House of The Dragon S2 E4 Recap: Betrayals & Dragon Battles

The ‘House of The Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 4 just released and dropped some pretty heavy bombshells on the viewers. The HBO original TV show is a prequel to the monster hit series “Game of Thrones“. It showcases the events that led up to the great fall of the House Targaryen, a disastrous war of succession known as the ‘Dance of Dragons’.

It is based on R.R. Martin’s book ‘Fire and Blood’. In this episode, we witness the betrayal and politics that play out amid a battle with big dragons. Rhaenyra(Emma D’Arcy)truly believes that her father King Viserys(Harry LLoyd) wants her to become the Queen of House Targaryen unlike Queen Regent Alicent(Olivia Cooke), Viserys’s wife and former best friend of Rhaenyra.

What happened in the previous episode?

In the previous episode 3, it becomes clear that the Westeros’ Civil War started because of a misunderstanding due to one name being shared by two people.

In the last episode of Season 1, the war is set off after the dying King Viserys is confused on his deathbed. The old King, confused and crumbling, mumbles of an ‘Aegon’ being “the prince that was promised” to unite the realm. At the beginning of that same episode, Viserys had just finalized Rhaenyra’s ascension to the throne of House Targaryen.

It’s shown that even the audience recognizes the line from “The Song of Ice and Fire” prophecy. But Alicent firmly believes that the now-dead King was talking about their son Aegon II. Further, she proceeds to put him on the throne.

In Season 2 Episode 3, Alicent finally realizes her mistake when Rhaenyra reveals the truth to her that the prophecy of ‘The Song of Ice and Fire’ was produced by “Aegon the Conqueror”. King Viserys had no second thoughts about changing his successor.

Because ‘The Song of Ice and Fire’ prophecy is strictly kept between Targaryen Kings and Queens only, it became pretty clear that during the last of his breaths, Viserys began hallucinating and mistook Alicent for Rhaenyra. He wanted to recite the line hoping the latter would unite everyone in the realm.

‘Dance Of Dragons’ Begins

The ‘Dance of Dragons’ war began as a result of mistaken identities. Yet, there is no way to stop the war as Alicent wants Aegon on the throne.

Rhaenyrs Targaryen(Eve Beast), daughter of Prince Aemon Targaryen and Lady Jocelyn Baratheon, steps up when Queen Rhaenyra proposes the idea of launching dragons on their enemies at Rook’s Rest.

The Queen initially volunteers herself but is stopped as she is too important of a figure in this war of succession. So, courageously, Princess Rhaenyrs mounts on the dragon Meleys and flies off to Rook’s Rest to face Ser Cristian Cole(Fabien Frankel), the Hand to the King under Aegmon II Targaryen, and his army of around 1,500 men. Meleys was the largest and most experienced dragon they had.

As Cole’s army approaches, the archers of the castle try to fend them off by showering them with arrows. As the battle ensues, a cry ensues and a dragon emerges from the sky

Cole sends up a signal to the others about the arrival of the flying beast on the battlefield. Aemond, already mounted on Vhagar, his dragon, hears the horn signal. As he gets ready to take off, he sees Aegon flying off above him astride Sunfyre. Aegon and clash with  Rhaenyrs and Meleys in the middle of the sky in a true Targaryen fashion!

Shocking Betrayal and Death

The fight between Rhaenyrs/Meleys and Aegon/Sunfyre is short but rough. As both of them struggle to maintain their balance, they simultaneously try to take the other down. Amid the brutal brawl between their dragon, Aemond shows up with Vhagar. Now, Vhagar is an older and meaner dragon. She is also bigger than the other two.

Aegon’s initial relief on seeing his brother is quickly smeared off when he realizes what’s about to happen. Aemond unleashes Vhagar on the two riders and their dragons. Sunfyre takes the brunt of the damage for Aegon, who falls into the forest below. This completely shocked fans as this is the first time Aemond’s true intentions are revealed. He displayed his desire to ascend the throne in plain sight. He wanted to bring down the first two in line to the throne in one fell swoop.

Furthermore, he starts approaching Aegon, who is lying on the ground presumably dead, with a drawn sword. He is stopped by a very dejected Sir Cole, now slowly realizing his mistakes. Before this, Aemond chased down Rhaenerys and Meleys with Vhagar and killed them both.

Aemond is then seen sauntering out of the camera frame, presuming either Aegon’s dead or at least, critically wounded.

New Trailer Just Released For Episode 5!

The new House of The Dragon Trailer was just released on July 8, 2024. HBO sure knows how to keep the fans’ attention on lock! In the last episode titled ‘Fire in the Sky’, viewers and characters watch Aemond’s true goal unfold before their eyes. Aegon’s death is not confirmed and the new preview continues to tease that.

The preview opens with a scene of King’s Landing where Alicent and her son, Aemond are watching a procession below. Poor Meleys’s head is paraded as a war trophy through the streets of the capital. Then, a nameless speaker takes King Aegon’s name, and the camera cuts to soldiers carrying a huge coffin box with no clarification of what or who is inside.

Some other points to notice were Rhaenyra deciding on shaking hands with the Riverlands, a cut of Daemon Targaryen, brother of late King Viserys, threatening some people and then him raising an axe to a person in Harrenhal, whose face is not revealed.

What also catches our attention is a mysterious female voice in the end. It doesn’t resemble any female character that we’ve seen so far in The House Of The Dragon. The voice coaxes the drowsy Daemon, the King Consort, “Daemon, you were made to wear a crown”. Who is she and what is her purpose?

The new episode is scheduled to be out on July 14, 2024, on both HBO and its streaming service platform, Max.