The first two seasons of House of the Dragon had many great moments and clever plotlines setting up a horrific war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, yet there are some scenes and details leaving fans wondering why they were included.
While some of these, such as Daemon’s final vision at the Weirwood tree and Alicent’s attempt to help facilitate Rhaenyra’s ascension to the throne, will likely make more sense once Seasons 3 and 4 premiere, there are some strange moments while others were outright mind-boggling. Here are the weirdest moments in House of the Dragon to date.
10.The Small Council Balls May Be More Meaningful Than They Seem
Since the premiere of House of the Dragon, Season 1, everyone has wondered what purpose the unique marble serve. Every Small Council member of Team Green has one, and they use it whenever they are about to speak in a meeting. Perhaps their usage is the equivalent of a timecard in modern times.
On the surface, they are pretty and represent a unique accessory, but beyond that, they seem pretty useless. In fact, there are signs that these Small Council Balls are actually detrimental to their owner. In Episode 9 of Season 1, Criston Cole smashes Lord Beesbury’s head on his ball and kills him. In Season 2, Episode 5, Prince Regent Aemond visits his brother King Aegon, who is recovering from the severe burns he suffered at Rook’s Rest, and Aemond presses Aegon’s ball into his wounded chest as a symbol of a threat.
9.Larys’s Henchmen Wear His Sigil
In Season 1, Episode 6, Larys Strong recruits prisoners in King’s Landing and removes their tongues to make sure they can’t talk about their deeds before he sends them off to Harrenhal to kill his father and brother.
Larys has always been cunning and very careful in covering his tracks, just like Littlefinger in Game of Thrones. Yet, when these assassins arrive in Harrenhal, they wear a pin with a firefly, a sigil chosen by Larys. The spymaster wears this pin and has one on his cane as well. It seems odd that Larys would give his assassins a clear identification, since he usually operates in the dark.
8.The Dragonseeds Approach Vermithor as One Group
After many setbacks for Team Black, Jace hatches the idea of using Dragonseeds (Targaryen bastards) to attempt to claim dragons. In Episode 7 of Season 2, a large group of hopefuls arrives at Dragonstone. After a short speech by Rhaenyra, she leads the whole group onto the plateau to summon Vermithor, a dragon that has been riderless for many decades. But instead of teaching these brave men and women how to command a dragon with Valyrian terms to ensure the success of this mission, she abandons the entire group to watch their slaughter from a balcony above.
It makes no sense to offer up these potential riders all at once. Vermithor might just burn most of them, which is exactly what happens. Luckily, Hugh survives and ends up claiming Vermithor, and Ulf stumbles into Silverwing’s cave, a rather friendly dragon willing to bond without breathing fire in his face.
7.Nobody Noticed That Rhaena Abandoned Rhaenyra’s Kids
In Episode 6 of Season 2, Rhaena and Rhaenyra’s young sons Viserys and Aegon are supposed to board a ship to Essos to take shelter. As Rhaena walks away from the Eyrie, she spontaneously decides to abandon Rhaenyra’s kids to chase after the wild dragon. For two episodes, the audience witnesses Rhaena wandering through the Vale. However, no one seems to be looking for her. When the group left the Eyrie, they were accompanied by guards and other personnel who must have noticed that Rhaena was no longer with them. Did the group depart for Essos without Rhaena?
In the finale of Season 2, Rhaena finally locates the dragon Sheepstealer, but the episode ends before she claims him. In the final montage scene, the audience witnesses all the military forces on their way to battle, including the pirates of Essos. It seems likely that these pirates will cross paths with the young prince’s ship on the way to Pentos. Rhaena’s reckless abandonment foreshadows dire consequences, as these boys might face capture and could be held hostage. Whether Rhaena claims Sheepstealer or not, she will get in trouble for abandoning Rhaenyra’s kids.
6.The Mystery of Laenor and Seasmoke’s Bond
According to George R. R. Martin, the bond between the dragons and their riders lasts for a lifetime, ending with the death of either dragon or rider, yet the bond between Laenor and Seasmoke seems to defy this rule. In Fire & Blood, Laenor dies, but House of the Dragon chooses a different path. In Episode 7 of Season 1, Rhaenyra and Daemon fake Laenor’s death, and he escapes with his lover. Rhaenyra and Daemon are free to marry, but Laenor’s dragon, Seasmoke, stays behind in Dragonstone.
