House of the Dragon
Season 2 – Episode 8
Episode title: The Queen Who Ever Was
Original air date: August 4, 2024
Plot: Tyland Lannister allies with the Triarchy, though he must beat Admiral Sharako Lohar in a mud-wrestle first; impressed, Lohar asks him to sire children on her wives. Larys persuades Aegon to sneak off to Braavos where Harrenhal’s gold is stashed. Rhaena finds the wild dragon. Gwayne challenges Criston, who regrets the war. Aemond and Vhagar lay waste to Sharp Point. Rhaenyra, who hoped for her dragons to deter war, decides on war. Ulf’s rudeness enrages Jace. Corlys renames his flagship “The Queen Who Never Was”; Alyn rebuffs his attempts at reconciliation. Simon tells Rhaenyra that Daemon may be disloyal; she and Addam fly to Harrenhal. Alys leads Daemon to a weirwood tree, where he envisions a future including a white walker andDaenerys Targaryen; seeing himself as part of a larger story, he swears fealty to the newly-arrived Rhaenyra. Aemond wants Helaena to fly Dreamfyre; she and Alicent are unhappy. Helaena tells Aemond he will die, and that killing her will not change that. Aided by Orwyle, Alicent sneaks onto Dragonstone, offering to surrender King’s Landing to Rhaenyra, who replies that Aegon must die to ensure the transition. Otto appears in a cage. Soldiers from across Westeros prepare for war.
* * *
(SYRAX SCREECHES)
You stand with a dragon of House Targaryen!
This dragon came to me.
She wishes him to be instructed in dragon riding.
BARTIMOS CELTIGAR: The lowborn cannot go around seizing dragons.
With these riders, we can end a needless war.
House Targaryen is the blood of the dragon.
If any may lay claim to it, what are we then?
♪ (INTENSE MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
We will make an alliance with the Triarchy.
I’ve had enough of this cursed blockade.
TYLAND LANNISTER: You cannot mean to treat with the Free Cities.
CRISTON COLE: I thank Your Grace for her blessings.
ALICENT HIGHTOWER: All my life, I have endeavored to serve, and somehow none of it matters.
Ser Rickard, I wish to go out.
ALYS RIVERS: There are older things in this world than you, or I, or living memory.
You are not the player, but a piece on the board.
Do you accept me as your queen and ruler?
I wish you to go to Harrenhal.
Find out his intentions.
Whether he means to raise a host for me or for himself.
I have received rumor of the dragon Seasmoke with a rider.
CORLYS VELARYON: The rider is your brother.
If it is something in the blood…
I am of salt and sea.
I yearn for nothing else.
RHAENA TARGARYEN: You misled me, My Lady.
There is a large dragon in the Vale.
JEYNE ARRYN: It is large and formidable.
But alas, wild.
The Riverlands are held together by oaths.
DAEMON TARGARYEN: Then we shall go to face your vassals, and you will call your banners to war.
OSCAR TULLY: There is a problem. They all hate you.
The old ways call for justice to be done.
Seize him.
He must now rectify his grievous error.
No, no! No!
It crushes whoever wears it.
(PAINED GROAN)
I push him on your instruction. He is spent.
LARYS STRONG: It will be long before he may rest again.
(PAINED GROAN)
They’re looking for Targaryen bastards.
RHAENYRA TARGARYEN: Each of you has left behind a life to which you might never return.
If you survive, you will be transformed.
The dragon, Vermithor… and Silverwing.
Who among you would be first?
(LAUGHS)
(VHAGAR ROARS)
RHAENYRA: Let us raise an army of bastards.
(DRAGON ROARS)
(epic theme playing)
♪♪
(theme concludes)
(tense music playing)
(indistinct chatter)
Tyroshi captain: These are our terms.
One hundred of your golden dragons.
Tyland Lannister: Per ship?
(captain chuckles)
captain: Per man.
Tyland: I could not produce such a coin, even if I wanted to.
Myrish captain: Again, you plead poverty.
It is hollow stuff from the mouth of a Lannister.
Whose very stables and sculleries are carved into a mountain of gold.
And we will need it before this war is done.
Break the blockade and it will benefit you.
Do you think that we lack for buyers for our tapestries and perfumes?
We sell where we please, blockade or no.
Essos is as rich as it is vast.
It seems you need us more than we need you.
(sighs)
(indistinct chatter)
The Stepstones.
(scoffs) What of them?
Give us the Stepstones.
A smattering of rocks… hardly a sacrifice to the lords of Westeros.
I… Those rocks have been disputed for a generation.
Your… pirates have waylaid ships, taken slaves, cargo…
Give them to us outright, if you prevail, and all that will cease.
We will impose a simple tax on those passing through.
Recoup the losses we took fighting the Velaryon hordes.
Tyland: Extortion.
You will drive up the price of basic goods.
It is better than starving, surely.
Myrish captain: A fleet of warships, then, sailing at your command.
They would break the blockade…
Tyland: Hm.
…and hold the passage.
Very well.
The prince regent may have me hanged for this.
With the armada we send now, you can topple the prince regent and sit the Iron Throne yourself.
(grunts)
Myrish captain: Of course, there is one more condition.
(sighs)
Tyland: I was… rather set on a bath and a flagon of wine.
Myrish captain: The commander of our fleet must agree to go with you.
