How That Fiery Episode 7 Twist in House of the Dragon Season 3 Sets Up the Show’s Endgame

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Episode 7 of House of the Dragon Season 3.

To say that Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) has been down bad this season of House of Dragon would be putting it lightly. In the wake of being nearly torched to death by his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Aemond’s dragon Vhagar at the Battle of Rook’s Rest in Season 2, Aegon has spent Season 3 dejectedly traipsing around the Crownlands at the behest of his advisor/frenemy Larys Strong (Matthew Needham).

Permanently disfigured, dragonless, and in near-constant pain, Aegon’s best hope of survival this season has been to lay low and keep his true identity a secret from anyone he and Larys encounter. Unfortunately, the spoiled former king is incapable of suppressing his royal impulses enough to make that an easy feat. To top it all off, despite Aegon’s refusal to accept that his dragon Sunfyre has really died after reuniting with her lifeless body earlier in Season 3, he has no choice but to once again leave her side after discovering local peasants have turned her maimed body into a paid tourist attraction.

Meanwhile, Larys’ plan to smuggle Aegon across the Narrow Sea and stash him away in Braavos is thwarted at every turn. So when Tyland Lanister (Jefferson Hall)—who has apparently survived getting thrown into the Gullet in heavy armor back in Episode 1—finds Aegon and Larys hiding out at Rook’s Rest, he suggests a different idea: retreat to Casterly Rock, form a new Small Council, and restart the war effort from the seat of House Lannister. But after testing Tyland’s ability to advise him honestly (no matter how brutal the truth may be), Aegon ultimately rejects his proposal in favor of Larys’ original scheme.

In Episode 7, it seems like Larys might finally get his way—that is, until the road to the port at Maidenpool gets cut off by an advancing army of soldiers loyal to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). With the walls closing in around him, Aegon decides to stop running and surrender to near-certain death. “I’ll make my stand here. And be buried as a king. With my dragon,” he says. “I will not have the histories say that I was slain in ignominy by my own brother.”

This declaration marks the final straw for Larys, who quickly opts to take his leave. Tyland, on the other hand, chooses to stay by Aegon’s side to try and protect his king. But it’s clear the pair stands little to no chance of surviving the advancing army. Luckily, Sunfyre finally gains enough strength to make her grand reentrance. Just as it appears that all hope is lost, Sunfyre rises from her dormant healing state to rain fire on the enemy soldiers as an ecstatic Aegon screams in triumph.

Those who have read George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood likely weren’t surprised to learn Sunfyre was in fact alive, as she still has a significant role to play in the endgame of the Targaryen Civil War. And with just one episode to go before House of the Dragon moves into its fourth and final season, things are starting to get down to the wire.

***We’re going to talk about what happens with Sunfyre in the book below, but if you want to avoid any potential future spoilers, now is the time to stop reading***

If House of the Dragon sticks to the script from Fire & Blood, Sunfyre will eventually be the dragon who kills Rhaenyra once the tables turn for the current queen. In one of the most horrifying moments from Martin’s text, after Aegon retakes the Iron Throne, he has Rhaenyra brought before him and orders Sunfyre to burn and eat his half-sister alive while her youngest son, Aegon III, is forced to watch.

No one involved in the Dance of the Dragons gets a particularly happy ending, but Rhaenyra’s is certainly one of the worst and most devastating of the bunch. To sum it up, those hoping for an Aegon redemption arc may want to temper their expectations.