Ollie Upton / HBO
In the latest instalment ofHBO’sHouse of the Dragon , Daemon Targaryen ’s ( Matt Smith ) taking of Harrenhal does n’t go exactly as he planned . He successfully takes the castle , but there ’s small hullabaloo to be get in his conquest . He get in atop the unsaved fort astride his dragon , Caraxes , only to find the castle largely deserted — save for a few workers and its castellan , Lord Simon Strong ( Simon Russell Beale ) , who immediately surrenders Harrenhal to Daemon without protest .
While still at Harrenhal , Daemon experiences an unsettling vision . Drawn to a attack - lit room by the phone of a remote fair sex ’s hums , Daemon finally get hold himself face to look again with a immature version of Rhaenyra ( returning season 1 star Milly Alcock ) . “ Always coming and move , are n’t you ? And I have to clean up afterwards , ” Rhaenyra remarks , all while tailor the capitulum of Prince Jaehaerys , the young boy who was decapitated as a result of Daemon ’s orders in theHouse of the Dragonseason 2premiere , back onto his organic structure .
Ollie Upton / HBO
awaken from his imagination , Daemon happen himself standing outside of Harrenhal ’s walls near the castling ’s ancient Weirwood tree diagram . When he change state around , he then sees one ofHouse of the Dragon‘s strangest new character , Alys Rivers ( Gayle Rankin ) , watching him , and the abbreviated fundamental interaction they share straight foreshadows one ofHouse of the Dragon‘s biggest future moment .
Warning : MajorHouse of the Dragonspoilers in the lead .
Alys Rivers’ ominous prediction, explained
After observing him for several seconds inHouse of the Dragonseason 2 ’s third installment , Alys decide to short secern Daemon , “ You will die in this place . ” She subsequently walks away without uttering another word — leaving Daemon understandably shaken . As rooter ofFire & Blood , the fabricated Targaryen house history thatHouse of the Dragonis base on , will already do it , he has reason to be , too . Alys ’ transmission line is n’t just a flippant input ; it ’s an accurate prognostication .
It ’s uncover inFire & Bloodthat , near the conclusion ofHouse of the Dragon‘s central Targaryen civil state of war ( known as the Dance of the Dragons ) , Daemon does , indeed , die at Harrenhal . disenchant by the war ’s many bally turns , Daemon decides to gainsay his sanguinary nephew , Aemond ( Ewan Mitchell ) , to a battle at the cursed castle . Aemond accepts his challenge and , while riding their flying lizard , Caraxes and Vhagar , the two engage in a dangerous battle in the sky above Harrenhal and its side by side lake .
The legendary issue , known as the Battle Above the Gods Eye , end with Caraxes locking its jaw into Vhagar ’s neck opening and Daemon bound from his saddle and drive his Valyrian steel sword , Dark Sister , through Aemond ’s blind eye .
All four scrapper subsequently ram into Harrenhal ’s adjoining lake , the Gods Eye , with Caraxes manage to crawl back to shoring before dying . Vhagar and Aemond ’s bodies are eventually recovered years later , but Daemon ’s never is . That fact has conduct some both within and outside ofHouse of the Dragon‘s fictional human beings to believe that he somehow managed to hold up his impossibly unsafe fall and get by to last an anon. sprightliness aside from Westeros .
What happens in the Battle Above the Gods Eye?
Assuming that Alys ’ prevision inHouse of the Dragon‘s late episode is perfectly right , it does n’t seem like that ’s the version of outcome the HBO serial is move to go with whenever it cause to the Battle Above the Gods Eye . In all likeliness , the tantrum will be the conclusion for both Smith ’s Daemon and Mitchell ’s Aemond . Word readers wo n’t be disappointed if that ’s what happens , either . It is , after all , generally agreed that Daemon did probably die at the end of his engagement with Aemond .
Their battle , nonetheless , ranks high among the moments that proofreader are most calculate frontward to seeing adapted inHouse of the Dragon , and it ’s easy to see why . Not only are Daemon and Aemond two of the Dance of the Dragons ’ good characters , but the climax of their deadly fight is also generally considered one of the most epic and poetic moment key out in all ofFire & Blood .
In addition to setting up Daemon ’s eventual death , Alys Rivers ’ only scene in this week’sHouse of the Dragonepisode subtly teases her future tense on the show . There is , candidly , a lot that could be spell and hypothesise about when it comes to how the series will use her persona , but it ’s worth noting above all else that she go on to become the courtesan of Daemon ’s contender , Aemond , and is actually present for the Battle Above the Gods Eye . In case viewers had n’t already put it together , her witchy powers also make her the character who is most likely creditworthy for Daemon ’s unnerving vision of Rhaenyra and Jaehaerys .
All of this is to say that , while not a lot actually befall inHouse of the Dragon‘s new instalment , it does use Daemon ’s arrival and delay at Harrenhal to set up several noteworthy moment , most of which wo n’t even come inthe show ’s current season . Whether that ’s howHouse of the Dragonshould be spending its time right now is up for argument , but its decision to do so should only make rule book readers even more excited to see both Daemon and Aemond ’s fib continue to unfold act ahead .
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason 2 premiere Sunday nights on HBO and Max .
