House of the Dragon Season 2, episode 5: The moment Alicent *knows* what happened to Aegon

Oh Alicent, with sons like these who wants Dragonstone-based enemies?

The fallout from the occasions of Home of the Dragon Season 2, episode 4 make up the majority of episode 5, following the near-fatal unsaddling of Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) by his brother Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) on dragonback.

Now we all know Aegon is not fairly useless, simply extraordinarily injured, sufficient to require Aemond’s instalment as prince regent. However did the prince imply to kill his personal brother? What precisely occurred at Rook’s Relaxation is on the forefront of their mom Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) thoughts in episode 5, and there is one explicit second in episode 5, “Regent,” the place we know she is aware of.

What occurred on the finish of episode 4?

Through the brutal battle at Rook’s Relaxation, Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre tackle Rhaenys (Eve Greatest) using Meleys, and the drunken king will get his ass served to him by the Queen Who By no means Was. Aemond intercepts them on the colossal Vhagar. Downside is, when he offers Vhagar the order “dracarys” on the two preventing dragons, he does so realizing full nicely Aegon can also be within the firing line.

Whereas we are able to brush off Vhagar’s chomping of Lucerys within the Season 1 finale as a rogue dragon act, this time it is Aemond’s direct order.

After we see Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) staggering about on the finish of the battle, as soon as Aegon and Sunfyre have fallen, he searches for the king and finds Aemond with him, holding his sword aloft, presumably poised to finish his brother. When Aemond hears Cole name out as if to cease him, he sheathes the blade, and picks up Aegon’s Valyrian metal catspaw dagger — beforehand owned by King Viserys (Paddy Considine). Nothing is claimed, Cole appears devastated, and Aemond walks off.

How does Alicent know what Aemond did?

At the beginning of episode 5, when Aegon’s (nonetheless alive!) physique is being semi-covertly introduced via the streets of King’s Touchdown, trailing after Meleys’ unceremoniously severed head, Alicent and Aemond are watching from the Pink Preserve’s partitions. Alicent glances down trepidatiously at Aemond’s belt, the place Aegon’s dagger sits prominently. Alicent is aware of this dagger nicely — it is the identical one she got here at Rhaenyra with in Season 1, episode 7, when she was gaslighting a continent about her heirs. It is also the identical one Viserys had treasured, inscribed with King Aegon I’s “Music of Ice and Hearth” prophecy that speaks of “The Prince That Was Promised”.

Oh, Alicent is aware of what Aemond is able to after Lucerys, and he or she’s seen Aegon’s blatant bullying of Aemond over time. However would he truly fell his personal brother, her son? Nothing is claimed between them, however Aemond hasn’t precisely made his craving for the Iron Throne a secret. Later standing over Aegon’s mattress as he is being handled, Aemond knowingly declares to a close-by Alicent, “Somebody must rule in his stead.”

Later, Alicent tries to get the reality of Aemond’s half out of Cole, beforehand her lover, and he lies to her face. Then, on the small council, Alicent is publicly betrayed by Cole, who helps Aemond’s declare to prince regent whereas Aegon lies incapacitated. It appears Cole noticed the chance for leaping ship as quickly as he realised he’d failed to guard the king.

Did not see what occurred within the gigantic dragon battle within the sky, huh?
Credit score: Ollie Upton / HBO

Between her fixed undermining of the small council, this realisation of her son’s true nature, and the reality bombs dropped by Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) in episode 3 throughout their stealth assembly, Alicent should by now know she ought to hotfoot it out of there and be part of the Dragonstone crew.

Heleana additionally is aware of what’s up

Nothing will get previous Heleana (Phia Saban), who additionally realises what hand her brother had in her brother-husband’s plight immediately. On the finish of the episode, Aemond is standing unsubtly in entrance of the Iron Throne late at evening, admiring its many swords, when the queen seems behind him.

“Was it well worth the worth?” Heleana asks her brother. Oh, she is aware of too.

Nonetheless, Aemond’s time as prince regent may not be as safe as he thought it was. In the previous few moments of the episode, we hear Aegon’s rasping voice say the phrase “mummy” as Alicent is leaving his room, although she does not hear it. If Aegon can discuss, there’s one different, significantly treasonous phrase he’ll need to report back to the small council, the one Aemond ordered towards him earlier than he plunged to the forest under: “Dracarys.”

New episodes of Home of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.