House of the Dragon Delivers Massive Death in Bloody Dragon Fight

Given that Sunday's episode of House of the Dragon was titled "A Dance of Dragons," which is a play on the name of the entire Targaryen civil war at the center of the series , it was safe to assume that a bloody battle was on its way. The final 15 minutes of the episode made good on that promise, pitting three of the show's biggest characters in the midst of a devastating dragon fight. At least one of them died on the battlefield, with another potentially on their deathbed as well. Let's break down what happened in that shocking ending, shall we? WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for House of the Dragon! Continue reading at your own risk...

Rhaenys & Meleys

Unfortunately, one of the best characters on House of the Dragon is dead and gone. Rhaenys, aka the Queen That Never Was, rode her dragon Meleys to Rook's Rest to take out Criston Cole's army. Queen Rhaenyra planned to go herself, but Rhaenys insisted she go instead.

Rhaenys fell into a trap set by Cole, which saw Aemond and Vhagar hiding in the woods, waiting for a dragon to fight. That plan was almost ruined, though, when Aegon showed up unexpectedly. Meleys was dominant in the fight against Aegon's Sunfyre, and the tide only turned in the king's favor when his brother showed up to save him.

Vhagar and Aemond dominated the other two dragons, even though one was mounted by Aegon. When it came to Rhaenys and Meleys, though, there was no doubt that Aemond had accomplished his mission. Meleys was killed in the air and she fell down to Rook's Rise below, landing with an explosion that clearly took the life of Rhaenys.

Just like that, Rhaenyra's smartest advisor and most powerful ally is gone.

King Aegon II

The last scene of Sunday's episode shows Aegon lying next to Sunfyre, arms crossed over his chest and not moving. It does look as if the young man in control of the Iron Throne was indeed killed at Rook's Rest. While technically anything could happen on the show going forward, it's very likely that Aegon is not dead.

In George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood , Aegon is nearly killed in this very conflict. The book's version of the story tells of Aegon sustaining several injuries, including a slew of broken bones, and he spends quite a long time incapacitated and drinking milk of the poppy to try and survive.

There's a good chance the rest of House of the Dragon Season 2 continues without Aegon being a major player in the conflict, but he isn't dead just yet.

Based on George R.R. Martin 's "Fire & Blood" book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones . In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D'Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.