House of the Dragon season 2 began last week with an intense episode, and ended on an explosive note, in which Daemon’s hired goons murdered King Aegon II’s male heir, little Jaehaerys. But this new season might be making a habit of presenting exciting endings to its episodes, as episode 2 also has similar-paced action, although the consequences are arguably less grim. House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2 deals with the extreme reactions from various people in King’s Landing to the grisly murder of the young prince and also the stir-up that follows at Dragonstone.
Spoiler Alert
What is the Hightowers’ official reaction to the murder?
House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2 begins with utter chaos at the Red Keep in King’s Landing, the very night on which Prince Jaehaerys is brutally murdered. The guards round up everyone in the castle in order to find any possible suspects among them, while King Aegon II, the grieving father, is absolutely infuriated by the sudden loss. The grand model of Westeros, which had been put together with extreme care by King Viserys in the previous season, now lies broken and destroyed, which is one of the many pieces of evidence of Aegon’s rage in this episode. With little control over his mind and tongue at the moment, he calls for the guards to kill every possible individual who might be involved in the killing of his son. Aemond still maintains his usual calm, though, and upon investigating the now-emptied chamber where the incident had taken place, he is able to find a gold coin. The coin, because of its high value, makes it clear to him that the assassins had been paid off by someone quite rich and influential, raising suspicion against Dragonstone.
When a council meeting is held soon after, many are confident that this has been an act of revenge ordered by Rhaenyra, following her own son, Lucerys’, death. The animosity between her and King’s Landing is no longer a secret, as Rhaenyra now also claims to be the rightful Queen of Westeros, and so her involvement in the murder makes a lot of sense. Aegon obviously wants to launch a direct war on Dragonstone, not realizing the great scale of death and destruction it might bring, and some of the council members put a stop to this wish of his. Attacking Rhaenyra until it has been proven that she was the one behind Jaehaerys’ death would be devastating for the image of the rulers in the eyes of not just their subjects but also of the other families in the kingdom. Wiser heads obviously want to avoid the war as long as possible, even though it is imminent. The council is interrupted by the presence of Larys Strong, who informs them that a certain guard has been arrested who might be linked to the murder, and this is later confirmed to be Blood, one of the assassins.
But the council’s ultimate decision is taken by Otto Hightower, perhaps like always, for the Hand of the King is undoubtedly the most experienced when it comes to such matters. Despite the grief and sorrow that hang over the Hightower and Targaryen families at the moment, Otto sees the situation as having immense political possibilities. He knows that many of the subjects have been talking about Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne and that parts of the masses have been turning in favor of the exiled queen. Although Westeros is obviously not a democracy, the opinions of the masses still matter, at least to intelligent rulers like Otto Hightower, as a disliked king or family faces way more threat from their subjects. Therefore, he decides to use the murder of Jaehaerys as an active campaign to tarnish Rhaenyra’s name and image and to call her out as a villainous murderer who does not hesitate to take the lives of children. Although Aegon does not want his son’s dead body to be shown around in public to gain sympathy, for he finds it disrespectful, this is exactly what happens soon after.
Upon the advice of Otto, a funeral procession is held, in which the body of the young boy is presented to the public on a horse-drawn carriage on the streets of King’s Landing. The grieving mother, Helaena, and grandmother, Alicent, are also present in this procession as representatives of the family that has suffered a tremendous loss. They do feel the sympathies of the crowds showered upon them, although Helaena is evidently disturbed by something, almost preoccupied by some deep thought. The complete detachment between the ruling family and its subjects is also clear when Helaena feels uncomfortable, as if she is being suffocated by the crowd around her. But Otto’s decision is ultimately a success, as people start to express their anger and hatred against Rhaenyra, turning soft towards King Aegon II and his wife for their loss.
Why does Daemon leave Dragonstone?
When the focus shifts towards Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is shocked and confused by the developments at King’s Landing, as Jaehaerys’ death is news to her. She is appalled at the fact that a child has been killed, and even more so at the fact that the Hightowers are alleging her to be the murderer. This scene takes place after the public funeral procession, and so Rhaenyra is also made aware of the change in public opinion She vehemently refuses any involvement in the murder, even when some of her councilmen state how her act of revenge might be considered understandable. Rhaenyra is firm about the fact that she would never order the suffering of innocent mothers like Helaena, and the very idea that she might have hired the assassins is disrespectful to her. Although most of the councilmen still remain confused as to what happened, Rhaenys does not take long to figure out who ordered the murder, as she takes a glance at her brother, Daemon.
Indeed, the secret is soon out, but in private, as Rhaenyra finally realizes that her husband was the one to have hired the assassins, and she confronts him in their chamber. Daemon defends himself by calling it an accident, stating how he had technically ordered the murder of Aemond. This conversation quickly snowballs into a serious expression of the two characters’ deepest thoughts, which they had been hiding for so long. Rhaenyra reveals how she had never fully trusted Daemon, despite her romantic feelings for him, and she states that his unwillingness to consult others before taking rash decisions is exactly what led to her father’s distrust in him. She then even goes on to question whether Daemon had simply married her only to get hold of the inheritance he had once been deprived of, which is a fair possibility as well.
