The Ending Of House Of The Dragon Season 2 Explained

This article contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" Season 2, Episode 8

With its eighth and final episode in the books, "House of the Dragon" Season 2 has come to an end, closing out arguably the best season in the "Game of Thrones" franchise since the Mountain dueled the Viper. It's been a season of table-setting, visions and nightmares, and long, gorgeously written dialogues. Some might call it slow, especially considering how Season 2 ends — with a chilling montage of the world preparing for battles yet to come. No shots are fired in the season finale. For those, we must wait. What we get instead is a series of emotional confrontations, each one further cementing the tragic path we're headed down.

Ego. Order. The myth of great men, and the alluring lie that power generates purpose. These are the ideas at the heart of "House of the Dragon" Season 2, from the Harrenhal haunting of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and the ethical struggle of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) to the plight of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and the grotesque tragedy of Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). With the exception of the climactic battle at Rook's Rest in the middle of the season, most of these stories are kept simmering, just on the precipice of any moment launching into a boil. Rhaenyra flaunts centuries of tradition by making dragonriders out of common bastards. Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) makes the choice to die in battle, leaving her husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), to grapple alone with his regrets.

By the end of "House of the Dragon" Season 2, the Greens and the Blacks are launched headlong at each other, and it seems doubtful that either side will truly survive.

At the start of "House of the Dragon" Season 2, Episode 8, Rhaenyra has just shifted the balance of power in Westeros firmly in her favor. With three new dragonriders at her command, she holds the biggest stick she's had yet, but she hesitates to use it. Lord Corlys urges her to strike while she has the advantage. Meanwhile, in Essos, Lord Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) successfully recruits a fleet of ships from the Triarchy, finally giving the Greens the numbers they need to attempt to break the Sea Snake's blockade of the Gullet.

After a vision of the future imparted to him by the mysterious Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), Daemon gives up his quest to rule Westeros and bends the knee to Rhaenyra, giving the army of Rivermen he's assembled at Harrenhal over to her command. The host of greybeards promised by Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) marches south to join them.

As the biggest battles of the war hang on the horizon, Alicent braves a dangerous journey to Dragonstone to see Rhaenyra. She begs her old friend to avoid bloodshed and proposes a scheme — allowing Rhaenyra to march into King's Landing unhindered when Aemond flies off to war on Vhagar. Desperate to escape her prison, Alicent even agrees to sacrifice the life of her firstborn son to help secure Rhaenyra's place on the Iron Throne. But unknown to either woman, as the armies and navies prepare for battle, Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) smuggles Aegon out of the city in secret.

Much has been made of Daemon Targaryen's season-long dalliance at Harrenhal. Many viewers have cited it as the weak point of Season 2 — an overly drawn-out and repetitive arc mostly meant to sequester a fan-favorite character away from the action. Whatever your opinion, Daemon's story is also one of the most complete in the whole season. He goes from jealous tyrant to humbled man during his time in Westeros' favorite haunted castle, in large part because of the frightening vision Alys shows him in the season finale.

Those who've seen "Game of Thrones" will recognize details in Daemon's dream like the magical Three-Eyed Raven, the army of White Walkers, and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) hatching her dragons. There are also moments that foreshadow coming events from George R. R. Martin's "Fire & Blood," including one shot of Daemon plunging into a lake that should be familiar to those who've read the book. Alys' motivations in showing him these things are unclear. It's possible that, like Helaena (Phia Saban), who speaks to Daemon from afar during his vision, she simply serves the larger winds of fate.

Regardless, this is the last push Daemon needs to set aside his previous desire for the crown. He tells Rhaenyra that a united realm under her is the best chance they have of enduring the coming darkness. While powerful, this moment is undercut a bit by the knowledge that the Targaryen prophecy ultimately falls flat. Is it worth recalling "Game of Thrones" Season 8 just to have Matt Smith say "Winter is coming" in High Valyrian? Debatable, but the line is very cool nonetheless.

One of the biggest storylines in "House of the Dragon" Season 2 revolves around the dragonseeds — the common folk of Targaryen ancestry who claim dragons in Rhaenyra's army. Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), Ulf White (Tom Bennett), and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) each take a dragon, with the latter two being the only victors in Rhaenyra's bloody bastard free-for-all on Dragonstone.

While the addition of three dragons is a major boost to her claim, the Season 2 finale starts to show the dangers of letting outsiders wield such immense power. Ulf, in particular, shows blatant disregard for the manners and traditions of the highborn, and his possession of a dragon only empowers his disdain. That could be bad news for Rhaenyra, but it's also hard to fault the guy. One of the big ideas that Season 2 unpacks is the one that sustains the Targaryens and other "noble" families: the myth that those born into power possess it by divine right.

