House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4: Summary With Explanations and Curiosities
Shortly before dawn on Monday 7th July, the House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 was broadcast, which if you are reading these lines you should already know is the second season of the Game of Thrones prequel TV series. In A Dance of Dragons, which is the title of episode 2×04 of HotD (not to be confused with A Dance with the Dragons, which is the title of the fifth book of A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin), the series has definitely accelerated, or rather inflamed, the story it brings to the screen. So much so that the entire era of Westeros history represented in House of the Dragon, with the fratricidal war of the Targaryens, is called precisely “Dance of the Dragons”, and it actually began with this episode. For further explanations, follow us in our usual recap-summary with explanations and various curiosities that we publish every Monday that the Seven Gods send to this fantasy land.
After the House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4, titled The Red Dragon and the Golden Dragon, there is no doubt that Aemond Targaryen has become the most dangerous man in Westeros. Ewan Mitchell played the role with an iron will, tempered only by fleeting moments of vulnerability, which was shown alongside the backstory of the Targaryen internecine war in previous episodes. The final episode finally saw all-out war erupt, just like it did in Game of Thrones. Masterfully shot by the excellent HBO director Alan Taylor and written by showrunner Ryan Condal, the first Dance of the Dragons ends with the Battle of Crow’s Rest, a scene that is every bit as dangerous as the best moments in Game of Thrones. Mostly thanks to Aemond. In reality, the entire battle was born from a clever ruse agreed upon between Aemond and Ser Criston Cole to draw out one of Rhaenyra’s dragons, so that Aemond, riding Vhagar, could fall upon him and catch him off guard.
How House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 Begins
At the beginning of the new episode, we are back with Daemon on his quiet journey in the sunny Harrenhal, between poisoned foods and consequent hallucinations. Daemon sees the young version of Rhaenyra, who reproaches him for having to obey the one he was holding in his arms only because her brother loved her more than him, but this time our boy doesn’t feel like chatting and cuts off the head of the dream, only to wake up when Simon Strong announces the arrival of a raven-message for him. Strong also informs him that the castles of Rosby and Stokeworth, northeast of King’s Landing and southwest of Dragonstone, have fallen to the army led by Cristone Cole, swelling his ranks under Aegon. He may now head for Harrenhal, Simon says, so Daemon must raise an army with the local lord, Grover Tully. But as we remember, he is now incapable of understanding and wanting, so Daemon is made to meet his young grandson Oscar Tully, who however does not have the authority to speak on behalf of his grandfather but does not want to “accelerate” the inheritance either. And so, it is useless, as Daemon reproaches him, who instead asks who is left among the Blackwoods who can support him more concretely.
Fun fact: All the Tullys Are Puppets or Rather Muppets?
George RR Martin must not have had much regard for the charismatic and strong qualities of the Tullys, judging by the names he assigned to the characters in the house. There are Grandfather Grover and his grandson Oscar, who compared to the books is a character who also unites the brothers Elmo and Kermit. Grover, Oscar, Elmo, Kermit: where have you heard these names before? Simple, they are the names of characters from the Muppets, the legendary puppets who have been giving life to their show for decades.
Rhaenys Sees Alyn and Understands Everything?
We’ve been telling you about this Alyn for four episodes now, and how he hides a secret that will be officially revealed sooner or later. We come close in this episode when Rhaenys arrives at the port with her husband and meets the man who saved her husband from death at sea. She sees him, is fascinated by him, and tells him that he is a handsome boy, caressing his black skin and that his mother must have been beautiful. Corlys intervenes, and to her husband, Rhaenys says something like “Listen, darling, I understand who he is, no more stories. It’s not his fault that he was born he should be honored, not hidden”. Corlys gets angry and changes the subject like any unfaithful husband caught in the act, but Rhaenys is a lady as always and moves on, to say that Rhaenyra has gone to make a last attempt to avert the war and in her absence, poor Jaecerys and Baela are being put under by the old foxes of the council, and so in short they are needed to help their grandchildren.
Alicent Takes the Morning After Tea!
Alicent must have understood by now the misunderstanding she fell into after Viserys’ death, which gave rise to the whole war. She seeks comfort and confrontation by talking to Maester Orwyle, who gives her the now famous “morning-after tea” that we have already seen administered several times to avoid unwanted pregnancies. And even if Orwyle pretends nothing has happened, as he pretends not to know that Viserys would never leave his kingdom to Aegon, it is clear to everyone that that contraceptive tea is for Alicent, who is evidently pregnant by Cristone Cole, who in the meantime is busy leading the army of King’s Landing. And in fact, the scene ends with Alicent gulping down the tea.
Corlys Puts the Black Council Members in Place
Baela also speaks about Cole to the members of the Black Council, who, as mentioned, do not show due respect to Baela and Jaecerys. Nor to Rhaenys, when she dares to intervene in defense of her nephews. “Luckily” Corlys also arrives to lend a hand and reunite the group, reminding them that the enemy is getting stronger with every passing moment. While Daemon is still absent…
Cole Also “Annexes” the Darklyns and Goes East Instead of West!
Meanwhile, the victorious military campaign of Cristone Cole and his “brother-in-law” Gwayne Hightower continues, having also conquered Duskendale, the capital of House Darklyn (extinct at the time of Game of Thrones). The local lord, Gunthor Darklyn, is beheaded, but not before words of pride and curse for the enemy, to make the local soldiers understand which side it is best to take. And they, already decimated by the powerful army led by Cole, adapt. Meanwhile, Criston receives a message from a raven, announcing that he wants to direct his troops east. Gwayne ironically reminds him that Harrenhal, where everyone now knows Daemon has settled, is to the west, but Criston confirms the chosen direction.
