‘House of the Dragon’ Fans React to New Dragonriders and Alicent’s Fate

House of the Dragon’s biggest battle yet is almost here — it’s time for the Dance of Dragons!

Sunday saw the penultimate episode of season 2 of the Game of Thrones prequel series, in which Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) attempted to bolster her ranks of dragonriders by seeking out Targaryen bastards among the Westerosi smallfolk. This move did not sit well with her son, Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), who felt that a claim to a dragon was the only thing securing him to her line of succession, given his own birth status.

Rhaenyra’s plan was inspired by a new pledge of fealty from Adam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), the bastard son of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). Adam was claimed by the dragon Seasmoke in episode 6.

After surveying the ranks of all the Targaryen claimants who responded to her call, Rhaenyra set them up for a literal trial by fire. She left them weaponless in front of Vermithor, the second-largest dragon behind Vhagar, and warned that he may be “perhaps the most fierce.”

Claiming Vermithor proved futile and deadly for most of the smallfolk. Vermithor demonstrated his ferocity by quickly sending most of them to their deaths, even consuming some as they were engulfed in dragonfire.

Throughout the season, fans have been following a blacksmith named Hugh (Kieran Bew). In episode 7, the death of Hugh’s sickly daughter motivated him to reveal to his wife the truth of his parentage — that his mother was a brothel worker of Targaryen descent. He then traveled to Dragonstone to try his luck.

Amid Vermithor’s attack, Hugh made a last-ditch effort to distract the dragon from a fleeing woman, ready to sacrifice himself. However, the dramatic moment subdued the vicious beast, allowing Hugh to claim Vermithor and join Rhaenyra’s ranks.

Another dragonrider emerged purely by accident. Ulf (Tom Bennett), a resident of King’s Landing who has long boasted of being the bastard son of Baelon the Brave, fled from Vermithor only to stumble upon another slumbering dragon, Silverwing.

Unlike his fierce counterpart, Silverwing was more playful in claiming his Targaryen descendant. The dragon knocked Ulf around with its snout until the man finally accepted his fate as a dragonrider.

It’s Ulf, in fact, who gave fans a glimpse of the upcoming Dance of Dragons battle. As he joyfully took to the sky on Silverwing, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) — ruling in his injured brother’s stead — gave chase on Vhagar. He pursued Team Black’s newest threat until he saw the full strength of Rhaenyra’s ranks waiting for him at Dragonstone. Reluctantly, he turned back, leaving the hopeful Queen poised for battle with the strength of three new dragons.

Elsewhere, the fate of another character seemed uncertain. Queen Dowager Alicent (Olivia Cooke) fled the Red Keep into the godswood with only one member of her guard, Ser Rickard Thorne (Vincent Regan). Puzzled by the queen’s choice for an unexpected, unsupervised excursion, Rickard questioned Alicent about her plans to return to the castle. She replied that she was unsure if she ever would.

Later, Alicent was seen shedding her clothes and wading into a lake in just her dressing gown, floating on her back. She was not seen returning to shore before the episode ended.

House of the Dragon‘s season 2 finale airs Sunday, Aug. 4 at 9 p.m. PT/ET on HBO and streaming on Max.

Source: ET Online