‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1 finale: Recap and Twitter reactions
Dance of the Dragons
With the last episode of House of the Dragon Season One premiering yesterday, the hit HBO series has finally reached its end after two months of non-stop action and political mischief. Despite the fact that many were unsure about the show to begin with (remember Game of Thrones‘s ending?), viewers have been captivated by the dragon-riding Targaryens from the get go, with each episode averaging approximately 30 million viewers, according to a Variety report.
The final episode, The Black Queen, ended the show on an all-time high as well, with around 9.3 million viewers catching the premier on HBO and HBO Max. That makes Episode 10 HBO’s most-watched series finale on its platform since its predecessor Game of Thrones concluded with its Season Eight finale with a 19.8 million viewership.
It’s safe to say that the final episode was one of their best yet, with a shocking killer ending that left many speechless and revved up for the next season. Ahead, we recap what went down in the finale, what we know about Season Two, and the best Twitter reactions from fans online. Warning: spoilers ahead.
Enter Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
Word finally reaches back to Rhaenyra and Daemon that her father, King Viserys is dead, and even worse, Aegon has been crowned king in a public coronation by her ex-BF Alicent. Thrown off by Alicent’s plan, the Targaryens begin their plan of attack. However, the queen is reluctant to start a full-blown war, especially with Aegon the Conqueror’s prophecy at the back of her head.
The two decide that they must rally up support from Eyrie, Winterfell and the Stormlands if they want a better chance of standing up against the Hightowers, and decide to dispatch her two sons, Jacaerys and Lucerys, as messengers to petition their claim for the Iron Throne. They both will take their dragons (they make negotiations extra convincing) with Jacaerys flying to Eyrie and Winterfell, and Lucerys heading to Storm’s End to speak with Borros Baratheon.
The short trip for the 13-year old, however, would not go as planned. The foreshadowing starts when the boy arrives at Storm’s End, but realises that Aemond Targaryen has already beaten him to the punch. Aemond’s dragon, Vhagar, ominously watches amidst the stormy weather as Lucerys’s equally young dragon, Arryx, is visibly anxious at its presence.
Negotiations go awry as Lord Baratheon repudiates Lucerys—Aemond at least came with a marriage proposal in exchange for support whilst the boy only came to remind House Baratheon of their age-old oaths to Rhaenyra’s succession. Lucerys makes his leave, but not without Aemond demanding that he gauges out one of his eyes to repay the one he took out. Lord Baratheon demands that their fight be taken elsewhere, and on ensues a dragon fight that would kickstart a bloody war.
The shocking death of Lucerys Targaryen
Readers of the book would know that this was coming and audiences might have caught on towards the end of the episode that something was going to happen, but it still didn’t make Lucerys’s death any less shocking. Aemond chases Lucerys in the heavy storm and it’s clear that he only means to scare the little boy until their dragons decide to make their own decisions. Vhagar comes extremely close to biting Arryx several times and it would seem that the younger duo have escaped until Lucerys’s dragon, Arryx, shoots a blaze of fire at Vhagar. Angered and uncontrolled by Aemond, the biggest dragon in all of Valyria chases it down and ultimately chomps Arryx, and Lucerys, along with it. Despite his cool pokerface, Aemond is visibly shaken by his nephew’s death and knows that he has inadvertently escalated the war by drawing the first blood.
If anything, this scene also further highlighted the complicated relationship between dragon and dragon-rider, echoing King Viserys in the beginning of the show where he said the idea that they control dragons is an “illusion”. Dragons are still wild magnificent beasts at the end of the day, which make them an unpredictable force of nature and this conflict will surely be explored more in the sequel as dragons become an important leverage for war.
The final scene of the finale shows Daemon informing Rhaenyra of the tragedy and audiences are left with a grief-stricken-turned-angered expression of a queen and mother who’s vengeance is about to rain hellfire on the Iron Throne.
From shock, denial, to despair, fans of House of the Dragon went through, and are still going through, a rollercoaster of emotions. Here are some of the best reactions online.
