House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, so if you've read it, you should have a pretty good idea of what's coming. But even if you decided to skip the book, the fate of a principal character was already revealed back in season 3 of Game of Thrones!
Major spoilers follow.
The history of the Targaryen dynasty and the civil war known as the Dance of Dragons is discussed several times over the course of the HBO fantasy series, but mostly in pretty vague terms. However, none other than King Joffrey explains in grim detail what became of Rhaenyra Targaryen during season 3, episode 4.
While attempting to impress his bethroed, Margaery Tyrell, the monstrous boy king reveals that "Rhaenyra Targaryen was murdered by her brother, or rather his dragon. It ate her while her son watched. What's left of her is buried in the crypts right down there."
Unfortunately, the little shit spoke the truth. Rhaenyra is captured by her half-brother Aegon (who we meet as an infant in this week's episode) and fed to his dragon, Sunfye, while her own son (also named Aegon, somewhat confusingly) watches on helplessly.
We have a long way to go before this happens on the show (assuming it even reaches that point), and there is always a chance the series will deviate from the book - although we can't see them changing something this major, as it could turn out to be House of the Dragon's "Red Wedding" moment.
Did you guys remember this exchange from season 3 of Game of Thrones? How do you feel about Rhaenyra (potentially) coming to such a disturbing end in a later season of House of the Dragon? Drop us a comment down below.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.