Warning: Major spoilers through season two, episode four of “House of the Dragon.”
If you’re watching a show in the “Game of Thrones” universe, you should know you’re signing up for some pretty devastating character deaths.
“House of the Dragon” is no different from its predecessor: it’s full of striking, surprising, and extremely sad deaths, frequently carried out by members of the same family. Children are murdered on dragonback and in their cribs, husbands kill their wives to secure more advantageous marriages, and women tragically die in childbirth. Rhaenyra and Aegon II Targaryen’s war over the Iron Throne isn’t pretty.
We’ve ranked the 10 saddest deaths in “House of the Dragon” seasons one and two below,
10. Viserys died after a long bout of illness.
Hear us out: We loved Paddy Considine as Viserys, but his death was so written on the wall that it couldn’t even bring much surprise or sadness. For one, it’s necessary to kick off a war of succession. But more importantly, it was preceded by a long, leprosy-like illness.
Over the first season of “House of the Dragon,” Viserys’ health gradually declines as his children grow older and the issue of his succession grows more salient. By the end of his life, his illness has progressed to the extent that you’re kind of hoping the guy will die. Too bad his final words brought about such a huge misunderstanding that it launched an entire Targaryen family civil war. Whoops!
Still, we mourn Viserys and the comparative peace of his era — but without his death, we really wouldn’t have a “House of the Dragon.”
9. Daemon murders his first wife, Lady Rhea Royce.
We barely got to know Lady Rhea in season one of “House of the Dragon,” and most of what we knew of her came from Daemon’s mouth. Given that he referred to her as the “Bronze Bitch” and refused to consummate their marriage, most of those words weren’t very kind.
We meet her briefly in season one, episode five, shortly before Daemon, well… murders her. Rhea seems independent, capable, and unafraid to taunt Daemon. That is until she clearly realizes that he’s come to kill her and attempt to marry Rhaenrya.
Though Rhea’s death comes off more as a shock, given her little screentime, it’s tragic to see her merely as a casualty of Daemon’s ambition and cruelty.
8. Lyonel and Harwin Strong die at Harrenhal, in a plot orchestrated by Larys Strong.
Ser Harwin Strong and his father Lyonel, for some time the Hand of the King, weren’t particularly beloved characters. But their tragic death at the hands of one of their own — Larys Strong — was still rather striking.
After the birth of Rhaenyra’s third son, Joffrey, Harwin got into an altercation with Ser Criston Cole after Criston insinuated that Harwin was Jacaerys and Lucerys’ father. In the wake of the event, Lyonel attempted to resign from his position as Hand, citing the dishonor that Harwin brought on their family. Viserys rejects his resignation but allows him to escort Harwin back to Harrenhal. Unfortunately, Larys’ plot is waiting for them: both men die in a fire once they make it back to the castle.
Harwin, despite clearly being hot-blooded, seems like an alright guy — and it’s pretty cruel to kill him right after Jacaerys realizes that Harwin is his father. And compared to other Hands (i.e. Otto Hightower), Lyonel seemed relatively unbiased when it came to the affairs of the crown.
7. Jahaerys Targaryen is murdered after a miscommunication.
Season two kicked things off by adapting an infamous murder from “Fire and Blood,” as Daemon sends two mercenaries, Blood (Sam C Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) to murder Aemond in revenge for the death of Lucerys.
When the duo fails to find the prince in the Red Keep, they instead go to plan b: “a son for a son.” They find Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) and force her to point out which sleeping toddler is her son. Although she briefly tries to fool Blood and Cheese by pointing at her daughter, they call her bluff and descend upon Jaeharys with knives, cutting his head off in his crib.
Thankfully, the audience doesn’t see the horror unfold because Helaena flees the room. But the extent of the brutality is displayed for all of King’s Landing to see during Jaeharys’ funeral procession.
Regardless of the conflict between the greens and the blacks, an innocent child was slaughtered because of the squabble over the throne, and it’s clear to everyone that the conflict has been taken beyond the point of no return.
6. Arryk and Erryk Cargyll killed each other after ending up on different sides of the war.
Though Arryk Cargyll and Erryk Cargyll had more control over their deaths, since they chose to fight till the end, that doesn’t make their deaths any less sad.
In season one, the twins work together as Kingsguard protecting the royal family. But when the Greens usurp the throne, they are split for the first time. Arryk sides with Aegon II while Erryk leaves and joins Rhaenyra’s Queensguard.
When Criston Cole sends Arryk to slay Rhaenyra in episode two, the brothers’ impending showdown begins. The scene is a messy, vicious fight, and it is hard to tell which twin wins.
