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This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

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Tear Jerker / House of the Dragon

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For Game of Thrones, see here.

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Season 1

     1 - The Heirs of the Dragon 
  • During Queen Aemma's and Viserys I's talk when she is still pregnant, she gives an account of the children they lost in infancy, stillbirths, and pregnancies that never came to term, finishing with the statement that she mourned all the dead babes she is able and she cannot mourn any more, even if this one dies.
  • The Death by Childbirth of the kind and loving Queen Aemma is not only truly horrific in its bloodiness, but it also gains an additional tragic and unpleasant edge by the fact that the decision to give her a Traumatic C-Section was made without her consent. Made worse is that Aemma isn't unconscious when it happens and we get the pleasure of hearing her plead for them not to do this to her. Despite Viserys I's clear love for her, the pressure of the situation made him choose the life of the baby over hers without even asking her. The decision is made in light of Mellos's warning that if they do nothing, both mother and child will probably die; but it's All for Nothing when they both die anyways. No matter how bad Aemma's death in that other situation might have been, it's harder to imagine it could've possibly been worse than this one.
  • Alicent having to watch her brother joust against Prince Daemon, who seriously injures him by attacking his horsenote  To add insult to injury, Daemon has the gall to ask for her favor immediately afterward, which she is compelled to give, with a smile on her face, in front of a cheering crowd. It becomes understandable why Ser Otto hates Daemon.
  • The funeral of Queen Aemma is treated as a serious and somber affair by nearly everyone—in sheer contrast to the preceding orgy of violence in the tourney. Everyone seems catatonic in front of her and her son's funeral pyre. It goes down to Rhaenyra, a very young girl mourning not only the loss of her mother and brother, but the breaking of her carefree innocence, to order the fires be lit.
    Rhaenyra: (visibly fighting back tears, to her dragon Syrax) Dracarys!
    • The first shot of Aemma's body wrapped in cloth upon her funeral pyre...and then the camera slowly pans down to show a tiny body also wrapped in cloth, below her. Little Prince Baelon, named for his grandfather, Baelon the Brave, lived only a few hours, and in spite of everything his family tried to bring him into the world, will never learn to walk or talk or how to wield a sword or read a book. He will never sit on the Iron Throne as his father did before him or join his sister in the sky in the saddle of his own dragon.
  • In the immediate aftermath of this, the Small Council wastes no time badgering Viserys for his succession plans now that his wife and intended heir are dead—not to mention continuing to badmouth Daemon. While it is a valid concern of the state, nearly all of them (save perhaps Corlys Velaryon) are very pushy about making the King decide, which eventually makes the recently-widowed King snap:
    Viserys: My wife and son are dead! I will not sit here and suffer crows that come to feast on their corpses!
  • Daemon's drunken revelries with the City Watch (allegedly calling his dead nephew "the Heir for a Day") came to the still-grieving King Viserys (through the words of Otto, his Hand who dislikes Daemon immensely). The entire moment signals a massive breach between brothers, who reproach each other for not being enough for each other (even if they still admit to their brotherly love).
    Viserys I: "The Heir for a Day." Did you say it?
    Daemon: We must all mourn in our own way, Your Grace.
    Viserys I: My family has just been destroyed. But instead of being by my side, or Rhaenyra's, you chose to celebrate your own rise! Laughing with your whοres and your lickspittles! You have no allies at court but me! I have only ever defended you! Yet everything I've given you, you've thrown back in my face.
    Daemon: You've only ever tried to send me away. To the Vale, to the City Watch, anywhere but by your side. Ten years you've been king and yet not once have you asked me to be your Hand!
    Viserys I: Why would I do that?
    Daemon: Because I'm your brother. And the blood of the dragon runs thick.
    Viserys I: Then why do you cut me so deeply?
    Daemon: I've only ever spoken the truth. I see Otto Hightower for what he is.
    Viserys I: An unwavering and loyal Hand?
    Daemon: A cսոt. A second son who stands to inherit nothing he doesn't seize for himself.
    Viserys I: Otto Hightower is a more honorable man than you could ever be.
    Daemon: He doesn't protect you. I would.
    Viserys I: From what?
    Daemon: Yourself. You're weak, Viserys. And that council of leeches knows it. They all prey on you for their own ends.
    Viserys I: I have decided to name a new heir.
    Daemon: I'm your heir.
    Viserys I: Not anymore. You are to return to Runestone and your lady wife at once. And you are to do so without quarrel by order of your King.
  • As King Viserys eventually confides in Rhaenyra about his decision to make her heir, he also shares with her the secret vision of Aegon the Conqueror—that relating to a vague understanding of the coming of the White Walkers. Coupled with the fact with the very opening of the episode emphasizing that the story is happening "172 years before... Daenerys Targaryen", it helps hammer home not only how this once-mighty house will be reduced to just Daenerys Stormborn, the Last Dragon (not counting Jon Snow, who's technically a Targaryen as well but never claims the name publicly)—and how their very aspiration will all come to naught with her fate.

     2 - The Rogue Prince 
  • While Rhaenys is clearly bitter and smug, her words about how their society functions and that the Iron Throne will never have a woman sat upon it do ring true. Rhaenyra holds herself well, but it's clear her cousin's words did get to her, especially once Viserys announced he would marry her best friend Alicent.
  • Viserys and Rhaenyra's reaction to learning Daemon didn't just steal any egg, but the one meant for Baelon. Viserys feels so betrayed that he's ready to go to Dragonstone and drag his brother out himself.