His name is Lohar. The sailors are fiercely loyal to him.
If, if he does not lead them, they will not fight.
Very well.
Let us meet this commander then.
(clears throat, grunts)
(flies buzzing)
(indistinct chatter)
Admiral Lohar… this is Tyland Lannister, of Casterly Rock.
Well met, Lord Tywin.
Uh…
it’s Tyland.
What sort of man are you?
I beg your pardon?
A poet… a philosopher?
I am the master of ships at King’s Landing.
You’re thin.
But also tall.
I will not sail with a man who cannot best me.
(quiet laughter)
(indistinct chatter)
At, at what?
(tense music playing)
(grumbles, roars)
♪♪
(people wailing, screaming)
(music fades out)
(Orwyle pouring tea)
Some rum wouldn’t go amiss.
Your Grace.
Just a little.
(distant bell tolling)
You’re a good man, Orwyle.
(door opens)
(Aegon drinking)
(birds chirping)
A word, Your Grace?
(exhales, clears throat)
(door closes)
I must ask you, Your Grace, to steel yourself.
We must leave King’s Landing, quickly, and we will not return for some time.
What?
The Pretender has found three new riders for her dragons.
That’s impossible.
Your brother thought the same.
He flew to challenge her and was rebuffed.
Fled in terror, from what I hear.
He deserves no less.
Be that as it may, he has gone in fury to Sharp Point… and laid waste to the whole of the town.
f*cking mad c*nt.
She really did it then?
I fear so.
So, what was the f*cking point in all this then?
The gods are cruel, Your Grace,
but I hope you can see the urgency.
No, no. I am the king. Why must I run?
Because the prince regent is going to kill you.
You were in danger before, and now, he is thwarted and he is angry.
There is no telling what he will do, but we have an opportunity while he is away…
An opportunity to push him out.
Take me to my throne and once he returns, I shall take him prisoner… hm?
And what then?
When Rhaenyra descends on you with her seven dragons,
and you, without Vhagar, what then?
W…
Uh…
I have, over the years, in anticipation of little bumps in the road, moved the greater part of Harrenhal’s gold reserves to the Iron Bank in Braavos.
We can live… well and remain until what is coming has passed.
(weak laughter)
Y… You want to take me to Essos to live with the goatf*ckers.
It’s best to live, I think.
However you do it.
Is it?
My dragon is dead.
I am burnt… and disgusting… and alone.
And I’m a cripple.
You are not alone.
My co*ck is destroyed, did they tell you that?
Yeah. It burst into flames like a sausage on the spit.
Do not despair, Your Grace.
There are better days ahead.
Let your brother and the Pretender destroy themselves in blood and bitterness.
When they are spent, and their armies in tatters, we will return, and the people will rise up to meet us.
I can’t even piss without it running down my leg.
They will be tired of endless deprivation and fear.
They will hail the returning king… his father’s true heir.
Aegon the Victorious… risen from the ashes.
Aegon the Peacemaker.
Aegon the Rebuilder.
Aegon, the Realm’s Delight.
(tense music playing)
(wind blowing)
(heavy breathing)
(water flowing)
(gasps)
♪♪
Ulf: This is more like it, Hugh, don’t you think?
Hugh: We’re meant to be at the training yards learnin’ the commands.
Ulf: Yeah, and I will go, but surely they’d not deny me my pleasure after so long.
I may never eat fish again.
(music fades out)
What are you doing here?
Remove your feet from the table.
Ulf: I’d rather not.
Hugh: Ulf.
It’s not up to you… Ulf.
Who’s it up to then… boy?
He is the prince, Ulf. Prince Jacaerys Velaryon.
Prince Jacaerys Velaryon. Right here. (chuckles)
Who’d have thought it?
He lives here.
I’ll have an apology from you.
Ah! The young prince!
And look at that hair.
As dark as they say.
Let them tell us we don’t have Targaryen blood, eh?
My mother is the queen and…
Dragonriders both.
You and I… cut from the same cloth.
It is a sacred inheritance of which you know nothing.
Forgive him, my prince.
He is not much used to the manners of court.
Or any manners at all, I’d say.
Do you know what has happened this last hour, hm?
The so-called prince regent has burned Sharp Point down to its stones.
Thousands of its folk dead or lost.
Its harbor in ashes.
Will you prepare to face such an enemy?
Or will you stay here and make yourself easy?
If you hinder our efforts through sloth or unreadiness, I will see you hanged, and your body fed to the dogs in the street.
I-I meant no disrespect, my prince.
(indistinct chatter)
Rhaenyra Targaryen: The new riders are a boon to us, but now the deed is done, I cannot erase my doubts.
We know little of who they are, and what is the strength of their character.
Addam of Hull, at least, is known to you.
He’s a shipwright in my employ, and it is reported to me that he is a man of integrity.
I’ve had little to do with him… to my regret.
But the beasts have been claimed.
You now have a great advantage.
You must strike, quickly, while the prince regent mulls his next action.
I had hoped my advantage may be in deterrence.
Vhagar has ever been our foremost threat, and she is now overmatched.
Vhagar is not his only dragon.
W… The third brother is untested, has never left Oldtown, and his dragon is younger than Vermax.
But a dragon nonetheless.
And you forget another.
Helaena?
She does not ride. She has no taste for it.
