Warning, this article contains spoilers for the House of the Dragon plot!
The tenth episode ended the first season of “House of the Dragon”, the prequel to “Game of Thrones”. The fronts are clear: On one side are Ser Otto Hightower and his daughter Lady Alicent, who have put Alicent’s son Aegon on the throne. On the other hand, Princess Rhaenyra, who was believed to be the original heir to the throne and continues to regard herself as this, along with her husband Daemon.
In the final entitled “The Black Queen”, Rhaenyra and Otto meet: The political professional and grandfather of the king goes to Drachenstein to inform Rhaenyra about the conditions for a surrender that would leave her alive. On behalf of his daughter, he gives her a mysterious piece of paper, which many viewers wondered what it meant.
Princess Rhaenyra and Alicent have known each other since childhood, they were playmates and best friends growing up. Alicent, daughter of Ser Otto Hightower, married Rhaenyra’s mother’s father, King Viserys, after her mother’s death. The friendship was soon over: Alicent finally gave birth to the king’s long-awaited male offspring. Nevertheless, Rhaenyra was named heir to the throne by her father, although this was never without controversy.
After the death of Viserys, Alicent convinced everyone that the king had changed his mind on his deathbed and named her son Aegon as his successor. A curious situation arises: there is both a king and a queen. Aegon is officially crowned, but her followers recognize only Rhaenyra as queen.
However, the connection between Alicent and Rhaenyra is not completely broken. This is shown by the piece of paper that Alicent’s father, Otto, hands over to Rhaenyra. This appeared in episode one, at the very beginning of the series: At that time, Alicent asked her unmotivated friend questions about the history of Westeros, it’s about the history of the legendary Princess Nymeria. Rhaenyra rips the page out of the history book and gives it to Alicent.
Alicent gives her father Otto that same page to take to Drachenstein. Otto Hightower is hostile to Rhaenyra and would have liked to have her killed to ensure his grandson Aegon’s rule. Alicent prevented that. At the end of the first season, a major war between the two camps still seems inevitable – but fans of the series will have to wait until the beginning of the next season to find out what happens next.
