With three days to go until House of the Dragon airs its anticipated season one finale, HBO has released a batch of stills that highlight the formation of the Black Council and Rhaenyra’s imminent coronation as the rightful Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
The last time on House, the Greens led by Otto and Alicent Hightower conspired to usurp the power and put the crown of Aegon the Conqueror on the head of the latter’s firstborn. Their parade was cut short when Rhaenys suddenly unleashed her dragon Meleys from below the floorboards of the Great Sept of Baelor, but with the Queen Who Never Was sparing the Greens at that last moment, we’re now officially moving into the Dance of Dragons.
The forthcoming season one finale has to first set up Rhaenyra’s reaction to this outlandish revelation, however. The newly released promo images, which you can check out below, show the Targaryen family deciding on the best course of action in the face of this treachery, with Rhaenys heralding the ill tidings and Ser Erryk bearing Viserys’ crown to its true owner now that the good king has passed away.
It’s unclear where the story will tie everything up for the second season to pick up in the foreseeable future, but according to George R.R. Martin himself, House of the Dragon will take three more seasons to depict the Dance of Dragons in earnest.
For those who’ve read Fire & Blood and have an inkling of the pace set by the prequel show by now, they might be able to predict what awaits us in the season one finale. But then, faithfulness to the source material has never stopped television producers from rounding everything out with an explosive cliffhanger or a twist that no one sees coming.
The bespoke finale – “The Black Queen” – is premiering across HBO platforms on Oct. 23 at 9pm ET.
