,” she tells Rhaenyra and Daemon. “Oh, and Alicent and Co. betrayed you.”
Daemon immediately suspects foul play. “The King has been slain!”
“The crowned Aegon,” Rhaenyra asks, her eyes filled with tears (mostly at the news of her father’s death). “Are they stupid?”
“Kind of,” Rhaenys says. “I was able to sneak into the dragon pits and smash my way into the crowning ceremony without much problem. It was pretty badass, though I do sort of regret not flaming the royal family right there on the spot. I mean, I had just murdered about a hundred or so innocent civilians — including families — so, what the hell? Why not a few more? But, alas, I didn’t, because that war is not mine to begin.” What?
“You mother—” Daemon says.
“The Green Coats are coming for your kids,” Rhaenys continues.
Naturally, Rhaenyra decides to have her next child at that very moment.
Meanwhile, Daemon prepares for battle whilst Rhaenyra’s cries echo across the island. “Do you want to speak to the maester,” one of the men around the battle table says. Daemon shoots him a look that says, “Shut the f— up.”
Rhaenyra calls her boys, Jace and Luke, for a quick chat and reminds the former that he is still the heir. She also worries that Daemon has fallen to madness. Jace goes to check on his pop and instructs him to attend to Rhaenyra. He’s like, “Nah, I’ve wanted this war for a long time.”
Daemon then brings Jace with him to see how commanders rule. He gives two of his Sers an option: either renew their loyalty to Rhaenyra or get burned alive.
Meanwhile, we get another horrifying birthing scene. Tough cookie Rhaenyra manages to fight through the pain and deliver the child, and … it’s dead. This is gonna be bad. Not only does Rhaenyra feel like Alicent betrayed her, but now she just lost her baby in large part due to the extreme stress brought about by the news of her betrayal.
Oh, by the way, this episode is titled, “The Black Queen.”
Anyways, Dameon and Rhaenyra go through the funeral process. It’s pretty damned heartbreaking.
That one dude with the beard arrives with the stolen crown, pledges his loyalty to Rhaenyra, and gives the item to Daemon. He then places it upon his wife’s head. Everyone kneels, except Rhaenys.
Our new queen makes her way to the battle room — neatly lit by fire — and finds her men waiting for her. There’s a great moment when her security guards must be told to stand the f*** down as she nears the table.
“What is our standing,” Rhaenyra asks.
Daemon drops some important details. Essentially, they have enough knights to guard Dragonstone, but they’ll need to gather the other houses should this conflict escalate to war. We hear familiar names — Baratheon, Starks, Lannisters — all of whom will make their choices based on bloodlines, oaths, and all of that other nonsense. Another name, Lord Grover, requires Daemon’s personal attention — a detail that causes Rhaenyra to flinch. She likely doesn’t want her husband in some distant land while King’s Landing attacks her home.
Rhaenys mentions that Lord Corlys is on his way to Dragonstone to offer support, though she does not say if he plans to bend the knee to the new queen. They’ll need Corlys’ naval fleet to counter the Lannisters, but will also need a lot more men to wage their war. “Riverrun is the key,” Daemon says.
“Er,” one of the men injects, “men don’t matter here. We should really be talking about dragons!”
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The Greens have three adults — Aemond’s Vhagar, Aegon’s Sunfyre, and Helaena’s Dreamfyre. The Blacks have Rhaenyra’ Syrax, Daemon’s Caraxes, Rhaenys’ Meleys, along with Jace’s Vermax, Luke’s Arrax, and Joffrey’s Tyraxes; Baela has Moondancer. That’s a lot of damned dragons, and yet I feel like we’ve only seen about four throughout the season.
“None of our dragons have been to war,” Rhaenyra points out.
Daemon practically ignores her. He continues to point out other dragons in their possession, many of them unclaimed. “Now, we need a place to gather,” he says. “A toehold large enough to house a sizable host. Here, at Harrenhal. We cut off the west, surround King’s Landing with the dragons. And we can have every Green head mounted on spikes before the f******* moon turns.”
This guy is nuts, which is probably why he’s so cool. And dangerous. No half measures, Walter.
Everyone’s like, ehhhhhh …
Before anyone can agree on which reckless course of action to take, a ship carrying Greens arrives. We get another standoff with Daemon and Otto at the very spot they met years ago. Rhaenyra flies down on dragonback to meet with them. Otto’s not amused.
