"Every man standing around the Painted Table urges her to plunge the realm into war. Rhaenyra is the only one who's demonstrated restraint."
Rhaenyra: My father's dead. And he chose me as his successor, to defend the realm, not cast it headlong into war.
Daemon: The enemy have declared war. What are you going to do about it?
Daemon: The enemy have declared war. What are you going to do about it?
In Dragonstone, Rhaenyra comforts Lucerys about his heritage but is interrupted by the arrival of Rhaenys, who informs them of Viserys's death and Aegon's coronation. The stress causes Rhaenyra to go into labor early. Daemon rallies the council and makes the Kingsguard members stationed at Dragonstone, Ser Steffon and Ser Lorent, swear to defend Rhaenyra. At the funeral of Rhaenyra's stillborn child, Ser Erryk arrives bearing Viserys' crown. He swears allegiance to Rhaenyra, who is crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Dragonstone's bannermen are quick to support Rhaenyra, but knowing this will not be enough to take the throne, her court considers the support of the Great Houses: the Arryns and Starks are likely to honor kinship and oaths and side with them, the Tullys and Baratheons will need to be personally treated with, and the Lannisters will likely side with the Greens. Talk turns to dragon fleets of both sides — the Blacks have more, but their dragons are more untested.
Otto arrives at Dragonstone to try and get Rhaenyra to bend the knee to Aegon in exchange for Dragonstone, high positions for her sons, and pardons for her supporters, before appealing to her former friendship with Alicent. Rhaenyra delays a response, hesitant to start a civil war fought with dragons that could lead to the destruction of the realm, while Daemon urges her to war. In private, Rhaenyra reminds Daemon of the Song of Ice and Fire and their duty to maintain a united realm, only to realize that Viserys had never entrusted Daemon with the prophecy even when he was his heir presumptive.
Corlys awakens to Rhaenys at his bedside as the couple considers their situation. Corlys declares his and his fleet's support for Rhaenyra; since House Velaryon now controls the Stepstones, they plan to cut off sea trade to King's Landing and surround it. To gather support, Jacaerys is sent to the Eyrie and Winterfell on Vermax and Lucerys to Storm's End on Arrax. Unfortunately, Aemond and Vhagar have beaten Lucerys to Lord Borros Baratheon, who is pleased with the marriage pact the Greens have offered him. Unimpressed that Luke has turned up empty-handed and unwilling to see blood spilled in his home, Lord Borros sends Luke away. Uncle and nephew take to the stormy skies, with Aemond taunting and intimidating Luke by chasing him around on his much larger dragon. When a panicking Arrax snaps and attacks Vhagar, she responds by biting him in half, killing both dragon and prince, thus officially beginning hostilities between the Greens and Blacks.
In Dragonstone, Daemon brings word to Rhaenyra of Luke's death, who then looks silently at her fireplace then turns towards her council with tears on her cheeks and vengeance in her eyes.
Then the storm broke, and the dragons danced.
Tropes in this episode:
- Accidental Murder: Aemond mounts Vhagar and pursues Lucerys with the intention to merely terrify and intimidate his nephew, but both dragons' temperaments and the inexperience of their riders lead the situation to escalate into Vhagar destroying Arrax and Lucerys.
- Adaptational Context Change: The Green envoy whom Rhaenyra calls a traitor and strips of their symbol of office is changed from Orwyle with his maester chain to Otto with his Hand badge. This also has the side effect of making Rhaenyra less unsympathetic since she has a pretty good reason to blame Otto, whose machinations were the source of all this strife in the first place, while taking out her anger on Orwyle was just shooting the messenger who didn't really have the power to stop Aegon being crowned.
- Adaptational Heroism:
- In the show, Rhaenyra is averse to the possibility of war, criticizes Daemon for being so eager to jump into it, actually considers the terms that the Greens bring her instead of rejecting them out of hand, and feels a deep desire to keep the realm together even if it's at the cost of her personal ambition. Her book counterpart was pretty much the opposite of all those points, being just as eager to go to war as Daemon was.
- The Accidental Murder shown above wasn't accidental at all in the book. While in the show Aemond wanted to simply give Lucerys a scare and had a huge Oh, Crap! moment when Vhagar killed Lucerys and Arrax (if not for the moral implications, definitely for the political ones, since his stunt jettisoned any possibility of reaching a peaceful agreement with the Blacks and unambiguously cast his side as the aggressors in the now inevitable war), in the book he very much intended to murder Luke from the very beginning, and didn't care about the consequences such actions would ensue.
