House Of The Dragon Episode 9 Ending Explained: Why Doesn’t Rhaenys Kill Aegon and Company?
We must talk about the end of House of the Dragon Episode 9 because, finally, everyone has taken off their masks and we already know which side each character is on. The Dance with Dragons has begun, every one of the Targaryens is in position for him and ready to attack, and the Seven Kingdoms have, for now, a new king. Criston Cole has lived up to his “kingmaker” moniker – literally – and crowned Aegon I after ridding himself of Rhaenyra’s loyalists and the Hightowers locking up anyone who might prevent the illegitimate coronation of Alicent’s son. Hence Viserys’s servants were imprisoned, they could say that the king never said that Aegon was the heir.
King’s Landing turns into chaos, and between fights and flights, Rhaenys, the queen who never was, rose as the great heroine of the chapter, but how did she do it? Why didn’t she accept Alicent’s proposal? Why didn’t she finish off Los Verdes? The ending of House of the Dragon episode 9 is explosive, and while some of Eve Best’s character decisions may not make sense at first glance, they say a lot about Viserys I’s cousin.
We have to explain at the end of The House of the Dragon Episode 9. The ninth episode of the Game of Thrones prequel has once again amazed the world with a story of shadows, betrayals, salon moves and palace intrigues. All the ingredients that made George RR Martin’s work great come together here and leave us wanting to know what the response of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Prince Daemon will be in the next chapter. Of course, the Dance of the Dragons is simmering. Success on the part of the production, given the level of violence and blood that we will see in the future.
The end of episode 9 of The House of the Dragon has brought us the coronation of Aegon II Targaryen. The firstborn son of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower has been anointed as the new king of Westeros. The ceremony took place at the Dragon Pit, the place where the dragons are kept in King’s Landing. Aegon II has been crowned king wearing the crown of Aegon the Conqueror himself and his Valyrian steel sword, known as Blackfyre. The town seemed to be fascinated with that sight. The Hand of the King was delighted by his masterful move. However, someone has come to crash the party.
House of the Dragon Episode 9: Summary
As widely mentioned by the cast and crew, the Stranger welcomed the King into his arms. The news, in the dark of the night, spreads slowly like a shadow that only those directly concerned can see. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is awakened and brought to her father Otto (Rhys Ifans), to whom she confesses what she believes to be her husband’s last wishes: Aegon, her son, must ascend the Iron Throne to fulfill her fate. The two, therefore, convene the small council to communicate the news. Much to the Queen’s surprise and indignation, the entire Council seemed to have been organizing itself for some time now under the direction of the Hand. In the gloomy King’s Landing there is only room for a few fleeting moments of pain:
the organizational machine is already in motion and must bring Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) to the throne before anyone can even think of opposing. With the designated heir Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) in Dragonstone, the time seems more than auspicious to move quickly. Against the wishes of her father, the Queen Regent readily denies any drastic moves in an attempt to proceed in a balanced and wise manner, but the game of the Throne does not seem to leave room for reservations. Bringing on a thick series of intrigues, deceptions and secret actions, Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) will find herself forced to suffer the consequences of a daring series of developments, trying to escape as soon as possible from a place where she cannot be considered safe.
The episode that serves as a prelude to the season finale decides to move on a triple path of revelations, contrasts and exhausting searches, bringing new faces to the center of the scene (such as those of the brothers Arryk and Erryk Cargyll) and hinting at others whose destiny is still far from being defined. Finding no further opposition beyond the prince’s inner conflict, Otto’s plan will find its fulfillment, but it will also mark the beginning of ruin: amid thunderous applause and thunderous surprises, the Dance of the Dragons can officially begin.
