Includes MASSIVE SPOILERS for Fire & Blood, the show’s source material.
Summary
House of the Dragonis generally overt with its foreshadowing, with several moments in season 2 teasing the deaths of many of the show’s major characters. The series is based onFire & Blood, a companion piece toGeorge R.R. Martin’sA Song of Ice & Firebook series. The source material text chronicles an event called the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war between Targaryen factions that led to the death and destruction of a significant portion of the royal family and its dragons. With that in mind,very few of the main characters actually manage to survive these events.
TheHouse of the Dragoncastcontributes masterful performances to characters of varying morality. George R.R. Martin’s prolific fantasy world is, after all, distinguished for its complex characters that subvert fantasy archetypes, and the HBO prequel series is consistent in this idea. There are many figures in the Dance whom audiences will be delighted to see perish, and even the most currently likable characters may challenge audiences with their drastic actions as the war continues to unfold.
6Rhaenyra Targaryen
Rhaenyra’s Death Is Teased By Several Moments With Dragon Fire
While many audiences root for Rhaenyra Targaryen to win at the outcome ofthe Dance of the Dragons, she doesn’t end up ruling the Seven Kingdoms in peace. In a sense, she wins because she and Daemon’s son ends up on the throne, but she doesn’t live to see it. Rhaenyra retakes King’s Landing, but she’s driven out less than a year later by rioting common folk who kill several dragons, and she eventually has to flee back to Dragonstone. Unbeknownst to her, however, is the fact thatAegon II has already been at Dragonstone and has turned the castle against her.
Rhaenyra’s death inFire & Bloodsees her incinerated by Aegon II’s dragon, Sunfyre
Season 2 sets up Rhaenyra’s death in multiple ways, continuing to foreshadow her downfall asHouse of the Dragondid frequently in season 1. In episode 6, Rhaenyra allows Ser Steffon Darklyn an attempt at claiming the dragon Seasmoke. The dragon rejects the knight, lighting him ablaze. There,Rhaenyra watches as Ser Steffon is incinerated, with Jacaerys beside her. Rhaenyra’s death inFire & Bloodsees her incinerated by Aegon II’s dragon, Sunfyre, while her young son, Aegon III, is forced to watch, traumatizing him forever.
There have beenmany allusions to Rhaenyra’s death by dragonfire, including the shot of her standing directly in front of Vermithorin episode 7. The cinematography constantly frames her at the mouth of dragons or directly after shots of overwhelming dragonfire. Season 2 also foreshadowed the betrayal of Dragonstone throughthe character Alfred Broome. He’s the one who will eventually give Aegon II control of the castle, allowing Rhaenyra to be captured, and the castle of Harrenhal whispers “traitor” at him when he nears the weirwood tree with Daemon in the season 2 finale.
5Daemon Targaryen
Daemon Is Told That He’ll Die At The God’s Eye
Speaking of Daemon and the weirwood tree, his time at Harrenhal offers tons of foreshadowing for his fate. Now that Daemon is loyal to Rhaenyra, as per theHouse of the Dragonseason 2 ending, he’ll do what he can to help her win the war, including facing off with his nephew.Aemond is the most powerful individual man in the Seven Kingdoms because he rides the largest dragon, and Daemon eventually takes a chance in a duel with him above Harrenhal, resulting in both Targaryens and their dragons falling to their deaths in an epic fashion.
When Daemon first arrives at Harrenhal and meets Alys Rivers by the weirwood tree, he’s informed that he’s going to die there.
Daemon and Aemond’s duel should be one of the most incredible visual moments of the show, and season 2 constantly reminded audiences that it’s on the way. When Daemon first arrives at Harrenhal and meets Alys Rivers by the weirwood tree, he’s informed that he’s going to die there. It really can’t get more direct than that. The culmination ofDaemon’s season 2 visions and dreamsis hisseeing Aegon’s Dream in the finale, in which he sees himself drowning. This foreshadows him landing in the God’s Eye lake and dying there after the duel.
With Daemon, the one complication regarding this foreshadowing is that it’s not completely confirmed that he dies in this battle, as his body is never recovered. There are many theories that he somehow lives on, which could make this foreshadowing far more interesting. However, it would be pretty far-fetched to directly suggest that he dies at the God’s Eye and have him survive and escape. One possibility is his body is retrieved by the green men, which was hinted at with theantlered figure inHouse of the Dragon’sseason 2 finale.
