Warning: There are spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 9!
If there were any more time jumps on this series, then House of the Dragon would be skipping over the entire story that inspired the show. In other words, this is it. Everything has been building to the aftermath of King Viserys’ death, and the fight for the Iron Throne. And as they say in Westeros, “when you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die.” The penultimate episode of House of the Dragon season 1 has premiered, and we want to know what the Superhero Hype community thinks about it! This post is a place for all of you to leave your own reviews, thoughts, or anything else you want to say about House of the Dragon episode 9.
Shortly after Viserys’ death, one of the boys working in the castle informs the handmaiden, Talia, that the king is dead. Talia signals her secret employer, Mysaria, and also wakes Queen Alicent to tell her as well. The Small Council is quickly convened, and Alicent reveals that she believes Viserys wanted their son, Aegon, to assume the crown over Rhaenyra. She is also aghast that many of the council members have been planning the same thing for years. Only Lord Beesbury speaks out against the treachery, before Criston Cole murders him. In disgust, the Kings Guard Lord Commander, Harrold Westerling, refuses to take orders from anyone other than the king until a successor is in place.
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However, Alicent needs to find the next king before she can crown him. And Aegon is in the wind. Since Alicent and her father, Otto Hightower, are at odds over letting Rhaenyra and her family live, she orders Cole to find Aegon first. Aegon’s brother, Aemond, also decides to accompany Cole. Meanwhile, the twins, Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, are dispatched by Otto for the same purpose. The idea is that whoever reaches the next king first can convince him to act within their wishes towards Rhaenyra.
Erryk and Arryk have more luck than Aemond and Cole, but Erryk is clearly disgusted by what he sees in the darkest corners of the city. He also points out to his brother that Aegon’s bastards are abandoned among the children who are forced to fight each other. Back at the palace, Lady Rhaenys finds herself a prisoner as everyone who knows about Viscerys’ death is rounded up. Lord Caswell pretends to bend the knee before getting caught attempting to escape. A death by hanging is his reward. However, Alicent takes a different approach with Rhaenys. She offers her control of Driftmark if she backs Aegon as king.
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In Flea Town, Erryk and Arryk are invited to bring their boss, Otto, to a meeting with Mysaria for information about Aegon’s whereabouts. Cole and Aemond stumble upon the meeting and watch from a distance. Mysaria demands that the children fighting pits be ended, and Otto agrees to look into it. She then reveals that Aegon is hiding in a sept, but Erryk and Arryk are set upon by Cole and Aemond before they can take Aegon away. Regardless, Erryk does not aid his brother against Cole, and he quietly slips away. Aemond overpowers his brother before forcing him to go back home and take the crown.
With Aegon in hand, Alicent once again tells her father that she wants to spare Rhaenyra’s life. Afterwards, Larys Strong informs Alicent that her handmaiden Talia is a spy for Mysaria. He offers to destroy Mysaria’s spy ring if Alicent wishes it, before getting sexually excited when the queen bares her feet. Middlefinger just out-creeped Littlefinger, which is quite an accomplishment. Regardless, Mysaria’s home is burned by Larys’ men, but her body is never seen. The next day, Alicent tells Aegon that his sister, Rhaenyra, must live.
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Meanwhile, Erryk frees Rhaenys from her room and tries to spirit her away from King’s Landing. That plan is thwarted when they are caught among the citizens who are herded to the Dragon Pit for King Aegon’s coronation. The crowd even applauds when they learn that Rhaenyra has been usurped. As the newly crowned Aegon develops a taste for the crowd’s adoration, Rhaenys slips away unnoticed. She returns moments later atop her dragon, Meleys, before bursting through the floor and throwing the ceremony into chaos. The queen and her sons believe that the dragon will incinerate them. However, Rhaenys spares their lives and flies off on top of her dragon, presumably to warn Rhaenyra.
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