When he startles awake, Ser Simon Strong tells him a raven has arrived.
A feather pillow would do quite nicely, Daemon suggests.
It might even be the same figure.
© Theo Whiteman/HBO
(Alicent pretends its for someone else, but we know the truth.)
Clearly, her clandestine chat with Rhaenyra is weighing heavily on her mind.
After he leaves, she grimaces and gulps the medicine.
Eve Best and Steve Toussaint as Rhaenys and Corlys. ©Ollie Upton/HBO
It falls to Rhaenys to be the calming voice of reason, but the council doesnt respect her either.
Theyre not going to Harrenhal after all.
I need to beinformedof these things, Aegon bitches.
Eve Best and Steve Toussaint as Rhaenys and Corlys. ©Ollie Upton/HBO
If Cole takes Rooks Rest, Dragonstone will be cut off by land.
Ser Criston is the Hand of the King, she says stiffly.
We should all pray for his victory and safe return.
Ewan Mitchell as Aemond. © Ollie Upton
When Daemon says shes a strange woman, she says Im not a woman at all.
Im a barn owl, cursed to live in human form.
You bore me, Aegon huffs.
Matt Smith and Gayle Rankin as Daemon and Alys. © Ollie Upton/HBO
You all bore me.
Then he flounces out of the room.
Back upstairs, he finds Alicent shuffling through his cabinets.
“But mommmm! I want to go to the battle!!!!” (Tom Glynn-Carney and Olivia Cooke as Aegon and Alicent.) © Ollie Upton/HBO
They dont care what I think, he whines.
When he asks her what she wants him to do, she simply tells him nothing.
Doing nothing is the best he can do.
Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) looks to the skies. © Theo Whiteman/HBO
And shes right, of course.
Why yes, Ser Gwayne, theyre going to attack during the daytime!
Jace gets even angrier when he learns she went to Kings Landing to meet with Alicent.
I inherited 80 years of peace from my father, she snaps back.
Before I was to end it, I needed to know that there was no other path.
And now I do.
Let that be their undoing.
This war is not just about a crown.
Its about saving the future.
Then, the battle begins.
And its worth reiterating: IT IS DAYLIGHT.
WE CAN SEE EVERYTHING.
Cole has anticipated this and we hear him give the order: Make the signal!
Whos that flying overhead?
Why, its Aegon, riding Sunfyre, barging right into Cole and Aemonds battle plan.
Idiot, Aemond mutters in High Valyrian, and tells an eager Vhagar to wait.
We see Cole go down, then the screen fades to black before returning for some slo-mo battle violence.
In the air, Rhaenys and Meleys share a glance before making one last pass over the smoldering field.
Rhaenys gazes upward as she falls, sadly but peacefully accepting her fate.
Aemond gazes down, a look of satisfaction crossing his haughty face, and we fade to black again.
But theres one more sentence we need to punctuate before episode four can end: wheres Aegon?
Cole flickers back to consciousness and takes in the scalded wasteland that now surrounds him.
Also conspicuous: a giant plume of smoke emanating from the trees.
Thats where Cole staggers in search of the fallen king.
Cole falls to his knees as Aemond stalks away.
Is Aegon alive or dead?
Itll be next week until we find out.
NewHouse of the Dragonepisodes arrive Sundays on HBO and Max.
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