She may yet be compelled.
And her dragon…
Dreamfyre, hatched when the Conqueror was king.
She is formidable.
Still, Helaena is no warrior.
Aemond thought himself invincible.
He has now discovered he is not.
He’ll be angry, desperate.
He will not stop at burning Sharp Point, and he will not be denied.
You speak truly… though I wish it was not so.
(soft chuckle)
(indistinct chatter)
How goes the Sea Snake?
Better than new.
We’ll rejoin the blockade on the morrow.
Let our foes beware, be they Lannister or Greyjoy.
But… my ship is no longer the Sea Snake.
She was a testament to my own glory.
I’ve given her a new name.
The Queen Who Never Was.
Rhaenyra: Corlys…
I thank you.
(soft chuckle)
What I do now… I do for her.
Your Grace, you are ready.
You have six dragons under your banner.
My ships sail at your command, and my men serve you.
But the Lannisters are marching, and the Hightowers from Oldtown.
You must crush this beast at its head and before too many days have flown.
There is, of course… another player that has yet to be revealed.
Ah, Your Grace, a word.
It seems the sheep on our land has been sold upriver.
My vassals have sent a drove of swine instead.
Dragons do eat pigs, I assume?
Caraxes prefers them. How goes your muster?
We’ll be ready to march in two days’ time.
See to those pigs.
At once, Your Grace.
Your Grace… Ser Alfred Broome has come to see you.
(laughs) Interesting.
I am sent as an emissary from the queen, to ascertain your movements and your intentions.
You’ve arrived just in time to see my new army, Broome.
What do you think of it?
It’s very large.
(Daemon chuckles softly)
Lannister hesitates.
I aim to march on King’s Landing before he can catch me.
May I have a word in private, Your Grace?
I would speak honestly with you.
Daemon Targaryen: I’d expect nothing less.
Alfred Broome: I was faithful to the king, your brother.
I pledged my banners to Rhaenyra, his heir.
I will never serve the usurpers or the whelps of Oldtown, but there are battles to be fought…
voice (whispers): Traitor.
…and in times like this…
Did you hear something?
This place will have you barking at the moon.
While you have mustered an army,
Rhaenyra has faltered… turning aside from our judgment, and taking a course, I myself, deem reckless.
Rhaenyra will chart her own course, for good or ill.
But you are a leader of men.
If you declare yourself, your lords will follow you.
I never took you for a turncloak… Ser Alfred.
Rhaenyra’s intentions are good.
But what we need, in this moment… is a king.
(tense music playing)
(chuckles)
(sighs)
♪♪
Jasper “Ironrod” Wylde: It appears that the Pretender sent boats to collect those among the smallfolk who believed they had any drop of Targaryen blood.
Deception and subterfuge.
Cowards, all of them. Put an end to this madness.
Let no vessel come or go from our harbor without our inspection.
This will hinder the work of the fishing boats.
The people depend on them for sustenance.
They will need no sustenance if they are slaughtered by the enemy.
We must all make our sacrifices.
Helaena Targaryen: Why does everybody hate us?
Alicent Hightower: They’re unhappy… and unhappy people look for someone to hate.
We didn’t order the blockade.
No, but we are the crown, so they expect us to break it.
Drink this.
I was happier before I was queen.
What would you think about leaving this place?
(birds cawing)
Where would I go?
(knocks on door)
The prince regent, Your Grace.
Helaena. Here you are. Mother.
I was just, just going to bed.
The crown has need of your service.
Now?
The Pretender has raised new riders against us, and we must answer in kind.
I need you to fly with Dreamfyre to battle.
Aemond.
I do not wish to fight.
Our wishes must take second place now to what is necessary to preserve the throne.
I won’t burn anyone.
It isn’t a question.
Aemond.
They have defiled our birthright, made commoners into dragonlords!
Ow, ow!
Aemond! Aemond!
It is a sin and must be punished!
May I remind you your sister is still the queen?
Ow!
As you were once! And you see now what is the consequence of your weakness!
We are in peril today more than yesterday!
Was it peril that moved you to burn the town of Sharp Point?
Peril or basest fury at your own humiliation?
Ow!
You wish to rule the Seven Kingdoms, but you rain ruin and death upon its smallfolk when you’ve been insulted because it makes you feel strong and now you seek to corrupt your sister, of all our line, the gentlest and most deserving of your protection.
And who will protect her if she cannot protect herself?
And who will she be if her mind is broken?!
‘Tis no longer our rule that is threatened, our very lives.
Would you not have us prevail?
Not like this.
Not like this!
(light, tense music playing)
Grand Maester Orwyle: Your Grace.
Grand Maester.
I must again request your assistance.
I need passage.
And your discretion.
(solemn music playing)
(quiet chatter)
(ambient nature sounds)
Gwayne Hightower: Do you think nothing of your oath…
Lord Commander?
I think of nothing else, my lord.
Steward’s son from Dorne f*cking the queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Former queen.
She has broken no oath, for all I may have done.
I could send you to the Wall.
You could.
Stain the Hightower name for a generation.
King’s mother and his Hand.
She is my sister.
(inhales)
She saved my life.
Twice.
Once from the headsman’s axe and once from myself.
Since then, she has been the beacon I follow.
Do not think I have no shame in me, ser.
Desire for women has brought me grief after grief.
