Warning! This piece contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2 including the finale! After a sophomore season that gave us some of the best dragon action in the history of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon came to a close in a surprisingly action-free finale. While some viewers were expecting it to be an epic battle, instead we got an episode full of scheming, plotting, and shocking reveals to tee up Season 3. So, if you've watched the House of the Dragon finale and are ready to dig into all the teases, set up, and secrets that the episode revealed then you're in the right place as we're breaking down all of that and more.
From the very first episode of House of the Dragon the series has centered on Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra (Emma D'arcy), the two young women whose fates have been entangled with the throne since their girlhood. So, it makes sense that as Season 2 comes to an end we once again see them reunite as Alicent comes to Rhaenyra with an offer: Let her, Helaena (Phia Saban), and Jaehaera (Lulu Barker) leave the kingdom after they hand over the Red Keep to Rhaenyra. This is one of the most emotionally charged moments of the series and once again shifts what we know of Alicent and Rhaenyra.
As Alicent walks through Dragonstone, now a free woman, the Dragon Seeds prepare for war, fitted with their new armor and ready to step onto their dragons. We see the Green army moving into the Riverlands, with Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) ready to meet them. The Northmen finally reach the Twins, heading to support Rhaenyra's claim as Daemon (Matt Smith) readies his army to do the same, then there's the Triarchy ships headed towards Corlys and his men, including his son Alyn (Abubakar Salim), ready to battle.
Rhaena finally catches up with the wild dragon she's been hunting near the Eyrie and Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) wakes in a prison cell. Then it's revealed that Larys did convince Aegon to leave, meaning he will survive the apparent taking of King's Landing. All of that means one thing: War is coming to House of the Dragon Season 3 and it's going to be a brutal and bloody battle no matter what deal Alicent and Rhaenyra may have made to close out Season 2.
In a really surprising moment, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) shows Daemon the future, including a ton of clips from Game of Thrones. In a glimpse of Daenerys Targaryen (Emila Clarke) and her three dragon eggs, she also shows him the war to come against the White Walkers, and the truth of their battle: that the most important thing is that they fight together now and hope that their kin can help save Westeros in the future. It's this vision that cements his loyalty to his wife / niece Rhaenyra, as he realizes that she is the rightful heir, and he doesn't really want any of that Song of Ice and Fire smoke.
It's really interesting to see Daemon finally believe the prophecy, as when Rhaenyra referenced it last season he choked her and denied that dreams or prophecies are real. Now that he's lived through the magical nightmare of Haranhall and has connected with Alys, it's clear he understands and believes in the prophecy. Throughout the season we've seen the creative team take some really big swings that have added extra context to the fictional history the show is based on, Fire & Blood.
The finale continues that trend with the reveal that Alicent went to Rhaenyra and pleaded for her life, agreeing to help the Black faction take King's Landing because she's finally realized that she made a mistake in putting her son Aegon on the throne. It's a massive moment and the show knows it as Rhaenyra comments on the fact Alicent will be remembered as a cold queen, hungry for power, which is exactly how she's portrayed in Fire & Blood. We also get confirmation that Rhaena has hunted down the wild dragon known as Sheepstealer, taking on at least part of the story of fan fave character Nettles .
Some other changes in the finale include Tyland Lannister getting the Triarchy on board rather than Otto Hightower, and the reveal that the leader of the Triarchy is a woman rather than a man. All of these changes make sense in the context of the book, as the entire idea is that you're hearing from multiple unreliable narrators whose own personal leanings impact the version of history that they tell. So here we're getting another version of that history, by seeing what actually happened in the time the book is set.
If we're honest, it's basically all-set up. That's not to say the episode doesn't deliver, as it's another fantastic character-forward entry into the series that tells us a lot about each of the major players going into the war ahead. But with that said, the episode also leads almost directly into the battle to come but stops just before any of that action begins.
We see each side preparing for war, as mentioned above we get that huge Alicent reveal, we see that Larys and Aegon did make it out of the Red Keep, and we see Aemond preparing for war. There's also the small matter of Daemon (Matt Smith) finally pledging his allegiance and armies to Rhaenyra, setting up the epic battle to come. It'll likely be a huge surprise to both book readers and TV viewers that the show takes us right up to the edge rather than showing us any of the action.
Warning! From here on out we're getting deep into book spoilers for things that haven't happened in the series yet, so if you don't want to know what happens next turn away now! The simple answer here is action! If you were frustrated by the shockingly action-free finale, then you'll be satisfied to know that next season is going to be nothing but battles, death, violence, betrayal, and war as the Dance of the Dragons truly begins. There are two things that we'll be seeing once the show returns with the most obvious one being Rhaenyra and Daemon riding their dragons to take King’s Landing. It'll likely be a quick but brutal takeover, especially now that we know that Alicent made a deal to save her own life along with her daughter Helaena and granddaughter Jaehaera in exchange for making sure King's Landing is ready for the taking.
The other big moment that book readers were expecting to see before the season ended was the Battle of the Gullet, so you can expect that to play a large part in the early episodes of Season 3. The epic battle features those newly helmed dragon seeds who come to the aid of Jace as he faces down the Triarchy ships that Tyland Lanister managed to secure for the Green faction. You'll be seeing some seriously tragic losses during that battle if it sticks to the books.
We can also expect the arrival of a couple of major new players in Alicent's son Daeron and his dragon Tessarion. From what we saw of Otto's fate it's unlikely that he made it to Oldtown where Daeron was being raised, and even if he did he's clearly no longer there. Perhaps we could see the new Targaryen arrive looking for his father figure or to help try to defend his brother's claim to the Throne in the face of Rhaenyra's inevitable attack.
Of course we know the series hasn't been afraid to chop and change what we know from the books so we'll have to wait and see just what the third season has to offer and how it chooses to adapt these epic moments in Game of Thrones history. Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
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