Jacaerys (Harry Collett) gives voice to this anxiety because it directly affects him. As an illegitimate child, he believes that his status as a dragonrider is the only thing convincing the world that he truly deserves his station. While Valyrian blood is necessary in the "Game of Thrones" universe to commune with a dragon, the premise of divine rule is still a lie. We know that the Targaryen dynasty ultimately falls amidst its hubris. Ulf is just one sign of what's to come.

The real climax of "House of the Dragon" Season 2 is the conversation between Rhaenyra and Alicent on Dragonstone. In the depths of the old Targaryen fortress, they lay bare the true tragedy of their shared story

"I was raised to believe there was an order to things," Alicent tells Rhaenyra. "That there was security in following the paths laid out for us. I resented you, I think, for caring so little for any of it; for knowing what you wanted. I did not know what I wanted." She offers to betray her own sons and abdicate all power, simply because, in her words, "I am at last myself, with no ambition greater than to walk where I please and to breathe the open air." At one point, she even asks Rhaenyra to come with her, but she refuses. "My part is here," she says, "whether I will or no."

There is another, more intimate reading of this moment — a reading that aligns with the Rhaenicent fan ship, which positions the two foils as would-be lovers had fate set them on a kinder path. It's a reading that's only bolstered by Rhaenyra's brief romantic affair with Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) earlier in the season. Regardless of your interpretation, there is great sorrow in Rhaenyra's voice as she rejects Alicent's wishful invitation. Perhaps she is right. Perhaps she is simply in too deep.

In the season's final shot, a tiny Rhaenyra is framed in one of many shelves within the Dragonstone library — yet another subject of a history much longer and larger than herself. The shot cuts abruptly to a mirrored one of Alicent, standing high on a cliff, surrounded by nothing but the sky and sea. "I do not wish to rule," Alicent tells Rhaenyra moments prior. "I wish to live."

It's no secret that Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) has become the most widely reviled "House of the Dragon" character among fans. His lack of backbone, incel-like entitlement, and hypocritical obsession with righteousness make him a wholly detestable subject. But when he sees his whole host burned alive at Rook's Rest, something changes within him. He's traumatized, yes, but more significantly, he seems to give up his former belief in his own significance, as if it too were burned to ash inside his chest.

In his singular scene in the Season 2 finale, Cole questions whether honor and righteousness are even attainable at all, or whether the nature of humanity is inherently twisted. "Perhaps all men are corrupt," he says, "and true honor is a mist that melts in the morning"

Later in the episode, Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) finally rebukes his father, Lord Corlys, for never acknowledging him or Addam as his sons. In that speech, Alyn calls himself an honorable man and claims that as such, he will serve Corlys despite the loathing he feels for him.

The contrast is striking. Ser Criston has become disillusioned with the idea of great men doing great deeds. Alyn never had such a conviction to begin with, but he's found a way to live his life in a true and loyal way all the same. It's not righteousness that makes a man honorable, but humility, the show seems to say. Daemon himself is even humbled when all is said and done, though honor may still elude him.

The continued references to "Game of Thrones" in "House of the Dragon" have proved a bit divisive due to how poorly fans received the end of the original series. And yet, the Season 2 finale plays heavily with prophecy once again. But is it just another hollow attempt at repairing public opinion? Or is there something more interesting going on?

Daemon kneels to Rhaenyra because he sees the future. He sees a force of darkness so terrifying and strong that he can't even conceive of how Westeros might survive it. Rhaenyra hears this and pairs it with her own prophecy — the Song of Ice and Fire passed down from Aegon the Conqueror. "Game of Thrones" viewers know that this isn't how things really play out, though. Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) are not the ones to save the world, nor do they rule Westeros after the Night King is defeated.

But maybe that's the point that "House of the Dragon" is trying to make. Maybe prophecy is just another mist that melts in the morning, and we're meant to pity Rhaenyra and Daemon for believing themselves so much more important than the rest. In the season finale, Lady Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) braves death in the mountains in the hope of claiming a dragon — something that could kill her, but which she chooses to risk over a comfortable, peaceful life. She, too, has bought into the greatness associated with her name. We have yet to see what will become of her for it.

What are we left with at the end of "House of the Dragon" Season 2? One king, betrayed and burned to within an inch of his life by his own brother, rattles away from his kingdom in a dirty wagon. The queen who challenges him acknowledges that she might not choose her course again if given the chance, but the machinery of war has been activated, and there is nothing she can do to stop it. Children risk their lives for the chance to go to war atop a dragon, and the ordinary people on the ground look up and see doom circling overhead.