Gwayne: Then resist it.
(Criston chuckles softly)
Oh, would that it were so simple.
Your brothers in the Kingsguard find a way.
Do they?
Mm, perhaps they do.
Or perhaps all men are corrupt… and true honor is a mist that melts in the morning.
That is a bleak philosophy.
I have no philosophy.
Or rather, my philosophy was this.
To protect the righteous and dispense justice on the rest.
But now…
You saw what I saw.
The dragons dance, and men are like dust under their feet.
And all our fine thoughts, all our… endeavors are as nothing.
We march now toward our annihilation.
To die will be a kind of relief.
Don’t you think?
(unsettling music playing)
(Sharako yells)
(crowd cheering)
(heavy breathing, grunts)
(crowd shouting)
(Sharako laughing)
(crowd shouting, laughing)
(Tyland yells, pants)
(Tyland grunting)
(Sharako laughs)
(yells, grunts)
(heavy breathing)
(groaning)
(laughs)
(crowd chanting “Lohar”)
(grunting)
(crowd quiets)
(grunts)
(Sharako yelps)
(heavy breathing)
(all silent)
(spits)
You have impressed me, Lord Tyman.
King’s Landing has sent a most doughty ambassador.
(panting)
I hope… you will testify to the worth of the ambassador… by agreeing to his most (pants) humble request.
I will most certainly consider it.
(spits)
After dinner.
Have you ever eaten the flesh of your enemies?
(panting) What?
I have not and I would not.
So you reject the hospitality of my house.
(laughs)
(crowd laughs)
A jest, my lord.
(laughing) What do you take me for?
A jest!
Come.
(grunts)
(crowd yells, laughs)
(nearby dragon grumbles)
It does not befit a prince to pout.
I’m not pouting.
What would you call it, then?
I’m reading.
While your mother waits?
You’re angry.
Aren’t you?
I don’t see what good it would do.
They are an insult to us.
To what makes us Targaryens.
If any common lout can ride a dragon, then…
That does not make me common. Or you.
You know what I am.
I don’t care.
You are the crown prince, the son of the rightful queen, and here you are sulking because you believe that if not for the dragon or the trappings of your station, that you are nothing.
(chuckles) Do you believe that you are the first noble heir who was not sired by his noble father?
Such is the way of the world, Jace, and in resenting it, you only diminish yourself.
Easy enough to say.
I’ve heard the whispers the whole of my life.
Then prove to them that you are worthy.
Get up and take your place by your mother’s side.
(light, tense music playing)
(wind blowing)
(shivering)
♪♪
Tyland (singing halfheartedly): ♪ Here come my lads, my comely boys ♪
♪ And split your sacks ashore ♪
♪ For you’ll be sail-sailing many days ♪
♪ Afore you get some more ♪
♪ So grease the mast and send it up ♪
♪ Betwixt the wind and water ♪
♪ Hoist, me lads, and hoist again ♪
♪ Salute the captain’s daughter ♪
Well done, Lord Tyrod!
Good song, well delivered.
(indistinct chatter)
(futilely) It’s Tyland.
You have proven yourself most accommodating.
And more accomplished than one would think, to look at you.
Hm. Well… Hm.
I will be pleased to sail at your side.
Oh.
And my captains with me.
(chattering stops)
To the Gullet on the morrow!
(all cheering)
And let the Sea Snake rue the day we meet again.
(all cheering)
Ya! My king will be well pleased.
To friendship!
(cheering)
(percussive music playing)
(indistinct chatter)
It is late.
(Tyland clears throat)
Oh!
Before you go…
Lord Tyland.
Mm.
You are a handsome man, and you have proven your worth and virility.
I wish to have children by you.
(stammers) You, you… You want me to…
Indeed.
I want you to f*ck my wives.
How many wives do you have?
Ulf: (gulps) More wine here!
Taming a dragon is thirsty work.
Oh, and some more of these little birds.
(sighs)
Rhaenyra: A toast.
To our new riders.
The three of you are not of noble birth, but you have done a thing never dreamed of before now.
(Ulf chuckling)
(Jacaerys sighs)
I have entrusted you with a power only few have known.
And I charge you to take it up with fealty and respect.
Serve me well, and I will make you knights of the realm.
Huh? What do you think of that, boys?
We’ll be knights… just like that.
We will not fail you, my queen.
What must we do?
I had thought the mere fact of you might stay the enemy’s hand.
But Lord Corlys is right.
We must strike while we have the advantage… and end this war.
Learn your beasts and your commands.
You will fly in two days’ time.
The strongholds of the usurper, Oldtown and Lannisport, and their armies, all must be subdued.
Alone, without allies, he will have no choice but to surrender.
You wish for us to kill innocents.
And so many.
Jacaerys Velaryon: It is hard…
but it cannot be helped.
(Ulf grunts)
We must break the will of our enemy… or more will die in a struggle that stretches on without end.
What about Vhagar?
She is fearsome… but she is one dragon.
The prince regent cannot defend against all of us.
I’ll take him on myself. Silverwing’s a goer, she is.
We’re afraid of nothing.
Addam of Hull: Hm.
Even if you are.
There will be time enough to see which one of us is a coward.
I said more of these little birds!
A knight will comport himself with grace at the queen’s table.
Best make me a knight, then.