“Princess Rhaenyra,” the Hand says before listing Aegon’s terms. Mostly, its titles, lands, blah, blah, blah …
Surprisingly, Rhaenyra calmly listens to Otto’s nonsense while Daemon shuffles about anxiously next to her, his face full of hate. Otto mentions that several important houses, including the Starks and Baratheons, are considering King Aegon’s generous offers. When Rhaenyra points out that those houses swore loyalty to her, he dismisses their oaths as empty promises. “You were the heir until your father had a son,” Otto says.
Rhaenyra approaches and removes his Hand pin. “You’re no more a Hand than Aegon is king, you f****** traitor,” she snaps, tossing the object over the wall. That was rude.
Around them, the knights grow restless. Hands grip swords. Eyes lock across the two armies.
Suddenly, Otto unleashes his secret weapon: a page from a history book Alicent and Rhaenyra used to study together back when they were kids a few episodes ago. “Let’s all be friends,” Otto says in that Otto voice of his.
Daemon’s like, “F*** this,” and draws his sword. Everyone draws swords. For the second time this season, we think a great battle will commence, but Rhaenyra once again intervenes. “I will consider you offer,” she says. Dammit.
Back in the war room, Daemon keeps pushing the whole dragon thing. Yes, we have a lot of dragons, she says, but that just means everything will burn. “I do not wish to be the queen of the ashes.”
Rhaenyra explains that her duty is to unite the realms, not sit on the Iron Throne at all costs.
“The enemy have declared war,” Daemon snaps. “‘What are you going to do about it?”
“Clear the room,” she orders.
The couple debate their purpose. Daemon is consumed by vengeance, hate — all the bad things one can be consumed by. She’s more rational and looking at their objective with a clear head. Plus, she’s more worried about the whole Song of Ice and Fire thing … he grabs her by the throat and bitterly recounts how Viserys’ entire feckless rule was driven by nonsensical dreams and visions. Then he releases her.
Rhaenyra looks startled by his actions. Who is this guy? “He never told you,” she says, perhaps talking about the whole Song of Ice and Fire thing again. At any rate, Daemon scurries out of the room, more angry than ever. I think he spent too much time wallowing in his own victimhood over the years. Daemon’s time is now and he means to take advantage of the opportunity he’s waited so long for.
That’s the thing about this show. Really, we have two mothers trying to do right by their kids, forced into a situation beyond their control, surrounded by would-be rulers whose selfish desires create unnecessary mayhem. Then again, under Viserys’ rule, the Seven Kingdoms enjoyed peace, albeit one built on shaky ground. There’s no way out but war, where hopefully these two families can sort out their differences by sending thousands — if not millions — of strangers into combat. Seems fair.
Anyways, we cut to — holy shit, Lord Corlys! He’s alive? Somehow. Rhaenys sleeps nearby, awakens and immediately scolds him for abandoning his family for more adventures at sea. “I lost everything,” he says.
“We lost everything,” Rhaenys notes. “Oh, there’s a knew king and also … your brother is dead. Daemon chopped his head off.”
“You were right. I reached too far and for nothing,” he says. “Our pursuit of the Iron Throne is done. Let’s go back home and chill. We won’t pledge allegiance to anyone.”
“Information that should have been brought to my attention days ago,” Rhaenys snaps. “Our kids aren’t safe with Aegon as king. Rhaenyra is holding the realm together at present. Everyone wants her, but she’s like nah.”
The next morning, Corlys and Co. enter the war room to meet with the queen. After some back and forth he pledges his full support.
“You honor me, Lord Corlys,” Rhaenyra says before nodding to the princess. “I do not wish to be the one to strike the first blow, should this go to war.”
Corlys admires this, but then points out that he has the Narrow Sea under control and can set up blockades. “We can cut off all seaborne travel and trade to King’s Landing.”
Rhaenys offers to patrol the Gullet atop Meleys.
They can surround the Red Keep and force the Greens to surrender, but only if they secure support from Winterfell, the Eyrie and Storm’s End. Jace offers to carry the messages to each locale on dragonback, noting that it would be more convincing than ravens.
“Very well,” Rhaenyra says. “If you take this errand, you go as messengers not warriors.” They both swear to obey her orders. Jace will head to the Starks, Luke to Storm’s End to meet with Lord Borros. The boys take off. There’s a How to Train Your Dragon joke somewhere in this scene, but I’m too tired to think of one.