- In this version, Maris Baratheon is not shown to egg Aemond on in his confrontation with Luke.
- Adaptational Sympathy: In the books, Aemond deliberately hunts down Lucerys after Lord Borros's daughter Maris taunts him about his manhood. Here, he is only aiming to intimidate and taunt Lucerys but loses control of Vhagar after she's attacked by a frightened Arrax, and Aemond appears genuinely shocked at the fatal retaliation Vhagar metes out.
- Aerial Canyon Chase: Lucerys, on the back of Arrax, escapes Aemond (who's on Vhagar's back) by flying through a canyon. Vhagar is too humongous to even enter the canyon and thus chases Arrax from above it.
- All There in the Manual:
- The name of the dragon visited by Daemon is revealed in the subtitles and its status is elaborated on in the official guide: it is Vermithor, known as "the Bronze Fury", the dragon of the late King Jaehaerys.
- Rhaenyra's stillborn baby isn't sexed or named, but in the book, it was a girl named Visenya.
- Lord Bartimos Celtigar is only referred to by his first name in dialogue with his surname only being used in the closed caption the first time he speaks.
- Altar Diplomacy: Westeros has already been established to be a feudal setting where alliances are forged through marriage, which becomes plot-relevant in this episode:
- Viserys and Aemma's marriage was a union between the Targaryens and Arryns. As the offspring of that union, Rhaenyra assumes House Arryn will support her — but she sends her son Jace there to be sure.
- The Greens bring a marriage pact to Lord Borros to secure House Baratheon's support. Lucerys arrives with only a missive reminding Borros of his father's oath to Rhaenyra and the fact that Princess Rhaenys's mother was a Baratheon, which does not impress the stormlord. It's implied that the Greens have promised Aemond to one of Borros's daughters, but Luke is already betrothed to Rhaena and cannot do likewise. Rhaenyra could have offered her third son Joffrey when he comes of age, but she misjudged the situation and thought a Strongly Worded Letter would be sufficient.
- Armor-Piercing Response: After Daemon chokes Rhaenyra for bringing up Aegon's Dream, angrily saying that prophecies are meaningless in this situation, Rhaenyra realizes that Viserys never told Daemon about the Song of Ice and Fire. She assumed that since he was heir before she was, Viserys must have told him at some point. In other words, Viserys always doubted Daemon's place in the line of succession. Her bringing up this revelation absolutely deflates Daemon and makes him leave.Rhaenyra: [smirking] He never told you.
- Awesome Moment of Crowning: Ser Erryk arrives during the baby's funeral with Viserys's crown, kneels, and swears a new oath of loyalty to Rhaenyra. Daemon then takes the crown, places it upon her head, and kneels before her, leading all present (except Rhaenys) to kneel before their new queen. Subverted as Rhaenyra is still mourning her father and unborn child and hence has a Thousand-Yard Stare on her face.
- Badass Boast: One addressed to Ser Otto courtesy of Daemon.Daemon: I would rather feed my sons to the dragons than have them carry shields and cups for your drunken, usurper cunt of a king.
- Big Brother Bully: Jacaerys is shown mercilessly bludgeoning his brother during a sparring session and berating him for a poor move. Steffon Darklyn has to gently remind the prince that going easier on his younger brother will help him learn.
- Big "NO!": Aemond screams, “Vhagar, NO!” when she attacks Lucerys and Arrax.
- Book Ends:
- In the first episode, Prince Baelon was delivered via C-section but died shortly afterwards and his body was incinerated. The final episode of the first season includes the stillbirth of Rhaenyra's baby and its incineration. Likewise, the first episode of the season ended with the teenage Rhaenyra, declared heir to the Iron Throne, staring at the camera, full of solemn pride. The season ends with the adult Rhaenyra, crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, staring at the camera, full of grief and rage, after learning of the death of her secondborn son Luke.
- The series starts with Rhaenyra serving the wine at her father's small council meetings. While any servant could have served that role, Viserys gave it to his daughter so she could listen and learn. Now that Rhaenyra is Queen, she has passed that role to her stepdaughter Rhaena.
- Broken Pedestal: Rhaenyra is horrified and distraught when she is told that despite their apparent reconcilement, Alicent has joined Otto's side and crowned Aegon king. However, she is still hesitant to go to war. The pedestal is broken for good this time, however, when Rhaenyra learns of Lucerys's death, leading Rhaenyra to consider all of the Greens her sworn foes.
