Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the House of the Dragon finale, “The Black Queen”
With House of the Dragon continually announcing new characters, aging them, and generally expanding its worldbuilding over the past couple of weeks, we’d all but forgotten that this is Game of Thrones we’re experiencing all over again, with a reputation to rack up quite the body count when things take a turn for the worse in the political climate.
Spoilers to follow.
The season one finale – “The Black Queen” – reminded us of that grim reality last night when one of Rhaenyra’s sons was killed by Aemond One-Eye and his dragon Vhagar.
The newly proclaimed Lady of the Seven Kingdoms will no doubt be devastated when we revisit her during the forthcoming second season, and Emma D’Arcy thinks she’ll never be the same again. Saying as much in a new interview with TheWrap, D’Arcy explained how the blow “moves the goalposts for suffering” even for a character who has already lost a brother and both her parents.
“‘What I think is really affecting about it within a series where there is a lot of loss, there’s a lot of death, there is lots of pain of different sorts, and yet somehow I think this moves the goal posts for suffering,’ she said. ‘Once you’ve lost both your parents and you’ve lost a lover, maybe you think you know grief. And then I think what’s so awful is that losing Luke tells us she knows nothing about grief and completely changes her outlook on the world going forward.’”
Rhaenyra has been hesitant to strike at her enemies, opting instead to keep her father’s peace for as long as possible. This will cause the Black Queen to rage beyond reconciliation, though, and even the thick walls of the Red Keep won’t be enough to keep Alicent, her children, and Otto Hightower sheltered from her wrath.
House of the Dragon has concluded its first run, but Ryan Condal and his team are already busy making the preparations for the next ambitious shoot, expected to commence sometime in early 2023.