  • Mysaria's speech to Daemon about how she has always been seen as "property" and that for once in her life she just wanted to be free from fear, believing her relationship with Daemon would be the source of that. The poor woman never wanted gold, titles, or a fancy chair, she just wanted a life of peace and freedom. Even Daemon seems regretful after she storms off.
  • When Viserys announces that he will be marrying Alicent, Rhaenyra (who was unaware of her father's regular meetings with her friend) is clearly angry and hurt. Viserys's face falls as he realises just how upset his daughter is (perhaps he believed she'd be happy that he would marry her friend?) and as Rhaenyra turns her back on him and follows Corlys as he storms out.

     3 - Second Of His Name 
  • The marriage between her father and her former best friend has clearly alienated Rhaenyra from both of them. While it's obvious that Alicent wishes they could still be friends, Rhaenyra rejects any overtures from her. Viserys desperately tries to connect with his daughter with talk of the family she'll have one day and only wants her to be happy, but she's paranoid about him replacing her with her half-brother Aegon. And she has good cause to, as Viserys drunkenly admits to Alicent that he thinks he made an error in declaring Rhaenyra heir now that he has a son.
  • While Viserys intends to have his troops coming to Daemon's and Corlys's aid seem as a boon and an attempt at reconciliation, Daemon takes it as a patronizing gesture and goes off on a suicidal mission to end the war immediately. One really gets the impression that Poor Communication Kills has been straining their brotherhood not just during the events of the show but ever since Viserys ascended as King.
  • If you are an animal lover (and perhaps someone who disapproves of Real Life hunting), the entire chase for the White Hart ending with Viserys killing a bound stag has to be distressing if not unsavory. The entire point of it is to satisfy the nobility's superstition and to shore up the perceived legitimacy of Prince Aegon's righteousness as heir—the very thing causing Rhaenyra grief. This is further given weight when Otto, in a private conversation, high-handedly claims that the realm would never accept Rhaenyra as Queen even if she is proven to be King Jaehaerys I returned. This makes Rhaenyra's own accidental encounter with the White Hart (and her deciding to let it go) even more poignant.
  • In a drunken stupor, Viserys breaks down to Alicent and reveals that he once had a dream about having a male heir who would go on to become a powerful king to succeed him, which is why he pressured his former wife Aemma so hard to give him a son so he can make his dream a reality, a dream that is crushed with Aemma's and their son's deaths. Viserys stopped believing in his dream after that incident and decided to focus on mending his relationship with his estranged daughter Rhaenyra, whom he decided to make his new heir. He never expected that in just a few years he would end up marrying Alicent, who bore him a new son and actually gives him a chance to achieve his dream once more, which came at the cost of alienating Rhaenyra once again and pissing off Lord Corlys and House Velaryon, who would have been one of his most powerful allies. Poor Viserys just can't help but think that he's been making all the wrong decisions so far, and a later scene shows that he is resigned to the fact that he's doomed to one Sadistic Choice after another and cannot gain favor with someone without alienating someone else in the process.

     4 - King of the Narrow Sea 
  • An understated one, but the court's treatment of Lord Willem Blackwood, who's Just a Kid trying his best to be a lord worthy of respect despite his clear inexperience and youth. As if being a suitor for a future queen isn't daunting enough, he has to endure bullying from a much older and stronger knight Jerrell Bracken with absolutely no support from anyone else. Rhaenyra even seems to encourage it. While it's perfectly understandable she wouldn't be interested in someone so young, it's no excuse for how she (and by extension the court) treated him. Not only that, but the fight that resulted in Willem slaying his bully, (which he's clearly horrified by), was bought upon partially by Rhaenyra's enabling. She doesn't even stay to witness her folly. What The Hell, Rhaenyra?
  • The Shakespearean tragedy foreshadowing of how Rhaenyra is inextricably drawn to Daemon like a moth to flame during his tumultuous return, (buzzing the ship and nearly injuring her!) despite that rigmarole, she can't help but nearly grin at his arrival, waiting amongst the assembled court with all anticipation and when he doesn't even spare her a glance upon his entrance, she trails him like a kitten after a tom cat.
  • Rhaenyra and Alicent begin to quibble about the former cutting off her tour of proposed suitors. While Rhaenyra continues to complain how her position makes her still feel pimped out to the lords of the realm and forced to make babies, Alicent admits that she has grown more isolated and alone (later on exhibited by her passionless coupling with King Viserys). It eventually grows into a mutual acknowledgment that they do miss each other after years of their estrangement. This would have been a Hope Spot had Rhaenyra not been embroiled in the pleasure house incident with Daemon.
  • Subsequently, Alicent confronts Rhaenyra for the incident with Daemon, clearly concerned and hurt that not only she was coerced into it by her uncle but that she may have in fact broken both her and King Viserys's trust. Rhaenyra earnestly protests her innocence and deftly deflects the accusations, leaving Alicent wanting to trust her (but now confronted with Conflicting Loyalty between her erstwhile best friend/stepdaughter and her father whose ambition to become grandfather to the future king is all but plain).
    • Alicent's furious and upset reaction is heartbreaking. She desperately wants to believe her old friend, but she is worried that if it was true, it could destroy everything, including her recently rebuilt relationship with her.
  • The Dramatic Irony in here, of course, is that Rhaenyra did forsake her maidenhood (snowballing from Daemon's stimulation)—sure she ends up "untouched" by her uncle, yet she beds Criston Cole (a man who, still quite new to the Kingsguard and probably still taking his vows seriously, does not exactly seem enthusiastic at first).
    • Not to mention that Criston will always be the runner-up. He was the immediate rebound guy of Rhaenyra's unfulfilled desires, kindled by Daemon, and the final shot of her looking over her sworn sword's shoulder in an embrace seems to be distant and somewhat regretful for using him as a concubine.
