House of the Dragon Episode 9 trailer teases twists, treason & bloody riots

The trailer for House of the Dragon Episode 9 sets the stage for a bloody, shocking aftermath to the recent events in King’s Landing.

House of the Dragon Episode 8 was profoundly sad. We watched King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) make his final stand, sitting on the throne one last time to secure his grandson’s inheritance, and making a desperate plea for his family to put aside their differences once and for all.

Amazingly, it seemed to work. After so much unrest and bitterness, we watched them laugh, dance, and drink together, almost as if the past bloodshed and betrayals were forgotten. You can read our review of Episode 8 here.

Well, it was never going to last, was it? The penultimate episode of the first season – famously an eventful installment in the tradition of Game of Thrones – teases chaos in King’s Landing.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon to follow…

House of the Dragon Episode 9 trailer teases violent penultimate chapter

You can check out the trailer for House of the Dragon Episode 9 below:

The trailer opens with the Iron Throne under pale moonlight and Otto declaring: “The king is dead.”

Alicent (Olivia Cooke) then says: “He told me he wished for Aegon to be king” – which isn’t strictly true, but we can explain why here.

We then watch the fallout of the king’s death, with Otto and the small council deciding who’ll sit on the Iron Throne. Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) also mysteriously says: “I’ve found out something you should know,” before the trailer cuts to a young Targaryen-looking boy – could this be Gaemon Palehair?

While Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) strolls around the chaos in a hooded cloak, we see Criston Cole lift his sword to Harrold Westerling (Graham McTavish), Lord Beesbury (Bill Paterson) warning what they’re doing is “treason, at the least”, and two figures chasing Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney).

It ends on a shot of a crown – not Viserys’, but Aegon the Conqueror’s, suggesting we’ll see Aegon II coronated by the end of Episode 9.

House of the Dragon Episode 9 will be available to watch on October 16 in the US and October 17 in the UK.