It’s time for mourning in King’s Landing, but also for action. Strengthened by the last words spoken by Viserys, Alicent informs her father Otto, Hand of the Knight, of her husband’s will to crown Aegon, her firstborn. The boy, more interested in a lecherous and goliardic lifestyle, does not seem to be of the same idea and will hide in the streets of the city. It will be Aemond, who does not hide the desire to be recognized as a more valid heir than his elder brother, and Lord Cole, totally loyal to the queen, to seek him. Meanwhile, Otto Hightower knows that he cannot waste time: until the disastrous night, the king’s wishes preferred the accession to the throne of his daughter Rhaenyra, a woman who had already received her loyalty and oath from half the people and allied houses.
This is how right from the start, to pay the price, more than any other, is Princess Rhaenys, the Queen Who Wasn’t, the victim of a plot against the Targaryen long thought and now implemented. Because, you know, there are intrigues in the palace, and even more than one might think: slow cobwebs thought out with care, chessboards where the player (after all, it is always the “game of the throne”) uses people, even at he is close, like pawns, between those who remain standing and those who, on the other hand, are sacrificed. The world ordered, decided and commanded by the men of Westeros seems to exist within a perfect geometric figure. Points of view, because sometimes only a dragon can be enough to brutally break that order and that facade formality.
House Of The Dragon Episode 9 Ending Explained: Why Doesn’t Rhaenys Kill Aegon And Company?
When the queen tells Rhaenys that she would have made a better ruler than her husband, she is right. The fact that those words were not enough for him to join the Greens is proof enough. Regardless, she is a fair woman, and she knows that Aegon should not be on the Iron Throne. Fans believed that maybe with everything that happened with Laena and Laenor, the matriarch of the Velaryon would change sides, but no.
And why not finish off the Hightowers and the king’s sons then? At first, your goal is to get to your dragon and save it. When she is led by the crowd to the Dragon Pit, the queen never took her chance to free Meleys. However, she does not leave without being seen, far from it, she ascends and destroys the ground, leaving one of the most impressive scenes of the series. That would have been her chance to end Alicent and Otto’s betrayal, but she decides to spare their lives.
According to Eve Best’s statements to EW, despite everything the character suffered, not killing the Hightowers is a sign of how great a queen she would have been. “It’s because she’s very smart and in the end, she chooses to do the right thing, which is not to destroy,” she explains. “The choice not to destroy becomes even stronger. It is the mark of greatness and a truly inspiring moment”. This is also due in part, according to Best and episode director Clare Kilner, to Rhaeny’s respect for Alicent. With her actions to seat her son on the throne, Corlys’s wife realizes that she had underestimated the queen, and a consideration that she had not had until then is born.
Also, when Alicent steps in front of Aegon to protect him and is willing to die for her family, Rhaenys accepts and respects him and therefore decides not to burn them. He prefers to do the right thing, goes to Dragonstone with Rhaenyra and Daemon, and prepare for war. The time will come when he regrets not ending the betrayal in time, that’s for sure.
The True Meaning Of The Final Scene
That someone is none other than Princess Rhaenys, the “woman who could reign.” Freed from her cell, after wandering King’s Landing in search of the Blackwater and being forced to follow the crowd to Aegon II’s coronation, the end of House of the Dragon Episode 9 has led Rhaenys to the Dragon Well. Without waiting for the new king to be anointed, the Targaryen princess walks around the sides of the structure in search of her dragon Meleys. Once she finds it, she destroys the floor of the Dragon Well, throws the ceremony into chaos and stands before the traitors who have staged a coup.
The meaning of the final scene of The House of the Dragon Episode 9 is very important. The liberation of Rhaenys not only has that point of empowerment for the character, who had been secondary, but who has always shown great character and extreme willpower. It is also a reminder of what it means to be a true Targaryen. Rhaenys is making clear his loyalty to Rhaenyra, Daemon and his grandsons and granddaughters. He is making clear his loyalty to Viserys, whose true wishes he knew perfectly well. From there, he will fly to Dragonstone. And then they will begin to dance to the sound of dragons. For the dance is long and bloody. And this is just the beginning.
