Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 1 of House of the Dragon.The finale of House of the Dragon Season 1 brings us to the official beginning of the civil war in Westeros known as the Dance of Dragons. For those who are familiar with Fire & Blood, the novel by George R. R. Martin that this show was based on, they've known we've been building up to this final moment. In the final act of "The Black Queen," we see Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) sending her sons as messengers to try and curry favor with the nobles who have not declared for Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). With Rhaenys (Eve Best) patrolling the Narrow Sea on her dragon Meleys, Rhaenyra sends Jace (Harry Collett) to the Eyrie to see Rhaenyra's mother's cousin, Lady Jane Arryn, and then further up north to Winterfell to treat with Lord Cregan Stark for the support of The North. She sends Luke (Elliot Grihault) to Storm's End, to treat with Lord Borros Baratheon for support.
As lords of the Seven Kingdoms, they all swore oaths to Rhaenyra back in Episode 1, nearly 20 years ago. Technically, every lord that bent the knee to Aegon II in "The Green Council" and who bent the knee 20 years ago to Rhaenyra are oathbreakers. However, given that two decades have passed, there's a technical loophole in that many of the current lords were merely heirs to their fathers at the time. Still, during the episode, they lean on their family ties and on houses that honor oaths like the Starks. What they did not predict is that the Greens would send Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) to Storm's End as well, leaving Lucerys to face the same uncle he maimed years ago.
What happens between Lucerys and Aemond is framed more as a tragedy in House of the Dragon. When Luke tries to escape from Aemond's pursuit, his dragon Arrax breathes fire on Vhagar's face, and Aemond ends up at the mercy of his dragon, who kills Arrax and Lucerys in a single bite.
What Happens at Storm's End?
When Lucerys arrives at Storm's End, the mood is already incredibly dour. The shadow of Vhagar, the largest dragon in the world, looms in the back as he delivers his mother's message to Borros Baratheon. Before this, Rhaenyra had cautioned her sons against violence. She makes them swear on the Faith of the Seven. Although it's clear that the Targaryens on Dragonstone do not keep to the faith, Rhaenyra makes it clear that they must serve the people who do and answer to their gods. She tells them, "If you take this errand, you go as messengers, not as warriors. You must take no part in any fighting. Swear it to me right now, under the eyes of the Seven."
Rhaenyra then instills confidence in Luke by telling him that he has Baratheon blood in his veins through Rhaenys (technically this is not true) and that Lord Borros will welcome hosting a prince of the realm. But despite these reassurances, the visit to Storm's End couldn't be worse. Not only is Aemond there first, but he has apparently offered to betroth himself to one of Borros Baratheon's daughters. Obviously, Luke is betrothed to his cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) and can't make Lord Borros the same offer. To make matters worse, Lord Borros is unamused by Rhaenyra's message to him asking him to remember and honor his father's oath.
Tempers rise and Aemond brings back up the loss of his eye and demands Lucerys for his, calling him Lord Strong in the same breath. He reveals to Luke that he has replaced his lost eye with a blue sapphire and demands an eye-for-an-eye. Borros quickly stops the argument and orders them out of his castle. Luke heads to Arrax and Aemond goes to Vhagar.
Why Did the Dragons Disobey Their Riders?
Taking to the skies, it's a clear mismatch between Arrax and Vhagar. As Aemond pursues his nephew, it's unclear if he wishes him dead or simply wants to scare him and take his eye. But why do the dragons disobey their riders? Technically the bond between rider and dragon is held together by more than just your bond with your pet cat or dog, it's supposed to be a magical bond. So why does Arrax, who hatched for Luke as a boy, disobey him? And why wouldn't Vhagar listen to Aemond?
It's not an easy question to answer. For Luke, it's likely that Arrax felt Luke's fear of being pursued and as a dragon, he decided to fight back rather than run, even with Vhagar as an unfair opponent and even with his rider telling him to obey. For Aemond, the answer is even harder to answer. Is it because Vhagar has only had Aemond as a rider for something like six years? She was once mounted by Visenya and then by Baelon Targaryen (Daemon and Viserys' father), and then by Laena (Nanna Blondell). For a dragon who has been around since the conquest, could she just have dragon dementia? While dragons are intelligent creatures, they're still wild animals, so it stands to reason that if threatened, Vhagar will fight back even if it is against the orders of her rider.
None of this is explained, but one thing is clear that, unlike the bond between Rhaenyra and Syrax earlier in the episode, both of these boys do not have as firm of a hold on their dragon and that leads to one's demise.
What Happens Now?
On paper, this is the moment that the war truly starts. When Daemon (Matt Smith) returns to Dragonstone to deliver the news to Rhaenyra, it seems that the loss of her son is the final straw for her. In Fire & Blood, Maester Gyldayne wrote that with Luke's death, "The war of ravens and envoys and marriage pacts came to an end, and the war of fire and blood began in earnest."
After this, Aemond is regarded by many as a kinslayer for killing his nephew, though we don't know if they will follow along with that title given that it seems like Lucerys' death is an accident. We can tell when Vhagar chomps down on Arrax and Lucerys that this is not what Aemond had planned. In Fire & Blood the events are depicted in a far more sinister way. One account says that Aemond killed Lucerys of his own volition, while another says that he not only does that, but he carves out his eyes and delivers them to one of Lord Borros' daughters who called him weak. Still, no matter what, a son is dead, and this begins a war of kinslaying that will leave everyone either permanently damaged and traumatized or dead.