House Of The Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 Ending Explained

House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4, is the biggest, action-filled episode of the show yet.

In episode 4, the television series brings to life the pivotal Battle of Rook’s Rest, the first major battle of the Dance of the Dragons.

This is the moment when the war truly earns its name. Criston Cole cunningly lures the Blacks into sending out Rhaenys as their dragon rider against the Greens’ foot soldiers, hoping to ambush her with the much larger Vhagar, which Prince Aemond Targaryen rides. This battle, with its strategic cunning and brutal consequences, is a turning point in the war and the series.

1. Did Aegon Die In House Of The Dragon Season 2, Episode 4 Ending?

Calm Down Everyone! Aegon doesn’t die here in the book, so it’s unlikely he’s dead in the show.

King Aegon II is not a party to Criston Cole and Aemond’s scheme to have the Blacks ambushed at Rook’s Rest, but he shows up for the battle all on his own.

Riding the most beautiful creature among all the dragons of House of the Dragon, with vibrant golden scales, mounted on Sunfyre.

Ultimately, this doesn’t quite work out as intended, as Rhaenys and Meleys tear him apart. Then Aemond eventually arrives at the scene, but it only seals the deal as the young prince betrays his older sibling with dragonfire, sending him to the ground.

This episode ends with Aegon’s fate not spelled out, but let’s be real—he might be dead. He’s gravely injured in the Battle of Rook’s Rest but not killed in the Fire & Blood text. It would certainly be one of the greater deviations from the story to have Aegon die at this stage.

While House of the Dragon has made plenty of changes within the book, when it gets down to the key events, it’s almost consistently stuck to the blueprint laid out in George R.R. Martin’s book.

2. Why Did Aemond Try To Kill Aegon?

Much like many brothers across House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, there’s no love lost between Aemond and Aegon.

In his estimation, his older brother is a fool, not worthy of the crown, while Aemond has incessantly worked, sacrificed, and taken enormous risks to forge himself into a weapon for his House. It’s not entirely unlike the dynamic between Daemon and Viserys, though Daemon did deeply admire his older brother.

He hates his brother Aegon, and, in his view, through the Battle of Rook’s Rest, there is an opportunity to kill his older brother and then point a bloodied finger at Rhaenys’s associates.

When he falls off his Dragon, he comes up to Aegon in the aftermath of the battle to administer a coup de grâce with his sword in case he is not already dead.

If Aegon had died, this would have made Aemond king, as by now, it was too late for the Greens to backtrack and make Rhaenyra queen. Aemond has everything to gain and nothing to lose by taking out his brother.

3. How did Rhaenys Die? What It Means For Rhaenyra?

Rhaenys Targaryen flies into Blanchish’s battle and does an exemplary job of striking a blow to the Greens, taking out hundreds of armed forces, and putting King Aegon to the ground. She could have left things at that, having made it an astounding victory for the Blacks despite Rook’s Rest being lost, but again, she turns around, holding her ground to take on the far bigger Vhagar.

It’s a huge gamble, and apparently, Rhaenys throws her hands up in defeat and decides to go out swinging.

Rhaenys dies, which will have further-reaching consequences for Rhaenyra in the long run. Rhaenys is the wife of Corlys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s most potent ally, who will be very unpleased about her death. This will create a real cornucopia of discourse among the Blacks.

After all, he has demonstrated suspicion toward Rhaenyra and Daemon already, and Rhaenys originally brought their House over to the Blacks. Not to mention, their side has just lost one of its most powerful dragon fighters and, by association, weakened their cause in the future.

4. Why Rhaenyra Tells Jacaerys About Aegon’s Dream?

As the Battle of Rook’s Rest gets underway, it’s intercut with a scene in which Rhaenyra tells Jacaerys of Aegon’s Dream, which Viserys shared with her in season 1. She would have to tell her heir at some point, but this is an especially important time.

She is sending a dragon rider to war, raising the level of stakes and danger attributed to the Dance of the Dragons; she wants to ensure that Aegon’s Dream is secured as best as possible. With the war fully engaged and chaos erupting, Jacaerys must be aware of the larger risks.

5. The Dance Of The Dragons Is Here – What Happens Next?

The Battle of Rook’s Rest truly sets the Dance of the Dragons in motion, as might be expected. There will be requisite political discourse on both sides following the event. With Aegon so horribly cut up, Aemond rules King’s Landing in his stead, making the Greens stronger and thus more dangerous.

On the Blacks’ side, Corlys Velaryon will probably not be happy about his loss; a wedge of tension could form between him and Rhaenyra.

Although there will be other fights in the future, Rook’s Rest is probably the central battleground for season 2. The rest must be spent with the Blacks trying to refill their dragon rider force.

Many wild dragons are roaming Dragonstone and Driftmark, and the Blacks have already called for people to try their luck at riding them. Many of the new characters in House of the Dragon season 2 will try and mount dragons, the act that turns them into crucial players in the war instantly. There is much to look forward to in the rest of House of the Dragon’s sophomore season.

6. 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.