DISCLAIMER: The following contains spoilers for George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood and HBO’s House of the Dragon. Proceed at your peril.
We’re so close to the House of the Dragon season finale I can almost taste it! Sh*t is officially hitting the fan, with the Dance of the Dragons swiftly underway. Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) was crowned king in last week’s episode, while Rhaenys (Eve Best) crashed his coronation astride Meleys, giving Alicent (Olivia Cooke) a vehement answer regarding who she supports.
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Daemon (Matt Smith) and their family are on Dragonstone, none the wiser about Team Green’s usurping antics. Rhaenys will inform Rhaenyra about the greens taking her crown and their plan to eradicate her line. “The Black Queen” will spotlight Team Black as they scramble to respond to this obvious call to war.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E09) The Green Council
So, in honor of episode 10, “The Black Queen,” arriving this Sunday, I’ve compiled a list of predictions. I’ll reiterate — the night is dark and full of spoilers, especially from Fire & Blood.
Rhaenyra’s Coronation
Just as her half-brother Aegon had a rushed coronation in “The Green Council,” Rhaenyra will also be hastily crowned queen on Dragonstone. As we saw in the new images released by WarnerMedia, Erryk Cargyll (Elliott Tittensor) will bring Old King Jaehaerys’s crown with him to Dragonstone. One photo shows him kneeling while presenting the crown to Daemon. I’m thinking Daemon will be the one to crown his wife. He’ll be a queenmaker, y’all.
Additionally, Rhaenyra will dub Jacaerys (Harry Collett) the Prince of Dragonstone and heir to the Iron Throne, with Lady Baela (Bethany Antonia) in line to become queen consort. Obviously, Daemon will be Rhaenyra’s prince consort.
One of her first acts as an official queen? Declare that Otto (Rhys Ifans) and Alicent are traitors. Rhaenyra does express the desire to mend fences with her half-siblings — Aegon, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Helaena (Phia Saban) — if they bend the knee and ask for her forgiveness.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E08) The Lord of the Tides
Rhaenyra Will Give Birth to Visenya
We’ll see Rhaenyra give birth to Visenya, but not in the timeline of Fire & Blood. In the book, Rhaenyra is in labor during Aegon’s coronation. However, based on the photos shared by WarnerMedia, Rhaenyra is ostensibly pregnant during the convening of the black council. I think she’ll birth the stillborn Visenya later in “The Black Queen.”
Now, folks, I have a theory that I don’t expect to come to fruition. What if there’s a montage featuring Aemond and Lucerys’s (Elliot Grihault) deadly skirmish over Shipbreaker Bay and Rhaenyra in labor? Talk about a punch to the emotional gut. Rhaenyra essentially losing Luke and Visenya at the same time would be brutal.
Otto Will Come to Dragonstone With Grand Maester Orwyle
While most of Team Green is out of the episodic spotlight, Otto (Rhys Ifans) purportedly appears along with Aemond. If you look closely at one moment in the preview trailer for episode 10, it looks like Daemon whips out Dark Sister in response to the arrival of unwanted visitors. It appears one of said visitors is Otto, at least judging by the man’s blurry profile. It’s undoubtedly a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it bit. Additionally, it looks like Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) is standing behind Otto.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E07) Driftmark
There is one moment in the book wherein Alicent and Helaena persuade Aegon to allow Orwyle to travel to Dragonstone with the intention of parleying with Rhaenyra. Rhaenyra rejects Team Green’s terms. Her knights strip Orwyle of his chain of office, which she bestows upon Maester Gerardys (Phil Daniels).
Technically, this occurs before Aemond and Luke’s rain-soaked dragon fight, so it could happen in the season finale, just with the addition of Otto. Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) also accompanies them in the source material, so we could get some Cargyll twin battle action. We could see their fatal duel if that is indeed Orwyle at Dragonstone, but who knows? The writers might not want to cram too much into the finale.
Jace Will Depart Dragonstone as Rhaenyra’s Envoy
Jace and Luke try to persuade their mother to let them serve as her envoys, traveling to different parts of the realm to treat with the influential figures of the Seven Kingdoms. After some prodding on their end, Rhaenyra relents, allowing Jace to take the more challenging route on Vermax to the Eyrie, White Harbor and finally Winterfell. We know we’ll see Winterfell in Season 2, with Jace persuading Cregan Stark, a.k.a. the famed Wolf of the North, to throw his support behind Rhaenyra.
