House of The Dragon's Aemond And Aegon Battle Scene Is Completely Different In The Books

9 July 2024, 09:44

By Sam Prance

Is King Aegon dead? Did Aemond intentionally try to kill him? House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4 ends on a cliffhanger but the books reveal what happens next.

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You've just watched 'The Red Dragon and the Gold' and want to know if Aegon is alive? We're here to break it down for you.

House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4 is arguably the show's most dramatic episode yet. At the bloody Battle of Rook's Rest, thousands of men die as Aemond and Vhagar take on Rhaenys and Meleys but Aegon throws a huge spanner in the works. Feeling as though no one respects him, he goes to the battle on Sunfyre and his life is suddenly put in danger.

Did Aegon die though? Is Sunfyre alive? Here's what we know and how their storyline with Aemond differs from the books.

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Did Aegon die in House of the Dragon?

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In 'The Red Dragon and the Gold', Aegon and Sunfyre struggle to fend off Rhaenys and Meleys. Shortly afterwards, Aemond and Vhagar appear and Aegon breathes a sigh of relief. However, instead of saving Aegon, Aemond commands Vhagar to burn Rhaenys and Meleys. Aegon and Sunfyre are then caught in the crossfire and it's unclear whether they survive.

In the House of the Dragon books, Ser Criston Cole actually plans for both Aemond and Aegon to make a surprise attack on Rook's Rest and the brothers work as a team. Instead of Vhagar burning Sunfyre and Aegon, Aemond and Aegon make attempts to take down Rhaenys together. The fight results in all six riders and dragons crashing to the ground.

Aemond and Aegon are unharmed but Rhaneys and Meleys fall to their deaths. As for King Aegon, he isn't dead just heavily injured. Taking this into consideration, Aegon will no doubt also survive in the series.

Did Aemond try to kill Aegon in the House of the Dragon?

Does Aemond attack Aegon in the House of the Dragon books? Picture: HBO

As for whether Aemond tried to harm Aegon on purpose, showrunner Ryan Condal told The Wrap: "I can see how it can be ambiguous, but I think in the dramatization of it, it’s pretty clear Aegon is collateral damage in the action. Certainly Vhagar is looking to take out Rhaenys, but it doesn’t look like [Aemond] does it with much care for his brother.”

At the end of the episode it then looks like Aemond considers killing his brother with his sword before Ser Criston appears. Speaking to TVLine about his character's intentions, Ewan Mitchell said: "What you see at the end of Episode 4 was very much intentional. He’s very composed in that moment, and he’s very assured with what he did."

And I oop!