We are finally here ladies and gentlemen, the House of The Dragon season one finale! If you’re just as excited as I am, then you’re ready to go on one last emotional ride. Episode 10 kicks off right after the usurping of the crown by Queen Alicent and the crowning of her son Aegon II as King of the seven kingdoms in front of the world to see at the Dragonpit – which went horribly wrong as Princess Rhaenys made her dramatic escape with her dragon Meleys and killing possibly hundreds of innocent people at the same time. Episode 10 opens up with Lucerys hovering over the stone map of the world looking and feeling down on himself as Rhaenyra walks in to speak with him. In this moment, Lucerys echoes what he’s been feeling all along as a kid when he spoke with his “grandfather” Corlys – he doesn’t want to inherit Driftmark and it should pass him and go onto someone else. Rhaenyra tries her best to comfort Luke and explain her experience with inheriting her position to rule, and that basically this feeling is normal.
Following the horrific ceremony at the Dragonpit, Princess Rhaenys arrives on dragon-back to warn Rhaenyra of what’s transpired during her visit to King’s Landing. Of course, the news comes as a shock to both Rhaenyra and Daemon, and the worst of it is Aegon has been crowned as King instead of her as Queen. Naturally, suspicions arise from both Rhaenyra and Daemon toward Rhaenys but after explaining how she has been stranded in her room as a sort of prisoner and also refusing to side with Alicent, Rhaenys tells them this is the beginning of a war, but not one that she has the right to start. After all, it’s not her position that’s being threatened, given her nickname “The Queen That Never Was”. Things aren’t looking so well for Rhaenyra, on top of finding out she’s been robbed of her queendom, she also goes into labor quite earlier than expected. While Rhaenyra is in premature labor, Daemon wastes no time planning their defenses along Dragonstone with their own small council.
Knowing they don’t quite have the numbers to be a formidable opponent, he takes the “fake it till you make it” approach by planning where to station their fleet and also using the dragons they have with them to show strength. Luke and Jace are immediately notified by their mother of what has transpired, with Rhaenyra specifically instructing Jace to do nothing unless she says so. This command has also been passed on to Daemon and the small council. I have to give much kudos to Rhaenyra because even with tensions being so high and a baby that’s coming way ahead of time, she remains level-headed enough to know one shouldn’t act on emotion, but careful planning. However, Daemon insists on carrying out his plan despite Jace relaying his mother’s message and proceeds to show Jace what’s really important – sworn oaths and loyalty. Daemon summons the Kingsguard outside and makes them reaffirm their loyalty to Rhaenyra and to Prince Jace as the true heir, or they can die by becoming snacks for Daemon’s lovely pet dragon.
As Rhaenyra goes through her painful labor, her child, who would’ve been another Prince born into the family is stillborn and everyone in the room feels the pain of this sudden loss. Instead of the priests and nuns (I guess that’s what we can call them) prepping the unfortunate soul for the funeral, Rhaenyra goes through the entire process herself. During the funeral, Ser Arryk makes his appearance and brings with him the King’s Crown and also swears his allegiance to Princess Rhaenyra and her house. Even in an unfortunate occasion such as this, Daemon crowns Rhaenyra as Queen, and all who are in attendance bend the knee…all except Princess Rhaenys who watches on with a sense of approval. Now comes another difficult situation Rhaenyra must face – planning for war. As they do a head count of their allies and enemies, careful planning is made for the houses that may sway in either direction. Daemon wants to use the dragons they have in their possession in war but Rhaenyra points out that none of those dragons have ever been to war, which could end up being a detriment to them.