You forget yourself… friend.
(scoffs)
A sense of humor would do you all good.
(footsteps approach)
(whispers) There is a message from Harrenhal, Your Grace.
Daemon?
The castellan, Ser Simon Strong.
Daemon has raised his army… but Ser Simon fears treachery.
(sighs)
I will not allow it.
Addam… come with me.
Ulf: Thank you.
Birds.
(water dripping)
Do you never sleep, witch?
I’m goin’ to the godswood.
(wind blowing)
(antlered human shape clip-clopping, grumbles)
(eerie music playing)
When you came here, you were a closed fist.
You wished to bend the world to your will.
But you’ve discovered, I think, that… this world will not be governed.
There are omens here for those who seek them.
You do not scoff?
I’m no longer inclined to.
(Alys chuckles)
I’m pleased to hear it.
♪♪
Do you wish, then, to learn what is given to you?
All your life, you have sought to command your own fate.
(grabs Daemon’s hand)
But today you are ready.
♪♪
♪♪
(bark crackling)
(music intensifies)
(crackling)
(raven cawing)
♪♪
(soldiers fighting)
(explosion booms)
(light music playing)
(dragon calls, screeches)
♪♪
(powerful music playing)
Helaena (echoes): It’s all a story… and you are but one part in it.
You know your part.
(music fades out)
(wind blowing)
(bark crackling)
You know what you must do.
(footsteps approach)
Sister.
We share the same blood, you and I.
I know you wish no harm to anyone.
But in a time like this, when the good of the realm depends on us…
Our mother is not a dragonrider.
She cannot understand that you and I have a truer call to heed.
Come with me… to Harrenhal?
We will lay waste to Daemon and his army.
Let our enemy see that we will answer outrage with outrage.
And if I refuse?
Will you burn me as you did Aegon?
That is a lie.
I saw it.
You burned him and you let him fall.
What you say is treason.
Aegon will be king again.
He’s yet to see victory.
He sits on a wooden throne.
And you…
(whispers) you’ll be dead.
You were swallowed up in the God’s Eye, and you were never seen again.
(light, tense music playing)
(whispers) I could have you killed.
(softly) It wouldn’t change anything.
♪♪
(intense music playing)
(Syrax roars)
(Seasmoke roars)
(Caraxes grumbles)
(roars)
♪♪
(all yelling)
(singers vocalizing)
(dragons calling)
(screeches)
(roars)
♪♪
I am the castellan, Ser Simon Strong, Your Grace.
Well met.
Welcome to Harrenhal, my queen.
I did not think to see you here yourself.
(exhales) Your message gave me much concern.
Yes, I must admit I had reason to fear.
But come, see for yourself.
(Seasmoke calls)
(indistinct chatter)
(chatter quiets)
(Syrax screeching)
(roars)
(silence)
(light, tense music playing)
♪♪
I wasn’t expecting you.
That seems rather a lapse in foresight.
I see you have done well here.
They are sworn to me.
And not a moment too soon.
And to whom are you sworn?
(speaking High Valyrian)
(speaking High Valyrian)
The realm’s only hope… is a leader who can unite it and my brother chose… you.
(light music playing)
You are the true queen, Rhaenyra.
First of Her Name.
Protector of the Realm.
I am meant to serve you, and all of these with me, until death or the end of our story.
(music intensifies)
(music softens)
(speaking High Valyrian)
(speaking High Valyrian)
My queen.
(shouting) For every one of us who falls… a hundred of them!
There will be no mercy!
We fight for our queen!
(all cheering)
(heroic music playing)
(Daemon shouting)
♪♪
(music softens)
(cranking)
(indistinct chatter)
(seagulls cawing)
You sent for me, Lord Hand.
Gulls are flying low today.
The weather will change.
Not until late, I think, but…
I will ready the storm sails.
We join the blockade, and are like to find ourselves in peril, sooner than late.
I wish to set out on good terms with my first mate.
Have I been remiss in my duties?
You’ve done what is asked of you, and more.
But you are curt… silent, and the men find you distant.
You cannot lead if you do not inspire.
Well, I never asked to lead, as you well know.
You have been given a position to which all who serve here aspire.
Forgive me, my lord.
I will endeavor to improve myself.
(birds cawing)
(softly) I am trying to help you.
You want to help me?
Is this the help you offer after all these years?
A reminder to be grateful?
I mean no offense.
You may go.
Do you know what it was like for us?
To grow up fatherless… to be sneered upon as bastards, never sure of the bread to feed us?
D-D-Do you know what hunger does to a boy?
What grief does?
Or shame?
You are dismissed.
I sold fish in the market from cold dawn until sunset, putting by coppers to stave off the winter, and I watched the man who sired me walk past with his son and heir with a fur around his shoulders… choosing sweetmeats to eat after supper by the fire.
And now that boy is dead.
And his sister before him.
And the heir that took his place.
And now, now, now you remember I live.
Now you wish to… suddenly to scatter the crumbs of your favor.
I am an honorable man, and I will serve you because I must.
But if it is all the same, I will decline any offers of help.
If I survive this war… I will continue as I began… alone.
(solemn music playing)
(panting)
(dragon calls)
(gasps)
(tense, exciting music playing)
(dragon calls)
(music fades out)
Mysaria: You have done what no one else would dream of, and you have been rewarded.
