Is Aegon dead? Analysis of the Battle of Rook’s Rest

Warning: This post contains spoilers for episode 4 of House of the Dragon season 2.

Who thought House of the DragonAlthough the second season progressed slowly, a welcome surprise awaited us in the last 20 minutes of episode 4.

As Sunday’s episode, the halfway point of Season 2, was heading toward a wild conclusion, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) arrived at Rook’s Rest, the seat of House Staunton, with his rapidly growing army – and prepared to set a trap. Cole’s plan was simple: lay siege to Rook’s Rest and force Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) to send one of Team Black’s dragons to defend the small and weakly fortified castle. Then signal to Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) – who would be hiding a short distance away with his dragon giant Vhagar – that it was time to attack.

Unfortunately, Rhaenyra fell for the ruse and, after being persuaded not to go herself, let Rhaenys (Eve Best) fly to Rook’s Rest with her dragon Meleys. Everything was going according to plan for Team Green. However, Cole had not expected that his king Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) would suddenly appear on the back of his own dragon Sunfyre and start fighting Meleys.

Meleys quickly gained the upper hand over Sunfyre and it looked as if Rhaenys might actually emerge victorious. But then Vhagar appeared.

What happened to Rhaenys?

Although Aegon was initially relieved to see his brother ride in, Aemond apparently had no intention of rescuing him from the mess he had made. In fact, Aemond’s cry of “Dracarys” – the High Valyrian command for a dragon to breathe fire – seemed to have been deliberately timed so that Vhagar’s flames struck Aegon and Sunfyre head-on, knocking them both to the ground.

Despite now having the opportunity to retreat to Dragonstone, Rhaenys decided to turn Meleys around and rejoin the fight. But although the Red Queen and her rider managed to land a few blows, the size difference between the two dragons ultimately proved too great as Vhagar wrapped her jaws around Meley’s throat. After watching helplessly as the life drained from her dragon, Rhaenys fell onto Meley’s back and died. And so the queen who never was met her end.

“I’m so proud of what I did in the last scene of the season because it was very physically, emotionally and mentally demanding,” said Best Collider in June. “Every job you feel like it’s the hardest one you’ve ever done until the next one, but this was harder than any other I’ve ever done. I got through it and didn’t give in to anything. I didn’t let my own emotions get in the way of the job I had to do, and I think Rhaenys does just that. She just keeps going.”

Is Aegon dead?

When the dust settled and Cole awoke from his unconsciousness, he stumbled into the forest and found Aemond standing over Aegon’s body with his sword drawn – apparently preparing to finish the job he had started with Vhagar.

Cole’s arrival obviously made Aemond rethink what he wanted to do, but his obvious desire to see Aegon dead fits with what we’ve seen throughout the series about Aemond’s disdain for his brother. “Aegon is very brash and lacks the stamina to be king,” Mitchell said Comic Resources in June about Aemond’s assessment of Aegon’s ability to rule. “Aegon has somehow squandered his inheritance and even said he doesn’t want to be king.”

As for Aegon’s fate after this cliffhanger ending, we know from George RR Martin’s Fire & BloodThe A song of ice and fire Companion novel, on which House of the Dragon is based on him and Sunfyre surviving the Battle of Rook’s Rest despite their near-fatal injuries. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t take quite a long time to recover, which gives the members of his court an opportunity to gain more power.