House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 recap – A battle in the sky

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4, ‘A Dance of Dragons’, brings about a fiery battle in Rook’s Rest. Warning: major spoilers ahead!

As Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone and Daemon continues to deal with Harrenhal’s curse haunting his dreams, Aegon is growing impatient.

Criston Cole and Aemond are getting all the glory with their battle moves, and his Small Council is trying to stop him from joining in the fray. This desire to show his strength results in a three-way battle in the sky between him, Aemond, and Rhaenys.

Meanwhile, Alicent is back at King’s Landing, dealing with a new secret growing inside her. Here’s a breakdown of everything that happened in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4, ‘A Dance of Dragons’.

Daemon continues to have visions of young Rhaenyra

Daemon’s living nightmares at Harrenhal continue as he sees young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) once again. This time, she’s sitting on the Iron Throne, wearing a crown. In Valyrian, she tells him: “You created me, Daemon. Yet you are now set on destroying me, all because your brother loved me more than he loved you.”

In the dream, he takes his sword and chops her head off. As he picks up her decapitated head, she continues to talk, saying: “This is what you’ve always wanted, isn’t it?” and then, as reality bleeds in: “There’s been a raven.”

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Simon Strong enters Daemon’s room and tells him the news of Aegon’s army. Banners have been raised and houses have already fallen, with all citing the death of Prince Jaehaerys as the cause. As Aegon’s army grows, Harrenhal is less and less prepared to face him.

Daemon, who’s been gunning to meet Grover Tully, is given an audience with his young grandson, Oscar Tully, instead. Needless to say, Daemon is pretty disappointed with the state of things on his end.

Alicent hides a secret while Rhaenyra remains missing

In the shipyard, Rhaenys meets Alyn of Hull. She thanks him for saving Corlys and (rightly!) compliments his face. When she finds Corlys, she reveals she knows Alyn is his bastard son. In fact, she argues he should be raised in honor, not hidden away.

In King’s Landing, Alicent has requested a strange substance from the Grand Maester. From the way she clutches her belly before drinking, it seems as though she’s pregnant (most likely with Criston Cole’s child), and is attempting an abortion of sorts. 

During the Small Council meeting in Dragonstone, everyone’s panicking. Nobody knows where Rhaenyra is. When they start criticizing Rhaenys, they’re quickly shut up by Corlys. Rhaenys tries to keep things in order, telling the council that they must trust Rhaenyra.

Aegon grows jealous of Criston and Aemond 

On the route of their rampage, Cole and his army have defeated House Darklyn. Cole tells the Lord that his life will be spared if he pledges to Aegon. When Lord Darklyn refuses, Cole beheads him, earning his moniker, “Kingmaker”. Cole then gets a raven, and with it, decides they’ll head North East, away from Harronhal. 

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In the Red Keep, Aegon is raging that Daemon has Harrenhal. Larys Strong assures him that Harrenhal is practically useless in its current state. Aemond, now assisting in war planning, tells the Council that Cole is currently on his way to Rook’s Rest, as the castle is small and weakly defended. That way, they can cut off Dragonstone by land.

Naturally, Aegon is pretty pissed that Cole and Aemond have been making plans without him. And, like a child with a major case of FOMO, he angers Aemond, who artfully insults him in flawless Valyrian. When Aegon tries to return the Valyrian jabs, it’s weak and poorly spoken – humiliating in a whole different way.

Alicent, fully in the throes of a termination of her pregnancy, holds hot rocks to her stomach. Larys Strong comes in to check on her, spotting the mysterious drink on the table. When he wonders aloud whether Viserys’ love of history changed his mind about Rhaenyra’s succession, Alicent simply tells him that any intentions died with him. Both sides will believe what they want at this point.

Daemon meets Alys Rivers

Back in the ghost town that is Harrenhal, Daemon spends another night chasing visions. Upon seeing a figure walking through the halls with a sword, he follows it only to find it’s him, wearing an eye patch (Daemon? More like Daemond, amiright?). He wakes from his vision when he wanders into a room and finds Alys Rivers.

She reveals the harrowed history of Harrenhal, telling him there’s been a curse on the castle since the first brick was laid. She also notes that he’s sent no ravens to his wife since his arrival. After she gives him a drink to help him sleep, he suddenly finds himself in the middle of a meeting of which he has no recollection of joining.

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During the meeting, he has visions of his second wife, Laena, and the others visibly clock his disorientation. He barely notices when it’s declared that the Blackwood army is now his.

Aegon is continuously growing annoyed with Cole’s success, feeling jealous at his triumphs. He finds Alicent and laments about his failings. Alicent, unsympathetic, advises him to listen to those much smarter than him. Instead, he should do what’s expected of him, which is nothing.

Meanwhile, on their march, Cole decides he wants to strike Rook’s Rest during the day, since they won’t be expecting it.

Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone and Team Black prepares to attack

At Dragonstone, Rhaenyra finally returns. She’s not exactly met with a warm welcome, since everyone is pretty disappointed that she left in the first place. However, she explains what she learned from Alicent, now more assured than ever that she needs to win her claim or die. 

There’s an argument between Rhaenyra and Jace as to who should mount their dragon and attack, but it’s decided Rhaenys will go on Meleys, the largest of their dragons.

As Aegon drinks himself into a bad idea, Rhaenyra takes Jace aside and tries to talk down his desire to fight. She begins to tell him the Song of Ice and Fire, all while Aegon dresses in his armor to join the battle of Rook’s Rest, no longer willing to sit on the sidelines. 

The Battle at Rook’s Rest

What follows is one of the biggest battles of the Targaryen Civil War. As Cole’s army approaches Rook’s Rest, Aegon flies to join them. The defenders of Rook’s Rest won’t go down without a fight, and a battle quickly ensues on the ground.

When Rhaenys arrives on Meleys, Cole is oddly prepared. He signals his men, who proceed to set off a sequence of signals all leading to Vhagar and her rider, Aemond, who’s hiding in the treeline. It was all a trap!

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When Aegon unexpectedly arrives on Sunfyre, Cole is stunned, but uses the moment to motivate his soldiers. When Rhaenys sees Aegon, she goes to attack. The two begin their own battle in the sky on their dragons, with Sunfyre getting wounded in the brawl. As Meleys goes for the kill, Vhagar appears from the trees, gigantic in comparison to the other two dragons.

Aegon flies towards Rhaenys, telling Vhagar, “Dracarys.” Vhagar attacks, but Aegon is also in the line of fire, and gets absolutely roasted. Sunfyre falls from the sky, taking Aegon with him. Cole, watching from the ground, runs towards his fallen king, but is knocked unconscious and falls from his horse. (Useless, as always.)

Rhaenys dies and Aegon is broken

It looks as though Rhaenys might have got clear, but Vhagar quickly finds her. Rhaenys makes the suicidal decision to fight back. The two dragons become locked in a vicious battle, which only lasts a short while before Meleys is grabbed by the neck and thrown down. Both Meleys and Rhaenys fall to their deaths. It’s the end of the Queen Who Never Was.

When Cole awakes, he sees the devastation they’ve left behind. Burned bodies are scattered, Meleys is dead, and his soldiers are nothing more than ash. When he runs into the forest to find the king, he encounters Aemond instead, who merely points him towards the brutalized body of Sunfyre.

Beside the dragon, Aegon is crumpled on the ground. At the sight of him, Cole drops to his knees.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 is available to stream on Max now.

For more, check out our recaps for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 2 and Episode 3. We’ve also got a breakdown of the House of the Dragon Season 2 release schedule, as well as guides to Daemon and Rhaenyra’s children and Helaena and Aegon’s children.