The 7 Biggest Deaths in 'House of the Dragon ' Season 2

Westeros went to war in House of the Dragon Season 2, but when you get down to it the death toll wasn't that high - at least, not for main characters. As usual, the smallfolk suffered the most while the lords of the Seven Kingdoms played their game of thrones, but only a few were named and mourned. Read on for a full accounting of the casualties in House of the Dragon Season 2, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!

It's worth noting that this list would be much longer if a few things had gone differently. Season 2 was cut down from 10 episodes to 8 episodes just before production began, but the writers had little time to compensate before the writers' strike began - and they were not able to work on the set at all. The leading speculation within the fandom is that the writers more or less hacked off two full episodes from the end of the season and saved them for later, rather than restructuring the story. This may be why the cliffhanger left some viewers unsatisfied - the pacing indicated that at least one more battle was about to begin.

Nevertheless, there is plenty of death to go around in Westeros, even in eight episodes. Here's a look at all the major deaths in House of the Dragon Season 2.

Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen

The season got a brutal start with the death of Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen - portrayed by a child actor named Jude Rock. Daemon (Matt Smith) used his connections within the city guard to hire two assassins - nicknamed "Blood" and "Cheese" - to sneak into the castle and murder Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). However, the untrained and unprepared killers got lost and panicked, and ended up in the chambers of Queen Helaena (Phia Saban) and her children, the twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. They decide that killing this prince will be just as good as killing Aemond.

Author George R.R. Martin was not altogether happy with the way this incident played out on screen, as he explained in a now-deleted blog post last week. In Martin's book Fire & Blood , this scene is even more brutal, and Blood and Cheese are much more sadistic. They demand that Helaena choose which of her children they kill, and in the book she has a third child - a 2-year-old named Maelor. Helaena reasons that Maelor is not the heir and has not lived as long, so she chooses him. The killers take Jaehaerys' life anyway, then taunt Maelor and Helaena that they will have to live with the guilt of this experience forever.

The TV show is less ambiguous about who these killers are, why they are on their mission and what becomes of them. While their deaths are not confirmed in the book, the show makes it clear that both men were killed - along with all the other rat-catchers in the castle. You can add those lives to the tally for this list as well.

The Cargyll Twins

With the Targaryen royal family split in this war, the Kingsguard knights are divided as well, and the Cargyll twins find themselves fighting on opposite sides. These two Crownslands nights are hilariously named Arryk and Erryk, and are played by Luke Tittensor and Elliott Tittensor, respectively. While Arryk staye in King's Landing and recognized Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) as king, Erryk defected to Dragonstone to uphold his previous vow to Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy).

This division is how the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) came up with the idea to infiltrate Dragonstone and assassinate Rhaenyra. He ordered Arryk to sneak into the castle disguised as his twin, then kill the queen when he got close. However, at the last moment Erryk interceded, and the two brothers fought to the death. We even saw them buried together in a shared grave in the TV show.

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen

Arguably the most prominent character killed this season was Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, "The Queen Who Never Was," played by Eve Best. The queen volunteered to fly to the castle Rook's Rest, which was under siege by Criston Cole and his army, though she knew Aemond would likely meet her on dragon back. What she wasn't expecting was for Aegon II himself to show up, though it still wasn't exactly a two-on-one dragon battle.

On the show, Aegon is not meant to show up to this battle, and he is both drunk and inexperienced. He finds himself at a disadvantage against Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys, but when Aeomnd and Vhagar join the battle, they don't exactly help their king. The ambitious younger brother hits Aegon with a gout of fire which leaves him maimed and near death. He then defeats Rhaenys, who falls to the ground with a look of peace on her face. Meleys' collision with the ground deals one more destructive blow to the forces attacking the castle before she dies.

Rhaenys' death may also be the most important because of its impact on the rest of the story. She leaves behind a grieving husband, Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and two granddaughters, Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell). Her memory will clearly have ripple effects for the rest of the series.