Luke will embark on a journey to Storm’s End, which, unfortunately, doesn’t end well.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E06) The Princess and the Queen
The Black Council Will Discuss Dragonseeds
Essentially, “dragonseeds” are Targaryen and Velaryon bastards. Rhaenyra and her black council determine the number of dragons they have on their side versus the greens. Rhaenyra has Syrax, Daemon flies Caraxes, Jace has Vermax and Luke has Arrax. However, Arrax is too small for battle, as is Baela’s Moondancer. Rhaenys has Meleys, obviously. Little Joffrey Velaryon has Tyraxes, although he’s way too tiny to ride. Aegon (Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son) has his own mount, Stormcloud, but he’s younger on the show than he is in the book.
Meanwhile, Team Green only has four dragons: Aegon’s Sunfyre, Vhagar, the most formidable of the bunch, Helaena’s Dreamfyre and Daeron’s Tessarion, the youngest of Alicent and Viserys’s children who serves as cupbearer and squire to Lord Ormund Hightower in Oldtown.
Rhaenyra urges her council to find riders for three riderless dragons in the Dragonmont: Vermithor, a.k.a. the Bronze Fury (last ridden by King Jaehaerys), Silverwing (Queen Alysanne’s mount) and Seasmoke (Laenor Velaryon’s dragon). In the preview, you can see Daemon singing to Vermithor in High Valyrian to coax him out of hiding.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E05) We Light the Way
Daemon Talks About Seizing Harrenhal
In Fire & Blood, Daemon eventually seizes control of Harrenhal in the name of Rhaenyra. Described as a “sudden, bloodless fall of Black Harren’s seat,” Daemon overtakes the cursed castle while Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) is in King’s Landing.
I’m not saying we’ll see it happen in the finale (that would be too much for one episode, I think), but we might hear it come up in conversation while the black council deliberates around the Painted Table. Daemon’s taking of Harrenhal is a significant marker for the character and a major plot point amid the Dance of the Dragons.
We’ll See the Return of the Sea Snake
At this point in the book, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) heals from his brush with death, rejoining his wife Rhaenys to support Rhaenyra as queen. He’s present for the forming of the black council and its mapping out of the war to come. Of course, Luke is still his heir to Driftmark despite his late brother Vaemond’s endeavors to claim the ancient seat. I’ll be curious to see how he interacts with Daemon after learning of how Vaemond died. He might not be too keen on Rhaenyra’s uncle-husband for slicing Vaemond’s head in half with Dark Sister.
Aemond and Luke Will Battle It Out Above Shipbreaker Bay
We’ve already seen bits and pieces of this monumental event in the preview trailer for “The Black Queen,” and, admittedly, it’s one I’m looking forward to the least. When Luke lands at Storm’s End, arriving under a peace banner, he spots Aemond beating him to the punch regarding the wooing of House Baratheon. Aemond orders Luke to put out his eye before he departs. A literal eye for an eye. Should Luke refuse, he’ll pay for it with his life.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E04) King of the Narrow Sea
However, Borros Baratheon insists he’ll have no bloodshed on his grounds, and the knights escort Luke to Arrax so he can fly home. Unfortunately, one of Borros’s daughters, Maris, bitter that Aemond didn’t choose her to wed, remarks, “Was it one of your eyes he took or one of your balls? I am so glad you chose my sister. I want a husband with all his parts.”
Naturally, Aemond’s fragile masculine pride couldn’t suffer the hit, so he takes to the skies to slay his nephew. Aemond and Vhagar give chase to Luke and Arrax in the middle of a nasty storm. Unfortunately, Vhagar kills Arrax and Luke. Henceforth, Aemond is known as “Aemond the Kinslayer.” There’s nothing worse in Westeros than being a kinslayer.
I think this moment, along with Visenya being stillborn, will undoubtedly break Rhaenyra. We’ll see a hardened, serrated-edged version of her in Season 2.
RELATED: House of the Dragon Recap: (S01E03) Second of His Name
What are your theories for House of the Dragon episode 10, “The Black Queen”? Sound off in the comments below!
House of the Dragon will drop the season finale on Sunday at 9 pm EST on HBO and HBO Max.
https://www.geekgirlauthority.com/geek-girl-authority-crush-of-the-week-arya-stark/
[email protected]
What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
Who I am: Before moving to Los Angeles after studying theater in college, I was born and raised in Amish country, Ohio. No, I am not Amish, even if I sometimes sport a modest bonnet.
Bylines in: Tell-Tale TV, Culturess, Sideshow Collectibles, and inkMend on Medium.
Critic: Rotten Tomatoes, CherryPicks, and the Hollywood Creative Alliance.
- POKER FACE Recap: (S02E04) The Taste of Human Blood - May 15, 2025
- BRIDGERTON Renewed for Seasons 5 and 6; Watch New Teaser for Season 4 - May 14, 2025
- All Eyes Up Here for the Official SUPERMAN Trailer - May 14, 2025
