Still moved by the death of Viserys Targaryen? Put away your tissues, war is declared in House of the Dragon! Let’s go for the recap of episode 9. Warning, spoilers.
Warning, spoilers. The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Episode 9 of House of the Dragon. If you haven’t seen it yet, we advise you to stop reading now.
It is with a deathly silence that reigns in the Red Keep that episode 9 of House of the Dragon. The death of King Viserys I Targaryen is slowly starting to make itself known. The king is dead, long live the king ! After the sentence, Queen Alicent does not lose her bearings and reveals to her father Otto Hightower, also Hand of the King, that Viserys wanted her son Aegon to be her heir to the Iron Throne.
Except viewers know for a fact that Viserys was referring to his ancestor Aegon the Conqueror and the prophecy he shared with his daughter Rhaenyra. And with this misunderstanding of Viserys’ last words – even if she understood what she wanted to understand – Alicent will start an unprecedented civil war, the famous “Dance of the Dragons”.
The Restricted Council is then reunited, with most of the members who were already plotting in favor of Alicent Hightower so that the Greens (name given to the Alicent team) take control of the Kingdom of the Seven Kingdoms. But the rise of Aegon means declaring war on the Blacks (name given to the Rhaenyra team) and therefore killing Viserys’ daughter and all her family.
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Only two voices oppose it: Lyman of the Swarms, the Grand Treasurer, who will be calmed down (hear violently knocked to death) by Sir Criston Cole, and Sir Harrold Westrelin, Lord Commander of the King’s Guard, who returns his apron to , hopefully join Rhaenyra.
The semblance of dignity and heart that remains in Alicent also makes him fear this decision. She doesn’t wish to kill Rhaenyra but she also wants her to bend the knee, as well as Daemon, Rhaenyra’s uncle and now husband (yes, yes). And for that, she knows very well that she can always run.
Where is Ageon?
This penultimate episode is a real tipping point since the Greens will take advantage of the advantage they have to prevent Rhaenyra from accessing the Iron Throne. The urgency is therefore to have Aegon crowned as soon as possible. Except that the young Targaryen is nowhere to be found. His brother Aemond and Sir Criston Cole go deep into the slums of Port-Réal to find him, but they are not the only ones.
While we understand that Aegon and his deviations have given birth to little “bastards” all over Port-Réal, the twin knights Arryk and Erryk Cargyll are also looking for the “future king” on the orders of Otto Hightower. It is finally an Aemond jealous of the destiny of his brother who gets his hands on Aegon, who has no desire to govern.
Alicent, however, takes care of convincing him that Viserys was thinking of him for the Iron Throne by giving him his father’s Valyrian steel dagger. And as a grand ceremony is launched for his coronation at the Great Sept, Aegon feels his dragon’s wings sprout when the crown of his ancestor Aegon the Conqueror is placed upon his head.
The Dance of the Dragons begins with Rhaenys!
But it was very bad to know Rhaenys Targaryen, who had previously been locked in her room. The question is, why was she still there? Didn’t she sense the danger? Even though Alicent oints her saying she should have been Queen instead of Viserys to beg her support, Rhaenys, who is on Rhaenyra’s side, refuses and receives help from one of the brothers. Cargyll, who had ushered him out of his room.
House of the Dragon episode 9: Rhaenys puts all the fans in agreement
During the coronation, Rhaenys snuck out to find her dragon Meleys and makes a conspicuous appearance while threatening Alicent and the rest of the Greens. She could have burnt them all like little suckling pigs (if you have the ref!), with “Dracarys”, but Rhaenys misses an opportunity to make Black win.
After all, it’s not his war. But his escape adds further tension to the feud between the Greens and the Blacks and promises a merciless war. The famous “Dance of the Dragons” is finally well launched between the team of Alicent and that of Rhaenyra, which we will surely see in the tenth episode, the Blacks being absent from the ninth chapter.
But we must not forget the men and women behind the scenes on the political spectrum. Between Mysaria – who would have a lot more in Varys – and her little spies who plot with Otto Hightower and Lord Larys Fort – who is therefore a foot fetishist! – who is plotting with Alicent, the many low blows, even internally, are to be expected, and this for our greatest pleasure, of course.
PODCAST – House of the Dragon: incest, marriage and change of actors … we take stock of the Game of Thrones spin-off mid-season:
Episodes of the House of the Dragon series can be found every Monday exclusively on OCS City, and on the OCS platform on demand..