House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 Ending Explained

The ending of House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1, is probably its most dramatic, complete with massive consequences that will be felt for the remainder of the series. Generally, this first episode is precisely what most would have expected.

Picking up directly from House of the Dragon season 1’s ending, it closely parallels Game of Thrones episode 1 that preceded it by setting the table for the events that will unfurl, little by little, throughout forthcoming episodes.

1. How does Episode 1 End?

The ending sees Daemon Targaryen arranging with a pair of men who work at the Red Keep (their names aren’t spoken, but they are called Blood and Cheese in the book) to kill Prince Aemond Targaryen.

Except, of course, they get the wrong Targaryen prince, murdering Aegon and Helaena’s son, Jaehaerys, brutally and ensuring there’s no stopping the Dance of the Dragons.

2. Did Blood & Cheese Kill Jaehaerys Under Daemon’s Orders?

Daemon’s instructions to Blood and Cheese are crystal clear: Kill Aemond Targaryen.

However, amidst The Dance of Dragons’s clear and present danger, the series intriguingly leaves one question unanswered: What if they can’t find him?

The scene shifts to the present, focusing on Daemon. While Cheese may have suggested their orders were to “make it a son for a son,” this statement leaves ample room for doubt and speculation about Daemon’s true intentions and whether this was his direct order.

In the book, Daemon’s role is different. He doesn’t go to King’s Landing, and it’s Mysaria who, under his instruction, orchestrates the events.

The target is one of Aegon’s sons, not Aemond. This divergence from the source material leaves viewers to form their interpretations, which seems to be the show’s intention.

3. Why did Helaena choose Jaehaerys to Die?

In Fire & Blood, Helaena is forced to decide which of her sons has to be killed by Blood and Cheese, and she chooses the youngest, Prince Maelor.

He doesn’t appear to exist at this point in the TV series, but Helaena still gets to make her choice when pointing at which of the twins is the boy. And, as it’s later revealed, she was telling the truth as Cheese thought: “They killed the boy.

Helaena is an intentionally mystifying, somewhat unknowable character, so there could be factors behind her decision that are most difficult to summarize from just this episode.

The thing that does stand out, though, is Aegon’s interest in Jaehaerys earlier in the premiere—he wants his son to start properly acting like his heir and attending Small Council meetings, to which Helaena counters by asking what if he doesn’t want to be king.

The truth is, Jaehaerys will not have any other choice. By being the firstborn son of Aegon, by right, he will inherit the Iron Throne and whatever comes with it, which is, according to Helaena’s feelings, nothing to smile about.

It’s also perhaps a telling choice that she chose to save the girl, which is probably the opposite of what Aegon would himself do in that situation. It’s a horrible choice, but Helaena makes the one she feels best, not the one that Aegon would; she refuses to sacrifice another female so that a male can succeed.

There’s no shying away from the horror in that, but it does feel more in line with the show’s themes and that may be why the series has made it a straight choice between boy and girl, unlike the book.

4. What Prince Jaehaerys’ death means?

In one sense, Jaehaerys’s death is not that of a major character in his own right; it’s not like some big wheel has been jerked out from under the narrative. But, as with Lucerys’s death, it’s about what his murder symbolizes: there is no turning back from the Dance of the Dragons now, no way civil war can be avoided.

That was true in some eyes already, but this removes all doubt. Aegon will now have to hit back harder than ever, and then Rhaenyra will have to repay the favor. Neither of them will have any other choice but to unleash their dragons, burn everything in sight, and kill as many as possible.

Those directly involved will suffer the consequences, too. Until now, Aegon has not been a serious king; that will change now, as he desperately wants revenge.

Helaena will be consumed with grief should that follow the book. As stated, Alicent should also be wracked by guilt. Rhaenyra, of course, shall find out too, and it may drive another wedge between her and Daemon. Divided loyalties could fracture further, and the war has barely just begun.

5. How will Blood & Cheese Change Rhaenyra’s revenge plan?

Rhaenyra spoke the words that drove Daemon into action: “I want Aemond Targaryen.” And she had no idea what he would do to try and deliver that or what mess that would stir up.

He might have been trying to bring her a victory, but, as it stands, this will likely feature as a defeat for her. Rhaenyra will be blamed for Jaehaerys’s death—a big setback for her if she wants to win over people in Westeros.

As Aemond killed Lucerys, she seemed ready to burn the world down. Now, she may finally have to try and have cooler heads prevail to stop things from spiraling further. Of course, that will be a fruitless task in the end—it won’t be something she can hold on to.

But at the very least, expect Rhaenyra to try to find another solution to end this war without dragons, for no one will understand better than her just how despicable a crime has just been committed.

6. What is the Importance of Alicent Lighting a Candle for Alerle Florent & Lucerys Velaryon?

One small moment, really interesting before all the chaos, is Alicent lighting candles to remember those close to her whom she has lost. She mentioned three people: Alerie Florent, her mother; Viserys Targaryen, her husband; and Lucerys Velaryon, her grandson-in-law. The Viserys bit speaks for itself, but the other two names are interesting.

This marks the first time in the universe that Alicent’s mother’s name and house have been explicitly confirmed, and although it is a cool reveal on its own, there is some interesting context to it.

House Florent bears as its sigil a fox within a circle of blue flowers. It kindled the way Alicent used to dress in the early episodes of House of the Dragon season 1, where she would don blue dresses, with her red hair nailing the house’s colors.

That meant she was more Florent than Hightower, shifting to the green color of the latter’s flame dramatically in episode 5, when, truly, the divisions were sown.

Meanwhile, naming Lucerys gives a sense of how Alicent feels regret over his death. There was no feeling that she was particularly close to the boy himself, but for Alicent, it was likely the death of her friendship with Rhaenyra.

That shows that part of her still has regard for her old friend, but whether it will be reached or allowed to be in the future of House of the Dragon is another matter altogether.

7. About House Of The Dragon

House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.

Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.

Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.