Game of Thronesis renowned forits intense depictions of sexual and violent situations. However, the prequel to the series,House of the Dragon, contains violent, fatal, and sexual material at a lighter-frequency. Moreover,House of the Dragoncontinues to maintain the startling and distressing aspect of every death and act of violence in the program to maintain the original show’s distinctiveness and popularity.
RELATED:‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1 Finale Recap: Peace Was Never an Option
The finale of season 1 broadcast on HBO Max and has wrapped up a season that saw a lot of appalling fatalities, from start to finish. Even for book readers who anticipate these deaths, seeing them on TV was upsetting and unexpected, let alone for first-time watchers.
Warning: Spoilers for ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1.It also contains videos with graphic and disturbing deaths.
Queen Aemma Arryn
In the first episode ofHouse of the Dragon, the first death occurred, and it is without a doubt one of the most difficult sequences to watch. The first episode picks up nine years into King Viserys Targaryen’s (Paddy Considine) reign and when his wife, Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) is expecting what Viserys hopes to be his long-awaited male heir.
Aemma goes into labor during the tournament which was held in her baby’s honor. However, she had a breech birth that poses a serious risk to both her life and that of her child, forcing Viserys to choose between saving the mother or the child. The latter, which Viserys regrettably chose, resulted in the death of Aemma during the cesarean section, which is so graphic that some viewers claim they are unable to see the entire scenario.
Craghas Drahar (The Crabfeeder)
With the first conflicts in the Stepstones coming to a conclusion, episode 3 saw the first significant villain death forHouse of the Dragon. Following the events of the previous episode, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) continue to battle the Triarchy commanded by Craghas Drahar (Daniel Scott-Smith).
The antagonist was known as “Crabfeeder” because of his propensity to feed prisoners of war to the Stepstones' crabs. After Viserys’ attempt to send aid to his brother’s war, Daemon rejected it out of spite and came up with a scheme to offer himself as bait. He pursued the Crabfeeder into a cave during the subsequent battle and murdered him there, pulling out the top half of Drahar’s torso in a veryGame of Thrones-like fashion.
RELATED:Did ‘House of the Dragon’ Just Short Change The Triarchy Again?
Jerrel Bracken
Even though Jerrel Bracken (Gabriel Scott) - a member of House Bracken and a candidate who offers the Princess’ hand in marriage - just makes a brief appearance in episode 4 and is not a major character, his passing is incredibly shocking and violent.
Houses Bracken and Blackwood have been mortal rivals for as long as the records can recall, which explains Jerrel’s prompt choice to irritate Willem Blackwood. As a result, it is not surprising when they collide with animosity. However, the conclusion, in which Willem cuts open Bracken’s stomach, is absolutely astonishing because Willem is such a small man but can defeat a larger figure than him.
Lady Rhea Royce
Eventually,Lady Rhea Royce(Rachel Redford) - Prince Daemon’s estranged wife whom he refers to as ‘The Bronze Bitch’ - made her debut on the show, although she stayed alive for barely five minutes. Lady Rhea ran across Daemon while out hunting in the Vale. After Rhea finishes her monologue and realizes her husband’s purpose in the visit, Daemon caused her horse to rear, knocking her off balance and fracturing her spine.
Then, although not explicitly stated inHouse of the Dragon, Daemon killed Rhea by hitting her in the head with a rock after being provoked in order for him to inherit the Runestone and wed another wife.
Ser Joffrey Lonmouth
One of the most horrifying and unanticipated deaths in the series thus far is that of Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod). Ser Joffrey is Ser Laenor Velaryon’s (Theo Nate) secret lover who attends the royal wedding between Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Ser Laenor in episode 5.
Joffrey learned that Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and the Princess were having an intimate relationship makes every attempt to ensure that neither party’s secret was revealed. However, it’s unclear to the viewers the exact cause of Criston’s outburst, which led to him mercilessly beating Joffrey to death in the middle of the wedding ceremony.
Laena Velaryon
Because of the show’s well-known compressed timeframe, viewers first meet adult Lady Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) in episode 6, as Prince Daemon’s second wife and mother of his children. By the end of the episode, she rushes to her death. Despite her limited screen time, Laena is known to the audience as a brave dragon rider and a devoted mother and wife.
Laena’s third labor is prolonged, and Daemon was forced to make the same decision that troubled Viserys in episode 1. Laena, on the other hand, desired to die a Dragonriders death and walked outside to her dragon, Vhagar, who, upon her request, burned both her and her unborn child alive.
RELATED:There Are Too Many Damn Time Jumps on ‘House of the Dragon’
Harwin and Lyonel Strong
The bloodshed inHouse of the Dragonepisode 6 did not end there, as the Hand of the King Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes) and his son Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), - who has secretly fathered Princess Rhaenyra’s children during the 10-year-gap between episodes 5 and 6 - were tragically killed at the climax.
Lyonel Strong escorts his son back to Harrenhal and away from the rumors that Harwin was accused of, only for them to perish in an anticipated fire, thought to be the Harrenhal curse. Later on in the episode, it’s revealed that none other than the Strongs’ own kin, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), was responsible for the murder to reinstate Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), Queen Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) father as Hand of the King.
Vaemond Velaryon
Vaemond Velaryon (Wil Johnson), Corlys Velaryon’s brother, is running against Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) for the seat of Driftmark and accusing him of being a bastard son of Harwin Strong. King Viserys, however, strongly supports his daughter Rhaenyra and her son’s inheritance rights, and vigorously refuted the allegations.
Outraged, Vaemond dubs Rhaenyra’s three boys “bastards” in front of the court and also refers to the Princess as a whore. Daemon, who is now married to Rhaenyra, takes advantage of the circumstance by decapitating Vaemond’s head in the middle of the court. This strike is particularly precise since even though Vaemond’s head is cut off, his tongue is still intact.
Lord Lyman Beesbury
In episode 9, the coronation of Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) by the Hightowers was the main topic with Otto Hightower first demanding fealty from all the Lords in court. Lord Lyman Beesbury (Bill Paterson), who serves as the Small Council’s master of coins, is the first to object to this and reject Aegon’s claim to be king.
Lord Beesbury strongly and fiercely opposed Otto’s plans to appoint Aegon king during the meeting. Then unexpectedly and without obvious explanation, Ser Criston Cole pulled Lord Beesbury down but ended up smashing the old man’s skull against the Small Council table. Lord Beesbury is without a doubt the first one whospilled blood in this civil war.
Prince Lucerys Velaryon and Arrax
Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s second son, becameHouse of the Dragon’sfinal devastating demise. To secure Lord Borros Baratheon’s (Roger Evans) endorsement of Rhaenyra’s claim, Lucerys is sent by his mother to dispatch to Storm’s End. Nonetheless, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), Aegon’s younger brother, is already there.
When receiving a reprimand from Lord Borros, Lucerys quickly leaves for Dragonstone after Aemond demands the boy’s eye as retaliation for their childhood dispute. Lucerys and his dragon Arrax are later toyed with by Aemond and his dragon Vhagar untilArrax blasts fire at Vhagar, setting the battle-hardened dragon off in a frenzy. Defying Aemond’s commands, Vhagar pursued Arrax and slayed the dragon together with the Prince.
NEXT:Unanswered Questions We Have After ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1