In Season 2, Episode 6, Seasmoke claims Addam, half-brother to Laenor, and the audience wonders how that’s even possible. Did Laenor die off-screen? Did Ryan Condal deviate from the established lore in Martin’s books? This issue was not further addressed in the adaptation, but it seems odd that the dragon and rider just “divorced.”
5.Rhaenyra Doesn’t Need To Sing to Vermithor
In the finale of Season 1, Daemon sings an old Valyrian song to Vermithor, presumably to prepare him for a rider. Vermithor has been riderless for many decades and would make a great asset to the Blacks in the war for the throne. Daemon studied many history books while he lived in Essos and learned all about Valyrian history. He must have read about this particular song. In Season 2, Episode 6, the Valyrian Dragonkeepers use the same method to summon Seasmoke in an attempt to present him with a rider. Yet, in Episode 7, Rhaenyra summons Vermithor without singing to him. She merely calls for Vermithor to step forward. It seems somewhat unrealistic that the dragon would instantly appear just because she told him to.
Additionally, Rhaenyra had to improvise after the Dragonkeepers left in protest of her doings. Rhaenyra read about Visenya in one of the history books, but there is no indication that she knew anything about the conventional Valyrian taming methods. It seemed strange that Vermithor would allow Rhaenyra to command and touch him so easily when she had never seen him before.
4.Criston Cole Faces No Consequences for Killing Joffrey
The audience watched in horror when the Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole beat Joffrey Lonmouth to death at the festivities leading up to Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding in Season 1. Cole’s outburst erupted after Joffrey (Laenor’s lover) hinted at his knowledge of Cole’s affair with Rhaenyra. Cole also punched Laenor several times, yet nothing happened to him in the aftermath. Cole steps out in front of a Weirwood tree, intending to take his own life, but then Alicent appears and stops him from committing suicide.
After the time jump in Episode 6, Cole is shown to be part of Alicent’s personal guard, proving that he’s still in good standing with the crown. Apparently, he never faced any consequences for his aggressive and reckless actions at Rhaenyra’s wedding.
3.Syrax Hasn’t Grown in 20 Years
Syrax was featured in the very first scene of House of the Dragon’s premiere in 2022. The she-dragon had a decent size back then. It seems surprising that she hasn’t grown at all by the Season 2 finale. After all, nearly 20 years have passed since then, and dragons grow larger over time.
Captivity seems to be the only reason that prevents dragons from growing. Daenerys’s dragons Viseryon and Rhaegal are a good example of that. Dany had them chained up for a while after Drogon devoured a child. Dany never had a chance to put Drogon in chains, and later on, when all three dragons are free, their size difference is noticeable. Drogon is significantly larger than his brothers. However, Syrax has never been locked up. Rhaenyra frequently flies with her dragon. It makes no sense why she hasn’t grown all that much, if at all.
2.Rhaenys Breaks Through the Floor on Meleys Unscathed
In Episode 9 of Season 1, Rhaenys sneaks out to leave King’s Landing with her dragon Meleys after being forced to attend Aegon’s coronation ceremony. Minutes later, Meleys and Rhaenys break through the floor of the Sept to symbolically declare war against the Greens. Hundreds of innocents die, yet the Greens survive. Meleys releases a frightening roar at the Royals before she flees the building.
While this scene was powerful, the most stunning part of it was Rhaenys’s appearance. Not only did she have her armor handy to put on somewhere in the dragon pit, but Rhaenys’s head was not even mildly injured from the forceful emergence. On the contrary, The Queen Who Never Was looked flawless. Meleys’s head features a crown of horns, but it seems highly unlikely that she could have shielded Rhaenys from any damage. Additionally, the Dragonkeepers must have taken the day off, as no one was in the dragon pit to stop her from leaving.
1.Daemon Is Having a Sexually-Charged Dream About His Mother
In one of Daemon’s many dreams and visions at Harrenhal, the audience witnesses a sensual scene between the King Consort and an unknown Targaryen woman. She reaffirms that he should have been King instead of Viserys. The scene even goes as far as depicting Daemon in between her legs, suggesting oral pleasure.
A moment later, this mysterious lady calls Daemon her “favorite son,” a rather distasteful revelation that seems unnecessary, added for shock value. While it made sense that Daemon could encounter his mother, whom he never met, in one of his visions, implying that he was intimate with her contributed nothing to furthering his redemption plotline.