During their planning, they spot a ship approaching, and guess who it is. Otto Hightower himself with a handful of men bringing terms for the Princess to agree to. Queen Rhaenyra shows up on dragon-back to these “negotiations”, which quickly turn sour. These “terms” consist of confirming Rhaenyra as the head of Dragonstone that will go to Jace when his time to rule comes. Her sons by Daemon will basically be lackeys for the King and hold no real position in King Aegon’s court. Otto reveals to Daemon and Rhaenyra that Aegon has now received every ounce of legitimacy imaginable to solidify him as King – being anointed in front of thousands of people at the Dragonpit, carrying the conqueror’s sword and wearing the crown. Honestly, it’s hard to argue this point because it was a very strategic move made by the Hightowers (also known as The Greens). At the same time, Otto gets a little cocky and reveals his hand by telling Daemon and Rhaenyra they’ve already sent terms to houses Stark, Tully, and Baratheon – the very same houses Rhaenyra had planned to win over just moments before Otto showed up.
Have I ever said how sly Otto is before? Even with the limited failures we’ve seen during this season, this man is smart. My dad hammered something in my head for years growing up, and it’s an extremely important lesson. In fights and in wars, a key element is psychology. Knowing how your enemy thinks is one thing, but to get inside their mind is another – something that has been proven to determine who will be the victor. Otto accounts for this and masterfully brings with him something that would change Rhaenyra’s actions. He brings her a page from a history book that she and Alicent used to read as kids, a page Rhaenyra tore out of that book, which signifies a strong bond between the two at one point in time. While giving this page to Rhaenyra, he emphasizes that there doesn’t have to be a war and no one needs to die if she simply agrees to the terms.
Daemon basically says screw all of that and attempts to kill Otto and his men but seeing how quickly things can get ugly, and also feeling sorrowful upon seeing that page, Rhaenyra quickly shuts everything down and tells Otto that Alicent will have her decision tomorrow. Tensions rise between Daemon and Rhaenyra as they discuss their options. It’s as if history is repeating itself all over again because Daemon eagerly wants to go to war while Rhaenyra, like her father, wants to avoid it. The mere mention of Aegon I’s dream, the song of ice and fire that has been passed down from King to King, quickly angers Daemon making him violent toward Rhaenyra revealing to her that not everyone was privy to this prophecy. Something that Daemon may know about but believes to be a non-sensical fairytale. What doesn’t make sense to me is why would this prophecy be only known to whoever is King, and not the King along with the small council so they can plan and prepare appropriately.
Meanwhile, Corlys wakes up from his battle-induced coma and is brought up to speed on what’s been going on while he was away at sea by his wife Rhaenys. He’s shocked to hear of the death of his brother Vaemond and comes to a realization that Rhaenys has been trying to tell him – his ambition, and that of his brother, brings tragedy. She also tells him Aegon has been crowned King and their “grandchildren” are in danger. While Corlys thinks everything is Rhaenyra’s fault, Rhaenys states the opposite and informs him that Rhaenyra is actually doing the right thing by not preemptively going into war. We’re brought back to the painted table with everyone arguing why they should go into war and bickering amongst themselves, while Rhaenyra keeps her composure. Corlys and his family make their entrance into the room. While stating the obvious treason, Corlys pledges his allegiance to Rhaenyra and gives his full support.
Corlys informs everyone of his victory at Stepstones and has taken precautions to strengthen their position there during his absence and lays out a plan that would hinder The Greens in King’s Landing – cutting off supply routes and essentially starving their trade. Jace volunteers to fly on dragon-back to the “hopeful” allies in order to win their support. Rhaenyra lays out a plan for them to follow, sending Jace to the north to meet with her mother’s cousin Lady Arryn and then to Winterfell to meet with Lord Cregan Stark. Luke is to fly south to Storm’s End to meet with Lord Boros Baratheon. Before sending them on their way, she makes both Luke and Jace swear on all that is holy to only go as messengers and not to engage in any fighting. One thing to note, as always with Game of Thrones, is the foreshadowing. In this scene, Luke gets extra attention from his mother and as everyone soars into the skies on their dragons, Luke looks back to the castle as he flies straight into dark storm clouds and then disappears.