The gods favor you.
They put the means to victory in your hands.
And yet, to claim it, I must strike and in striking, I doom thousands to their deaths.
(dragons grumbling)
I do not believe my father would’ve wished this.
He left you with no choice.
Be strong. You know you are just.
You must not let the Realm fall to those who care for power more than peace.
You must prevail.
And who pays the price?
(dragons grumbling, screeching)
(bangs on door)
Come.
(door opens)
Begging your pardon, Your Grace.
I had to see you.
Who knows?
None save my protector.
He laid down his sword at your gate.
(sighs)
I’ve been, I think… mistaken.
In what?
I was raised to believe there was an order to things, that there was security in following the paths laid out for us.
I resented you, I think, for… caring so little for any of it, for knowing what you wanted.
I did not know what I wanted.
I knew only what was expected of me.
Why have you come here?
Because I lost my way.
Or rather, it was taken from me.
All those I put my faith in, my… m-my husband, my father, my lover, my son…
Ooh.
The incorruptible queen sullies herself with a lover.
Do not judge me for what you yourself have done.
Your father died. I took comfort with another.
I too have desires.
Yes, but you alone made virtue your banner.
And I clung to it… in defiance of you, I think, who so disdained it.
I have been alone, of late.
I walked outside the walls of the city and I felt a weight lifted from me.
How lovely for you.
I thought, for the first time, what I would choose… if not for the duty I put before all else.
(chuckles) Shall you cast your son down and rule alone?
No, I do not wish to rule, I wish to live.
To be free of all this endless plotting and striving.
The crown will pursue war and victory at any cost.
I… (sniffles) But as for me… I would take my daughter and her child and leave it all behind.
(chuckles) It’s too late… Alicent.
You said it yourself. Blood has been shed, cities burned, armies march, and you wish to wash your hands of what you yourself set in motion.
Oh, the arrogance of blaming me, as if you would not have been challenged regardless.
Did not your hand bring it forth like a midwife?
I did only what I thought your father wanted.
Oh, go then.
Leave us behind, as you say.
(scoffs) Rhaenyra.
Wander in the wilderness.
(Alicent sighs)
What has it got to do with me?
Did you come here thinking you would be absolved?
(sighs)
He never stopped loving your mother, you know?
He was very fond of me, and I of him, but… she was the vision that sustained him even after she herself had slipped from his grasp, it was his love for her that kept him resolute in his choice of heir.
And yet, you believe he wavered at the end.
Why have you come here?
(sniffles)
Aemond will soon fly to join Cole in the Riverlands.
(deep breath)
When he’s gone…
Helaena as queen will be the crown’s authority.
If you come then to King’s Landing, I will see to it that our guards throw down their arms, we will open the gates, we will shed no blood.
You will enter as a conqueror.
(laughs)
Already you have the stronger hand.
Once you take the throne…
(deep breath) this senseless war must end.
(softly) Right.
What of Aegon?
He’s broken beyond recognition.
He lies in the dark, in pain and terror.
He has many faults, but… he still heeds his mother.
I believe I can prevail upon him to bend the knee, if indeed…
No! Still… you defend him.
Still you imagine you can have all you want without paying too high a price, a price I had no choice but to pay.
What I want is to set things right.
If I am to take the throne, I must put an end to the opposition.
I must take Aegon’s head.
And I have to do it for all to see.
You know this.
However you may try to evade it, you know this.
Choose.
(deep breath)
Will you shrink from what you set out to do?
Or will you see it through… and make your sacrifice?
A son for a son.
(exhales)
(sniffles)
(sighs)
(deep breath)
(both crying softly)
You are much changed.
(sniffling) Let us be done with this, please.
And what do I do with you now?
You let me go, to do what I promised.
And you fly to the Red Keep in three days’ time, and you take your throne.
Or you take me for a liar.
I have neither weapon nor armor.
My life itself is forfeit.
I… cast myself on the mercy of a friend who once loved me.
History will paint you a villain.
A cold queen…
grasping for power, and then defeated.
Let them think what they must.
I am at last myself… with no ambition greater than to walk where I please and to breathe the open air.
To die unremarked and unnoticed… and be free.
You speak as if from a distant dream.
Come with me.
My part is here, whether I will or no.
It was decided for me long ago.
(softly) Go.
(melancholy music playing)
(music intensifies)
(panting)
♪♪
(tense, anticipatory music playing)
(roars)
♪♪
♪♪
(panting)
(dragon grumbles)
(roars)
♪♪
(singers vocalizing)
(animals chattering)
♪♪
(vocalizing continues)
(music, vocalizing fades out)
(intense music playing)
♪♪
(singers vocalizing)
(music, vocalizing fades out)
♪ (THRILLING MUSIC PLAYS)
RYAN CONDAL: The final episode is such a great build for everywhere we’ve been in season two and promising what’s to come.
♪ (TENSE MUSIC PLAYS)
(CROWD CLAMORING)
SARA HESS: Rhaenyra has choked King’s Landing with a blockade, and people are starting to get hungry, and they’re going to revolt against the King, or the Prince Regent.
Break the blockade, and it will benefit you.
It seems you need us more than we need you.
There is a Lannister navy, there is a Hightower navy, but they’re on the other side of the blockade.
And so they end up going to bargain with the Triarchy which Tyland is very not on board with, but ends up having to do.
