House of the Dragon was back for another jaw-dropping episode, which saw dragons go to war with their riders - and a beloved character or two weren’t making the journey back. But, the fate of one character went unconfirmed. So, did they survive episode four? Warning, major spoilers ahead for episode four as well as the book events of George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood.
In the episode, The Red Dragon and the Gold, the two Targaryen families go up against each other in all-out war after Rhaenyra’s final attempt at finding peace with Alicent Hightower fails. Aemond and Criston plan to lay siege to Rook’s Rest, which will cut Rhaenyra off at Dragonstone.
Princess Rhaenys volunteers to fly to Rock’s Rest to defend it, therefore preventing Rhaenyra and her heir, Jacaerys, from coming to any harm. Meanwhile, Aemond and Ser Criston lead the charge from the other side, with Aemond killing Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys. However, he also appears to attack his elder brother King Aemond and his dragon Sunfyre, leading the episode to end with Ser Criston looking upon Aegon and his dragon on the ground - but were they killed?
Warning, spoilers ahead for the novel Fire and Blood. You have been warned!
King Aegon is, in fact, not dead at the end of episode four, but he definitely isn’t okay either. According to the novel, Aegon burned half of his body, severely in his arm, broke his ribs and hip, and is left with terrible scars.
"King Aegon II did not die, though his burns brought him such pain that some say he prayed for death. Carried back to King’s Landing in a closed litter to hide the extent of his injuries, His Grace did not rise from his bed for the rest of the year. Septons prayed for him, maesters attended him with potions and milk of the poppy, but Aegon slept nine hours out of every ten, waking only long enough to take some meagre nourishment before he slept again."
After his recovery, he was carried in a litter or walked with a crutch, while Aemond took over his duties as ‘Prince Consort’. Meanwhile, his dragon Sunfyre loses a wing and is too big to move, and so remains at Rook’s Rest “crawling through the ashes like some great golden wyrm”. Ouch.