After slaying his brother, Erryk stabs themselves with their sword after realizing what he has done.
It is heartbreaking that these twins are forced to pick duty over their own kin. Their deaths highlight how painful and destructive this civil war will be for the non-royal members of Westeros.
5. Joffrey Lonmouth was brutally beaten to death by Criston Cole.
Joffrey Lonmouth’s death was the first time that we really saw Ser Criston Cole’s true colors, and man, were they ugly.
When Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon were wed, they both had an understanding that would allow them to pursue their other lovers: Criston and Joffrey. At their wedding, Joffrey confronts Criston.
“You don’t know me, Ser Criston, but we are both deeply invested in this union,” Joffrey says. He tells Criston that Laenor is “dear” to him, and that he understands Criston and Rhaenyra’s relationship. It’s a strategic move meant to unite them all in the shared secret of Laenor and Rhaenyra’s marriage.
But that’s not what happens. Instead, in the middle of the revelry, Criston brutally slays Joffrey, striking Laenor in the process. While we didn’t know him particularly well, Joffrey didn’t do anything wrong — certainly nothing to merit Criston beating his face into a bloody, lifeless pulp.
The suddenness, brutality, and abject loss on Laenor’s part of Joffrey’s death merit its place on this list.
4. Laena Velaryon ordered Vhagar to kill her by fire.
The first season features a second agonizing pregnancy-related death, as Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) takes her own life in episode six.
After marrying Daemon and moving to Pentos, Laena struggles with a complicated birth, and her husband is offered the same choice that Viserys had: save his wife, or save the baby. However, Laena takes control of the situation and decides her own fate.
She goes to her dragon, Vhagar, and commands him to burn her alive with the “dracarys” command. It’s upsetting because Laena is forced into that situation, albeit at least it’s her own decision. But seeing how reluctant Vhagar is to kill his rider just makes the whole scene even more upsetting.
3. Rhaenys sacrifices herself and her dragon, Meleys, at Rook’s Rest.
As soon as Rhaenys headed off to Rook’s Rest, there was already a sense that she wouldn’t make it.
In season two, episode three, she conversed with her husband about their legacy. Criston Cole and Aemond Targaryen clearly had a secret plan up their sleeves. There were too many warning signs.
But that doesn’t make her death at the hands of Aemond and Vhagar any less tragic. Across the two seasons, Rhaenys has been brave, virtuous, loyal, and a bit of a badass, making her a favorite among fans.
Even when she realizes that she cannot defeat Vhagar at the battle of Rook’s Rest in season two, episode four, she doesn’t run away. Instead, she straps herself tighter in her seat and fights valiantly till the end.
One of the true noble warriors in “House of the Dragon” is now gone, and to quote Otto Hightower, We (the audience and Westeros) “are poorer for it.”
2. Queen Aemma dies during childbirth after Viserys orders his son to be cut out of her.
“House of the Dragon” made a bloody debut in the premiere episode of the first season with the heartbreaking death of King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) wife, Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke).
When Aemma goes into labor, the baby gets stuck, and Viserys is forced to decide whether to save his wife or the baby. The King chooses his unborn child hoping to get a male heir to the Targaryen throne.
The maesters cut Aemma’s belly open to save the child, killing her in the process. It’s tragic because Aemma’s agency is taken away from her, and she’s completely disregarded for the possibility of a male heir.
The devastating scene is only made worse when the baby, Baelon, dies just one day after being born.
1. Lucerys is the first major casualty of the Dance of the Dragons.
Lucerys and his dragon Arrax’s deaths are truly the biggest tragedies of “House of the Dragon.”
Though the Greens and the Blacks were preparing for an eventual war, there is a possibility that they could have found another way to settle the throne debate after a cooling-off period. But there is no reconciliation once Lucerys, a child and an heir, is slain.
Not only did Lucerys’ death essentially kick-start a terrible civil war, but it was entirely accidental.
The death scene itself is almost like a horror movie, with Aemond and Vhagar stalking and taunting Lucerys and Arrax in the dark, rainy skies. Aemond sees this as an opportunity to toy with and harm Lucerys as revenge for his eye, but Vhagar goes too far.
There is a short moment where Lucerys thinks he has escaped, and then Vhagar leaps out of nowhere and rips the dragon and its rider apart.
Lucerys may have lost his life, but Aemond now has to live with the weight that an accident caused the death of a relative and a civil war.
The post The 10 saddest deaths in ‘House of the Dragon,’ ranked appeared first on Business Insider.
