8 questions House of the Dragon's season two finale needs to answer

Key Takeaways

How will Aemond handle the entry of three new dragon-rider in the war as he’s expected to support forces in the Riverlands?
Uncertainty remains about the loyalty of new dragon riders to Rhaenyra.
Loose ends include Northmen’s role, Greens finding a navy, Daemon and Rhaenyra reuniting, Corlys naming an heir, and Daeron debuting with his dragon Tessarion.

House of the Dragon’s second season is almost over.

Seven episodes are down and only one remains in House of the Dragon’s action-packed second season. We’ve seen new dragons, and new dragon-riders, as we’ve navigated the twists and turns of the Targaryen civil war known as The Dance of Dragons. The season finale will see what might be the largest battle we’ve seen in the Game of Thrones universe so far, as Criston Cole’s Green army confronts Daemon’s new-found host of Rivermen near Harrenhal.

Then there’s the problem of Rhaenyra’s new dragons that Aemond and the Green’s will have to deal with, as there are suddenly five dragons just across Blackwater Bay. There’s plenty of other loose ends that also need to be tied off in the season’s finale, or we could be waiting a long time for answers.

House of the Dragon

Starring: Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Rhys Ifans
Genre: Fantasy

A potential release date for House of the Dragon’s third season hasn’t been announced yet, but with the scale of HBO’s Game of Thrones-type productions, we might not see more of the Targaryen civil war until 2026. So, with only an hour left in House of the Dragon’s second season, these are the eight questions we can’t wait to see answered in the season two finale.

House of the Dragon’s 14 dragons ranked: Which can take on Vhagar?

Vhagar is the undisputed champ of Westeros — but how do the rest of the dragons stack up, and which side are they all on?

1 What will Aemond do?

There’s only one Vhagar

HBO

The final scene of the penultimate episode of House of the Dragon’s second season shows Daemon learning of the Blacks’ newest riders, as he identifies a trap they set for him on Dragonstone. This is bad news for the Greens, who’ve spent the majority of season two in control of the war thanks to the overwhelming power of Vhagar.

The addition of the three new dragon riders drastically changes the dynamics of the civil war. The Blacks now have six dragons. None of them are the size of Vhagar, but Vhagar can’t win two-on-one fights against most of the Blacks’ dragons without facing at least serious injury. The Greens just don’t have the dragons to sustain all of their needs at this point. They need dragons to protect King’s Landing and also to secure their armies gathering on the land throughout Westeros. They have Helaena’s dragon Dreamfyre, and another dragon we haven’t seen yet in Daeron Targaryen’s Tessarion, although it is the youngest of the dragons currently fighting in the war. There’s also the uncertain status of Aegon’s dragon Sunfyre. How will Aemond use these dragons with Rhaenyra’s dragons just across Blackwater Bay in Dragonstone, and Criston Cole expecting Vhagar’s support in the Riverlands?

2 How loyal are the new dragon riders?

Medieval peasants with nuclear weapons

HBO

Rhaenyra successfully found riders for her dragons after lowering the requirements down to having white hair. While that was enough to send Aemond running away scared, there’s now the smaller problem of who these people are who control the power of dragons.

We’ve seen Alyn of Hull pledge his allegiance to Rhaenyra, but we’ve yet to see Hugh Strong and Ulf White do the same. Those two also claimed larger dragons in Vermithor and Silverwing, respectively. Even if they do pledge themselves to Rhaenyra, what happens the first time they disagree with an order, like having to take on Aemond and Vhagar? This has similar vibes to Cersei re-arming the Faith Militant in the original Game of Thrones series — an idea that blew up in her face.

Silo season 2 premiere date and new casting revealed

Apple TV+ sci-fi hit Silo returns November 15 with new cast member Steve Zahn.

