'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 4 Takeaway: What that shocking death means for HBO's mega hit show
Contains spoilers for 'House of the Dragon'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 4 aired on HBO on July 7, 2024. The episode brought with it a brutal battle that featured an emotional death at the end of the gruesome battle between the dragons.
'House of the Dragon' Season 2 Episode 4 saw Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) fight valiantly in the battle on her dragon Meleys as both the dragon and its rider died at the hands of Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and the biggest dragon in Seven Kingdoms, Vhagar.
Rhaenys is called the Queen Who Never Was and in the opinion of many, she was a better contender than Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) to sit on the Iron Throne. She was an important voice on the Blacks Council and her husband Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) is their biggest warrior.
What does her death mean for the Blacks and the show? Here's what we know.
Implications of Rhaenys Targaryen's Death
As per 'Fire and Blood', Rhaenys Targaryen's death immediately draws the ire of her husband Corlys Velaryon who blames Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) for not sending her children or going herself into battle and letting Rhaenys go alone. Once Corlys and Rhaenyra settle their differences, they begin to look forward. Lord Corlys will be one of the major reasons why Rhaenyra Targaryen takes King's Landing.
In this episode, we saw Rhaenys meet Alyn of Hull (Abubaker Salim) and that was followed by an uncomfortable discussion between Rhaenys and Corlys about Alyn and his parentage.
Alyn of Hull will be the future heir of Driftmark. In this episode, we saw one of Rhaenys's final words to Corlys being about restoring the honor of Alyn of Hull and that is what will happen in the future as he gets called Alyn Velaryon.
What next for the Blacks and Greens after Rhaenys Targaryen's death?
Rhaenys Targaryen's death and Rook's Rest being taken over by the Greens leaves Rhaenyra and the Blacks in a predicament as Rook's Rest was a key position for them. This cuts off the passage for their armies and leaves the battle to Dragons. Currently, the Blacks cannot match the Greens might in Dragons particularly with Vhagar guarding the city.
The Greens meanwhile will use the death of Rhaenys as a way to stamp their authority in battle as they will parade Meleys on the streets of King's Landing showing off the might of King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). Aegon however is in bad shape with the injuries he sustains in battle.
As per 'Fire and Blood', the next step for the Blacks is recruiting Dragonriders for the Dragons that are unclaimed. They will eventually use Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew), Ulf White (Tom Benett), and Nettles as Dragonriders as they claim King's Landing.
Episodes 1-4 of 'House of the Dragon' are streaming on HBO.