  • The politically sad note (which snowballed to this incident) was with the mummers' play in Flea Bottom showing that the common folk is in no illusion regarding House Targaryen's looming succession—be it Daemon, Rhaenyra, or the young Prince Aegon. Confronted by another source of resentment, Rhaenyra impulsively seeks freedom and thrill on the street corners (perhaps knowing she'll never enjoy this further when she gets married). This subsequently lands her in the pleasure house which becomes the source of her headache later. From the books... 
  • The reveal that Alicent is really not as happy as she insists she is in her marriage to Viserys when their sex scene ends with her having a Thousand-Yard Stare. It's just yet another reminder that, for many women in the Game of Thrones universe (and in our own world), marriage is a duty that ranges from bearable to outright terrible.
  • The subtle yet unambiguous hints of Daemon essentially engineering this incident does cast a darker shadow on his character, whatever his merits and justifiable Freudian Excuses may be. Now established as a formidable warrior, he reveals himself to be willing to compromise even his own niece to be closer to the Throne—even at great injury to his brother, the King, who still professes to love him. And yet, there seems to be still a part of him that hesitated to go all the way—what with Daemon eventually shirking away from actually deflowering Rhaenyra even as she is practically gnawing at him. Perhaps he eventually realizes he does value his niece more than a Cyvasse piece. This can also explain why he doesn't bother defending himself during Viserys's interrogation—so that all the heat is on him instead of Rhaenyra.
    • Ironically, even the backfiring of this is not entirely a loss to him, as this incident rattles Viserys enough to lash out against Otto Hightower, Daemon's political nemesis. While this is not exactly a case of The Bad Guy Wins, Daemon certainly did.
    • Seven hells, him leaving his eighteen-year-old niece in the red lantern district on the Street of Silk all alone amidst an ongoing orgy since he'd been her sole chaperone is the most dastardly act he's committed yet. King's Landing might be safer in this era with the gold cloaks in their prime but still! Any disaster could have befallen a princess on her way back to the Red Keep. It's rather hard not to feel a surge of pity when you see Rhaenyra left forlorn and devastated, hugging her nearly stripped raiment to her.
  • The King's dismissal of Otto Hightower can also come off as this, when considering the fact that this incident was, for this time, not actually his own active plotting. Presented with the allegations of Rhaenyra's "misconduct", Otto still decides to report it to the King (knowing how sensitive it is and how risky a gambit it is for him). However, due to Alicent and Rhaenyra's friendship persisting (and hence establishing her relative 'innocence'), Viserys subsequently turns his suspicious eye on Otto—realizing he only became Hand because Viserys's own father, Prince Baelon (who was to be King after King Jaehaerys) died under a Contrived Coincidence. Essentially alleging that Otto, despite his loyal service, may have in fact instigated the death of his father, Viserys relieves him of office for the crime he did not commit. Ironically, this does mean he is punishing him for his overreaches of authority on other things.
  • While Mysaria managing to become a proto-Varys (inveigled herself to become a spy/whispers-provider to the court—Otto among them)) on her own is arguably an awesome moment for her, it also highlights how her realization of Daemon's shortcomings in protecting her also strained their previous liaison. She also inadvertently becomes the leak that enabled Otto Hightower to allege Rhaenyra's "misconduct", causing further headaches and rifts inside House Targaryen.

     5 - We Light The Way 
  • Despite the general sympathy and popularity Daemon has engendered throughout the first four episodes, the episodes paints in no ambiguous terms that whatever it was happening in his marriage with Lady Rhea Royce, most (if not all) of it was his fault. Rhea, for all her brusque nature, is sympathetically portrayed as the wronged party—someone who (despite her non-traditionally feminine character) is simply someone who deserves respect and being honored. Daemon, living up to the dishonorable side of his character, is shown killing her himself.
  • While he's clearly out of his depth (challenging not only a prince but a Manipulative Bastard like Daemon), it's clear that Gerald Royce is deeply grieving for his cousin and simply wants the one responsible to answer for the crime.
  • Rhaenyra and Laenor agree that given their Incompatible Orientation, it would be best if their marriage is an open one. Sadly, neither gets to be with their love interest: Ser Criston does not want to be a side piece to Rhaenyra, and he ends up killing Ser Joffrey (Laenor's lover) during the welcoming feast for the royal wedding. It is especially sad when you consider Joffrey seemed like a good man and simply wanted to ensure his and Laenor's secrets remain that way. It came across as less blackmail than it was mutual understanding, making it all the worse when this gets him killed.
    • When Laenor sees Joffrey's body in a puddle of blood, he lets out a Death Wail. His wedding ends up taking place within hours, and he is still in tears while reciting his vows.
  • Viserys asking Lyonel how he'll be remembered after he's gone, especially since it's become clear his condition is worsening by the day. It's something many royals in the show (and likely real life) ponder when they near their ends. It also highlights that Viserys knows full well he wasn't the best king but simply hopes he did something good during his reign that they would sing songs about.
  • When Alicent learns the truth behind Rhaenyra and Ser Criston, her face of slow realization followed by heartbreak that her best friend and stepdaughter has lost her trust, is tragic.
  • The episode cements Alicent's turning against Rhaenyra after Ser Criston, in the middle of a crisis of conscience, admits to breaking his vow of celibacy and taking Rhaenyra's maidenhead. It finally sinks in not only that Alicent has sided with her erstwhile friend at the very moment she broke her trust, she herself cost her father Otto his lifelong job of Hand. Her attendance at Rhaenyra's pre-wedding feast, wearing the striking green of House Hightower, is astutely read by both Larys and Harwin Strong—not to mention the Hightower contingent led by her uncle Hobert—as a sign that she now actively stands representing her house's (and her father's) politics. She has now irreversibly cooled against Rhaenyra.
