House Of The Dragon Season 2's Big Finale Cameo Confirms A Massive Game Of Thrones Theory

Here be dragons ... and major spoilers. This article discusses events from the latest episode of "House of the Dragon."

The season 2 finale of "House of the Dragon" is finally here and now our watch has ended — but that's only the start of all the analyzing, theorizing, and nitpicking to come as we prepare for the long wait until season 3. Oddly enough, these eight episodes come to a close by only teasing a few of the major battles on the horizon, which will likely lead many viewers to consider this slow-burn stretch of moving the pieces around as something of a sophomore slump for the series. Still, it'd be a mistake to say that nothing of import truly happens in this final hour. In addition to continued fallout from the dragonseeds storyline, further hints about a new twist on established lore, and another unexpected meeting between friends-turned-rivals Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke), we also finally received a major payoff to Daemon's (Matt Smith) patience-testing subplot with Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). The ramifications of this, as viewers can guess, will be felt for centuries to come.

That's right, we need to talk about the Daenerys Targeryen of it all. While some of us appreciated all of the weirdness going on with Daemon this season at Harrenhal, others felt that all these hallucinations and dreams needed to build to something significant in order to make all the time spent there feel worthwhile. With that in mind, it's difficult to imagine anything bigger than this cameo (even one played by a stand-in actor, rather than Emilia Clarke herself) and a major confirmation as to the identity of the prophetic Prince That Was Promised. Aegon the Conqueror, please move over. According to the finale, it was Dany all along.

For viewers with the benefit of hindsight (and foreknowledge, for the book readers among us), this has been a topic of intense discussion for some time now. The Prince That Was Promised, as first established by author George R.R. Martin throughout his "A Song of Ice and Fire" book series, was a prophecy set down in ages past and freshly unearthed by Dany's eldest brother Rhaegar Targaryen. His interpretation led him to kidnap — or run away with, depending on your perspective — his lover Lyanna Stark, which essentially set off the rebellion that brought down House Targaryen for good in Westeros and installed Robert Baratheon as king in the decade or so prior to the events of "Game of Thrones." The original series introduced many contenders to lay claim to that title, from the dutiful Stannis Baratheon to Jon Snow (the secret offspring of Rhaegar and Lyanna) to several compelling pieces of evidence pointing towards Dany.

In "House of the Dragon," this prophecy once again took centerstage. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) first revealed to young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) that Targaryen rulers have passed this burden of responsibility down from generation to generation in season 1, but the actual identity of this legendary figure has remained in question. Now, however, Daemon of all people may have just been given the answer by Alys Rivers and her weirwood tree-induced vision. Amid all the dreamlike imagery, we suddenly see a red comet in the skies and a restaging of that famous "Game of Thrones" scene where Dany emerges from smoke and fire — with three magically-hatched dragons in hand.

Those who know their lore can come to only one conclusion: Dany will be the Prince(ss) That Was Promised.

The events of "Game of Thrones" may still be some 200 years away, but "House of the Dragon" showrunner Ryan Condal and his writing team have already planted the seeds for what will eventually go down. At this point in Westeros history, we know from the prophecy that one leader is meant to unite all of the Seven Kingdoms one day against a threat greater than any political squabbling: the White Walkers. Daemon catches a fuzzy glimpse of these frozen beings, too, and this, combined with his vision of Dany and of Rhaenyra in a crown seated on the Iron Throne, finally convinces him to throw his support behind his estranged wife. By arranging the visuals in this exact way and having Daemon swear his fealty to Rhaenyra later on, it's unmistakable that Dany is the Prince That Was Promised — or, rather, that Daemon believes this to be the case.

This isn't quite an open-and-shut case just yet, if only because Martin has yet to finish his final two novels in the series and offer up his official version. But the elephant in the room is that "Game of Thrones" sort of ends with Dany turning into Fantasy Hitler so, uh, that's become a little difficult to reconcile with the selfless ruler meant to save the world from darkness. Of course, prophecies in this universe have always ended badly (remember Cersei and Maggy the Frog), and much the same holds true for the prequel. Will Rhaenyra win the Dance of the Dragons and take the throne, as Daemon foresaw? Will this tee up the arrival of Dany hundreds of years later to fulfill her destiny? There's more left to this story, that's for sure.

Season 2 of "House of the Dragon" is now streaming on Max in its entirety.