House Of The Dragon Season 2's Most Brutal Episode Should Leave You With One Vital Question

This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of "House of the Dragon" and its source material, "Fire & Blood."

It's tough being a Targaryen. Not only is your family tree all tangled up in a confusing knot, but also all your uncle-cousins and nephew-siblings are constantly trying to get you killed. Such is the case in "House of the Dragon" season 2, episode 4, "A Dance of Dragons," which has given us the first proper battle between Team Green and Team Black. This week, we said goodbye to the lovely Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), who bravely met her end when fighting against Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his much larger dragon, Vhagar.

However, the true game changer of the episode — as in, the one that'll have long-lasting implications for the rest of the series — concerns King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). After unwisely entering battle himself, Aegon and his dragon are intentionally left by Aemond to struggle on their own for a bit. Finally Aemond comes to the rescue, but not really; he has Vhaegar shoot his flames at both friend and foe alike. Is this karma for Aegon being a total jerk to Aemond in the brothel last week? Yes, but it's also a way for Aemond to establish his dominance over his older brother, and to maybe take a grab at the crown himself.

We don't see what state Aegon's in by the end of the episode, but the reaction from Ser Criston Cole doesn't look promising. Even if Aegon's survived, he's likely badly burned and probably not fit to lead. So, what's next? If so much of the Greens' cause is centered around supporting Aegon's claim to the throne, what happens when Aegon's not around anymore?

If Aegon is dead, the next in line would be his son, Jaehaerys II. Because of Jaehaerys' youth, however, the actual governing would likely be done by his mother Helaena (Phia Saban) until Jaeherys comes of age, sort of like how Cersei in "Game of Thrones" served as Tommen's Queen Regent. This is complicated by two unfortunate factors. The first is that Helaena doesn't seem to have any interest or ability in governing, so her mother Alicent (Olivia Cooke) or grandfather Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) would likely take her place. The second and much bigger one is that, well, Jaehaerys II is dead, having been killed by Blood and Cheese in the season 2 premiere.

In the absence of a son for Aegon to pass the title down to, and with the Greens' whole claim to the throne relying on the idea that a woman can't hold the title, that would give the crown over to the late King Viserys' second oldest son, Aemond. Because Aemond is actually somewhat competent, though, this would be terrible news for Team Black. 

If something were to then happen to Aemond, the title would be passed along to Daeron Targaryen, the so-far unseen third son of King Viserys. He's been chilling in Oldtown this whole time, reading books and squiring for Lord Ormund Hightower. Daeron is one of the more popular Targaryens among "Fire & Blood" readers, as he's one of the only characters on Team Green who's more interested in getting things done than stirring up more drama. He'd make the best king out of anyone on his side of the family. Unfortunately, it would take a lot of tragedy for him to reach such a position.

After the battle we just witnessed on "House of the Dragon" takes place in "Fire & Blood," King Aegon is found badly burned but alive. "King Aegon II did not die, though his burns brought him such pain that some say he prayed for death," the book reads. "Carried back to King's Landing in a closed litter to hide the extent of his injuries, His Grace did not rise from his bed for the rest of the year. [...] Aegon slept nine hours out of every ten, waking only long enough to take some meagre nourishment before he slept again."

Because the king was technically still alive, there was no coronation of a new one, but Aemond assumed the role in all but name. He referred to himself as "Protector of the Realm and Prince Regent," and kept Ser Criston Cole on board as the King's Hand. Aemond even put on Aegon's crown, proclaiming, "It looks better on me than it ever did on him." So, in other words, Aegon being burnt alive is the best thing to ever happen to Aemond. It's allowed him the freedom and power he's always craved.

The show's decision to make this event a direct result of Aemond's scheming, rather than the apparent accident it was in the book, helps a lot with cementing Aemond as the new Big Bad for Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) team to go up against. Aemond and his giant dragon have always been the scariest duo on "House of the Dragon," and now he has total control over the Greens' war-time strategy. Team Black might think they've gotten a win by crippling King Aegon, but the road to reclaiming the throne just got even harder.

New episodes of "House of the Dragon" premiere Sundays on HBO and Max.