    Larys Strong: The beacon of the Hightower... do you know what color it glows when Oldtown calls its banners to war?
    Harwin Strong: Green.
  • The Downer Ending of the rushed wedding (with poor Ser Joffrey's blood still staining the floor of the dining halls no less). It's topped off by the already overly-stressed and ailing King Viserys collapsing after the vows are exchanged. Earlier, he was coughing up blood, but he pushed it aside when he saw Daemon and Rhaenyra in private conversation. It's heartbreakingly clear that he's on his last legs and there is little that can be done for him now.

     6 - The Princess and the Queen 
  • The Time Skip allows us a deep look into the private lives of adult Rhaenyra and Alicent, and both of them are experiencing decades' worth of fear—for them and their children.
    • Rhaenyra, despite just having finished delivering her son Joffrey, is commanded by Alicent to show her the newborn baby. Rhaenyra understandably takes this as an affront to her pride, choosing to walk even as she is leaving trails of blood throughout the Red Keep. Later on, we are given unspoken confirmation of the biggest allegations of Fire & Blood: that her sons are not by her husband Laenor Velaryon but by Harwin Strong. The pressure of the rumors and the increasing frailty of King Viserys eventually impresses on her that she has very few real allies in court, and thus chooses to take possession of Dragonstone to get away from it. The pressures of childbirth, maintaining her position in the Small Council and her realization that Alicent is now irrevocably against her has taken a toll on her erstwhile headstrong personality, which must sting for her.
      • This also feeds in her simmering resentment of Laenor—who has kept on taking male lovers (and generally become more like the Upper-Class Twit of the books) while she seems to be saddled with all the tasks of household management. Laenor, for his part, seems to keenly acknowledge how his being consort to the Princess of Dragonstone has taken him away from naval command and action, and is keenly feeling his Badass Decay (which is fuelling his gallivanting). The saving grace of this, fortunately, is that they are still loyal to each other as political allies, and have been nothing if not nuturing of their young children Jacaerys and Lucerys.
    • Alicent, for her part, has slowly but surely settled into the Wicked Stepmother her story portrays her as. Beyond her continuing insistence regarding Rhaenyra's bastard children, she is shown to be not entirely a model mother on her own. She high-handedly imposes the Hightower ambition for succession on young Aegon (who for all intents and purposes is at worst an immature boy who is not even interested in the throne)—not unlike what Otto did to her. She is not giving Aemond the appropriate positive reinforcement he needs to deal with the immature bullying of his brother and nephews. Furthermore, she is all but incapable of interacting more warmly with young Helaena, who clearly has some unique learning and personality challenges. Juggling her commitment to Hightower power and being an actual mother, the one her children needs, is clearly eating away at her more than she is willing to acknowledge and address.
    • Even Daemon, who seems for all intents and purposes to be on top of the world after absconding to Essos and starting his family. Laena recognises that his desire to settle down in one spot for good indicates that a vital part of her husband is missing, and that his mellowing out is more of a low-key depression. She even suggests that their ten years of adventurism away from their houses was Daemon's effort to smother any and all feelings he has for Rhaenyra and it's not working.
      • This great exchange, with Daemon more or less acknowledging that as the last of the nobility of Valyria. They have no place left in this world. (Guess Lys and Volantis don't count?)
        Lady Laena Velaryon: We are not minstrels or mummers who play at the pleasure of some alien prince. We are the Blood of Old Valyria. We don't belong here.
        Prince Daemon Targaryen: Old Valyria is gone. We don't belong anywhere.
  • Rhaena and Aemond are both considered lesser to their siblings for not being dragonriders.
    • Aemond is treated to a humiliating prank where the other boys put wings on a pig and tell him he can ride it. This leads to him going into the pit alone where he nearly gets burned to death by Dreamfyre.
    • Rhaena is shown putting her dragon egg on a fire, still unhatched after 8 years. She sadly tells her mother that Daemon ignores her in favour of her sister.
  • Lady Laena's suicide by dragonfire. She is facing the exact same birth complications as Queen Aemma did, with the Pentoshi maesters and nurses unable to get the baby out. Daemon faces the exact Sadistic Choice as his brother once did, but he cannot bring himself to order his wife cut open. Desperate and in agony, she staggers up to Vhagar, who can clearly see how much pain her rider is in but is reluctant to hurt her. Only when she all but pleads for it does the great dragon reluctantly do so. Daemon rushes to save her but is too late and can only watch, powerless, desolation etched into his features as Laena is burnt alive before his very eyes.
    • It's suggested that despite his love for them, Daemon has yet to settle into the father role, as his daughter claims he ignores her. When the two are grieving their mother's death, Daemon is clearly trying to find a way to comfort them but simply can't think of what to do or say. All he can do is walk off with his head hung in shame.
  • Harwin's entire situation. It's clear that he loves his children and wants to have a relationship with them, but he can't openly act as their father without condemning their lives, his own, and possibly Rhaenyra's. And when he makes his heartbreaking (and final) departure from King's Landing, the boys are upset and Rhaenyra is clearly devastated but wearing a queenly mask to cover her grief, as she cannot wish him the farewell of a wife to her husband. Coupled with this soul-crushing line.
    Ser Harwin Strong: (to Jace) I will return. I promise. (to baby Joffrey) I will be a stranger when we meet again.
