History Recap / HouseOfTheDragonS1E10TheBlackQueen

* ShoutOut: Luke is concerned to see Vhagar looming up over the castle wall in a rainstorm, but is then terrified when he returns and sees that she is gone - implying that she is already in the air and could attack from any angle. Director Greg Yaitanes confirmed that this was inspired by the T-Rex in ''Film/JurassicPark'', when she first looms up over her fence obscured by a rainstorm, but later the characters are ''more'' terrified when they can't see her anymore and have no idea where she could be.

* DomesticAbuse: Daemon [[NeckLift seizes Rhaenyra by the neck]] when she cites the Song of Ice and Fire as part of her reluctance to declare war, declaring his contempt for his brother's prophecies and irritation over her indecision before letting her go. To be fair, it is clear this is not a common occurence between them, but still.

* DomesticAbuse: Daemon [[NeckLift seizes Rhaenyra by the neck]] when she cites the Song of Ice and Fire as part of her reluctance to declare war, declaring his contempt for his brother's prophecies and irritation over her indecision before letting her go.

** Otto's meeting with Daemon takes place in the exact same place where he last confronted Daemon over the stolen dragon egg. When Rhaenyra arrives, she even lands Syrax in the exact same spot she did in the previous meeting. This is an InvokedTrope: Rhaenyra and Daemon clearly set that up to remind Otto that they outclassed him then and still outclass him now.

* MistakenForMurderer: Upon hearing of Viserys's death, Daemon immediately believes that Alicent murdered him to put Aegon on the throne. Given how obviously close to death Viserys was when Daemon last saw him, this is EntertaininglyWrong, but it's also a JustifiedTrope. Daemon is grieving, angry, and in denial. He's also engaging in PsychologicalProjection: He thinks killing your little-loved spouse when it's convenient is something Alicent would do, because it ''is'' a thing Daemon himself has done.

* PoliticalHostage: ImpliedTrope. As part of Aegon II's peace offering, Otto proclaims that Rhaenyra's sons by Daemon will be included in the royal court as cupbearers and squires for their uncle the King. Since King's Landing is firmly Green territory, this would make her sons royal hostages for all intents and purposes.

* ReformedRake: DeconstructedTrope. {{Byronic Hero}}es don't really make the best husbands, not even to their OneTrueLove. From the beginning there's an implication that Rhaenyra is Daemon's MoralityPet. His passion for and commitment to her are unquestionable. Yet it becomes clear in this episode that his worst tendencies aren't absent from their marriage. With others, Daemon sometimes [[TheVoiceless doesn't speak for entire scenes]]; in his marriage, he won't share his own grief with his wife after a miscarriage, preferring taciturn solitude even if it hurts her. With others, Daemon is a loose cannon who routinely acts without leave; in his marriage, he's quick to take matters into his own hands as Rhaenyra's chief general, without always consulting his newly-crowned queen. With others, Daemon is violent, impulsive, and quick to anger; in his marriage, a moment of rage culminates in DomesticAbuse.

* ThisMeansWar: ImpliedTrope. For much of the episode, Rhaenyra is hesitant to go to war against her half-brothers, and even when she decides to, doesn't want the first blow to come from her side. But then one of them inadvertently kills her son Luke. We don't hear any dialogue when she is told of Luke's death, but the fury in her gaze after she turns to the camera tells the audience that she'll seriously start coming for the Greens.

* WonTheWarLostThePeace: Though her advisers urge her to take a stronger stand against the Greens, Rhaenyra attempts to [[DefiedTrope defy]] this trope: she is hesitant to even wage war because she knows that the dragons on both sides will destroy the peace her father had worked hard to maintain.

** When Vhagar and eats Arrax and Lucerys, Aemond is shocked and horrified. He looks down at the falling remains of Arrax, then goes very still. His eyes move from the remains of Arrax to Vhagar, and he starts blinking fast like he's TryingNotToCry. Now he has to ride Vhagar -- who he suddenly cannot fully trust -- home, and tell his mother he just accidently started a war.

