As fans of the series are well aware, House of the Dragon has been exploring the events that lead to the so-called Dance of the Dragons – the Targaryen succession civil war.
In the first episode, King Viserys triggers the conflict by naming his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, as his Iron Throne heir and stands by his decision even in the episodes to follow when his sons Aegon and Aemond are born.
The latest installment, episode 8, came with a time skip that showed the King suffering from an illness that eats away at his flesh, causing his health to decline rapidly.
And so, on his deathbed, a misunderstanding about a prophecy causes the Queen to think Prince Aegon is the true heir and not Rhaenyra, leaving the realm on the cusp of civil war after his passing.
Ahead of episode 9, titled “The Green Council,” images have been released by HBO to tease what is to come, showing what looks like scheming.
The images show the green council that meets up following the death of the King and that is also where Alicent announces the decision to declare Aegon as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.
It appears that the only one to call the Green out for treason in this situation is Lord Beesbury.
Another image from the second to last episode of the season shows Alicent standing over the King’s dead body which makes sense since in the book, Alicent keeps the death news a secret for a whole week.
This was decided in order to give the Greens enough time to secure Aegon’s place on the Iron Throne, not allowing for the King’s corpse to be embalmed and instead, letting it decay during that time frame.
Rhaenyra or Daemon, who are not featured in any of the teaser pictures are believed to have returned to Dragonstone, which means they will remain oblivious to the King’s passing until the official announcement.