House of the Dragon: HBO teases thrilling season finale
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Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon brought the story to a sensational close with the Dance of the Dragons only just beginning. Fans were hit with some dramatic twists with the writers serving up a slice of drama and tragedy as tensions between the Greens and the Blacks reached a fever-pitch crescendo. The season one finale titled The Black Queen finished on quite the note and now many viewers are keen to know about the fate of Queen Alicent Hightower’s (played by Olivia Cooke) second son Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell).
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers from House of the Dragon season 1 and Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin
How does Aemond Targaryen die?
In Fire and Blood, Aemond is more callous than his nuanced onscreen counterpart, which means he is very much a villain in the bloody history of Westeros.
After the death of Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), Aemond was declared the “Kingslayer” by his enemies and had won the “undying enmity” of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy).
Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) also swore vengeance for his step-sons Luke’s death by not only taking one of Aegon II’s (Tom Glyn-Carney) children but also eventually seeking out Aemond.
On the prowl for Aemond and his dragon Vhagar, Prince Daemon searched high and low through the Riverlands before eventually going to Harrenhal to await his nephew.
After 13 days, Aemond finally showed up and the two men entered the Battle Above the Gods Eye after they fought on their dragons above the cursed castle.
During this battle, Prince Daemon finally met with Aemond as he leapt onto Vhagar mid-flight and killed the younger Targaryen.
A few moments later, both dragons and men were plunged into a lake and in Fire and Blood it reads: “Neither man nor dragon could have survived such an impact, the fisherfolk who saw it said.”
Indeed, Aemond and Vhagar’s skeletons were later recovered with Daemon’s sword Dark Sister plunged through the skull.
Interestingly, Daemon’s body was never recovered from the water with “queen currents” and “Hungry fish” said to be living in the lake after the prince’s downfall.
Aemond was just 20-year-old when he met his end at the hands of his uncle Daemon, who was 49 during the Battle above the Gods Eye.
This fight also saw the death of the greatest dragon who ever lived Vhagar at the age of 180, and who had been alive at Aegon’s Conquest had now passed.
So, despite Luke’s horrific death, Aemond did pay a heavy price for his hand in it during the Dance of the Dragons.
As always, House of the Dragon has been forging its own path ahead, so the circumstances of how this battle plays out could be very different.
Speaking about the chase scene between Vhagar and Arrax, actor Mitchell said: “I think anyone who was wronged like Aemond was, and has his eye taken out, you’re gonna feel some sort of hatred – whether it’s subconsciously or consciously – towards the person who did it.
“But what Aemond ends up doing in the skies above Storm’s End ultimately starts the domino effect of the Dance of the Dragons.”
While Condal said in House of the Dragon, Aemond never intended to kill Luke and simply to scare him.
Luke’s death has huge ramifications on the show’s storyline with a previously restrained Rhaenyra now hellbent on revenge amid her grief.
D’Arcy said on the latest edition of Inside the Episode: “What I think is really affecting about it, within a series you know, there’s a lot of loss, there’s a lot of death, there is lots of pain of different sorts, and yet somehow I think this moves the goalposts for suffering.
“Once you’ve lost both your parents, and you’ve lost of a lover, maybe you think you know grief.
“And then, I think what’s so awful is that losing Luke tells her she knows nothing about grief, and completely changes her outlook on the world going forward.”
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