* EvilLaugh: Aemond laughs while he's chasing Luke. With his eyepatch and dragon, lit by lightning and laughing to himself, he's terrifying and very classically villainous. The RewatchBonus is that Aemond's ability to laugh shows he feels safe, he thinks the stakes are relatively low. Compare laughing!Aemond with OhCrap!Aemond at the end of the scene -- laughing!Aemond thinks things are going to end very differently. When he realizes he's responsible for kicking off a war, he's most definitely not laughing.

* MistakenForMurderer: Upon hearing of Viserys's death, Daemon immediately believes that Alicent murdered him to put Aegon on the throne. Given how obviously close to death Viserys was when Daemon last saw him, this is EntertaininglyWrong, but Daemon is grieving, angry, and in denial. There's also a pinch of PsychologicalProjection going on--Daemon thinks killing your little-loved spouse when it's convenient is a thing Alicent would do, because it ''is'' a thing Daemon has done.

-->'''Rhaenys:''' You abandoned me when I most needed you. Both our children stolen from us. I needed you. Baela and Rhaena needed you, and you abandoned us for more adventure at sea. [[MarriedToTheJob As has always been your way.]]
-->'''Corlys:''' I had no other place to turn. I lost everything.
-->'''Rhaenys:''' ''We'' lost, Corlys. ''We''.
* GunboatDiplomacy: As Jace points out, sending the Princes out on dragons to remind the Lords of Westeros in person of their oaths is more "convincing" than just a message sent by ravens. Unfortunately the Greens beat them to it at Storm's End. Lucerys and Arrax are ''far'' less intimidating than [[TheSociopath Aemond]] and [[GiantFlyer Vhagar]].

** Lucerys manages to get away to clear skies, and he thinks he's evaded Aemond, but then Vhagar [[JumpScare swoops in from out of the clouds]] and [[SwallowedWhole swallows both him and Arrax's torso in a single chomp]].

* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Aemond has a visibly distraught expression on his face after Vhagar kills Lucerys.

* NotSoStoic: Up until now, Aemond has been portrayed as a sociopath with little empathy. But when his cat-and-mouse game with Lucerys accidentally ends with the boy's death, Aemond is visibly shocked and upset by it and its implications.

* OhCrap:
** Lucerys has a terrified shocked expression when he suddenly sees Aemond and Vhagar flying head-on towards him in the storm.
** Aemond noticeably panics when he loses control of Vhagar and realizes his gigantic dragon wants to kill Arrax, to the point where he forgets to use Valyrian to command her.
** Aemond has a shocked and sorrowful look on his face when he loses control of Vhagar and she kills Arrax and Lucerys.

* DaylightHorror: Lucerys's death doesn't happen until he escapes the storm Aemond is chasing him through so that the audience is given a lovely view of Vhagar eating him.

* HufflepuffHouse: While going over the Great Houses and the question of their support, the Black Council mentions the Starks, Tullys, Arryns, Baratheons, and Lannisters but neglects to mention the Tyrells and Greyjoys, Lords Paramount of the Reach and the Iron Islands, respectively. This is particularly noticeable in the case of the Tyrells, as they are the Hightowers' liege lords.

* AdaptationalSympathy: In the books, Aemond deliberately hunts down Lucerys after Lord Borros's daughter Maris taunts him about his manhood. Here, he was only aiming to intimidate and taunt Lucerys but lost control of Vhagar after she was attacked by a frightened Arrax, and Aemond appears genuinely shocked at the fatal retaliation Vhagar metes out.

** When Daemon threatens his Kingsguard, he warns them that if they betray Rhaenyra, they will die screaming. This is exactly what Daenerys will tell her Dothraki (about their enemies, but still) in the season one finale of the original series.

** The final shot of the episode, when Rhaenyra gives a DeathGlare into the camera, bares a striking resemblance to Daenerys’s expression at the end of [[Recap/GameofThronesS8E4TheLastoftheStarks Episode 4 of Season 8]] after loosing Missandei, both once peaceful rulers who lost someone close to them and are now ready to bring Fire and Blood upon their enemies.