Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon’s season 3 finale.House of the Dragon season 3, episode 8 brings the show’s third outing to a close with major deaths, shocking twists, and a surprising moment between Aegon and Aemond Targaryen that rewrites their futures. The two brothers have been kept apart for the entire season, but their stories have very much been entwined. After all, it was Aemond who used Vhagar to attack and burn Aegon at the Battle of Rook’s Rest, leaving him near-death, scarred, and extremely vulnerable. In season 2, we saw just how terrified the king was of his younger sibling.
That dynamic has changed in season 3. Aegon has regrown in strength and stature while on the road, leading to his dramatic speech wherein it turns out Sunfyre is very much alive. For Aemond, it’s been the reverse. His outward confidence has given way to his internal vulnerabilities while at Harrenhal, as he’s been tormented by what he did to his brother. And to complete this, while Aegon has his dragon back, Vhagar is missing.
This is the situation that leads us to their reunion in House of the Dragon season 3’s finale. Previously, Aegon had vowed that he would kill his brother, or die in the attempt. And so when he arrives at Harrenhal on Sunfyre, it seems like that’s what he’ll do. He slaps Aemond, and arrives expecting a fight, but his brother has no interest. Instead, he begs for forgiveness and says that he’d be right to sentence him to die. It isn’t what Aegon expected, and causes a major change of plans, though either way, this is well beyond the book.
House Of The Dragon’s Aemond & Aegon Story Is Now Way Off Book
Warning: Major SPOILERS for Fire & Blood, the book on which House of the Dragon is based, from this point on.A lot of Aemond and Aegon’s story has already been changed. In George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, while Aegon was gravely injured at Rook’s Rest, it was not from an attempt at fratricide. However, while that recontextualized the story and gave the king a revenge mission that wasn’t in the source material, and likewise had “One-Eye” seemingly wanting to take the Iron Throne more permanently (again, a deviation), it still got them to where they needed to be: Aegon departing King’s Landing, and Aemond at Harrenhal.
Now, though, all bets are off in terms of what direction things go in. Aegon declares that he wants to bring his other brother, Daeron Targaryen, in line, after Ormund Hightower declared him king. Of course, those plans will be altered by the fact that Ormund is killed during the Battle of Tumbleton, and Daeron is missing, but they don’t know that yet. So, that puts Aegon and Aemond on a quest to find Vhagar, fly to Tumbleton, and eventually make their way to King’s Landing to kill Rhaenyra together.
None of this is in the book (an observation, not a criticism, because this scene between them is great). Aemond spends most of this time either at Harrenhal with Alys Rivers, or burning the riverlands on Vhagar, at least as far as we know. As for Aegon, he pretty much disappears from the story for a while after it’s revealed he fled King’s Landing, eventually turning up not at Rook’s Rest, Harrenhal, or Tumbleton, but on Dragonstone.
House Of The Dragon Needs To Get Aegon & Aemond’s Book Stories Back On Track
This sets the stage for even bigger deviations to come. In the book, there is a Second Battle of Tumbleton, which involves Addam Velaryon (still just Addam of Hull in the TV show) on Seasmoke, along with Daeron, the betrayer Ulf the White, and Hugh the Hammer (in the book, he also betrays Rhaenyra alongside Ulf, which may still come to pass after the death of his wife), though circumstances mean they aren’t riding their dragons. It’s now possible that Aemond on Vhagar and Aegon on Sunfyre will be added to the mix, stacking the deck against Team Black.
However, the book also means the pair have pre-ordained futures, and they’re ones that surely cannot be avoided. As has been prophesied by Helaena Targaryen, Aemond is destined to die at the Gods Eye, which is a lake in the riverlands, with Harrenhal sitting on its north shore. In Fire & Blood, it is there that Aemond finally faces off with his uncle, Daemon, on their dragons Vhagar and Caraxes, in one of the fiercest, most epic battles in the entire civil war, which leaves all participants dead.
There’s something even bigger in store for Aegon: after taking control of Dragonstone, Rhaenyra herself ends up on the island (having also been forced to flee King’s Landing), and she is killed by Sunfyre. That’s not only too momentous a story beat to change, but it’s also already canon: Game of Thrones season 3 revealed Rhaenyra’s fate, in a conversation between Joffrey Baratheon and Margaery Tyrell.
That means House of the Dragon season 4 has a lot of work to do. It’s given itself a whole new story to get through, while also needing to get to those critical beats outlined above (and that isn’t the end of Aegon’s story, either). It’s not impossible, but Sunfyre and Vhagar are going to have to fly pretty darn quickly for it to all come together.
Why Aegon Didn’t Just Kill Aemond In House Of The Dragon’s Season 3 Finale
Without factoring in the book for a moment, the episode does raise the question of why Aegon doesn’t just kill Aemond. This is the revenge he wanted, seemingly even more than he wanted to kill Rhaenyra and take back the Iron Throne. But when he finds an Aemond who is not the ruthless killer he expected, but instead someone broken, remorseful, and extremely sad, it completely changes his mind. Even if he only says he might let him live, it’s clear from this point on he will spare his brother’s life.
Of course, the book events do dictate that Aemond cannot die at Aegon’s hand, but it’s how the characters view one another that really changes in this episode. It shifts the power dynamic, whereas previously, Aegon had been fearful of Aemond, and Aemond disdainful of his elder brother, believing himself the better king. But now that Aegon has rediscovered himself, and has a renewed sense of belief in his glorious purpose to be king, then he also sees part of that as being merciful to his brother… so that they can kill their sister.
Aegon is also very much aware that he needs Vhagar if he’s to win this war. The Blacks still have far more dragons, and Vhagar is the biggest weapon at his disposal, so killing Aemond would not do anything to serve his cause in trying to reclaim his throne. At the same time, both characters have displayed a longing for connection, particularly to Alicent, who has rejected them both. Having been rivals as brothers, them finally discovering a familial bond and deciding to work together does have a sort of twisted love and logic to it, and it’ll be interesting to see where House of the Dragon goes next with them.
- Release Date
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August 21, 2022
- Network
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HBO
- Directors
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Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel
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Fabien Frankel
Ser Criston Cole