- Call-Back:
- 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 Invoked: Rhaenyra and Daemon clearly set that up to remind Otto that they outclassed him then and still outclass him now.
- After Rhaenyra angrily refuses Otto's offer, he hands over a single piece of paper, which turns out to have been the page Rhaenyra ripped out of Alicent's book when they were studying in the godswood together nearly twenty years ago. He then tells Rhaenyra that Alicent still remembers when they were friends and urges her to reconsider the offer.
- When Jacaerys volunteers himself and Lucerys to gather support for the Blacks, he ends his request with "Send us," which is what Rhaenyra said to her father in Episode 2 when trying to convince him to take action in the Stepstones. Back then, Viserys brushed her off as being a child; now, Rhaenyra recognizes her sons' abilities and consents to them taking the mission.
- In Episode 1, Viserys warns Rhaenyra that the idea that the Targaryens control the dragons is an illusion and that they may lead to their downfall in the same way that Valyria fell. This is confirmed when both Lucerys and Aemond lose control of their dragons, causing Lucerys's death and sparking the Dance of Dragons.
- Rhaenyra's cousin Jeyne Arryn was previously referred to by name as the current ruler of the Vale back in episode 5, and Cregan Stark is the son of Rickon Stark who was briefly seen in the first episode.
- Call-Forward:
- Rhaenyra acknowledges House Stark's reputation as unwavering oathkeepers. In Game of Thrones, oaths are the lynchpin of the Starks' storyline, with Ned dying because he blindly held onto one, Robb losing a war and his life because he broke one, and Jon getting out of one by temporarily dying.
- When Daemon threatens his Kingsguard, he warns them that if they betray Rhaenyra, they will die screaming. This is exactly what his many-times-great-granddaughter Daenerys will tell her Dothraki (about their enemies, but still) in the season one finale of the original series.
- Rhaenyra says that she does not want to rule over a kingdom of ash. Her descendant Daenerys will make a similar statement.
- The final shot of the episode, when Rhaenyra gives a Death Glare into the camera, bares a striking resemblance to Daenerys’s expression at the end of Episode 4 of Season 8 after losing Missandei, both once-peaceful rulers who lost someone close to them and are now ready to bring Fire and Blood upon their enemies.
- Creepy Blue Eyes: Aemond is revealed to have placed a sapphire in his empty eye socket like a Glass Eye, giving it a very unsettling quality — almost dragon-like. There's also a pinch of Glowing Eye going on here too. A sapphire set in the dark hole of an eye socket would actually look more black than blue, certainly darker and dimmer than Aemond's eye does here. The fact that his eye does look so vividly blue in this scene makes it seem like it's slightly glowing or backlit.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Arrax's fire just annoys Vhagar, who rips through the younger dragon in a single bite. It's over in seconds.
- Dark Reprise: The Targaryen theme makes a return at the end as Rhaenyra learns of the death of her son Lucerys by Aemond's hand, slowed down and building up to a sinister crescendo as Rhaenyra's grief transforms into utter hatred of the Greens.
- David Versus Goliath: Tiny Arrax versus the humongous Vhagar. Goliath wins.
- Dead-Hand Shot: After Rhaenyra pulls her fetus out of her, we see just her lifeless leg after she flops to the ground.
- Death of a Child: Rhaenyra suffers a stillbirth, prompting her nurses to burst into tears and Rhaenrya herself to enter a period of mourning. At the end of the episode, her secondborn son gets killed.
- Death Glare: After receiving word of her son Lucerys's death, Rhaenyra stares right into the camera with a resolute Death Glare.
- Didn't Think This Through: The idea that playing at predatory behavior with a carnivore might provoke actual predatory behavior is not terribly surprising — anyone who's played with a cat before has observed this. Aemond didn't know he was going to run into Luke at Storm's End, and his plan to chase him appears to have been made up on the spot. This could Justify why it's so poorly thought through.
- Does Not Know His Own Strength: Aemond learns the hard way that, while dragons are in many ways an extension of their rider, they're still uncontrolled warbeasts at heart. His attempt at merely terrifying Luke and his much smaller dragon Arrax escalates into Vhagar devouring the two of them.
- Domestic Abuse: Daemon 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.