Ser Steffon Darklyn

The commander of Rhaenyra's Kingsguard, Ser Steffon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan), may have had the most shocking death of the season due to its abruptness. Steffon was the first non-Targaryen person offered a chance to claim a dragon in Rhaenyra's bid to gain an advantage in this war. The scene was enthralling as we watched the Dragon Keepers sing songs to the great beast and speak to it in High Valyrian commands, but in the end, Seasmoke did not like the look of Ser Steffon.

The dragon not only burned its prospective rider alive, but several of the Dragon Keepers standing beside him. The sight of human forms disintegrating in flames and collapsing to the floor is one of the most haunting images this show has presented us with, but to make it worse, at least one Dragon Keeper seemed to be prepared with a contingency. Rather than burning to death, the keeper pulled out a dagger and cut their own throat, apparently finding that less painful. If there's one thing fans want more lore about, it's the order of Dragon Keepers in Targaryen history.

Hugh's Daughter

Next up comes the death of an unnamed character who nevertheless had a massive impact on the story. This season, we got to know a King's Landing blacksmith named Hugh (Kieran Bew), who was struggling to feed and care for his wife Kat (Ellora Torchia) and their sick daughter. The girl gets no speaking lines but her condition deteriorates over the course of the season, until she finally passes away off-screen. Overcome with guilt, Hugh decides to answer Rhaenyra's call for Targaryen bastards to claim dragons in spite of Kat's disapproval.

This is an intriguing backstory for Hugh - a character who was described very differently in Martin's book. The show could be building up to a major heel turn for this character, or revising him into a true hero that Westerosi history simply doesn't remember. Either way, many fans are excited to see where it goes. In the meantime, the scenes of Hugh's life in King's Landing this season gave us a much-needed glimpse into the lives of smallfolk, while the death of his daughter stood in for all the senseless deaths caused by this war so far.

Ser Willem Blackwood

Ser Willem Blackwood had one of the best introductions in House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 4, "King of the Narrow Sea." At the time, he was played by Aflie Todd, and he was one of the many suitors vying for Princess Rhaenyra's hand. However, the courting was disrupted by the ancient feud between House Blackwood and House Bracken, and we saw the young Willem disembowel the teenage Lord Humfrey Bracken in the background, while Rhaenyra walked away in disgust.

Willem returned this season as a knight, played by Jack Parry-Jones. For a show-exclusive character that did not appear in the book, he became quite a fan-favorite with his hatred for House Bracken and his wary support of Daemon. Sadly, he chose his ally poorly, as Daemon agreed to execute Willem in exchange for the loyalty of the rest of the Riverland houses. He even did so in front of the Wierwood tree at Harrenhal, echoing the human sacrifice rituals of ancient Westeros.

The Red Sowing

Finally, the last action set piece of this season gave us at least 16 deaths by dragon. Season 2, Episode 7 was titled "The Red Sowing," which is the nickname historians use for this event in Martin's book. Rhaenyra and her guards escorted all the potential Targaryen bastards into the dragons' lair under Dragonstone so that the unclaimed dragons could choose a rider from among them. However, Vermithor "The Bronze Fury" takes one look at them and proceeds to attack with fire, tooth and claw.

We don't get a casualty count on this event in the show, but the books tell us that 16 people died in "The Red Sowing" and another 48 were burned or maimed. The contrast between Rhaenyra's regal speech to her followers and the sheer carnage that follows is horrifying, and is one of the queen's most morally-gray actions of the season. The dragon does not just kill the prospective riders, but many of the guards as well.

In the end, Hugh is able to claim Vermithor through boldness and, presumably, some kind of magical blood tie. Meanwhile, Ulf (Tom Bennett) fled deeper into the cave and managed to claim the dragon Silverwing. This drastically improved the outlook for Rhaenyra's war effort, though it alienated her further from her son and heir, Jace (Harry Collett).

House of the Dragon is streaming now on Max, and Season 3 is in pre-production. We will return to Westeros for a different spin-off series in 2025 titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight . Martin's books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.