  • The deaths of Harwin and Lord Lyonel Strong in Harrenhal. Poor Harwin can only scream for his horrified father as the flames in his room begin to creep closer and closer towards him. The aftermath shows that many present in the great keep likely died a slow and painful death. And it was Lord Larys who orchestrated such a tragedy... with not a shred of remorse or care for his own kin's demise. Queen Alicent is distraught that he would go to such measures, likely blaming herself because of the rumours she put forth that started all of this.
  • Viserys, breaking down over Rhaenyra leaving the capital with his grandsons. We see him putting on Aemma's ring and kissing it in remembrance. But the rats are in the walls...
  • For that matter, the state of Viserys, a once happy man who does mean well literally falling to pieces as everything else around him does.

     7 - Driftmark 
  • At the funeral, Laenor is standing in the shallows, a grief-stricken expression on his face, showing how much he loved his sister, and may even have contemplated joining her in the deep before Qarl pulled him back.
  • Rhaenys comforting a weeping Rhaena and Baela.
  • Jace is grieving Harwin but is completely unable to do so openly or seek comfort - which only further upsets the young boy.
  • There's a very understated, poignant moment when Jacaerys and Aemond might, for a second, try to breach the divide and perhaps start to reconcile; as they both seem to search for something to say to each other when meeting at the wake, but they can't find any common ground and only pain will follow...
  • Daemon cutting his words off and visibly collecting himself when he reprimands Viserys with: "I need... Nothing." His pride unwilling to accept his elder brother's offer to return to court when he clearly wants to be closer to his only sibling in his final days.
  • In that swallow where Daemon does his last second word change, he begins to form the word: "Ra...", before controlling himself to avoid argument with Viserys. He’s yearned for her for a decade, from his last conversation with his brother to this new first. note 
    • While the above note paints a rather rosy picture of Daemon (it's not like the Hot-Blooded Daemon didn't give Viserys plenty of reasons for acting the way he did), it's still a Tear Jerker how these brothers who clearly love each other despite it all haven't quite been able to overcome their differences, even in the last days of Viserys's life.
  • Viserys misnaming Alicent as Aemma in his grief along with the illnesses that are racking his body and now mind. The tragedy of all that was lost and what couldn't come to be for both parties.
  • There's a great sense of melancholic self-hatred within Daemon, to the point that he's plainly surprised when Rhaenyra still desires him and he can only sit down in near shell-shock, utterly poleaxed when she all but begs for his hand in marriage.
  • The confrontation between Rhaenyra and Alicent seen in the trailer is given full context in this episode. After the altercation between Aemond and the Velaryon heirs (Baela, Rhaena, Lucerys, and Jacaerys) over Vhagar escalates to Aemond going to kill Jace with a rock and then Lucerys taking out one of Aemond's eyes, Rhaenyra and Alicent demand redress over their children's injuries. When Viserys once again imposes the uneasy peace, Alicent snaps, steals his Valyrian catspaw dagger and is dead set on blinding Lucerys herself, ending with her drawing blood on Rhaenyra.
    Rhaenyra: You've gone too far!
    Alicent: (holding Rhaenyra at knifepoint) I?! What have I done but what was expected of me? Forever upholding the kingdom, the family, the law. While you flout all to do as you please!
    Viserys: Alicent, let her go!
    Alicent: Where is duty?! Where is sacrifice?! It's trampled under your pretty foot again!
    Otto: Release the blade, Alicent.
    Alicent: And now you take my son's eye, and to even that, you feel entitled!
    Rhaenyra: (with a Single Tear in her left eye) Exhausting, wasn't it? Hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness. But now they see you as you are.
  • Vhagar's presence at Driftmark. Note that she was riderless at the time and none of the others likely commanded her, she flew there on her own volition for her former rider's funeral. Vhagar was also grieving.
  • Rhaenys's scream when she discovers what she believes to be the body of her son Laenor is absolutely heart-wrenching. She's lost her second child just after she finished laying her first one to rest.
    • Even though Laenor is actually still alive, he can never see his parents, "sons," or nieces ever again, just because it would cause too much trouble if his ruse was discovered.
    • It's ambiguous about how much of a willing participant Laenor even was in this scheme, as he clearly loved his "sons" and nieces and was determined to recommit himself to Rhaenyra and their family. Was he threatened with actual death if he didn't agree to go along with the plan, and did Rhaenyra essentially approve his murder if he had put up a fuss and refused to leave?
  • It’s quiet perhaps by necessity of the relationship being secret, but the moments where Rhaenyra’s mourning for Harwin shows. With what she says on the beach about him to later how she says that fire took from her someone that she ‘’loved’’.
  • The remarriage of her father very clearly bothers Rhaena, with a look of hurt and betrayal marring her face for Daemon so quickly putting aside her mother's memory. In fact, all the kids seem a bit discomfited and not just due to Dragonstone's horrendous cold misty rain. The bride and groom drinking each other's blood might have something to do with it.

     8 - The Lord of the Tides 
  • When Rhaenyra and Daemon arrive in Viserys's chambers, they're both horrified and heartbroken to see the state of him, with Rhaenyra looking on the verge of tears. Daemon even acquires a My God, What Have I Done? look on his face, as he thinks back to all the times he pettily spited his brother, only to see what it amounted to here.
    • It becomes even worse when Viserys appears in the throne room to settle the Driftmark dispute. He struggles mightily to make it across the hall. Daemon's face while seeing this is filled with regret. Then Daemon helps his brother reach the throne after the latter is so weakened that he loses his crown and can't make it up the final steps.
    • Recall how in episode 1 Daemon said that he would protect Viserys from those leeches at court? Makes you wonder if Viserys would have declined the way he did if Daemon was his Hand.
