Loads occurs within the season 2 finale of “Home of the Dragon,” so it is simple to miss a throwaway line in an early scene with Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Larys Sturdy (Matthew Needham). In between speaking about their plans to desert King’s Touchdown, Aegon mentions that his dragon Sunfyre is lifeless, presumably succumbing to its wounds shortly after the Battle of Rook’s Relaxation.
For show-only viewers, this line is important in the way it emphasizes Aegon’s newfound disconnect from his Targaryen roots. A giant a part of a Targaryen’s declare to the throne is their capacity to trip a dragon into battle, and Aegon can not try this. Sunfyre’s demise is a symbolic demise, just like what occurred with Sansa’s direwolf Woman in “Recreation of Thrones.” The direwolves had been mainly the Starks’ equal of dragons, so when Sansa misplaced hers it served as an unwell omen for what her time in King’s Touchdown would carry. Aegon goes by way of the same disaster in id as Sansa’s, this time with extra ugly outcomes.
However for followers of the e-book, “Hearth & Blood,” this line is important in that it looks like a serious departure from the supply materials. Both Aegon hasn’t been informed the reality about Sunfyre’s situation, or the present’s embarking on yet one more dangerous adaptive flourish.
Spoilers beneath for “Hearth & Blood,” and certain the remainder of “Home of the Dragon.”
Sunfyre within the e-book: nonetheless alive!
The excellent news is that the various dragons within the e-book do not die out fairly so rapidly. After the battle at Rook’s Relaxation, Sunfyre lives to roar one other day, permitting Aegon to have not less than one pal who will assist him unconditionally. The unhealthy information is that Sunfyre is additionally closely wounded by the battle, with one complete wing torn from his physique. Because the e-book describes it:
“The king’s dragon, Sunfyre, too large and heavy to be moved, and unable to fly together with his injured wing, remained within the fields past Rook’s Relaxation, crawling by way of the ashes like some nice golden wyrm. Within the early days he fed himself upon the burned carcasses of the slain. When these had been gone, the lads Ser Criston had left behind to protect him introduced him calves and sheep.”
Issues appear to be a bit of completely different within the present, which establishes (by way of Rhaenys’ dragon Meleys) that dragons are in actual fact gentle sufficient to be taken again to King’s Touchdown. Meleys’ physique is paraded by way of town’s streets, which raises the query of what precisely the present characters did with Sunfyre. Did they create him again too, however extra privately? Or did they resolve to go away him by Rook’s Relaxation as nicely?
That is all vital as a result of, though Aegon won’t ever be capable to trip once more, his dragon will seemingly play a serious position in season 3 or 4. Close to the tip of the warfare, Guide Rhaenyra arrives at Dragonstone to find a lure’s been laid earlier than her: the presumed-dead King Aegon is ready there together with his still-crippled Sunfyre. He has Sunfyre burn and eat Rhaenyra, as her ten-year-old son watches helplessly. It is a bleak second, however it’s additionally an important one within the narrative.
Perhaps Sunfyre’s ‘demise’ is not a lie in any respect
Rhaenyra’s demise is not simply vital as a result of it alerts the tip of the warfare, however due to the loaded symbolism of her being killed by her home’s personal sigil. On the subject of making the thematic level about how Targaryen energy is a double-edged sword, there is not any higher metaphor the present might use.
However given the finale’s different game-changing occasions, like the key newfound alliance between Rhaenyra and Alicent, maybe “Home of the Dragon” actually has killed Sunfyre off. Perhaps the writers produce other plans for a way they will go about killing Rhaenyra, or possibly they will not kill Rhaenyra in any respect. Sure, which may contradict the e-book considerably, and it could additionally undermine a line from “Recreation of Thrones” the place Joffrey laughs about Rhaenyra’s demise. However possibly “Home of the Dragon” is not focused on being an easy prequel to the unique collection. Perhaps this present exists in an alternate timeline. Perhaps it is going for its personal separate factor, books and former present be damned.
Given how miserable the highway forward is for e-book Rhaenyra, and the way a lot it frustratingly mirrors the downslide of Daenerys in season 8, a complete shake-up from the supply materials may not be so unhealthy. In any case, it certain could be good if a feminine Targaryen acquired to benefit from the crown for as soon as.