Meanwhile, Daemon is shown singing a song in a very dark dragonpit, charming another huge and fierce dragon. This particular dragon looks different from all the others – and not in a good way. Its teeth are sharp and jagged but not like any others we’ve seen, with a menacing look in its eyes that appear to synchronize with Daemon’s. Given how this particular scene ended, it makes me wonder if he would be in control of more than one dragon during his lifetime the same way Daenerys controlled three of her own during Game of Thrones. Luke arrives at Storm’s End…literally during a storm and things just don’t feel right. As he approaches the castle, he hears the loud roar of another dragon, one that strikes fear in the hearts of many. The biggest dragon we know of, the terrifying beast that was stolen from the Velaryons known as Vhagar. This obviously means Aemond is here as well just as Otto said, and this isn’t looking good.
Upon his arrival, Luke is met with sarcasm and rudeness by a patronizing Lord Baratheon, who also may be illiterate. Why call a maester to read a note that was delivered to you? I’m not sure if this is something that’s common among house masters but it does strike me as odd, or it could be a very poor display of power by making your subjects do everything for you. Either way, things don’t go well. Aemond brought an offer of a marriage pact while Luke in a way comes up empty-handed. He’s immediately sent home, but before that Aemond antagonizes him by hurling insults. Aemond then proposes Luke to literally take one of his own eyes and states he plans on giving it to his mother, Queen Alicent as a gift. In a past episode when all the boys fought and Aemond lost his eye, he stated a fair trade was made – an eye for a dragon. Turns out Aemond never got over losing his eye (who would?) and feels he still has a score to settle. Lord Baratheon, in his wisdom, intervenes and makes note that Luke came as an envoy and no blood will be shed under his roof. A very key statement and moment here.
The storm is raging and Luke’s dragon Arrax is uneasy. Luke realizes Vhagar is missing and tries to calm Arrax down for the flight home as fast as possible. As the two soar into the raging skies, they are overshadowed by Aemond and Vhagar and this is where things immediately go wrong. In this scene, we’re shown the vast difference in size between Vhagar and Arrax – with Arrax being almost a fraction of the size of Vhagar not only in body size but wingspan. Aemond in his foolishness decides to mess with Luke and have Vhagar nip at Arrax’s heels. Speaking in Valaryan, Luke tries his best to steer Arrax away from the present danger by maneuvering through small gaps in the mountains. The frightening scene of Vhagar soaring above these same mountains is one to remember, as Luke does his best to put some distance between himself and his raging uncle. However, Arrax has his own plans. Against Luke’s orders, delivering a fiery blow to Vhagar striking the behemoth’s head, and flies away.
This literally has no effect on Vhagar, only enraging the dragon which in turn makes him disobey Aemond’s commands as he quickly loses control of his own dragon. As Luke and Arrax take flight into the clear sky above the storm, Vhagar swiftly appears from Luke’s blindspot and viciously devours both Luke and Arrax, ripping the dragon into pieces, falling down, and disappearing from sight. Aemond now realizes his grave mistake and what this could cost not only him but his family. His arrogance led to this moment which will now be viewed as an attack against Rhaenyra and her house. As a result, Daemon learns of what transpired and informs Rhaenyra at the painted table. As she mourns the loss of her son, we get a close-up of Rhaenyra with a sorrowful yet rageful look. With this season finale cliffhanger, everything in Game of Thrones history is now set in motion and I’m sure season two will have much to unpack and enjoy. Stay tuned friends, as get ready to discuss everything in this season on a podcast coming soon!
House Of The Dragon is available to stream on HBOMax.
Hey! I’m Lais a.k.a. Chipz-N-Stix and I love video games and nerd culture overall. I typically do reviews and impressions on video games as well as offer some helpful tips and tricks to enhance your gaming experience. From time to time I tend to touch on certain topics that get you thinking – things that would matter to the individual. I’m also a self-proclaimed Pokemon Master but that doesn’t mean you can outright challenge me. I have to “motivate” my team for that!