- Empathic Environment: Aemond and Luke's showdown takes place amid a storm with buffeting winds and lashing rain.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Despite their apparent reconcilement two episodes prior, Rhaenyra is horrified and distraught to learn Alicent has crowned Aegon king.
- Evil Laugh: 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 Rewatch Bonus is that the real meaning of Aemond's laughter is almost an Inverted Trope. It shows he feels safe; he thinks the stakes are relatively low. Compare the laughing Aemond with the Oh, Crap! Aemond at the end of the scene — when he realizes he's responsible for kicking off a war, his laughter stops cold.
- Foreshadowing: Early in the episode, Rhaenyra comments that more dragons doesn't immediately equate to stronger dragons, as most of their dragons have not yet seen war. Besides that, they do not have enough experienced riders to mount them. Later in the episode, her son Lucerys on his young dragon Arrax is no match for Aemond riding Vhagar (a huge and centuries-old dragon first ridden by Queen Visenya, Aegon the Conqueror's ferocious sister), and he is brutally eaten by the bigger dragon. The inexperience of both riders also contributes to the escalating dragon fight.
- Foreign-Language Tirade: When Luke and Aemond start freaking out and losing control of their dragons, in their panic they revert to their native language (the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms, which is either identical to or represented as English). This is particularly unhelpful because their dragons know how to take commands in Valyrian, but not in Common. Downplayed or Inverted, in that they switch out of a foreign language (High Valyrian) to the main language of the show (English), but nonetheless they're switching to their native language, as is typical for the trope.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Arrax, already panicked by Vhagar and the storm, does not easily respond to Lucerys's command to calm down so that he can board, which demonstrates his lack of control over his dragon. The next time he loses control, Arrax lashes out with an attack on Vhagar with fatal consequences that the latter's rider could not control himself.
- Friendship Trinket: Otto starts off his "terms of surrender" speech by listing all the great things Rhaenyra and her family will get if she bends the knee to Aegon. He then appeals to Rhaenyra's former friendship with Alicent by showing her a page Rhaenyra had torn out of one of Alicent's history books decades ago. This visual reminder of their old camaraderie visibly sways Rhaenyra, and she pointedly does not burn Otto to a crisp and even seriously considers the Hightowers' terms.
- Full-Name Ultimatum:Rhaenyra: Jace.
Jacaerys: [ignores his mother]
Rhaenyra: Jacaerys.
Jacaerys: [turns around to face her] - Gone Horribly Wrong: Aemond only intended to intimidate and taunt Lucerys on his flight back. However, when Arrax attacked Vhagar, he lost control of the dragon to her blind instincts, which led her to kill Lucerys and Arrax.
- Grief-Induced Split: This is what happened to Rhaenys and Corlys 6 years back, and they're discussing it now—though they're also getting back together.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. As has always been your way.
Corlys: I had no other place to turn. I lost everything.
Rhaenys: We lost, Corlys. We. - Gunboat Diplomacy: 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 Aemond and Vhagar.
- Hope Spot:
- Lucerys manages to fly above the storm. After the lashing rain, the clear skies are a pleasant surprise. But then Vhagar swoops in from out of the clouds and swallows both him and Arrax's torso in a single chomp.
- Rhaenyra appears to seriously consider accepting peace terms in order to keep the realm united, but then her son Lucerys is killed.
- Hourglass Plot: Between Corlys Velaryon and his wife Rhaenys. For much of the season, Corlys was the ambitious one who wanted to achieve high positions at court and put his heirs on the Iron Throne, while Rhaenys was more reluctant. By the time of this season finale, Corlys's brush with death has made him change his tune: he scorns Rhaenyra and wishes to declare neutrality so he and Rhaenys can retire in peace. Meanwhile, Rhaenys, who was previously distrustful of Rhaenyra and her obviously illegitimate "Velaryon" sons, respects Rhaenyra's conduct in the wake of Viserys's death (especially compared to the Hightowers, who immediately imprisoned Rhaenys and moved to overturn the succession) and encourages Corlys to protect their grandchildren. The two jointly declare their support for Rhaenyra and propose a Naval Blockade plan.
- Hufflepuff House: 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.From the books...
