House of the Dragon delivers another bloody episode and viewers mourn major loss

What did you miss?

Much like its predecessor Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon knows how to shock fans with the brutal warfare that is waged in the world of George RR Martin's novels, and the second episode of season 2 continued this tradition.

The episode explored the immediate aftermath of the events of last week's premiere, which saw Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) enlist the services of Blood and Cheese to exact revenge on his nephew Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) only for the villains to kill an infant instead. Now the mistake is being used to pit the public against Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and her rightful claim to the throne.

But things take an even darker turn in the episode, leading to fans to mourn a major loss, but before we dive into what happened and why viewers are upset consider this a warning: This article contains spoilers for episode 2.

What, how, and why?

HBO delivered a gargantuan episode with Rhaenyra the Cruel, which covered a multitude of events from the parading of Prince Jaehaerys's body around Westeros to turn the people against Rhaenyra, while Aegon (Tom Glynne-Carney) demands justice by killing every ratcatcher in the city.

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The king does so without consulting his grandfather and his Hand, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who condemns his actions and is relieved of his duties as a result. Aegon replaces Otto with Ser Cristen Cole (Fabian Frankel), who uses his power to enlist Ser Arryk (Luke Tittensor) to travel to Dragonstone to impersonate his twin brother Erryk (Elliott Tittensor) to kill Rhaenyra.

Ser Arryk is able to get into the castle successfully, but Ser Erryk is alerted of his brother's presence before he can kill Rhaenyra, the brothers fight to the death with Erryk slaying his twin and then falling on his sword. It was an emotional turn of events, leaving Rhaenyra without her most loyal guard and marking another tragic death on the show.

Viewers were distraught by the loss of Ser Erryk in particular, with many sharing their thoughts on the episode on social media platform X after the episode aired.

One viewer said: "Ser Erryk was the very first person to pledge his support for Rhaenyra as Queen and in the end gives his life protecting hers. real from the very start."

Another shared: "Seeing the song "Farewell my brother" come to life was heartbreaking, the twins Arryk and Erryk duel was crazy."

There were viewers who were more upset than others, with one simply writing: "OMGGGG Ser Erryk noooo!", while another similarly said: "Sir Erryk, I'm devastated".

Other fans of the show shared their feelings through memes, with one person quoting Erryk's final words, "your grace, forgive me" and using a devastated screaming meme. Another used a meme of a man crying to convey their sadness over Erryk's final farewell to Rhaenyra.

What else happened on House of the Dragon?

Elsewhere, viewers shared their annoyance at Ser Cristen Cole and his actions throughout the episode. Describing him as a character who gets “worse” every time he’s on screen, fans criticised the character for being the reason for Ser Erryk’s death.

One viewer used a still from Season 1 of Milly Alcock's young Rhaenyra looking disgusted, writing: "Me every time I see Criston Cole on screen". While another commented: "Unreal how he literally gets worse every episode."

Time will tell what fate has in store for Ser Cristen, but knowing George RR Martin’s Westeros it may not be what we expect but it’ll likely be a bloody outcome.

House of the Dragon premieres every Monday at 2am and 9pm on Sky Atlantic and NOW.