Those looking forward to Aemond’s conversation with his mother
Alicent listening to Aemond's explanation after killing Lucerys#HouseOfTheDragonEp10 #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/mW6s4G3ElX
— yeah, its khali (@chntally) October 24, 2022
Aemond when he realized he just started an all out war.#HouseoftheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonEp10 #HouseOfTheDragonHBO pic.twitter.com/rmkODxJbK9
— Daniel (@DanSoldtheWorld) October 24, 2022
Aemond after fucking up #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/XVXLD5CTyZ
— bridget x (@bridgetxkate) October 24, 2022
Aemond going straight home to watch #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/hpMLaAjrBd
— Lhaera Targaryen 🩷💜💙 (@arualzepol8) October 24, 2022
Alicent: How’d it go
Aemond: #HouseoftheDragon #HOTDFinale pic.twitter.com/bJqrbdFl0K— danie (@thotsofkaos) October 24, 2022
Those who are justifiably afraid of dragons
My face when I saw this mf parked on the fucking castle #HouseOfTheDragonEp10 #HOTDFinale #LucerysVelaryon #Arrax #vhagar pic.twitter.com/ApPnmD0iV7
— N M T 🌈💓✨ (@zsazsazseeeww00) October 24, 2022
This was bone chilling #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/2rLKO2zI1R
— Dream of ASOIAF (@DreamofASOIAF) October 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/Haitianpapi505/status/1584370450120855553
What Lucerys should have done after arriving at Storms End #HouseoftheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonEp10 #HouseOfTheDragonfinale pic.twitter.com/Dzon15UQmV
— Lukas (@akalukas19) October 24, 2022
Those vehemently in favour of Rhaenyra/ Team Black
https://twitter.com/LutherEBolkart/status/1584369400219860992
i support women’s rights but more importantly i support women’s wrongs and i will support her through whatever she does next season. #HouseoftheDragon #RHAENYRA pic.twitter.com/gKVP6iDuqe
— autumn⸆⸉ (@folkloreaurax) October 24, 2022
https://twitter.com/emiliasoftie/status/1584418846324113408
Me screaming "DRACARYS!!" at my screen trying to make the dragon just burn every Hightower#HouseOfTheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonHBO pic.twitter.com/kCxwwCfbex
— Perpetually tired… (@Danny0215) October 17, 2022
The Daemon fanboys/fangirls
Vermithor when Daemon started singing in high valyrian #HouseOfthedragon pic.twitter.com/DAmUur9IkS
— Nate (@doctorafts) October 24, 2022
Daemon’s “Can I kill him, can I please kill him” looks to Rhaenyra are iconic 😭😂😂 #HouseOfTheDragonEp10 #HouseoFTheDragon pic.twitter.com/HEBgzNNVGq
— Mila (@elaaott) October 24, 2022
Otto: Your sons would be squires and cupbearersDaemon:#HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/Lp8tTnu7NA
— HOUSE TARGARYEN 🛐 (@this_damaris) October 24, 2022
In summary…
me watching the season finale of #HouseOfTheDragon pic.twitter.com/bj74xNW6nF
— Jesús Romero (@jesuussromero) October 24, 2022
1. Lucerys was just a kid, but he was loyal af to his mother.
2. Rhaenyra lost her father, her unborn baby and her son in just one episode.
3. Jace couldn’t say goodbye to his brother.
4. We have to wait 2 years for new episodes. #HouseoftheDragon #HOTDFinale pic.twitter.com/23rRV16go9— LG (@dlauragtz) October 24, 2022
When is Season 2 coming?
With the success of the first season, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has already confirmed that the second season is underway and filming will begin in early 2023. While an airing in 2023 may still be possible, our best bet is that fans of the show would probably have to wait until 2024. In comparison, filming for the first season of HOD took place in April 2021 and airing began 16 months after. In the mean time, author George R.R. Martin also confirmed that a Jon Snow spinoff is also in the works, so fans will have plenty to look forward to in the next couple of years.
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