- Idiot Ball: What to offer their allies in return is not mentioned until Luke has already arrived to play envoy. At this point it's already too late — there's no plan, Luke doesn't have the authority to make such arrangements himself, and he's too caught off guard and overwhelmed to even try. That the Baratheons (or indeed anyone) would expect such a thing with a potential alliance is reasonable and foreseeable. The currency of diplomacy in this world is Altar Diplomacy, and sometimes foster children. This should've been discussed back at Dragonstone. While the older kids are already betrothed, there's still Rhaenyra's youngest three — Joffrey, Aegon, and Viserys — any of whom could be available for fostering or a future marriage pact.
- Insignia Rip-Off Ritual: Played With, as Otto doesn't work for Rhaenyra, but she denounces him as a traitor and rips off his Hand emblem and throws it into the sea after hearing Aegon's offer from him.
- Insistent Terminology: Otto Hightower and Rhaenyra get into a back-and-forth during their meeting, as the former insists that his grandson is the true King and Rhaenyra only a Princess, while the latter insists that she is the true Queen, Otto is not a Hand, and the Greens are all traitors.
- Irony:
- Daemon's Badass Boast above becomes sadly ironic after his stepson Lucerys is devoured by a dragon.
- Rhaenyra sends her younger son Lucerys to Storm's End under the belief that it will be the less complicated assignment compared to sending Jacaerys to the farther away Eyrie and then Winterfell, not knowing that Aemond will be there when Luke arrives.
- The Kingslayer: Given the suspicious circumstances of Aegon's crowning, Daemon assumes that the Greens assassinated Viserys instead of him dying peacefully in his sleep.
- Last-Second Word Swap: Lucerys addresses Rhaenyra as "Mother" first before correcting himself to address her as "Your Grace" like his brother.
- Lightning Reveal: Vhagar's presence is revealed twice this way, first as she's on the ground at Storm's End when Lucerys lands and then later above him when he's flying away to reveal that Aemond has been chasing him.
- Like Parent, Like Child: Rhaenyra's first inclination is following her father's policy, clinging to Viserys's idea of conciliation, "defending the realm, not casting it headlong into war". Unfortunately, like her father before her, she is only postponing the unavoidable.Daemon: [to Rhaenyra] That's your father talking.
- Mama Bear: Rhaenyra is hesitant to go to war against the Greens, but when her son Lucerys is killed, she fixes the audience with a terrifying Death Glare, indicating she intends to declare all-out conflict to claim the throne.
- Match Cut: During Rhaenyra's birth scene, shots of Rhaenyra in pain are alternated with shots of her dragon Syrax feeling her pain through their Psychic Link and crying out in response.
- Meaningful Look: Rhaenys sends a few proud smiles in Rhaenyra's direction while observing her conduct on Dragonstone, foreshadowing her decision to throw her weight behind Rhaenyra later in the episode.
- Mirror Character: The narrative has Daemon and Otto Hightower playing this role for each other again, by having them being the ones urging Rhaenyra and Alicent (respectively) into committing harsher actions against each other, despite their mutual reluctance in doing so. In the previous episode we had Otto dismissing his daughter as a fool for wishing to spare Rhaenyra and her children. This episode, Daemon violently confronts Rhaenyra for even considering the Hightowers' proposition for peace. This makes it clear that, despite both Queens being the figureheads of the conflict, the men behind them are more vicious and merciless.
- Mistaken for Murderer: 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 Entertainingly Wrong, but it's also Justified: Daemon is grieving, angry, and in denial. He's also engaging in Psychological Projection: 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.
- Modulation: The final scene of the season ends with Rhaenyra's signature theme shifting keys into a much darker register. War is coming.
- Momma's Boy: The confrontation above Storm's End that draws royal blood is a meeting of Momma's Boys motivations.
- Lucerys goes into Storm's End despite the enormous Vhagar already outside because he wants to fulfill his mother's mission for him.
- Aemond wants Lucerys's eye, which he plans to gift to his mother, who previously tried to cut it out.
- Monstrous Cannibalism: After Arrax wounds Vhagar with dragonfire, the much larger and older dragon responds by chomping into the smaller one, destroying him along with its rider.
- Music Soothes the Savage Beast: Daemon goes down into the bowels of the island of Dragonstone, singing soothingly in Valyrian, to meet Vermithor, a massive dragon last ridden by King Jaehaerys I. He keeps up the singing even while Vermithor is growling in his face and breathing fire on the ceiling.
- Named by the Adaptation: While all four Baratheon daughters — aka the Four Storms — had names in the source material (Cassandra, Maris, Ellyn, and Floris), it wasn't stated which of them Aemond was betrothed to other than that it wasn't Maris. Here it's specifically Floris that he's standing with.
