House of the Dragon finale wraps up first season with deaths and dragons galore

House of the Dragon (HOD) has culminated its first season by setting the stage for the Dance of the Dragons, aka the impending war that will kick off next season. In the meantime, fans are left with the adequate ending of season one to tide them over until then.

House of the Dragon (HOD) has culminated its first season by setting the stage for the impending war, also known as the Dance of the Dragons, that will kick off season two.
House of the Dragon (HOD) has culminated its first season by setting the stage for the impending war, also known as the Dance of the Dragons, that will kick off season two.  © IMAGO / Picturelux

Alas, the highly-anticipated Games of Thrones prequel show has wrapped up its first season with the emotionally taxing episode The Black Queen.

Sunday's installment not only highlights the impactful events that lead to the impending years-long war in House Targaryen between the "Greens" and the "Blacks." But the shocking episode also displays a horrific death that left even faithful lovers of George R.R. Tolkien's book flabbergasted.

As gripping as the finale for the HBO Max series is, it did fail to leave that "WTF?!" feeling among its fanbase that makes us want more. With not much left to crave, viewers will unfortunately have to wait almost another two years before season two arrives.

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But let's dive into where we've finished off. Warning: some spoilers lay ahead.

House of the Dragon season one is over: Now what?

House of the Dragon season one finale debuts the shocking death in House Targaryen that leads to years-long civil war of succession.
House of the Dragon season one finale debuts the shocking death in House Targaryen that leads to years-long civil war of succession.  © IMAGO / Picturelux

While all is quiet in the realm, let's digest – pun intended – what the heck just happened in HOD's 10th episode.

After Princess Rhaenyra, played by Emma D'Arcy, finally learns of King Viserys' death and Prince Aegon's usurpation, the remaining few that have sworn allegiance to her rally around the new leader and urge for war.

Though the rightful heir initially suggests peace, this quickly goes to hell after Rhaenyra tragically losses two children.

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Those who've seen the finale know that its deaths are pretty grotesque. We have to hand it to HOD for managing to make one of the death scenes almost as startling as Ned Stark's beheading in GOT's season one finale.

All in all, the climatic episode wasn't a horrible ending to the ground-breaking first season that started off with a bang. Fans even got a first look at the legendary dragon Vermithor, who will play an essential role next season.

Still, the finale could've been a little better, even though it's obvious that season two is where the fun will really begin, since the Targaryen civil war of succession will be in full effect. Yet, it would've been nice to see more action, and more questions posed, in the finale.

House of the Dragon viewers sound off on the finale

Nevertheless, the true victors on Sunday night were the Twitter users who sounded off on the last HOD episode for the next two years.

Many praised D'Arcy's portrayal as the heir apparent. As one user tweeted, "Emma D’Arcy proved to those who doubted them that you should never judge a book by its cover. They embodied every aspect of Rhaenyra, as written by the show writers, and only left us craving more."

Others bemoaned the ending of the series and its extensive hiatus: "No more House of The Dragons on Sundays. No more House of The Dragon till 2024. My watch has ended and now we wait till season 2."

Check out more reactions below:

The entire first season of House of the Dragon is now streaming on HBO Max.

Cover photo: IMAGO / Picturelux

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