House Of The Dragon's Season 1 Finale Promo Takes The Targaryens To Battle

It took almost to the end of Season 1, but House of the Dragon finally stopped flying across the timeline and landed at its intended destination: the Dance of Dragons. Viserys has passed away, and the fight for the Iron Throne is beginning in earnest. But Episode 9 was merely a prelude to the battles to come, as the promo for House of the Dragon’s Season 1 finale brings the fire and blood.

Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon’s Season 1, Episode 9 follow. Episode 9, “The Green Council,” was a bit of a one-sided affair in the coming power struggle. While Rhaenyra’s family spent the day in blissful ignorance of Viserys’ passing on their way home to Dragonstone, the Hightowers raced to get their pick for king coronated. The plan was a well-oiled machine, despite Alicent’s surprise that her father had been planning to overthrow Rhaenyra for years. Lords were made to switch alliances, and those who refused were murdered. The Red Keep stayed on lockdown to keep Rhaenyra from finding out her father had passed until Aegon could be located, and the Hightowers moved to crown him first thing the following day before anyone could stop them.

But there was one complicating factor: Rhaenys disrupted the ceremony by arriving via dragon and then took off to tell Rhaenyra she had been robbed of her birthright.

The Season 1 finale is titled “The Black Queen.” The trailer suggests that most of the episode will play out in Dragonstone, focusing solely on the side left out of Episode 9. The trailer reveals as much: As Rhaenyra debates if it’s worth fighting the Hightowers, the men around her push her to declare open season and fly to King’s Landing on dragonback, taking what is hers with fire and blood.

It also looks like the Targaryen family won’t be the only one divided by the coming conflict. The trailer also shows Ser Erryk Cargyll (Elliott Tittensor) swearing allegiance to the Black Queen. That’s a big deal, as all through Episode 9 fans saw him arguing with his twin brother, Ser Arryk (Luke Tittensor) over which side they should follow, with Arryk insisting their loyalty was to Aegon.

All that, and Daemon singing to the dragons ahead of battle? House of the Dragon Season 1’s final episode is going to be worth the wait. It arrives Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022, at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max.