Rhaenys Targaryen’s death in House of the Dragon explained

Rhaenys Targaryen picked her neice Rhaenyra’s side in the conflict for the throne and she met her end fighting for that cause.

Princess Rhaenys never supported Aegon’s claim to the throne and chose not to kill him during his conversation when she escaped with Meleys.

Throughout the conflict, she offered steady guidance to Rhaenyra on the matters at hand and how to navigate difficult situations.

She also patrolled the skies on her dragon keeping watch for any attacks from Aegon’s faction.

After Criston Cole is named Aegon’s Hand, the King is emboldened to act more rashly and Criston sets out with an army to the riverlands.

A dragon dogfight

After conquering Duskendale, Criston heads to Rook’s Rest to cut Dragonstone off from the mainland.

He came up with the plan along with Aemond and Aegon is frustrated to hear about this after the fact.

Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone just as her council discusses sending a dragon to face Cole. Jacaerys volunteers to go but Rhaenys states that she is their best option.

She rides out to face Cole, who marches on Rook’s Rest during the day despite the danger. He planned to lure a dragon so that the hidden Aemond and Vhaegar could take it down.

However, Aegon is frustrated at being made to look useless and rides out on his dragon to the battlefield.

He meets Rhaenys and the two dragons tangle with each other. Aemond flies out and fires at both of them with Vhaegar but Aegon takes the brunt of it and plummets with Sunfyre.

Aemond turns his attention to Rhaenys and despite being the much larger dragon, Meleys takes it down temporarily.

Rhaenys Targaryen's death in House of the Dragon explained 1
Rhaenys is crushed under her dragon Meleys

She goes after it once more but Aemond catches her off guard and Vhaegar crushes Meleys’ neck, causing the dragon to tumble down to the castle below with Rhaenys accepting her death.

Is Aegon dead?

Aegon falls with Sunfyre and Cole rushes to the spot where they fell but he is knocked off his horse when Vhaegar is brought down.

By the time he wakes up, the battle is won. He rushes to find Aegon and sees Aemond waiting there before a dead dragon and Aegon’s body.

It is unclear whether Aegon still breathes, but he is taken back to King’s Landing with his fate uncertain.


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Nadeem Abdul
Nadeem Abdul
Nadeem is an editor for The Envoy Web and an avid fan of films and shows. He has spent a significant amount of time taking in all kinds of genres and has a particular interest in the sci-fi and fantasy realms including series like Doctor Who, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Young Justice among others.

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