With House of the Dragon Season 2 now concluded, it’s easier to examine it as a show very different from its predecessor in many regards. While Game of Thrones was a story that revolved around many different houses all vying for the power that the Iron Throne could provide, this prequel operates on a smaller political scale, with House Targaryen divided into opposition from the inside. These fractures between family members have allowed House of the Dragon to tell a more intimate drama, albeit one that has pumped up the use of its titular dragons in ways that have been equally hilarious and heartbreaking. As the narrative shifts, however, and the conflict between the Blacks, loyalty to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), and the Greens, part of King Aegon II Targaryen’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) contingent, builds ever closer to its breaking point, it seems that the Season 2 finale, written by Sara Hess and directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, revolves more around teasing out future narrative threads than offering a definitive conclusion, as the montage that wraps up our time in Westeros (for now) merely positions everyone on the precipice of war.

The Greens Want To Get Out of King’s Landing in the ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Finale

When the Greens’ new prince regent Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) suggested an alliance with the Triarchy of the Free Cities, everyone balked at the idea — yet here the Master of Ships Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) is in Essos, having traveled there to negotiate said partnership on the crown’s behalf. Things aren’t going all that well, especially when the leaders of the Triarchy want the one thing Tyland can’t promise them — gold. Breaking the blockade that Corlys Velaryon’s (Steve Toussaint) ships are currently enforcing would only benefit everyone, Tyland insists, but the Triarchy won’t budge, since there’s no real incentive for them to assist in this fight — not until one of them suggests they be given control of the Stepstones as payment. (Yostu know, the very thing that was the source of so much fighting back in Season 1?) Besides, all the Triarchy promises to do is enforce an itty-bitty tax on anyone who happens to be passing through that island chain.

Tyland may be making a decision he’ll regret by agreeing to hand over the Stepstones in exchange for the Triarchy’s armada of ships, but these “pirates,” as the Master of Ships scornfully labels them, are pretty good negotiators. Before Tyland can return to Westeros with his new fleet, however, he has to meet the approval of their commander, Admiral Lohar — and is more than taken aback by the revelation that said admiral, emerging from the back corner of the room, happens to be a woman (Abigail Thorn). Lohar gives him an appraising look before issuing a challenge of her own; she won’t sail with a man who can’t beat her in some good old-fashioned mud wrestling. It’s about as sloppy and undignified and distanced from Westeros as Tyland has ever been, and initially, it looks like Lohar is going to win handily — until the Master of Ships gets in a good punch or two, which is apparently enough to make Lohar reconsider her opinion of him being a soft noble. She’ll lead her fleet of ships into battle on the Greens’ behalf, but first, she has one more request for Tyland at the feast later that night: impregnate all of her wives first. (The look on Hall’s face when that offer is extended needs to become a meme, as does the line reading of “How many wives do you have?”)

Back in Westeros, Aemond isn’t exactly responding well to the events of last week’s episode, which saw him turning tail with Vhagar and fleeing from Dragonstone when faced with Rhaenyra’s bigger cohort of dragons. Now, in a display of uncontrolled temper — and likely some misplaced embarrassment — he’s taken Vhagar to Sharp Point and immolated the entire town, people and all. It’s one of the most disturbing decisions Aemond’s ever made, but it proves particularly alarming to King’s Landing’s Master of Whisperers, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), who immediately seeks an audience with a still-recovering Aegon to inform him of the news. Larys also voices a suggestion of his own to the king: flee the city now while Aemond is gone, because there’s no telling what he might be capable of once he returns, including picking up where he left off at Rook’s Rest and delivering the killing blow.

Credit where it’s due; Aegon’s first instinct is to resist rather than run and have Aemond thrown in prison by the time his brother comes back, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be any more prepared to face Rhaenyra and her seven dragons with Vhagar out of the picture. It’s here that we learn Aegon’s dragon, Sunfyre, didn’t survive the Battle at Rook’s Rest, and Aegon himself is so disfigured that certain… parts no longer work the way they used to. Yet Larys appeals to the part of Aegon that wants to be beloved, spinning a story of someone who can return once his enemies’ forces are too exhausted to go on — and be hailed by his people as a king risen from the ashes. The next time we see Aegon in this episode, he’s taken Larys’ counsel to heart, fleeing King’s Landing alongside his Master of Whisperers in a covered wagon while others ready themselves for battle.

Image via HBO

The possibility of flight over fight is also being weighed by Alicent (Olivia Cooke), who, having returned to the city from her extended nature walk, is thinking over the best way to ensure her and her daughter Helaena’s (Phia Saban) safety. Such an absence won’t go unnoticed, especially because Aemond is already seeking out his sister, intending to convince her to join the battle with her dragon, Dreamfyre. But Helaena is not the dragonrider her brothers are, as Rhaenyra has astutely noted already, and Aemond’s desperate attempt to recruit her is met with refusal not only from Helaena, but Alicent, who has finally reached the threshold of how much she’s willing to bear from her youngest son. If anyone can see the extent to which Aemond’s recent actions have been defined by his unchecked fury, it’s Alicent, but she refuses to let his basest instincts corrupt his sister in the process. Aemond leaves the room without securing a second dragon for his cause, and Alicent immediately seeks her own assistance — from Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan), in the hopes of securing passage to parts unknown to us (yet).

