If you were as hyped as us to watch the season finale of "House of the Dragon", chances are you missed a thing or two. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at callbacks, small details, and subtle suggestions of future events that may have gone over your head during this season’s finale of “House of the Dragon”.
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00:00She was a testament to my own glory.
00:03I've given her a new name.
00:07The Queen who never was.
00:09Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at callbacks, small details, and subtle suggestions of future events
00:15that may have gone over your head during this season's finale of House of the Dragon.
00:19We will be discussing spoilers for both this show and Game of Thrones, so watch at your own risk.
00:26My part is here, whether I will or no.
00:31It was decided for me long ago.
00:37House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones have this annoying knack for making us feel sorry for characters who've done terrible things.
00:44In this scene between Lara Strong and Aegon, the Burnt King mentions that a valuable piece of his anatomy has been scorched off,
00:51cooked like sausage.
00:52It burst in the flames like a sausage on the spit.
00:56In Thrones, Theon Greyjoy had the same body part cut off by Ramsay Snow.
01:00Ramsay taunted Theon with a piece of pork sausage.
01:04Yeah.
01:07Pork sausage.
01:09Implying that Theon's lost appendage had become lunch.
01:12Theon eventually overcame his suffering and rediscovered a sense of purpose,
01:16something that Larys is encouraging Aegon to do here.
01:20Aegon even considers some honorable nicknames,
01:22an uplifting callback to his struggle in choosing a suitable moniker on the season premiere.
01:27Aegon the Victorious.
01:30Risen from the ashes.
01:33Aegon the Peacemaker.
01:38Aegon the Rebuilder.
01:44Aegon the Realm's Delight.
01:47Lord Tyland's Lunch.
01:49On Prince Aemon's orders, Tyland Lannister finds himself engaged in shaky negotiations with some triarchy pirates.
01:55He ends up mud wrestling with Admiral Sherako Lohar.
01:59The sailor keeps mistakenly referring to the Lannister as Tywin,
02:03a name you'll likely remember as the fearsome Game of Thrones antagonist who helped orchestrate the Red Wedding.
02:08After their tussle, Lohar offers Tyland an unsettling meal
02:13and makes a quip about the visitor's hesitance to accept.
02:16So you reject the hospitality of my house?
02:20The exchange could be a subtextual reference to guest right,
02:24an informal Westerosi law that hosts and their company may not harm each other once food and drink are exchanged.
02:31Walder Frey unforgettably got comeuppance for violating this law.
02:35He killed a guest beneath his roof.
02:39That's something the gods can't forget.
02:41Fortunately for Tyland, Lohar's suggestion appears to be a simple joke.
02:46A jest, my lord.
02:49What do you take me for?
02:55Game of Thrones began its story with the Starks of Winterfell,
02:58but we've yet to see much of them in the prequel series.
03:01Most notably, we met Cregan Stark on the season premiere,
03:04when he offered Prince Joserra's support for the war.
03:07It pleases me to think that over a century ago our ancestors treated in this very place.
03:13The Conqueror and the King in the North.
03:16You at least have the mercy not to threaten me with your dragon.
03:20During a montage, we now get a quick glimpse of those Stark soldiers crossing the Twins
03:25and waving the emblematic direwolf sigil.
03:27The Northerners will never forget.
03:30Jace made this march possible during his conversation with Cregan
03:33and also during his negotiation for passage across the Twins a few episodes ago.
03:38Without using this bridge, the Northern armies would need to take a roundabout path
03:42and would likely have arrived too late to participate in battle.
03:45Their appearance here excitingly teases more of the Cregan Stark storyline.
03:49But you must know that my gaze is forever torn between North and South.
03:54In winter, my duty to the Wall is even more dire than the one I owe to King's Landing.
04:00Helaena can usually be counted on for a prophetic vision
04:03and again she does not disappoint.
04:05Not the dragons.
04:07The rats.
04:09When Aemond insists that Helaena ride her dragon into battle,
04:12Helaena presciently declares that Aemond's rule and perhaps his life won't last much longer.
04:17She claims that Aegon will once again be king
04:20and she curiously discovers that Aegon will not be king.
04:25She claims that Aegon will once again be king
04:28and she curiously describes his throne as wooden.
04:34Since wood is much more fragile and more easily burned than the metal of the Iron Throne,
04:39this might suggest that any victory Aegon will have would be temporary,
04:43lacking in foundation and easily challenged.
04:46It could also refer to his injuries,
04:48since sitting on the Iron Throne might not be too comfortable in his current state.
04:52It seems likely that neither Targaryen brother has longed to wear their crowns.
05:12A Man Without Honor
05:22Protect the innocent, defend the weak.
05:24Criston Cole's spirits have definitely been down since the battle at Rook's Rest.
05:28He doesn't even put up much of a fight when confronted by Gwaine Hightower about his past deeds.