Daemon retorts by claiming his own beliefs about the political dynamics of the Targaryen family, which are no less harsh on Rhaenyra either. When his claims of having planned revenge for her sake are not taken seriously, Daemon states that his brother, Viserys, had named Rhaenyra as the official heir to the throne only to infuriate and disrespect him. While the tradition of the Targaryen family had always been to name male heirs as the successors to the throne, Viserys had indeed given his daughter the position after he had been angered by Daemon’s acts. Therefore, Daemon claims that Rhaenyra has always been a pawn who has been moved around for other political reasons, implying that she is not really fit to be a queen. This long confrontation ultimately ends with Daemon no longer being a part of Rhaenyra’s team, as he leaves Dragonstone with his dragon in order to prepare for the war ahead. How long this separation lasts would be interesting to see, and there is even a possibility, as presented by Rhaenys, that Daemon might even ultimately turn against his wife, question her claim to the throne, and try to be the king himself, now that there is no official heir after the death of Jaehaerys.
Who is the new Hand of the King?
A substantial blame for the murder of the prince is also owed to Ser Criston Cole, the commander of the Kingsguard, since he was busy romancing with Alicent on the night of the incident instead of guarding the chambers. Even though this blame is only slightly mentioned by others, Criston himself believes it quite intently, and this is why he plans a vengeful mission. Hiring one of the Kingsguard members, he calls for the murder of Rhaenyra, and Aegon gladly agrees to this mission when he is told of it. Only some time earlier, he had also interrogated Blood, one of the assassins who had been caught by the guards. Before he was brutally bludgeoned to death, Blood had revealed that his fellow assassin was a ratcatcher who was regularly hired to work inside the royal palace. He had also stated how Daemon Targaryen had hired his services, but it is the earlier information that has more immediate consequences.
Enraged by the murder of his son, Aegon loses whatever little patience and rational thought he had, and orders the execution of each and every individual fitting the role of the assassins. Therefore, each ratcatcher is caught, lined up, and publicly executed by the guards, and their bodies are left hanging in the streets. While Cheese, the real perpetrator, is also among those killed, the act leaves plenty of innocent men dead, and the opinion of the public once again turns against the Hightowers. This naturally angers Otto, who is left enraged by his grandson’s rash decisions, as it totally undoes the public sympathy and support he had garnered earlier through the public procession. The man confronts Aegon, reminding him how he is first a grandson and only then a king, and also simply laughs at the claim that Viserys had chosen him to be the next rightful king. This means that Otto is very well aware that his close friend had not really named Aegon as the successor but had kept quiet about it only for the benefit of his family.
The confrontation does not have a positive effect on Otto, though, as Aegon finally decides to do what he has been thinking of for some time. The king dismisses his own grandfather from the position of the Hand and exiles him from the council. Although we had seen in the earlier episode how Larys Strong had been trying to take the position, Aegon’s current choice is a shocker for both viewers and the character himself, as he picks Ser Criston Cole for the role of the Hand. This decision is sure to have Larys turn against the king, but for now, the only effect of it is Otto Hightower deciding to leave King’s Landing and rally the other Hightower family members before the war. Alicent is also left a bit stunned by her father’s dismissal, but on the other hand, she is also excited by the fact that her secret lover has suddenly gained so much power. This initial conflict and ultimate agreement are strongly marked by a scene of passionate romance between Criston and Alicent, which marks the ending of the episode.
How Did Arryk And Erryk Die?
Ser Criston Cole’s plan of revenge is quite outlandish to think of, as he appoints one of the Kingsguard members, Ser Arryk, to travel to Dragonstone, sneak into the castle, and kill Rhaenyra Targaryen. The only convincing part of the plan is the fact that Ser Arryk is actually the identical twin of Ser Erryk, a former Kingsguard soldier who had switched allegiance and now served Rhaenyra. Thus, the plan is for Arryk to disguise himself as his brother, sneak into the castle and the queen’s chamber pretending to be Erryk, and kill Rhaenyra. Although it is not clearly shown on screen, the plan ultimately fails, probably because of the cunning of Mysaria, also called the White Worm. Earlier in the episode, Mysaria is called upon by Rhaenyra as she tries to figure out how exactly Daemon had gotten Jaehaerys killed. This is when Mysaria spoke of how everyone had always taken advantage of her in life, leaving her abandoned at all times, and Rhaenyra clearly grows sympathetic towards her.
Instead of keeping the woman trapped, Rhaenyra finally lets Mysaria leave, even arranging for her safe passage to the ship that is to take her away from Dragonstone. But when Mysaria walks towards the place, she notices a Kingsguard soldier, who is indeed Ser Arryk, and seemingly returns to the castle. It is probably she or the other guard who had been stationed in front of Rhaenyra’s chamber who informs Ser Erryk that his twin brother has come to the castle. Erryk quickly figures out that his brother must be here to kill the queen, and so he barges into the chamber in time. A long duel between the two soldiers follows, even though they are loving brothers, and Erryk ultimately kills the attacker, thereby successfully protecting his queen. However, the man he has just killed is also his brother, and out of sorrow, Ser Erryk then takes his own life as well. As Rhaenyra is now left without a strong soldier by her side, the war is now definitely closer, for this assassination attempt will become the next reason for the attack. Ultimately, the war in House of the Dragon is coming for sure, and it is only a matter of time before one side makes the first direct strike.