On the road to Harrenhal, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) has reached his emotional crisis point. Confronted by Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) for having one of the dowager queen’s handkerchiefs in his possession, Criston doesn’t defend his actions or lie about their affair, but what gets Gwayne to ultimately lower his sword is Criston’s admission that he considers Alicent his savior in more ways than one. It’s clear that the events of Rook’s Rest have left a mark on the Lord Commander that’s beyond repair, one that’s led him to some personal reflection about the corruption of men and whether honor may actually be a myth. Criston admits he once believed himself to be a defender of the righteous, dispensing justice on everyone else, but witnessing the deaths of hundreds, maybe even thousands, to the punishing spread of dragonfire has changed his perspective: “The dragons dance, and men are like dust under their feet.” At this stage, Criston muses, dying may very well be more of a relief than anything else; it’s an observation that leaves Gwayne himself too stunned to reply at all.

Back at King’s Landing, Aemond makes one last private plea to Helaena for her assistance. The queen, who has just been experiencing a sort of shared dream-state with Daemon (Matt Smith) — more on that below — is even less willing to entertain his argument than before. Helaena had been the one to readily identify her younger brother as the one responsible for Aegon’s debilitating injuries before, courtesy of her visions, and it’s already been pointed out multiple times that she has no taste for burning anyone. However, Aemond’s quiet appeal is more pleading now, and there’s even a tear in the prince regent’s eye, though whether it’s from rage or vulnerability is unclear. When Helaena brings up Aemond’s role in Aegon’s trauma again, she also issues what seems to be a prophecy of her own: “Aegon will be king again. He’s yet to see victory. He sits on a wooden throne, and you… you’ll be dead. You were swallowed up in the God’s Eye, and you were never seen again.” When Aemond threatens to have Helaena killed for her words, the queen remains resolute, pointing out that her death wouldn’t change the course of the events she’s seen. How these things will come to pass, and when they’ll occur, remains to be seen, but those who know Fire & Blood know that the show has definitely just dropped a big hint about Aemond’s particular fate in the Dance.

The Blacks Unite Under One Banner in the ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Finale

At Dragonstone, Rhaenyra’s brand-new dragonriders are proving a bitter pill to swallow for Jacaerys (Harry Collett), who’s instantly turned off by Ulf the White’s (Tom Bennett) poor manners — the man’s even got his feet up on the Painted Table, of all places. By contrast, Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew) attempts to make amends for his compatriot’s behavior, pointing out that Ulf doesn’t know how to act around nobility because he’s never had any experience at court. But Ulf is also singlehandedly voicing many of Jace’s worst fears by pointing out that they’re both dragonriders now, “cut from the same cloth.” Given that exchange between Jace and his mother last week, and the prince’s lingering concerns about whether any of these new additions to their cause could challenge for the throne someday , there’s no love lost between Jace and any of these men, even if they have their own dragons now. When Baela (Bethany Antonia) finds him sulking later, she issues a stern pep talk that seems to work: “Get up and take your place by your mother’s side.” It’s a conversation that couldn’t have happened a moment too soon, as Rhaenyra reveals her plan of attack to her dragonriders over dinner that night. They must ride in two days’ time to subdue the cities and armies of Oldtown and Lannisport, which means a crash course in learning Valyrian commands and being fitted with armor.

Meanwhile, at Harrenhal, Rhaenyra’s emissary from the small council, Ser Alfred Broome (Jamie Kenna) has finally arrived to shadow Daemon. The king consort seems less than pleased to have a babysitter following him around, but once the two men are in private in the godswood, Ser Alfred offers to shift his loyalties to Daemon and back his claim to the crown instead. Admittedly, the Daemon of only a few weeks ago would have greedily snatched up another bannerman, but the Daemon who regards Ser Alfred now is confident in calling him out as a turncloak, rejecting the implication that he should serve as the king Westeros needs. Their conversation doesn’t go unnoticed by Harrenhal’s castellan, Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale), who hastily sends off a raven to Rhaenyra, expressing his concerns about subterfuge and betrayal. Whatever the contents of the letter are, they’re worrisome enough that Rhaenyra instantly saddles up Syrax and flies to Harrenhal alongside Addam (Clinton Liberty) and Seasmoke to discover, once and for all, what Daemon’s true intentions are.

