House of the Dragon star Eve Best explains why Rhaenys turns back in season 2, episode 4. Returning for its sophomore outing last month, the hit Game of Thrones spinoff show has now given audiences the first major action sequence of the season with the Battle at Rook’s Rest. Rhaenys plays a major role throughout the sequence, supporting those inside the stronghold on her dragon, Meleys. House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4, sees Rhaenys and Meleys meet their end, however, after they heroically turn back to take on Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) on Vhagar.
In a recent interview with Variety, Best explains why Rhaenys turns back to fight Aemond and Vhagar, despite knowing how it would end. The actor likens Rhaenys’ role in the fight to a “kamikazee mission” and teases that her decision could effectively kick the dragon war into high gear. Check out her comment below:
I spoke with [episode director] Alan Taylor. We’d had a session where we talked about what was going on with her emotions, because I felt very strongly that there were these really important beats that we needed to mark. In particular, the knowledge of the fact that it’s very likely a kamikaze mission.
It has to be, because effectively, she’s starting a nuclear war, and she has been the one character throughout who’s done everything she can to stop them. Because she’s the one that knows from bitter experience, and all the younger generation are running around, saying “Send in the dragons!” She and Corlys are really the only adults left in the room who know, who’ve been there and seen it — what they’re facing.
The context of nuclear war was very, very helpful, because that’s the equivalent for us. And I knew that when she had proposed herself, that she knew she had to take that responsibility, if anyone was going to have that weight. It couldn’t be Rhaenyra. She had to do it. I think she knows that she has to sacrifice herself for the team.
Another journalist described her as Lancelot, Rhaenyra’s Lancelot, in many ways. I felt like that was very apt. There’s such a deep reluctance. In the end of Season 1, she makes that conscious decision not to start a war, not to nuke everybody. Everyone ever since has been saying, “Why didn’t you nuke them?” Everybody’s taking it personal, and she’s all the time looking at the bigger picture. All the time rising up, putting the personal aside, and rising above.
The point is, ultimately, whatever we feel, however attached and however devastated we may be, the bigger picture is we must not send dragons into war, we must not go nuclear at all costs. So for her then to say, “I will be the one to do this,” she knows that there’s no living after that. The choice to go, that second return to plunge in with Vhagar — that’s an absolute kamikaze mission.
To me, that was when she felt very samurai. It was that last stand of the noble warrior. She could have just about escaped, and they could have maybe left everybody to deal with it. But she turns because she knows that’s what she has to do, morally and spiritually.
What Consequences Will Rhaenys’ Death Have In House Of The Dragon?
The Blacks Suffer A Major Setback
If the Greens and the Blacks in House of the Dragon were teetering on the edge of all-out war before, they certainly aren’t anymore. Rhaenys’ death will come as a major blow to Rhaenyra and her allies, as well as to Corlys Velaryon, Rhaenys’ husband. Though Rhaenyra has been reluctant to fully commit to a war against King Aegon, Rhaenys’ death could see the Blacks retaliate in a major way in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5.
The events of season 2, episode 4, also mean that Rhaenyra is now without a key advisor. As Best explains, Rhaenys has always been level-headed, and her years of experience meant that she often saw things differently than some of the younger characters. With this key member of House of the Dragon’s cast of characters now gone, Rhaenyra could find herself feeling somewhat rudderless as those around her become increasingly incensed and filled with bloodlust.
It’s not just the Blacks who suffered a major setback, however. They may have lost a key ally with Rhaenys’ demise, but the Greens may have just lost their king. King Aegon’s fate is left ambiguous at the end of House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4, meaning both sides will likely be licking their wounds in the episode ahead after the Battle at Rook’s Rest.
Aemond & Vhagar Will Be A Major Problem For Rhaenyra
Ewan Mitchell’s House Of The Dragon Character Is Emerging As A Key Antagonist
Vhagar is the largest and the oldest dragon on House of the Dragon, dwarfing all others on the show. His sheer size means he is likely to win any one-on-one battle in the skies. Overwhelming Vhagar with multiple other dragons, then, really seems like the only way he can be defeated on the field of battle. Alternatively, killing Aemond while he’s on the ground and more exposed is perhaps the only way to avoid a massive, fiery confrontation in the air.
While Aemond and Vhagar have emerged as the most deadly pairing on House of the Dragon, Mitchell’s character has also proven himself an unreliable ally. Season 2, episode 4, sees the character attack his own brother, Aegon, seemingly in an attempt to ascend to the Iron Throne. It’s unclear who saw and would speak up about Aemond’s actions since Criston Cole was unconscious for much of the battle, but the instability and unpredictability of Mitchell’s character means he could soon make enemies with others on Team Green, his own camp.
Will The Rest Of House Of The Dragon Season 2 Top Episode 4?
The Battle At Rook’s Rest Was A Major Highlight
As of writing, House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4’s IMDb score currently sits at a 9.7 out of 10 on IMDb. This cements the episode as not just one of the spinoff’s best, but one of the best in the Game of Thrones franchise. It also means, however, that season 2 is in danger of peaking early and not matching the highs of the Battle at Rook’s Rest. It’s unlikely, for example, that the remaining episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 will feature any action set pieces of this same scale.
That being said, Game of Thrones was revered in part because its quiet, character-driven scenes were often just as powerful as its major action set pieces, and House of the Dragon has been largely the same in this regard. The fallout from the Battle at Rook’s Rest is sure to play out over the rest of season 2, and it’s likely that more major character deaths, surprise reveals, and plot twists are to come.
New episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.