But it’s a sign of how extreme their position is.
RYAN: This is where the seat of power sits.
And this is a very rich cartel of three different nations that are in the shipping and piracy business.
And they hate Westeros.
And they want to seek a profit off of them.
He gets sent to pirate land to treat with the pirates.
To see if he can get the Triarchy to ally with the Greens.
Admiral Lohar.
ABIGAIL THORNE: He needs to impress me before he can get what he wants.
I put him through absolute hell.
(GROANING)
(CROWD CHEERS)
Singing was the worst.
I can handle mud wrestling, but singing is miserable.
But it worked because Tyland can’t sing.
RYAN: She’s a bonkers character that feels like one of these very colorful characters ripped right out of the pages of George’s books.
The people there take her entirely seriously, and we’re sort of looking at her the way Tyland does, which is, “What’s going on?” and “Is this real?”
SARA: One of our season highlights was bringing in Sharako Lohar.
And it can be a rough show.
It’s grim, it’s a war, a lot of people die.
So having that moment of levity and just sort of off-kilterness was really important to us and a really welcome little bit of fun.
(CROWD LAUGHS)
A jest, my Lord.
RHAENYRA TARGARYEN: How goes the Seasnake?
I’ve given her a new name.
The Queen Who Never Was.
We really wanted to find a way for him to honor and keep alive the memory of Rhaenys.
Because it shows the arc that he’s been on across the season where much of his life was about him and his own glory.
I mean, he named his ship after himself.
GEETA VASANT PATEL: Corlys always went out to sea, so Rhaenys never felt like his priority.
And when she died, it finally came to Corlys that he always thought about himself.
And so he did the one thing he could do.
Take his namesake, his ship, and make it hers.
SARA: He’s lost all the people he loves.
He’s sort of come to this place of acceptance and understanding that his great exploits are less important than just having his family around him.
Do you know what hunger does to a boy?
What grief does?
Rhaenys always had the conversation with Corlys about his heir.
And none of them really feel like they’re the right person.
For the first time, Corlys considers Addam and Alyn.
Yes, they are bastards, but they are more qualified.
STEVE TOUSSAINT: One of the things that we talked about, myself, Abu, and Geeta, was that nobody speaks to Corlys that way.
Not if they’ve got any sense.
The only person who does is Rhaenys.
When it came to the tirade, this emotional speech, it came down to the words and playing off Steve and his reactions.
Alyn doesn’t expect it coming out of him.
I wasn’t expecting it coming out of me either.
Like, it was one of those moments where I generally felt like I could really let go.
I am trying to help you.
Now you remember I live.
STEVE: He watched me with my other son, picking up wonderful gifts and walking into the castle.
And he, who knew I was his father, had to grow up in poverty.
For me then to come into his life and sort of go, “I’m trying to help you,” well, of course, he’s gonna be resentful.
You understand the hurt and everything that he’s carried for all of these years.
You see the way it lands on the Seasnake.
And I think he knows that he hasn’t been the patriarchal figure that he needed to be to these guys, but I don’t think he realizes until this moment the cost that it had on this human being.
If it is all the same, I will decline any offers of help.
(VHAGAR GROWLS, BELLOWS)
RYAN: Aemond lashes out.
It’s also a strategic act because Sharp Point is the seat of House Massey who serves on Rhaenyra’s council.
It’s a punishment to them for siding with the pretender.
Aemond is showing that he’s not running.
He’s burning cities filled with innocent people instead.
SARA: Aemond is now, for the first time this season,
I think, scared.
From the time in season one when he got Vhagar as a boy, that’s changed his entire outlook.
And now that he’s been challenged by these new dragons, it’s the first time that, like, “Oh, no, I don’t have the upper hand in any situation I go into.”
GEETA: The stakes are so high that if he doesn’t get another rider, he will have no chance against the Blacks.
And they will lose the throne is Aegon continues to be king.
In his mind, he’s doing what’s right for his house.
Why must I run?
Because the Prince Regent is going to kill you.
I think from Larys’ experience, those who look through you, they never see you coming.
That’s what he’s trying to say to Aegon is, as long as Aegon is not a threat, he’s relatively safe.
TOM GLYNN-CARNEY: Larys sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
Or at least he’s made Aegon think he knows what that could be.
After his encounter with Aemond in episode six,
Aegon knows that Larys is correct.
In that moment, Aemond gets desperate with the newfound potential threat.
And he overextends and gets forceful with Helaena.
PHIA SABAN: I think it’s desperation that reeks off him in that scene when Alicent and Helaena are both like, “Bro, calm down. This is not how somebody who feels really sure about what they’re doing behaves.”
EWAN MITCHELL: Helaena admits she saw how I burned Aegon and it’s hard-hitting for Aemond to hear he’s gonna go down.
He kind of envisioned after the war had finished he’d be seen as this war hero.
But Helaena’s prophecy puts a stop to that.
Helaena’s probably put herself in more danger with Aemond than she ever has been before.
Would you not have us prevail?
Not like this.
SARA: Aemond is gonna be an interesting loose cannon in season three because when Aemond is scared, laughed at, or feels small, he lashes out.
You’re either with him or you’re against him.
You get in his way, you’re in for a show.
ALYS RIVERS: All your life, you’ve sought to command your own fate.