Elsewhere, Daemon journeys into the depths of Dragonstone, a torch in hand. He sings a song and slowly places the torch on the ground. Suddenly, the darkness around him vanishes in dragon fire. We see a monstrous beast that evidently likes his song — the pair lock eyes and bond.
Luke lands at Storm’s End. Everyone is so used to dragons in this world that they don’t bat an eye upon the beast’s arrival. Except, as Luke approaches the gates, he sees Vhagar parked outside. Even worse, Aemond stands next to Lord Borros, working his own magic in his mother’s name.
Borros must decide whether to listen to the queen or king … who rules King’s Landing?
Well, Luke’s message simply urged Borros to remember the pact he made with Rhaenyra, while Aemond at the very least made an offer that included a marriage pact. “If I honor your mother’s wishes, which one of my daughters will you marry,” Borros asks.
“I’m already betrothed,” Luke says.
Aemond grins, his wild eye peering at the boy.
“Go home, pup,” Borros orders.
Luke turns to exit, but Aemond stops him. “Did you really think you could fly about the realm trying to steal my brother’s throne at no cost?”
“I came as a messenger, not a warrior,” Luke says.
“A fight would be a little challenge,” Aemond says quietly, removing his patch to reveal a blue gem tucked in his eye socket. “I want you to put out your eye in payment for mine. One will serve.”
He tosses a blade at Luke’s feet.
“No,” Luke replies.
Aemond charges, sword drawn. Oh shit, here we go —
“No,” Borros yells. “I will not have bloodshed under my roof. Take the kid back to his dragon.”
Dammit.
Outside, rain splatters across the entryway. Luke runs to his dragon and stops when he realizes Vhagar is gone. As lightening flashes, Luke takes to the skies. Tension escalates. Something’s about to go down. Luke zips through the stormy clouds, fighting against the wind and rain. He glances up and see Vhagar whip past, Aemond’s laughs echoing in the night. A pretty awesome chase ensues. Luke, whose dragon Arrax is much smaller than Vhagar, dives into some canyons to escape Aemond and seems to have done the trick —
Except he inexplicably charges at Vhagar. Arrax blasts the much larger animal with fire, leading to confusion amongst the dragon riders. From what I gather, Aemond loses control of his dragon for a spell, and the beast charges Arrax and rips the smaller dragon (and the boy) to bits.
Aemond looks stunned, horrified, and frightened all at once. I mean, he was just having a little fun taunting a small child atop a massive, flame-spewing monster. He didn’t intend for the boy to die, right?
Back at Dragonstone, Daemon slowly walks into the war room to deliver the bad news. We don’t hear the conversation, but we see Rhaenyra’s reaction — she turns to the camera, her eyes black, and all but snarls. War is on.
At least, I think it is.
Final Thoughts on House of the Dragon Season 1
I mean, I thought she was gonna be pissed at the death of her child earlier in the episode. Instead, Rhaenyra showed a lot of restraint and opted to put together a wicked smaht battle plan before charging into war. While that’s obviously the way to go, both Rhaenyra and Alicent have underestimated the hatred oozing between both families at this point. Alliances are paper thin with houses stuck between oaths they swore to the queen, ancient bloodlines, and all that stuff. I’m sure we’ll see all of this play out in the next two or three season with ghastly results.
As for Season 1, I really liked these 10 episodes. Though, I admit I’m a little disappointed. Again, maybe it’s post-traumatic stress caused by Game of Thrones, but I kept waiting for something horrible to happen*. A lot of shit did go down, yes, but the promise of war remained that — a promise. Essentially, this season mirrored Season 1 of Rings of Power by telling the story we needed to get through in order to get to the one we all came here to see. Except, House of the Dragon executed its prologue much better than ROP did and at least had the good sense to pepper its journey with fascinating characters, political intrigue and gritty action sequences. Though, I suspect the inaugural season will be remembered mostly as that one with all of those awful birthing scenes.
Overall, this was an excellent start for what will hopefully turn out to be an excellent show. We met fascinating people, visited some exotic locales and did quite a bit of dragon riding. We’ve got a long ways to go with this one, which just means a little patience is required. Especially since Season 2 isn’t set to air for a few years … that’s a long time to wait. Until then, we can go back and overanalyze House of the Dragon: Season 1 and imagine what this show will look like when it really takes off.
*Yes, Luke’s death was awful, but the impact is lessened mainly because, well, we haven’t spent a great deal of time with the kid. That’s one of the issues lingering within the whole jumping from year to year plot strategy.
