The Dance of the Dragons has been slow going, but the Targaryen succession war continues.
The Season 2 finale of “House of the Dragon,” which aired Sunday, featured minimal bloodshed, but the battle lines have already been drawn. Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen has bolstered her army with more soldiers from houses that support her, as well as new riders for her dragon pack. Meanwhile, King Aegon II, who suffered severe burns and a shattered leg at the Battle of Rook’s Rest in Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” has escaped King’s Landing in hopes of lying low until his ambitious and treacherous brother, Prince Aemond, finishes burning everything in his path.
The Targaryen civil war became inevitable after Aemond (accidentally) killed his nephew, Prince Lucerys, at the end of the first season of the HBO series, and there have been many casualties since. As Princess Rhaenys Targaryen clearly stated at the beginning of these events, there is no “war bloodier than a war between dragons.”
Here are all the major deaths from Season 2 of “House of the Dragon.”
Jaehaerys Targaryen
Aegon II's infant son, Jaehaerys, was murdered by a hired assassin, sent in revenge for the death of Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys. His mother, Helaena, was forced to point him out to his killer.
Blood and Cheese
Cheese (Mark Stobbart) and blood (Sam C. Wilson) in “House of the Dragon.”
(Ollie Upton / HBO)
Blood, hired by Daemon to assassinate Aemond, is killed by Aegon II for killing Jaehaerys instead. Cheese is hanged along with all the other rat-catchers after Blood confesses that one of them was his accomplice.
Erryk and Arryk Cargyll
Arryk (Luke Tittensor) and Erryk Cargyll (Elliot Tittensor) in “House of the Dragon”.
(Theo Whiteman / HBO)
Arryk, twin knights who swore loyalty to the opposing Targaryens, is sent to infiltrate Dragonstone undercover, like his brother, and assassinate Rhaenyra. Arryk stops him by killing him in a fight and then immediately commits suicide in grief.
Gunthor Darklyn
The lord of House Darklyn, who had sworn fealty to Rhaenyra, refused to kneel before Aegon II, and was beheaded by Criston Cole (after insulting him).
Rhaenys Targaryen
Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) riding her dragon Meleys in an episode of “House of the Dragon.”
(Ollie Upton / HBO)
The queen who never was (but probably should have been), Rhaenys, rode her dragon Meleys to fight an army led by Criston Cole at Rook's Rest. She fell to her death after Meleys was mortally wounded in a fight against Aemond and his giant dragon Vhagar in that battle.
Steffon Darklyn
Ser Steffon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan) in “House of the Dragon.”
(Ollie Upton / HBO)
The commander of Rhaenyra's Kingsguard attempted to become Seasmoke's new dragonrider after it was discovered that he was of (distant) Targaryen ancestry. However, he was burned alive by the dragon he was attempting to tame.
Grover Tully
The bedridden old Lord of Riverrun, who is only mentioned and never seen. He dies from his illness and is succeeded by his grandson, Oscar.
Willem Blackwood
A lord of the Riverlands who had aided Daemon in his quest to gain the loyalty of the Riverlords (and an army). He was executed by Daemon, who was forced to prove that he condemned the atrocities Blackwood committed in his name.
Other deaths
Several other members of Blackwood House and House fernthe feuding neighboring houses in the Riverlands, who had declared themselves opposed to the Targaryen factions and continued to fight and die.
Numerous of low birth Targaryen bastards burned and/or eaten alive by Vermithor during Rhaenyra's quest to find new dragonriders outside the officially recognized branches of her family tree.