But today, you are ready.
RYAN: There are different magics and worlds in play here in George’s universe, and Alys has been a bit of a guide for Daemon and has made him ready for this thing that Alys is going to show him that he was not ready for in episode three when he showed up at the castle.
He’s evolved in some way, and he’s ready to see the future.
RYAN: We wanted Daemon to have this final experience that was undeniable to him.
He’s somebody that has rejected the supernatural his entire life.
SARA: We definitely wanted to tie what Daemon sees to Game of Thrones because where it picks up, it’s Daenerys Targaryen finding those eggs.
She is a descendent of Daemon and Rhaenyra and so what he ends up seeing is that he’s just this tiny piece of this massive story and once you start to see that, you gain an entirely different perspective.
This vision brings Daemon into the story of Fire and Ice and takes him to his death.
And after his death, it shows him that if he continues to only think of himself, great loss will be had.
And then he sees a hope.
We know it’s Daenerys, but he doesn’t know who it is.
And he sees a White Walker, which is cool.
I was like, “Come on, that’s cool.”
RYAN: Even though Rhaenyra and Daemon are not going to save the realm from the White Walkers, their actions do have an impact on how that future is going to play out.
You know your path. (ECHOING)
RYAN: To evolve from the character that stormed out of Dragonstone in episode two, we had to see Daemon go through all of his… (CHUCKLES) trials and tribulations.
And Rhaenyra, not knowing what Daemon is going to do.
And then you believe he is changed, and he sees that he is not the player, but a piece on the board, as Alys tells him.
MATT SMITH: He sees Rhaenyra on the throne, and I think it gives him the confidence in himself to go,
“I serve you and I’m yours.”
SARA: And it’s not that everything’s been resolved, but Daemon realizes that his job is to facilitate
Rhaenyra getting to the throne, and that he… understands now that Viserys wasn’t trying to punish him.
And so he’s able to let go of his anger at Rhaenyra.
To sort of let everything go and,
“Let’s go do this together. I’m on your team.”
She wasn’t sure throughout the entire season if he was going to try to set himself up as king, and it’s this moment of validation that she gets from him that I think is incredibly meaningful.
We fight for our Queen!
(SOLDIERS CHEER)
RHAENYRA: Will you see it through and make your sacrifice?
A son for a son?
You’ve seen the massive ways that things have changed between meeting number one and meeting number two.
And I think both of them have been through further trauma, and it’s brought them back around to a place where they’re wondering what the cost of all this is for.
It’s massive that Alicent travels to Rhaenyra.
It’s treason.
If Aemond found out, head on a spike.
But it’s also to look Rhaenyra in the eye as my, like, rawest self.
“This is me shedding whatever power or Queenly status I had. I was wrong. Take it. I don’t want anything to do with it. I’m done.”
She’s had this journey of self-actualization, and she’s got a lot of power within her.
And I think she feels much more capable.
It’s funny to be offered a huge gift at the point where you think you already have what you need.
SARA: The climax of that scene is Rhaenyra,
“I’m going to have to kill your son,” and Alicent acceding to it.
Which is huge for Rhaenyra because that is not something that Alicent would ever have done before.
So I think that causes her to really believe what Alicent is saying.
Rhaenyra has these new dragon riders, she’s just gotten Daemon back, she has this big army.
If she wanted to, she could probably win this war herself.
But at the cost of thousands and thousands of lives.
And then she’s sort of given this backdoor by Alicent.
And so I think we leave season two with Rhaenyra in this place of, “What am I going to do?”
RYAN: It’s such a beautiful scene, and so wonderfully written by Sara, wonderfully performed by Emma and Olivia, and Geeta beautifully directed it.
And the way it launches us into the third season and the unknown of what’s to come, it’s a tour de force.
♪ (DELICATE PIANO MUSIC PLAYS)
SARA: There’s so much in play, there are armies, there are dragons, there’s castle strongholds and political maneuvering, but at the end of the day, it comes down to these two women trying to figure it out.
RYAN: The Lannisters are arriving in the Riverlands.
The Hightowers are marching through the Reach.
The Winter Wolves are coming from the North.
The Triarchy’s sailing.
We see the Seasnake going back out to sea.
Daemon has his army in the Riverlands.
Alicent’s fourth son on his dragon.
The Blue Queen is now flying in support of this massive Hightower army.
We find Otto in this cell somewhere, and we don’t know quite where he is or what happened to him.
GEETA: Rhaena discovers a dragon.
And we see a forest outside of King’s Landing.
And there is Aegon.
Larys and Aegon basically escape King’s Landing as sh*t’s about to hit the fan.
It’s just a reminder of things have been put in motion which they can’t pull back.
And similar to Daemon’s vision, where you’re seeing the things that are all going to come to play a part in the whole story.
While this season was very much about the fits and starts of an early medieval war, season three is clearly going to be about total war.
I think Team Black are in ascendancy.
A desperate Aemond is a dangerous Aemond.
I will never, ever concede.
The whole thing is just so volatile.
Baela’s gonna do whatever it takes, whatever it comes down to, she’s prepared to do.
EMMA D’ARCY: She has the better hand and an inevitably positive shot at the throne.
TOM: The pendulum could swing either way very quickly.
We shall see who the last man standing is.
♪ (THRILLING OUTRO MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
