Rhaena's Self-Imposed Mission in the Season 2 'HotD' Finale Has Big Consequences for Season 3

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin.

The second season of HBO's hit spinoff show House of the Dragon has finally concluded, and though the season was already filled with a lot of bloodshed and losses on both sides of the war, things are only just getting started.

In between some of the other big twists unveiled in the finale, Rhaena , Daemon, and Laena's youngest daughter, has decided to leave the safety of the Vale.

Though she was initially sent there for her own protection (and to watch over the younger members of House Targaryen and keep them safe), she's abandoned her post on her own mission. But why did she decide to leave the Vale?

Why did Rhaena leave the Vale? Explaining her decision in the 'House of the Dragon' finale.

Rhaena is one of the only members of her family who does not have a dragon that has claimed her, which seems to be a large contribution to her disappointment with being sent to the Vale in the first place. While at the Vale, she confronted its lady about the charred grasslands, suggesting there was a dragon running around the land, despite the lady's fierce insistence that she wanted a dragon to protect the Vale.

Instead of staying put and watching her young relatives, Rhaena decides to leave the Vale to track down the rogue dragon. This is different than what goes down in Fire & Blood , as Rhaena was not originally meant to be the dragon rider for Sheepstealer, the feral dragon roaming around the Vale, but it seems to be a change the showrunners are leaning into for the coming season.

Her decision seems to be setting her up to have a bigger role in Season 3 , though whether or not the rogue dragon will become a key player in the Dance of the Dragons remains to be seen. This is a significant deviation from the source novel, so viewers will just have to wait for House of the Dragon to return for its next season to know for sure.