Dragon House Season 2 Episode 2 picked up right where Episode 1 left off on Sunday night – with the Red Keep in total chaos after the gruesome decapitation of Jaehaerys Targaryen. Spoilers ahead for episode 2.
Like everyone from Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) to alleged King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) fights against the boy’s murder at the hands of hired killers Blood and Cheese, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) makes his own discovery in the form of a gold coin that sends him spiraling. But what does the gold coin mean?
At the start of the latest episode, viewers are treated to a scene of an eagle-eyed Aemond coming to terms with the night’s events and somehow spotting a shiny coin under a table in his room. While it wouldn’t mean much to any other person or servant, to Aemond, it is a clear indication that he was the initial target of the attack.
In episode 1, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Aemond used a handful of shiny gold coins to surreptitiously plot their war plans with the Blacks – led by Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) – and place them strategically where they believed they would be able to rally support for Aegon instead of Rhaenya.
Upon discovering the single gold coin under the table – as well as the lack of other coins at the top of the map – Aemond’s suspicions that he was the target are all but confirmed. The discovery tells the one-eyed prince that the castle’s assassins were in his room, probably to look for him and avenge Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault).
Fans of the show will remember that Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon died at the hands of Aemond and Vhagar in the last episode of Season 1. At the time, Luke was flying Arrax away from Storm’s End when Vhagar took a bite out of the smallest dragon and devoured the young prince whole.
Although it wasn’t clearly explained to Aemond in episode 2, he is able to make a reasonable leap and deduce that Blood and Cheese were actually there for him, as he is the person responsible for Prince Lucerys’ death and the hit was a way of the Blacks – namely the equally bad-tempered and vengeful Daemon – to take revenge on the Greens.
He later confirms his findings when he visits a brothel and reveals his hunch to a woman who tries to comfort him.
“Daemon sent them to kill me – I was out,” says Aemond, explaining how he prevented his own assassination. “In fact, I’m proud that he considers me an enemy and that he tries to kill me in my bed. He’s afraid of me.”
Strangely, Aemond takes the blame and accepts his responsibility for Luke’s death, telling the woman, “I regret that thing with Luke. I lost my temper that day and I’m sorry about that,” adding, “They used to tease me, you know , because I was different.”
In a moment of perfect clarity, the woman – speaking directly to Aemond, but whose words also apply to Daemon – says to Alicent’s youngest son: “I would like to remind you that when princes lose their temper, it is the others who suffer.”
This, of course, echoes Rhaenyra’s rebuke of Daemon earlier in the episode, after discovering that he was responsible for ordering Blood and Cheese to take revenge. At the time, he told the mercenaries that if they were unable to locate Aemond, “one son for a son”. It’s yet another sign that these two bloodthirsty (and power-hungry) extra sons have more in common than they realize.
“Daemon and Aemond, two sides of the same coin. #HouseofThedragon“, a user he wrote in a tweet.
New episodes of Dragon House stream Sunday nights on MAX. To learn more about the Targaryen-Velaryon war, check out the links below.
RELATED CONTENT: