Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Episodes 1-7 of House of the Dragon.In the world of House of the Dragon, violence runs rampant. It is no surprise people are callused to it. With harsh punishments given out on the regular and tourneys where casualties are unsurprising, it shouldn't shock anyone that the Targaryen children's skirmish in Episode 7, "Driftmark," ends with blood. But that doesn't mean the kids shouldn't be held responsible. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) demands justice for the injury to her son Aemond's (Leo Ashton) eye, declaring that Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) son, Lucerys (Harvey Sadler), who cut him, should lose an eye as well. But is that punishment fair? At that point, the adults hadn't heard the whole story. Should they not investigate before passing judgment?
The truth is the fight itself was a messy event. While Aemond walked away the worse for it, he was not an innocent victim, but the Velaryon boys (or Strong boys, depending on who is naming them) played their part as well. The altercation escalated quickly so it is hard to determine who initiated it, but there is blame to go around. Still, the eye of a child seems like a high price for Alicent to request.
Why Did Aemond Lose His Eye?
The confrontation begins with a discussion, albeit a taunting one. Laena Velaryon's (Nanna Blondell) daughters Baela (Shani Smethurst) and Rhaena (Eva Ossai-Germing), bring their cousins, Jacaerys "Jace" (Leo Hart) and Lucerys "Luke," to the dragon pit because they saw their mother's dragon take off. The truth is that Aemond knew that Vhagar was now riderless and saw an opportunity. He mounted Vhagar and claimed the dragon as his. Rhaena, in particular, takes this personally. She believed since the dragon belonged to her mother, she should get to claim it, but here Aemond has done no wrong. Dragons are not an inheritance. He got there first, and now Rhaena must live with that. What comes next is where it starts to get messy.
Rather than leaving it at the fact that Laena's death left Vhagar free, Aemond took it further. After a lifetime of being bullied for not having a dragon, Aemond takes the chance to bully Rhaena for the same reason. When Aemond tells her a pig would suit her, Rhaena loses her composer. Already angry that Aemond is Vhagar's new rider and emotional from her mother's funeral, Rhaena attempts to shove Aemond. While Rhaena initiates the violence, Aemond did intentionally goad her into it. When Rhaena shoves him, Aemond pushes her over. Baela steps up to defend her sister, punching Aemond in the face. Aemond retaliates and threatens to feed the girls to his dragon. That's when Jace jumps in. They fight, but Aemond knocks Jace down. Then Luke tries to defend his brother and gets a broken nose for his trouble. The fight is four against one, but Aemond holds his own surprisingly well. The others gang up on him, and eventually, Aemond takes it a step further.
The reality is that kids fight. But this one goes too far when Aemond tries to choke Luke. He finds a rock, ready to kill him. When Aemond threatens once again to kill the others, he calls the boys bastards. To Aemond's surprise, Luke is unaware of the rumors, and Aemond takes the opportunity to gloat. Jace is backed into a corner. He draws a knife, whether he intends to protect his brother or defend his honor is unclear. Jace descended to the dragon pit unsure of who he would find, which explains the need to bring the knife. In the earlier fighting, he showed restraint in not using the knife. But Aemond's refusal to accept his win with any grace at all pushes Jace over the edge. Once the knife is out, there is no turning back. Aemond knocks Jace down again, and Luke retrieves the knife. Aemond stands over Jace with a rock raised, but Jace throws dirt in his eyes. Luke raises the knife and cuts Aemond. Then the Kingsguard finally breaks it up.
Whose Fault Is It, Anyway?
Jace, at least, seems to know what he's doing, though he may not have known Luke would go for Aemond's eye. The knife is small, and a slash to the skin would have healed. Both sides went too far in the fight, and it's hard to tell who initiated things. Technically, Rhaena started the violence, but Aemond provoked her. If left with wounds that would heal, the issue itself would be far less notable. But as it is, someone has to be at fault. There is blame to go around, but the bulk of it seems to be on Aemond. He harassed a girl whose mother just died, he escalates the violence, and he taunts Jace and Luke. Rhaena shouldn't have pushed him, Jace shouldn't have brought out the knife, and Luke shouldn't have used the knife on Aemond. But Aemond had the most opportunity to walk away. He threatened to kill the others, and he was the first to reach for a weapon. Like the conflict between their mothers, neither side is blameless.
These kids were always going to fight. Their mothers' hatred for each other has seen to that. For their whole lives, they have watched Alicent and Rhaenyra argue and undermine the other. Desperate and alone, Alicent has not hesitated to involve her children. She told Aegon (Ty Tennant) that Rhaenyra becoming queen would mean their lives would be in danger. The kids picked up on all of that tension and take it out on the other family. It started as bullying. In Episode 6, "The Princess and the Queen," Aegon takes the opportunity Christon Cole (Fabien Frankel) gives to beat Jace while training. Even under supervision, Aegon happily attacks his nephew. Aemond blames Jace and Luke for the "Pink Dread" incident, though Aegon played a role in it as well. It's no wonder these kids have resorted to an all-out brawl when they have never been taught to play nice with each other. Viserys (Paddy Considine) believed their training together would form a bond, but it has only driven them apart. The Targaryen family is so divided that these children think nothing of fighting each other.
When the children are brought before their parents, Alicent and Rhaenyra side with their children before even hearing the story. Rhaenyra argues that Aemond calling her sons bastards was treason, so what could he expect? Alicent demands Luke's eye as recompense. Nothing can reconcile the two women at this point. Even with all the facts before them, Rhaenyra and Alicent would disagree. And Viserys' refusal to make hard decisions and his favoritism towards Rhaenyra certainly doesn't help matters. The lines of war are drawn and the children's fight is only the beginning. What started with Rhaenyra and Alicent will continue to haunt this generation of Targaryens, Velaryons, and the rest of the families in Westeros.