Aegon is Humiliated in Valyrian by Aemond!
In King’s Landing, Aegon is furious about Daemon’s deed, especially since his new master of sighs Ser Larys Strong is supposedly the local lord, but Wooden Foot reassures him that Daemon can do little there beyond hallucination since he has all the money. And if that wasn’t enough, Aegon is also humiliated by his brother Aemond. He first informs him that he has sent Criston Cole to Rook’s Rest because it is the only connection on the continent left to the enemies located on the island of Dragonstone; and then, to the complaints of the king who has been completely ignored, Aemond responds in Valiryan that he apologizes if while Aegon was busy having fun with his friends he had to think of a war strategy, but if he has better ideas he can propose them. Aegon barely understands the Targaryen language, he speaks it worse and adapts to his younger brother’s decisions.
Larys Understood Everything about Alicent and Criston!
Alicent was missing from the council, struggling with the after-effects of the abortive tea. Larys notices this and goes to see her, not buying the excuse of indigestion from blueberry pie. In short, he makes it clear to Alicent that he knows full well about her affair with Ser Cole, increasingly victorious with his army. Awareness to be kept in mind, this one from Larys, who hisses a malicious “you haven’t been yourself, lately” to Alicent, who badly pretends to take it with indifference. And to close, Larys insinuates further doubts about the throne inherited by Aegon in place of Rhaenyra.
Daemon’s Latest Dream, as He Meets Alys Rivers and “Travels Through Time”
Meanwhile, at Harrenhal, she continues to have her hallucinated dreams, this time seeing Aemond in the corridors of the castle and chasing him to the kitchen, where she finds herself in front of Alys, the cook-master of potions who tells her that her name is Rivers, the surname of the bastards of the Riverlands. And we renew our invitation to look for information on the online wikis of this mysterious and talkative character who insinuates further doubts in Daemon’s mind, if you want to know more and perhaps answer the question: “But is Alys a kind of Melysandre?”.
Anyway, Alys offers him something to drink, he intelligently drinks and a moment later finds himself “in the future” meeting Willem Blackwood, uncle of the very young heir Benjicot Blackwood and a past contender for Rhaenyra’s hand before her marriage to Laenor. Willem guarantees the support of his remodeled house, partly for Rhaenyra and partly for their feud with the Brackens. Daemon is still under the influence of drugs and sees his daughter in place of the court cupbearer, but he is lucid enough to understand that he should accept the help.
Aegon Won’t Listen, and His Mother Scolds Him!
The one who does not resign himself to accepting advice is Aegon, who leaves the small council bored by the words of the other members. His mother runs into him and notices that he has made all of his father Viserys’ books disappear, and takes advantage of this to give him a fair scolding about the fact that he did not suddenly become wise by wearing the crown, and indeed he hoped that the role would finally make him understand the importance of listening and learning from the elders, instead, he fired Otto and only made a mess, instead of doing the only thing that everyone expects from him, “a damn nothing”.
Rhaenyra Has Returned, and She is Finally Ready for Battle?
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra has returned to Dragonstone and shortly reveals that she was at King’s Landing to try to avoid the war by talking to Alicent. But since, as we know, things went badly, now that her ally Duskendale has also fallen, our queen of the heart is ready to attack the battle to the death: “I win or I die” she says. She proposes to leave herself with her dragon, but her son points out that if she were to die, the whole war would end immediately. Jaecerys volunteers, but Jake must also stay home according to his mother, who will tell him about the prophecy of ice and fire and the destiny of the Targaryens. And so there remains our beloved Rhaenys, who with her old companion Meleys will leave for Rook’s Rest to avoid the isolation of the Blacks.
Finally a Nice Scene with Dragons: the Battle of Raven’s Rest!
And we finally witness the first big action scene of this second season, and maybe even ever, of House of the Dragon. Aegon also starts, who does not listen to his mother and interferes in the plan hatched by Aemond and Cole.
The army arrives at Rook’s Rest and Cole orders smoke signals to warn Aemond and Vaghar, but instead, Aegon appears in the sky with Sunfyre. Who faces, in fact, our paladins Rhaenys and Meleys, while Aemond at the last minute decides to wait for the right moment.
The Noble Death in the Battle of Rhaenys and Meleys
And so, after Meleys almost takes out Sunfyre, Aemond steps in with a nice Drakaris to separate the four human and beast contenders. If you’re wondering if all Targaryens are “fireproof” like Daenerys, the answer is no, and we understand this for sure at the end of the episode.
In the meantime, however, Aegon and Sunfyre fall to the ground, Meleys-Rhaenys faces the heavier Vaghar-Aemond and manages to do well, but at the last moment, Vaghar appears from behind the castle and strangles Meleys, killing her in flight, thus condemning our Rhaenys to a glorious end.
Criston Cole Recovers and Finds Aemond and (what remains of) Aegon
Criston, meanwhile, after Aemond’s surprise had suffered a blow that had made him faint in the middle of the “dance of the dragons”. When he comes to, he only remembers that King Aegon had been roasted by Vaghar-Aemond, and so he goes to look for him, wandering among the charred bodies of his less fortunate comrades.
And in the end, poor Aegon finds him too. Or rather, first, he finds Aemond busy sheathing his sword (perhaps forgoing a gesture of mercy) and taking his brother’s dagger in his hand. And then for a moment, we glimpse Aegon’s remains. Living or dying remains? Certainly not in great shape, but to find out we’ll have to wait for the next episode of House of the Dragon 2.