05:33Somewhat nihilistically, he suggests that perhaps true and honorable men do not really exist.
05:39His complicated breakdown of morality sounds like Jaime Lannister's speech to Brienne in Game of Thrones,
05:44when he defeatedly expressed his frustration with honor.
05:47Tell me if your precious friend
05:52commanded you to kill your own father
05:55and stand by while thousands of men, women, and children burned alive,
06:00would you have done it?
06:02Both men understand that justice in their world is not black and white,
06:05and flawless purity of character is probably a pipe dream.
06:09You might also notice the handkerchief he cradles that Alicent had previously given him
06:13before he headed off to battle.
06:15As ethically ambiguous as he might be,
06:17it seems Ser Cole can certainly be heartbroken.
06:22Or perhaps all men are corrupt,
06:25and true honor is a mist
06:29that melts in the morning.
06:43Yes, the finale gave us an awesome first look at a wild dragon,
06:46but there was another one that you might not have noticed.
06:49At one point, we get a short sighting of the Hightower army
06:52marching towards future plot events.
06:54If you look at the background skies,
06:56you can spot a dragon flying along with them.
06:59We've already talked about Alicent's yet unseen son, Daeron,
07:02and the significant part he may end up playing.
07:10He's been alluded to multiple times,
07:12so the animal that we're seeing here is most likely Daeron's dragon, Tesserion.
07:19Prince Daeron's dragon, Tessarion, has at last taken to wing.
07:22Your brother expects to join the fight soon.
07:25Tessarion might not be as big as some of the other dragons,
07:28but seeing her flying with the Hightowers could be setting up some major showdowns.
07:35The final minutes of season two once again put Alicent and Rhaenyra together.
07:39This time, Alicent wants to help Rhaenyra take back the Iron Throne.
07:43But whether out of naivete, optimism, or a mother's love,
07:47she struggles to accept that this can never happen without the death of her firstborn.
07:56When Rhaenyra makes this clear,
07:58she name-drops the same phrase that also served as the title for this season's premiere episode.
08:04It's fitting to bookend the season this way,
08:06since the loss of sons has catalyzed so many conflicts on the show.
08:12Season one ended with the death of Lucerys Velaryon,
08:15and season two began with the death of Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen.
08:18Should the pattern continue, who might we lose when season three begins?
08:35In one of their favorite spots for contemplation,
08:38Rhaenyra and Mysaria discuss the casualties of war.
08:41As they do, we can see two dragons aerially circling each other,
08:45perhaps dancing in a visual allusion to the dance of the Dragon's Civil War.
08:49When Mysaria asks about those who truly will pay the price of their conflict,
08:53the camera moves to the horizon and focuses on the flying steeds.
09:12If you think about it, you could include the dragons themselves
09:16among the innocents who are collaterally harmed by the fighting.
09:19They have no political motivations after all,
09:21but rather are animals being used for their power.
09:24If it's the innocent that pay the price,
09:27this subtle imagery invites conversation about exactly who the innocent consists of.
09:42Dark Wings, Dark Words
09:44Daemon's season of nightmares concludes with the busiest vision yet.
09:58In this scene at the Weirwood Tree,
10:00he's hit with a montage of images that resembles Daenerys' journey into the House of the Undying.
10:05You might have caught the obvious ones like the White Walkers,
10:08but did you spot the Three-Eyed Raven?
10:10Other recognizable appearances are Dany with her hatchlings and the colored dragon eggs.
10:14Before the manifestation even begins,
10:17you can see a soldier with an antler-like helmet walking in the darkness.
10:21Book readers will know this resembles Robert Baratheon's battle armor,
10:24which he would later wear when defeating Rhaegar Targaryen at the Trident.
10:28I knocked him down with a hammer.
10:30God, I was strong then.
10:33Caved in his breastplate.
10:36Probably shattered every rib he had.
10:39And afterwards, when Daemon goes on to speak with Rhaenyra,
10:42he recites those famous Stark words.
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11:11There's a subtle motif in the final episode
11:13with multiple characters referencing a story of which they are all a part.
11:17It's all a story.
11:26And you're but one part in it.
11:30Helene cites the story as a warning to Aemond,
11:33and Daemon refers to the end of his story when swearing allegiance to Rhaenyra.
11:37If it sounds familiar, it's because Tyrion Lannister gives an impassioned speech
11:41about the strength of narratives on the Game of Thrones finale.
11:44There's nothing in the world more powerful than a good story.
11:47Tales are indeed powerful weapons in Westeros,
11:50as they determine who has noble birth and who holds power.
11:53Heroes and villains are perceived by the way history writes them,
11:57and it's no accident that the first series ended with a nod to its source material.
12:01If Westerosi lore remembers you well, perhaps you've won the Game of Thrones.
12:14What did you catch that we missed?
12:16What was the biggest Easter egg of the season?
12:18Let us know in the comments below.
12:23I will continue as I began.
12:27Alone.
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