  • When Rhaenyra and Daemon visit Viserys's bedside, Viserys finally realises that Daemon really did fulfill his promise that if wed to Rhaenyra, he would restore their house. The poor leper begins to break down from the pain and regret and repeatedly says: "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." both because he is apologizing to them for rejecting Daemon's proposal years ago, preventing them from being happy together sooner, and for scaring his grandsons when he could have been hale and known them longer.
  • For that matter, the fact that little toddlers Viserys and Aegon the Younger both understandably get tearful when brought before their grandsire, who looks like death and must smell it despite all the incense in his chambers. They (and their poor child actors) are quickly terrified when he reaches out to them and you can see the diseased king's heart break in half that this pitiful state will be their only memory of him.
  • The very first thing we see in the king's chambers is his beloved model of Valyria left to collect dust. Viserys had tended to it for years and it had been an endearing quirk of his, but now he's too ill to maintain it.
  • Dyana; Helaena's serving girl, whose actress is frighteningly good at portraying both sheer terror and the trauma of being sexually assaulted by a royal and therefore at the royal family's complete mercy to do with her as they please. It's difficult not to have your stomach drop out at her performance.
    • While the interaction between Alicent and Dyana goes rather positively, Alicent still makes a point to silence Dyana by making her believe she'll be deemed a whore who enticed Aegon if she tells anyone else what happened, not to mention that Dyana already risked herself by telling a couple others before Alicent. While this was done primarily to protect her son, Alicent's words sadly ring true in that many would believe that either Dyana lied about the circumstances, brought the assault on herself in some way, or etc.
  • Rhaenyra by her father's bedside in the night, trying to hold onto his faith in her as his heir but sorrowful to the depths of her heart at the untenable situation he's left her in.
    King Viserys I Targaryen: Alicent? Alicent...
    Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen: No, it's Rhaenyra, father.
    Viserys: Rhaenyra...
    Rhaenyra: "The Song of Ice and Fire", do you believe it to be true?
    Viserys: Aegon's Dream...
    Rhaenyra: You told me, it was our duty to hold the realm united against a common foe... By naming me, you divided the realm... I thought I wanted it... But the burden is a heavy one. It's too heavy...
    Viserys: My... My only child...
    Rhaenyra: (shaking her head) If you wish me to bear it, then defend me! And my children! (breaking down)
  • The fact that Rhaenyra's plea actually manages to penetrate through the smog of pain and drugs and enable Viserys to fight for her despite his convalescence... (deep breath) Excuse me...
  • Daemon helping his brother surmount the Iron Throne is bound to get some pretty misty-eyed, the score does not help one's eyes remain dry either. The kicker is that after his little brother places the crown back on his head, Viserys has a reaction shot as he's hyperventilating and we can see a glistening tear track going down his left cheek as he looks up at the man he once decried as a plague sent to destroy him.
  • Helaena's married life to her brother, Aegon the Elder, stands in sheer contrast to her half-sister's. Her husband can only be with her or bed her when he's a stinking, drink-addled wreck. And in this state, he probably mistook Dyana, his wife's pretty servant girl as his wife and "took his rights" of her. He doesn't even remember having her against her will, and whatever sympathy Alicent's poisonous rearing of him might elicit as he mopes that nothing he does is enough is quickly extinguished when he touts that his raping Dyana was just a bit of "harmless fun".
  • In the midst of her chiding of Aegon for raping a servant girl, Alicent is interrupted by Helaena asking for said servant to help her dress her kids. Alicent collects herself and hugs her daughter, undoubtedly acknowledging how terrible her married situation is, which she probably blames herself for.
  • ALL of Viserys's lines this episode could count but especially how he refuses to take milk of the poppy despite his evident need of it, drooling from the agony.
    "I will not cloud my mind... I must make things right..."
  • His speech at the quite literal Last Supper.
    King Viserys I Targaryen: It both gladdens my heart... And fills me with sorrow... To see these faces around the table. The faces most dear to me in all the world... Yet grown so distant from each other. In the years past. (removes his half-mask, looks directly at Rhaenyra, who manages to temper her distress and pity) My own face... is no longer a handsome one... If indeed it ever was. But tonight... I wish you to see me... as I am. Not just a king... (to Aegon the Elder) but your father. (to Daemon) Your brother. (to Alicent) Your husband... (to Jace and Luke) And your grandsire. Who may not, it seems... walk for much longer among you. Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts. The crown cannot stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided. But set aside your grievances. If not for the sake of the crown... then for the sake of this old man, who loves you all, so dearly.
  • Alicent is finally willing to bury the hatchet and rebuild her old friendship with Rhaenyra....because Rhaenyra sincerely apologizes and praises her for being a dutiful wife to her father. After all the bitterness, resentment, and hurt Alicent has felt for the last 20 years, all it took was Rhaenyra apologizing for the rift to be slowly mended again. She is a broken, hurt, bitter old woman who just wanted her friend back.
  • Viserys's final moments, alone in the dark, believing that he reunited his family for good but not realizing that his last words were misunderstood by his wife, as he thought in his delirium that he was speaking to Rhaenyra and muttered that her Aegon will be the Promised Prince, unknowingly setting the stage for a reignition of conflict between the Greens and Blacks, undoing with his last breath all the work of a life he spent upholding his duty to pass the legacy of unity and concord he inherited.
    • The last two words the king ever speaks have much Ambiguous Syntax, none of which are any less emotional than the other. Is he speaking of his eldest daughter Rhaenyra, who no doubt will be grief-stricken by his death? Is it his wife Alicent, mother of three of his children, who has stood by him for twenty years and been his peace and comfort despite the animosity between the Houses? Or is he seeing Queen Aemma again, after decades of missing her so dearly?