4Aemond Targaryen
Aemond Is Also Told He’ll Die At The God’s Eye
House of the Dragonseason 2 continued to establish the parallels between Daemon and Aemond, with much of both characters' behavior driven by powerful insecurities from their early familial relationships. Aemond has grown up to be Daemon’s perfect foil, and it should be no shock to anyone that they’d eventually die fighting each other. In season 3,Aemond will leave King’s Landing to retake Harrenhalwith Criston Cole’s forces. Instead of finding Daemon’s massive army, he’ll find an abandoned castle.
Meanwhile, Daemon will go to King’s Landing with Rhaenyra to help her retake the capital, and his army will march west and deal with Aemond’s Lannister allies in the Westerlands. In an outrage, Aemond flies around, burning everything he can until Daemon eventually flies back to Harrenhal to meet him. Theforeshadowing for Aemond’s death has also been fairly straightforward, with Helaena directly telling him he’s going to die at the God’s Eyein the season 2 finale.
This foreshadows Daemon stabbing him through the eye, and the coin also has religious symbolism for the Faith of the Seven, hinting at the God’s Eye once again.
Another, more clever moment of foreshadowing for Aemond inHouse of the Dragonseason 2 occurred in episode 2. In the aftermath of the Blood & Cheese incident, he surveys a room in the Red Keep and finds a coin lying on the floor. He lifts it up to examine it, and the camera frames the coin to cover his one eye. This foreshadows Daemon stabbing him through the eye, and the coin also has religious symbolism for the Faith of the Seven, hinting at the God’s Eye once again.
3Criston Cole
Criston Cole Knows He’s Headed Toward Death
One character television audiences eagerly wait the end for is Ser Criston Cole, who’s undoubtedly the show’s most hated figure, speaking to the incredible performance from actor Fabien Frankel. Criston Cole’s season 2 arc sees him taking vengeance against those who have sworn for Rhaenyra, and the finale sees him acknowledging his own mistakes and how they may have led to his doom as he marches an undermanned army toward Harrenhal. In the book,he ends up leaving Harrenhal and is caught by Stark and Riverlands forces, who kill him at an event known as the Butcher’s Ball.
Several moments foreshadow the fact that Cole won’t be returning from his military campaign.When executing Lord Gunthor Darklyn, the old lord tells Criston his death"will come in kind.“In Cole’s final moments in King’s Landing, he shares a prolonged look of sorrow with Alicent Hightower, signifying that they won’t ever see each other again. Finally, in the finale, Cole sits and ponders how his own faults and weaknesses have led him down this path, and he realizes he’s eventually going to be destroyed for it.
2Jacaerys Velaryon
Jace Has A Crossbow Pointed At Him
Jacaerys Velaryon is a character audiences might actually be sad to see perish, as he’s one of the more tragic figures in the TV series. Season 2 builds him up to be complex, wanting to show his worth and contribute to his mother’s claim to the throne so that he might one day rule as king. Much of the season sees him arguing with his mother about him riding to battle on Vermax, and she constantly dissuades him. In the Battle of the Gullet,Jace is finally given the option to fly his dragon into battle, and he’s killed in action.
The major foreshadowing for this event occurs early in season 2when Baela is practicing with a crossbow. Jace enters the scene, and it’s briefly framed with him in the scope of her bow. In the Battle of the Gullet, Jace is struck down by crossbows from the Triarchy, resulting in the death of him and his dragon. Despite having the upper hand with the support of other dragonriders, Jace flies too low and within bolt range. It will be interesting to see if the series changes these circumstances, though the crossbow death seems likely still, given the foreshadowing.
1Helaena Targaryen
Helaena Throws Herself To Her Death, Landing On Spikes
What’s likely to be the most tragic and upsetting death in the series is that of Helaena Targaryen. After Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing,Helaena dies by suicide, falling from her window in the Red Keep. This was already foreshadowed in season 1 when Alicent held the crying baby Helaena up to a window, but there’s more in season 2 to hint at it. Helaena is left isolated and traumatized after Blood & Cheese, and she’s experienced some awful things in season 2 with her trips out of the Red Keep. In episode 6, she’s cornered by common folk and pressed up against metal bars.
It’s important to note thatthese metal bars have spikes jutting out of them, foreshadowing Helaena’s eventual fall, where she lands in spikes below the Red Keep. In her season 2 finale scene with Aemond, she’s also standing outside alone on a balcony above the Red Keep, hinting at the inevitable moment of her death.House of the Dragonwill rapidly wean down its ensemble in the final two seasons, and this likely won’t be the end of the foreshadowing for the many major deaths to come.
House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon is a 2022 fantasy drama set in the world of Westeros, chronicling the Targaryen dynasty at its height. The story revolves around King Viserys’s controversial decision to name his daughter Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne, sparking tensions and divisions within the realm.