It isn't exactly cheery. Of course, if you've read "Fire & Blood," you know that the Dance of the Dragons has always been a tragic story. Multiple battles approach in the final moments of Season 2, and no matter who wins, the realm will burn. Even those who command the armies seem to have doubts about their decisions, but they can only hold tight to their conviction, or perish.

Ironically, it's Ser Criston Cole who gives voice to the brutal reality that's coming: "The dragons dance, and men are like dust under their feet. And all our fine thoughts, all our endeavors, are as nothing." Daemon, the man he dueled in the show's very first episode in a contest of ego and strength, comes to a similar understanding by the end of Season 2. Daemon recognizes at last that he cannot make the earth tremble, nor can any man. Wealth, thrones, and even dragons can't stop anyone from being more than one small piece of a humblingly massive world — a world that can be brutal and terrifying, like a dragon, but never truly conquered.

Emma D'Arcy spoke recently about Rhaenyra's arc through "House of the Dragon" Season 2 in an interview with GQ. "I think something that has been happening for Rhaenyra throughout the series is a growing religious fanaticism," the actor said. "I think sometimes in times of loss, we can choose the anchors that we are going to cling to, and her faith becomes one. But I think there's a narcissism in it. I think her connection with her religion is about wanting to reinforce a divine right."

Olivia Cooke discussed her own character's state at the end of the season in a recent interview with Time, exploring the ways in which Alicent has changed over the course of the last eight episodes. "I think for someone who tried to kill Rhaenyra out of duty and sacrifice in an eye-for-an-eye scene... this is a very different, humbled Alicent than we've seen before," Cooke said, referring to where her character stands at the end of Season 2. As for all that Rhaenicent shipping? "I think it's when you're really close to your childhood best friend and how lines can become blurred in that sense. It is this mini relationship and who knows to what effect?"

Another member of the "House of the Dragon" family who's weighed in on the ending of Season 2 is composer Ramin Djawadi. Speaking with IndieWire, Djawadi explained how he used the gradual expansion of certain musical themes to relay the idea of the war growing out of control. "I think what's important to remember is why they're fighting and how much further it's going," Djawadi said. "We're trying to fix things but somehow things get further and further apart every single time."

One of the big differences between "House of the Dragon" and "Game of Thrones" is that George R. R. Martin's full version of the story was already published by the time production began. While the prequel series has stayed pretty loyal to the source material, there are some major differences between "House of the Dragon" and "Fire & Blood," including in Season 2 specifically.

One major character from the books, a fourth dragonseed named Nettles, isn't present at all in the show. Alicent's younger age in the HBO version continues to spark narrative divergences, which include both of her and Rhaenyra's secret liaisons in Season 2. Rhaenyra's romantic entanglement with Mysaria is also new.

Daemon's story is a good deal different as well, with his vision of the war with the Night King being a new addition for the show. His story is closely tied to that of Nettles in the book, so her absence could open up a lot of new possibilities in future seasons.

As for Rhaena's wild dragon hunt, that's all new. Her life at the Eyrie isn't depicted as depressingly in the novel, and she ends up bonding with a dragon hatchling, rather than a fully grown wild dragon. It seems that the show is setting up something big with Rhaena's arc, and since it's already diverging a good bit from the source material, there's no telling exactly how it will play out.

"House of the Dragon" Season 3 has already been confirmed, and George R. R. Martin has said that he wants the show to last four seasons in total. When all is said and done, Season 2 may be remembered as the setup for a bloody and vicious saga to come, especially if things continue to follow the events of the book.

With Rhaenyra and Daemon finally having assembled a substantial land army, there are sure to be massive battles on the way. We still haven't properly met Prince Daeron Targaryen yet, nor his dragon, Tessarion, but we do glimpse what appears to be them flying over a Hightower host on the march in the Season 2 finale. That's without even mentioning the coming clash between Corlys' ship blockade and the Triarchy fleet, which is a key moment in "Fire & Blood." With Aegon being snuck out of King's Landing, Rhaenyra may find a hollow victory if she follows Alicent's advice and takes the city. And with more and more people claiming dragons, there are bound to be more deadly duels in the sky.

We won't spoil who wins the Targaryen civil war in the book here, but rest assured that there are plenty of twists and dramatic deaths in store. Don't cling too tight to your favorite characters, and you might make it through what's to come relatively unscathed. The same can't be said for the people of Westeros.