      Viserys: My love...

     9 - The Green Council 
  • King Viserys's death. The realm is visibly somber in the early morning, with Alicent visibly shaken, and Princess Rhaenys is notably upset at the news; bitter for how things may have been, they were cousins and she loved him. Otto Hightower, out of respect for him, ensures the realm remembers him as "Viserys the Peaceful", an apt moniker if ever there was one. To add more tragedy to the mix, it's clear that as we all feared, Alicent gravely mistook his Deathbed Confession for her placing Aegon on the throne despite the fact he's clearly unfit and unwilling to do so (not to mention even the other lords know damn well he never would have wanted that).
    • The worst part is, even after all this, Daemon and Rhaenyra still don't know he's dead.
    • The fact that most of the Small Council are willing, happy even, to dismiss his death and try to use his well-known aversion to conflict to justify murdering his beloved daughter, brother and their entire family to facilitate their treason is quite sickening. Viserys trusted each of these men to govern the realm wisely and they repay his trust by betraying and overturning his long-held wish for the succession simply to gain more power for themselves.
  • Lord Beesbury's death at Criston's hands. And Criston's utter remorselessness at the crime, which even the lords and Queen Alicent find appalling. The man was a loyal supporter of Rhaenyra to the end, and he didn't deserve such an unjust fate. Even worse, his corpse is just left there to bleed all over the table on Otto's direct orders, both so they can finish their work and as a warning to anyone who might be having second thoughts.
    • Later, the same fate meets Lord Caswell and is highly implied to be the same for Lord Merryweather and Lady Fell. All three keep their oaths to Rhaenyra and die for it, showing what happens to honorable lords whose integrity does not suit power-hungry usurpers.
  • Ser Harrold renounces his white cloak on being ordered to take his Kingsguard to Dragonstone and murder Rhaenyra's family; how slowly he removes it and how he doesn't let the cloak go until the very last second shows how much the decision hurts him, how much he loves being a Kingsguard, but he refuses to go along with a plot that would require him to murder the girl he looked after when she was growing up.
  • Subtle, but Aemond's resentment towards his brother ascending the throne is perfectly understandable. This is the guy who was his Big Brother Bully in childhood and has shown time and again he would make an awful king and has squandered all the good fortune he's ever received. Meanwhile, Aemond is The Dutiful Son who does have a sharp mind for leadership, yet he's passed over simply because he's the second son. Seeing someone you hate receive everything you've ever wanted freely while you actually worked hard for it and still never got it is a sting that many have the misfortune of knowing.
  • Alicent's disposition throughout the episode. For all her mistakes, she's clearly grieving her husband and even seems to be second-guessing her choices and resolve. Additionally, she's clearly uncomfortable with using her feet to influence Larys Strong (who seems to have a foot fetish). While he never asks for sex, it's clearly something she finds incredibly demeaning even though she's the dominant one in the situation. Her face screams "I am the Queen Regent and yet I'm to sully myself to this Evil Cripple just to keep my family safe?"
  • The poor illegitimate child of Aegon, left in a cage for a doubtless short and brutal life. His royal father holds no regard for him except as a source of violent entertainment and probably wouldn't even be aware of him were it not for his distinctive silver hair.
    • The kid might even be Gaemon Palehair, which is only a minor consolation if you know what happens to him along the line.............
  • Oddly enough, Aegon is quite pitiable in the scene where on the way to his coronation, he asks Alicent if she loves him. The way she responds implies that the answer is obviously yes, but it's also a little sad if you consider that Alicent may have never told Aegon that she loves him, which may have a lot to do with how he's turned out. In addition, it's notable how he begs to not be made king to Aemond. Considering how thousands of innocent people have died and whole kingdoms have fallen to madmen desiring to be King of Westeros, it's peculiar to see someone so desperate to not be king because they know they would be terrible at ruling (which hasn't stop the likes of Maegor the Cruel or Joffrey). But Aegon's personal wants don't matter: he's going to be dragged into this role solely because he's the firstborn of the Hightower-Targaryens and forced to kick-start a war he never wanted to happen, all because of his grandfather's ambition to gain more power for their family.

     10 - The Black Queen 
  • Rhaenyra and Daemon hearing the news of Viserys's death.
    • Daemon is visibly distraught and loses what little impulse control he has left, opting to go straight to war and kill every last Green standing, under the impression his brother was slain. His brother and daughter's deaths throw him off so badly he does the one thing everyone thought impossible: he harms Rhaenyra.
    • Rhaenyra's silent grief is arguably more palpable. Emma D'Arcy deserves huge credit for showcasing with no words at all every trace of heartbreak on the woman's face. She's so shocked and devastated that she can't even bring herself to speak and when she does, it's little more than a desperate blubber. It's also implied the grief she felt in that moment was the catalyst that led to her baby's stillbirth. Truth in Television, as intense emotional trauma has been known to cause miscarriages.
  • The harrowing mid-term miscarriage poor Rhaenyra has to endure. From the fact that the pain is so great that she can't stay still, to her calling for Daemon to halt his plans and come to her only for him to ignore her. To her hateful scream of "Get Out!" to the child within her. And after it's done she gathers and cradles her stillborn baby Visenya in her arms and rocks her as she did Joff in episode six. She even wraps her tiny, malformed body herself in preparation for the funeral. Unlike Aemma, she had beaten all the odds in the birthing bed, but the Stranger got their due at the last.
  • Daemon collapsing to his knees on the beach in sorrow, mirroring his wife as she desperately kisses Visenya's bloodied forehead. Dark Sister is uselessly embedded in the sand, a testament to the fact that for all his skill as a warrior, he has been unable to protect three of his family and lost two forever, due to his powerlessness.