- Naval Blockade: After Corlys pledges allegiance to Rhaenyra, he proposes using the Velaryon fleet to blockade King's Landing and starve the Greens into submission, in conjunction with pro-Black forces in the Riverlands.
- Never Learned to Read: Lord Borros is implied to be illiterate, as he needs a maester to read Rhaenyra's message and whisper it into his ear. This is unusual for a highborn lord.
- New Meat: None of the dragons of Rhaenyra's faction (save Caraxes and Seasmoke) have been to war. Arrax is the first unseasoned dragon to debut in combat and one of the youngest overall. He ends up being a rather literal example courtesy of Vhagar's jaws.
- No Man of Woman Born: A recovering Corlys wakes up to find Rhaenys asleep in her bedside chair. He remarks:Corlys: I've had men whipped for falling asleep on their watch. [Beat] You are no man.
- Nothing Is Scarier: Daemon is seen making his way down a hall at Dragonstone late at night with nothing but a torch, singing in High Valyrian to a massive pitch-black cavern up ahead. Eventually, a low growl is heard from the cavern before the dragon Vermithor, unclaimed since the death of his last rider King Jaehaerys I, appears from the shadows. The enormous dragon breathes out a massive gout of flame into the ceiling and growls at Daemon, who defiantly stares back while still singing.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Daemon brings Ser Lorent Marbrand and Ser Steffon Darklyn, the two Kingsguard who are stationed at Dragonstone, to the Dragonmount, where he presents them the option to either swear loyalty to Rhaenyra or be given a clean death by Caraxes right there if they choose to be loyal to the usurper Aegon, promising a nastier death later if they swear loyalty but betray Rhaenyra down the line. They take the first option.
- Oh, Crap!: The whole dragon fight is one after another as the situation goes from bad to worse.
- Lucerys is shocked and terrified when he suddenly sees Aemond and Vhagar flying head-on towards him in the storm and realizes they're being chased.
- Aemond 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.
- When Vhagar 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 Trying Not to Cry. Now he has to ride Vhagar — who he suddenly cannot fully trust — home, and tell his mother he just accidently started a war.
- Out of Focus: Just as the previous episode focused on the Green faction, this one focuses on the Black faction. For the first time, Alicent and Criston do not appear; the only leading figures of the Greens who do are Otto and Aemond.
- Outliving One's Offspring: After learning of Viserys's death and Aegon's coronation, Rhaenyra goes into premature labor and delivers a stillborn child. Later, she learns that Lucerys has been killed in a confrontation with Aemond.
- Plot Parallel: The duty instilled in Rhaenyra by her mother is that she needs to birth heirs. The duty instilled in her by her father is that she needs to be queen. The duty of motherhood has always carried the dark shadow of Aemma's miscarriages and stillbirths and her eventual death. The duty of queenship has always carried a looming shadow of civil war. Both of these longtime fears come true for Rhaenyra in the very same day.
- Political Hostage: Implied. 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.
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- Lord Borros dresses down Lucerys harshly and is indifferent to Aemond's hostility towards Luke, but he is not letting Aemond abuse Sacred Hospitality or enabling Aemond to maim Luke and trigger a civil war right there in the Baratheon throne room anytime soon.
- As she stated she would in the previous episode, Alicent offers the Blacks terms that are as generous as possible under the circumstances in exchange for them acknowledging Aegon as King and giving up their claim to the Iron Throne: Rhaenyra gets to keep possession of Dragonstone and pass it on to Jace, Luke will remain heir to Driftmark, both of them are officially affirmed as trueborn in the missive, and her sons by Daemon will have good positions in court as the King's squire and cupbearer. The first is especially notable because Dragonstone is traditionally the holding of the crown prince/ss, but it would be separated into its own lordship passed along Jace's line instead of being retained for Aegon's heir. The last point, though, could easily be interpreted as wanting the youngest boys as royal hostages.
- Precision F-Strike: There's a few more F-words than usual in this episode, mostly courtesy of Rhaenyra and Daemon.
- Premature Birth Drama: The heavy stress of getting the news of both the death of her father and The Coup of the Greens to crown Aegon causes the premature birth of Rhaenyra's third child with Daemon. The child doesn't survive.
