Season two of House of the Dragon marks the beginning of a war between former friends turned bitter enemies Rhaenyra and Alicent. By now, you should have already pledged your allegiance to #TeamBlack (the right choice, obvs) or #TeamGreen (a choice, I guess) and are crossing your fingers to hope your side has the least amount of characters. It is inevitable that there will be quite a few characters who die. That is the way of war, after all, and House of the Dragon goes with death like peanut butter with jelly. So, who dies in House of the Dragon season two? Let’s track all the sad and brutal demises right here.
Jump to: HOTD Episode 1 Deaths // HOTD Episode 2 Deaths // HOTD Episode 4 Deaths // HOTD Deaths for Remainder of Season
House of the Dragon Deaths – Episode 1 “A Son for a Son”
Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen Loses His Head to Blood and Cheese
Jaehaerys, the son of King Aegon and his sister-wife Queen Helaena, was set to be the heir to the throne. The young and innocent boy was spotted in the episode casually playing in the council room before being sent off to his studies. Sadly, this tyke met a brutal ending thanks to some scheming by Daemon that went totally wrong. As we know, Rhaenyra is upset about her son Lucerys death at the end of season one. She only wants one thing: to see Aemond Targaryen pay for what he did.
Daemon takes this personally and hires the duo Blood and Cheese to infiltrate the royal living quarters and kill Aemond. This is obviously where the episode title “Son for a Son” comes from. And it technically happens… just to the wrong son. They locate Jaehaerys and his twin sister along with Helaena and force her to tell them which child is the boy. She does (a little too quickly for my liking) and runs off with her daughter to inform Alicent.
We don’t see a ton of blood and gore. But we hear the awful sawing sound of them taking his head to bring back to Daemon.
House of the Dragon Deaths – Episode 2 “Rhaenyra the Cruel”
Blood and Cheese Die in the Wake of Aegon’s Wrath
Of course, Blood and Cheese don’t get away with their bumbling crime. Blood is caught leaving King’s Landing and confesses to Larys that his accomplice is a ratcatcher. Aegon, acting out of rage, orders for every ratcatcher to be killed in the kingdom. This includes Cheese but also means a lot of innocent men died, too.
Ser Arryk and His Brother Erryk Have a Sad Fight to the Death
Ser Criston Cole, who was in Alicent’s bed instead of doing his job, pulls an awful move to absolve his own guilt. He orders Ser Arryk to go on an ill-fated mission to kill Rhaenyra at Dragonstone, where his brother Erryk serves by her side. He uses the whole twin bit to get all the way to her chambers, but Erryk is warned of his arrival (presumably by Mysaria). The duo battle and Erryk gets the upper hand, killing his own brother. But, his grief over his actions quickly lead him to die by suicide with his sword. It is a heartbreaking moment that is all Criston’s fault.
House of the Dragon Deaths – Episode 4 “The Red Dragon and the Gold”
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen & Her Dragon Meleys
We didn’t get any major deaths in episode 3 and that’s probably because House of the Dragon was waiting to hurt our souls in episode 4. This episode features the death of Rhaenys Targaryen and her faithful dragon Meleys. During a battle against Criston Cole’s faction at Rook’s Rest, Rhaenys/Meleys went against Aemond and Vhagar as well as Aegon and Sunfyre. At first, it seems they have gotten the upper hand after the duo is leaving following a valiant battle. But Aemond hits Rhaenys with the sneak attack and Meleys is critically injured. Realizing her fate, she lets go of her dragon and they both fall to a fiery death.
Aegon Targaryen Is Alive in House of the Dragon
Our resident idiot king Aegon Targaryen rode into the Rook’s Rest battle against wise recommendations in episode four. Meleys/Rhaenys made quick work of Sunfyre, but Aemond’s (probably intentional) command to Vhagar is what caused the fire that send his brother spiraling to the ground. His very fiery crash at the hands of his own brother seemed like a certain death, but it wasn’t clear at the end of the episode.
Episode five reveals that Aegon is still alive, but certainly not well. He is covered in nasty burns and riddled with broken bones. Aemond begins to rule in his stead and subsequently fires Alicent from the small council. Aegon, with the Grandmaester and Larys’ help, makes significant strides and ends the season leaving for parts unknown.
House of the Dragon Deaths Are Not Major for the Rest of the Season
There are more bloodshed and deaths to in House of the Dragon season two. We get Willem Blackwood’s beheading, the Red Sowing, and the burnt remains of Sharp’s Point but none of them qualify as major character death moments. It was actually a rather chill season but we get the feeling season three will be very, very bad.
Originally published June 17, 2024.