3 What other dragons will get riders?

Three unclaimed dragons remain

HBO

There are only three unclaimed dragons left in Westeros now that Vermithor, Silverwing, and Seasmoke all have riders. Those dragons are Sheepstealer, the Cannibal, and Grey Ghost. None of them have been explicitly mentioned in the show yet, but the wild dragon in the Vale feasting on the local livestock suggests that it could be the aptly named Sheepstealer. In the last episode, we saw Rhaena Targaryen leave the group with Rhaenyra’s children and set out in the hopes of taming the wild dragon.

The Penguin release date revealed alongside new trailer and connection to Batman Part II

The Penguin will premiere on Thursday, September 19, 2024 on both HBO and Max.

4 What happened to the Northmen?

A potential wildcard for the final episode

HBO

In the first episode of season one, we see our first glimpse of the North in House of the Dragons when Jacaerys Targaryen is taken to the Wall by Cregan Stark. Jace is able to get the lord of Winterfell officially on Rhaenyra and Team Black’s side in the civil war, but Cregan is unwilling to send the full army of the North since winter is coming. Instead, he offered to send 10,000 old men from the North. Later on, we see Jace negotiate the army’s eventual passage through the Twins with the Freys.

It would take some time for an army that large to march across the expanse of the North. While old men from the North don’t sound that intimidating, these are the most experienced fighters the North has to offer, who are just looking for a good fight after leaving their homes late in life to avoid taking food out of younger mouths. They’re going to wreak havoc for as long as their numbers hold out. It’s also worth pointing out that this army should emerge into the Riverlands.

5 Will anything come of the Greens’ attempts to find a navy?

The blockade of Blackwater Bay continues

HBO

Throughout season two, there have been multiple mentions during the Greens’ small council meetings about their efforts to find a navy to match the Velaryon fleet. It’s only grown more important as the citizens of King’s Landing grow restless with the lack of food from the siege on Blackwater Bay. Those hopes rested on two options — the Greyjoys joining the war on the Greens’ side or buying off the Triarchy. You’ll remember the Triarchy from Daemon’s time fighting in the Stepstones during season one.

How to watch House of the Dragon, and find out what will happen in season 2

We’ve rounded up when and how you can watch House of Dragon season two, and how to find out what will happen in the new season.

6 Will Daemon and Rhaenyra reunite?

The Black side could win if these two could only have a conversation

House of the Dragon characters standing over a table.

HBO

The Queen and King of the Black faction have spent most of season two having a bit of a marital spat, with Daemon ghosting Rhaenyra while attempting to build an army of his own at Harrenhal. Now that the riverlords have finally united with Oscar Tully rising to lord paramount of the Riverlands, Daemon actually has an army. Unfortunately, that army openly hates him thanks to his conduct leading to a few war crimes this season. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra has won three more dragons to her side, something Daemon might respect.

The two sharing a conversation might be the difference in the upcoming fight against the Greens and Criston Cole in the Riverlands.

7 Will Corlys name an heir to Driftmark?

Two of his bastards could be the next to sit the Driftwood Throne

HBO

Alyn of Hull claiming the dragon Seasmoke and swearing himself to Rhaenyra made for a sudden rise in station for both Alyn and his brother Adam. Both of the brothers are also the bastard sons of Corlys Velaryon, the Lord of Driftmark. Naming either Alyn or Adam his heir would seemingly solve a lot of problems for Corlys, who’s been looking for a new heir to the lordship throughout season two, having already been turned down by his granddaughter, Baela Targaryen.

How will the people of Driftmark react to a bastard inheriting the Driftwood Throne, though, and which one would he choose, the dragon-rider or the sailor?

8 What role will Daeron and Tessarion play?

Will the fourth child of Viserys and Alicent finally make his debut?

HBO

Daeron and his dragon Tessarion have been teased throughout the past few episodes of House of the Dragon, but we’ve still yet to officially meet the character. He’s the youngest son of King Viserys and Alicent Hightower’s children, but he has been fostered in Oldtown, so we’ve never seen him in the series. The latest mention of the character was that he’d finally put his dragon to wing, meaning he’s riding the dragon and they can officially join the war effort. What impact can they make, though, as the youngest dragon and dragon-rider in the war?