All The "House Of The Dragon" Episode 9 Interesting Details And Moments
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Warning: This post contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Episode 9.
We're almost at the end of House of the Dragon Season 1! The penultimate episode saw the greens crown Aegon II, usurping Rhaenyra's position as Viserys I's heir. Let's dive into the interesting moments and details...
1.The opening credits have changed. Viserys's symbol is now filled with blood, indicating his death, and instead of following the bloodline of Rhaenyra, which the credits have previously done, we switch to Alicent and her descendants. Alicent's symbol represents House Hightower combined with the Faith of the Seven.
We see four bloodlines coming off Alicent and Viserys's union — that's right, four: Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, and a child we haven't seen yet, Daeron.
George R.R. Martin shared that the youngest boy, who is in the book, does actually exist in the world of the show but is living in Oldtown with Alicent's family — so he'll appear in future seasons.
Meanwhile, we get a close-up of the symbols for Alicent's other three children: a spider for Helaena, a naked woman lying on top of what could be a dragon egg for Aegon II, and a sapphire for Aemond.
2.You might remember from earlier in the season that Ser Harrold Westerling was Princess Rhaenyra's sworn protector when she was growing up — so it's no wonder he refused to murder her (in addition to, you know, all his vows and morals).
3.The little kids we see are Helaena and Aegon II's twins, Jaehaera and Jaehaerys.
Yep, Alicent Hightower is a grandmother.
4.Helaena repeats her "beast beneath the boards" warning in this episode, which many fans theorized was a future plot from the book but now seems likely to have been a prediction about Rhaenys bursting through the Dragonpit on her dragon, Meleys.
5.Lord Caswell, whom Otto murders in this episode, was one of Rhaenyra's primary supporters at court throughout the season.
We saw him offer his service to her after she gave birth to Joffrey, and he was the one who greeted her when she arrived at the Red Keep in last week's episode.
6.While this episode is the first time Otto meets Mysaria — aka the White Worm — he has been dealing with her for many years.
Back in Episode 4, we saw a boy deliver a message to him from the White Worm. The same boy later handed Mysaria the money Otto had clearly paid in exchange for information about Rhaenyra.
7.If you can't tell the difference between the twin Kingsguards, Erryk is the one wearing his tunic open, with a slightly longer beard, while Arryk is all buttoned up with a shorter, tighter beard.
Erryk is the one who is the sworn protector of Prince Aegon, so he knows the true nature of the prince and expresses his doubt over his ability to rule.
8.The sept where Aegon II is found is where Alicent and Rhaenyra were talking and praying together earlier in the season.
It was our first hint of Alicent's religious beliefs, which have only deepened as she's grown older.
9.Alicent choosing Aegon the Conquerer's crown for Aegon II is huge symbolically.
It highlights not only his Targaryen lineage and therefore his claim to the throne, but also his connection to his namesake and the idea that he, too, is another conquerer — of Rhaenyra and her supporters. Or so the greens hope, at least.
10.It's also telling that the crown rests on a green pillow.
Aegon II might be dressed up in Targaryen clothes, but it's Hightower green that supports him.
11.Rhaenys seems to spare Alicent and her family as an act of compassion from one mother to another.
Alicent's protectiveness over her children and her panic about them seems to have been what Rhaenys was taking in before she turned away. Rhaenys, having lost both of her children, knows all too well about the pain. Or she could have been giving an "I could have killed you; remember this" moment.
12.Both sides show mercy in this episode — Alicent refuses to have Rhaenyra and her family murdered, and likewise, Rhaenys declines the opportunity to kill Alicent and her kids.
If either of them had followed through on those murderous plans, the coming war could, perhaps, have been prevented.