Before Rhaenyra reaches Harrenhal, however, Daemon has his biggest vision of all, and it comes courtesy of accompanying Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) to the godswood in the dead of night. Touching the heart tree, which is already leaking a red sap that bears a disturbing resemblance to blood, plunges him into a waking dream of the future that completely changes his perspective on events. Not only do we, alongside Daemon, witness glimpses of what the Dance of the Dragons may culminate in, but we see other significant figures — including Brynden Rivers/Lord Bloodraven, aka the Three-Eyed Raven, the Night King beyond the Wall, and last, but certainly not least, a young Daenerys Targaryen surrounded by her three newly-hatched dragons from the Season 1 finale of Game of Thrones. It’s a sequence that immediately gives Daemon new context for his previous arguments with Rhaenyra about the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy — but also seems to change him for the better. When he first arrived at Harrenhal, as Alys observes, he was a “closed fist” who “wished to bend the world to [his] will.” Now, Daemon’s willingness to submit himself to these glimpses of past, present, and future has given him an even deeper insight into the future than Rhaenyra could claim, and he finally envisions his wife atop the Iron Throne rather than Viserys or himself.

Thus, when Rhaenyra descends on Harrenhal (rousing a cranky Caraxes from his nap), Ser Simon Strong is there to meet her, ushering the queen in to see Daemon at once. As the two spouses come face to face for the first time since Daemon left Dragonstone, the mood is tense, to say the least, and it doesn’t lighten even when they slip into their old habit of speaking to each other in High Valyrian. But Daemon insists that he understands what’s truly coming — the winter beyond the war itself, and who will be called to lead them. Therefore, in front of all the men he has won to their side, Daemon bends the knee to Rhaenyra, a move that is possibly the hottest thing he has done in this series to date, along with a promise of loyalty: “I am meant to serve you, and all of these with me, until death or the end of our story.” This increase in forces does bode well for Rhaenyra’s ability to take back her throne, but it also weighs heavily on the queen when she reflects privately on what must transpire once back at Dragonstone with Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno). Even if she prevails and returns the realm to peace, who will pay the ultimate price in the end?

Image via HBO

The finale brings us one more surprise — and it comes in the form of an unexpected parallel to Episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” which saw Rhaenyra sneaking into King’s Landing in order to meet with Alicent. Now, we learn where the dowager queen was seeking passage to, as Alicent requests a late-night audience with Rhaenyra, and the two women lay eyes on each other for the first time since that previous day in the Great Sept. A long-ranging conversation transpires, with Alicent admitting that so many of her actions over the years were taken in opposition to Rhaenyra, whom she resented for having the freedoms that she herself did not. Her brief time camping in the kingswood has also given her a new perspective on what she wants (to live) and what she doesn’t (to rule). But Alicent hasn’t come to Dragonstone to seek absolution for any wrongs; she’s offering Rhaenyra a chance to seize King’s Landing once Aemond has flown to battle and the city has been left unguarded. But Rhaenyra points out that it cannot be a bloodless conquering; she will have to kill the opposition, meaning Aegon, and do so publicly to assert her claim. With the knowledge that she will have to give up her son to die, a necessary sacrifice for peace, Alicent makes her choice with a shaky nod — but both women are on the verge of tears by the end, with even Rhaenyra’s steely resolve beginning to crumble. It was the case before, back in Episode 3, and it’s true here in the finale; D’Arcy and Cooke are still each other’s best scene partners, in a moment that speaks volumes while neither of their characters utters a single word.

As Alicent asserts her own plan to flee with Helaena and Jaehaera, Rhaenyra points out that history may not remember her kindly; she’ll be labeled a villain, “a cold queen, grasping for power and then defeated.” Alicent doesn’t care what anyone thinks of her after this, now that she’s finally choosing for herself. But she makes one last plea of her own, echoing Aemond’s earlier in the episode, inviting Rhaenyra to come with her. The Black Queen refuses, acknowledging that her part in all of this was decided for her long ago as she bids Alicent to leave — and it feels an awful lot like these two women, who once deeply loved each other, are parting ways for good. As Rhaenyra’s dragonriders begin suiting up for battle, we follow each of the major players’ progression on the board — Tyland, Lohar, and the Triarchy advancing from Essos, while Criston, Gwayne, and Prince Daeron on his dragon Tessarion, plus their men, continue their trek to Harrenhal. Meanwhile, those loyal to Rhaenyra and their armies are also on the move, Corlys and Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) are preparing to sail toward the blockade, and Rhaena, who has been stumbling around the Vale for most of the episode, finally comes face to face with a wild dragon she could very well tame for herself. The finale also reveals that Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who Alicent has been searching for for most of the season, is actually behind bars instead — though the identity of the person holding him in captivity remains to be seen. As Alicent and Rhaenyra each spare a glance at the rising sun, and the montage’s score reaches its crescendo, it feels more like a foreboding harbinger of what’s to come, with everyone beginning the march toward annihilation.