Spoiler Alert! Is Aegon Targaryen dead or alive? Here's what George RR Martin's book 'Fire And Blood' says

After watching the House of the Dragon (HOTD) Season 2, Episode 4, the biggest question is whether King Aegon is dead or alive. In George RR Martin's novel, Aegon survives the fight.

Richa Barua

First Published Jul 9, 2024, 10:07 AM IST | Last Updated Jul 9, 2024, 10:07 AM IST

House of the Dragon (HOTD) Season 2, Episode 4, titled A Dance of Dragons, included tremendous action sequences. The episode marked the first major death in the continuing conflict between Team Green and Team Black. Among the pandemonium, the largest question is whether Alicent's son, King Aegon, is indeed dead. In George RR Martin's novel Fire and Blood, Aegon survives the conflict.

In the episode, Ser Criston Cole abandons the plot to conquer Harrenhal and travels to Rook's Rest with the intention of trapping one of Rhaenyra's dragons. Rhaenys volunteers to fight for Team Black with her dragon, ensuring the plan's success. Meanwhile, Aegon enters on his dragon Sunfyre, accompanied by Aemond on Vhagar. The battle heats up when Vhagar defeats both Sunfyre and Meleys. The struggle concludes tragically, with Rhaenys and Meleys proven dead. The episode ends with Aemond and Ser Criston discovering Aegon's body, but the audience is unsure if the young king is dead or alive.

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According to Fire and Blood, Cole and Aemond's strategy was to simply destroy Rhaenyra's dragons using Vhagar. However, Aegon, who was not initially part of the scheme, suffers serious injuries as a result of his stupid acts. Initially, Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre battle Rhaenys and Meleys before Aemond and Vhagar enter the fray. The dragon fight finishes as Vhagar attacks Meleys and Sunfyre from above. Surprisingly, Sunfyre and Aegon escape the terrible onslaught.

After the fall, Aegon has a damaged hip, ribs and serious burns from his scorched armour. According to George RR Martin, Aegon's burns were so devastating that he desired to die. His injuries necessitated a year of bed rest, therefore Aemond assumed the post of Prince Regent to carry out Aegon's duties while he was absent.

After years of recovering from his injuries, Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre are finally defeated in another battle.

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Talking about the episode, Alan Taylor, in a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, shared, “The more I read the script, the more I realized it’s not really a battle. It’s something else. It’s an army attacking a castle, but the castle is never the point. It’s all a ruse to draw out a dragon. The challenge was to shake the story momentum, given that you’re pretending to do one thing but actually doing something else. And when the dragons turn up, it really becomes about them.”

The second season of House of the Dragon stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Milly Alcock, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, and Olivia Cooke.

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