    • We should also acknowledge the servants throughout the sequence. The midwives and female attendants who we have seen throughout the season (including delivering Joffrey previously in Episode 6) desperately try to get Rhaenyra to settle down, and are the first to weep when Visenya came out lifeless. The Silent Sisters, who we saw earlier in Episode 8 being very Creepy Mortician with Vaemond's corpse, stand in dignified silence while Rhaenyra tends to her departed daughter of a few minutes.
    • Both Daemon and Rhaenyra standing by their baby's pyre, silently despondent for the child they have lost, in a scene that clearly harkens back to the moment of Queen Aemma's and Prince Baelon's funerals all the way back in the first episode.
  • Rhaenyra is visibly moved when Otto shows her the page of Alicent's history book that she had ripped out so long ago, a sad reminder of a much happier time when she and Alicent were the best of friends. This memory is enough that she doesn't reject Otto's terms out of hand.
    • It's also clear that Alicent was thinking of those happier times as well, with those memories and Rhaenyra's reconciliation at the feast motivating her to do everything she can to save the lives of Rhaenyra and her family.
    • Along those lines, just the fact that Alicent kept that page for all these years implies that it was a Tragic Keepsake for her: a reminder of the friendship she lost.
  • Daemon full on constricting the arteries in Rhaenyra's neck; choking the mother of his children he's in such a dark place. It's the second casualty of war besides Visenya, the first deep wedge driven into their relationship. He may be trying to put things in perspective for her but the act itself is still a reprehensible breach of trust.
  • Rhaenyra is also staring at him, gasping, when he finally lets up the pressure and releases her; with utter dismay. She believed with absolute certainty that she was the exception to his ability to commit depravity only to be rudely awakened and disabused of such a notion. The one silver lining is that her shock confirms that he's never laid hands on her before this moment in like manner.
  • Vaemond Velaryon gets some posthumous sympathy from his brother (who is saddened to hear about his death) and Lucerys (whose mini-arc causes him to wonder if he should have let Vaemond have Driftmark when he feels unsuited to rule the island). Despite Vaemond's abrasiveness, it takes some of the satisfaction out of his death two episodes earlier.
  • Lucerys's mini-arc of this episode is utterly gut-wrenching. He's only Rhaenyra's age at the start of the series and has been saddled with immense imminent responsibility. He's clearly scared of undertaking this important mission as his queen's envoy, but his duty, love and pride for his mother compels him to undertake it. He's startled by Vhagar looming over Storm's End's battlements and many a courageous soul would still have retreated knowing that the uncle who loathes you is within said castle. But he goes in anyway, fears be damned. Because he's a brave boy who desires to shore up support for his family. The fact that an estranged member of his own family then hunts down and slaughters him in what would effectively be a case of modern road rage vehicular manslaughter... He was just trying to get home to his mother...
  • The horrified look of remorse on Aemond's face as he watches Arrax's severed wings plummet (and no sign of his nephew, who's been reduced to red mist) to earth says it all. For all his hatred of Luke for maiming him, when his revenge is handed to him with interest, he realises too late that he never truly desired to see him dead. This was a boy who he trained and played with in their youth before everything went so wrong. Luke's demise throws everything into sharp relief for Aemond, and his trembling expression reveals him not as the battle-tested badass he wishes himself to be but an arrogant youth who vastly overestimated his abilities.
    • And this one impulsive move of his will have dire consequences that will spell disaster for his family, as he has thrust them now into total war with no chance for compromise and branded himself a kinslayer; the greatest taboo in Westeros save regicide and breaking guest-right.
    • What's even more heartbreaking is that Luke himself never wanted to fight his uncle and not just because he knew he'd lose. He came to Storm's End to barter peace and did so even with Aemond there. While he never apologized for taking Aemond's eye, Luke is also audibly shocked at Arrax's disobedience and is shouting for him not to attack Aemond or Vhagar. Tragically, Lucerys had as much control over his dragon as his uncle did when they decided to dance.
    • Aemond desperately trying to control Vhagar after getting a face full of dragonfire, likely realizing that the dragon is no longer treating this like a game. It's clear he knows that his nephew is in serious danger, and despite his commands to Vhagar, he is helpless to stop it from happening.
  • The crap Rhaenyra goes through this episode: she finds out her father is dead, her brother has stolen the throne and she loses two children within a few days. And it's only going to get worse from here.
  • Rhaenyra's reaction when she finds out her sweet son is dead. We only see her from behind as Daemon breaks the news of Luke's demise. Her stumble as her legs nearly give out from under her, yet she holds strong before her supporters and can't afford to collapse completely. Followed by her hunched convulsions of grief and concluded by a slow turn tear-streaked Thousand-Yard Stare of blistering fury into the camera as she rears to demand blood and fire.
    • Think of her all-consuming guilt she must feel at the fact that she sent Luke to what was ostensibly meant to be the safer destination with a much shorter journey so he could return to her quickly. She'll never see him become a man and have children of his own with Rhaena, who in turn now has had Aemond take two individuals she loves from her. The dragon which was all she had left of her mother and the cousin she would gladly have married.
    • Daemon himself is very somber as he makes the walk alongside the Painted Table to Rhaenyra, he even looks like he's wiping a tear from his eyes. Lucerys may not have been his son, but he was family, part of Rhaenyra herself, and he undoubtedly loved him just as fiercely. In less than a sennight, Daemon has failed to protect yet another person he cares for; he wasn't even in the council that made the decision to send the boys as messengers and couldn't have spoken up against it.

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