- Rapid-Fire "No!": Aemond tries and fails to control Vhagar after Arrax attacks her and she immediately moves to retaliate:Aemond: No, no, no, no, no, Vhagar!
- Reformed Rake: Deconstructed. Byronic Heroes don't really make the best husbands, not even to their One True Love. From the beginning there's an implication that Rhaenyra is Daemon's Morality Pet. 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 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 Domestic Abuse.
- Royals Who Actually Do Something: Jace volunteers himself and Luke to deliver Rhaenyra's call to arms to the Great Houses on dragonback instead of sending ravens, knowing this will make them look like dignified, responsible princes and add weight to Rhaenyra's words.
- Rule of Symbolism: Arrax attacks Vhagar's left eye, the same eye that Aemond lost to Luke's attack when they were children; needless to say, it's considerably less effective.
- Sacred Hospitality: Lord Borros forbids Aemond and Lucerys from fighting inside his hall, citing Luke's status as an envoy, and immediately orders his guards to escort him outside.
- Sacrificial Lion: In this season finale, Lucerys, the younger and more sensitive of Rhaenyra's teenage sons, is killed in a dragonrider skirmish with his uncle Aemond to show the stakes of the impending civil war. Though it seems Aemond did not intend to kill him, Luke's death enrages Rhaenyra, and her gaze at the end of the episode show that the Dance of the Dragons is on.
- Screaming Birth: Rhaenyra screams throughout her labor so loudly that she can be heard throughout the castle. Daemon hears but does not go to her.
- Shout-Out: 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 Jurassic Park, 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.
- Significant Wardrobe Shift: Up until the impending birth of little Visenya, adult Rhaenyra as portrayed by Emma D'Arcy had primarily worn dresses (as befits her role as mother to her growing brood and Lady of Dragonstone). However, starting from the baby's funeral (which directly leads to her coronation), she wears a more opulent version of the Dragon Rider robes Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra wore when riding Syrax. This likely highlights both her initial desire to project strength in vulnerability—and then, subsequently, to bolster her authority as a Targaryen war leader.
- Silence Is Golden: We only hear the score and no dialogue when Daemon tells Rhaenyra that Lucerys was killed. Their backs are also turned to the camera, so the exact words are left to the audience's imagination. Rhaenyra first staggers in clear distress, then turns towards the camera afterwards with burning tears and steel in her eyes, making the intent clear nonetheless.
- Single Tear: When Rhaenyra examines the page of Alicent's book, she sheds a single tear.
- This Means War!: Implied. 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.
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Rhaenyra stares vacantly into the distance when she is crowned at her stillborn child's funeral.
- Tragic Stillbirth: While the shock of the news of her father's death and Aegon's seizure of the throne sends Rhaenyra into premature labour, her bloody amniotic fluid (it's supposed to be clear/yellowish) and the morbid state of the baby mean it was already dead by that point. Daemon arrives to see her rocking the dead fetus.
- Trauma Conga Line: In just one episode, Rhaenyra learns about her father's death and the Hightower coup, experiences a stillbirth, and loses her second child Luke on a diplomatic mission she sent him to.
- Vengeance Feels Empty: Aemond successfully gets revenge on Lucerys for taking his eye. Not only does he not get any satisfaction from this he is clearly appalled as while he may have hated Lucerys and wanted to take one of his eyes in turn he never wanted him dead.
- Weapon Twirling: Aemond twirls the dagger he threatens Lucerys's eye with before putting it back in its scabbard upon Lord Borros Baratheon's refusal to have the blood of a messenger shed in his throne room.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Daemon calls out Rhaenys for not just torching the Greens where they stood rather than prolonging the succession conflict. She replies that it wasn't her place to declare war on Rhaenyra's behalf.
- Won the War, Lost the Peace: Though her advisers urge her to take a stronger stand against the Greens, Rhaenyra attempts to 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.Rhaenyra: Viserys spoke often of the Valyrian histories. I know them well. When dragons flew to war, everything burned. I do not wish to rule over a kingdom of ash and bone.
Bartimos: Are you considering the Hightowers' terms, Your Grace?
Rhaenyra: As Queen, what is my true duty to the realm, Lord Bartimos? Ensuring peace and unity, or that I sit the Iron Throne no matter the cost? - You Are Too Late: Aemond got to the Baratheons ahead of Lucerys to rally them to the cause of the Greens, and with advantageous marriage proposals to Borros Baratheon compared to Lucerys, who's empty-handed.
