House Of The Dragon’s Red Rehearsal Dinner, What Exactly Happened There?

It felt like the finale of House of the Dragon last night. We are saying goodbye to key members of the cast, young Rhaenyra, Milly Alcock, and young Alicent, Emily Carey, who are now being replaced by Emma D'Arcy andOlivia Cooke.

What a way to end it.

There was a lot going on yesterday and most of it was centered around Ser Criston Cole. The following arespoilers.

Cole was pushed to a breaking point by Rhaenyra, who thought Cole was more like a toy than a love interest. Cole broke his oath when he slept with Rhaenyra. She mostly laughs off the idea that they should run away together.

Cole was summoned by Alicent to confess that Rhaenyra had slept with Daemon, as Alicent had learned about the abortion tea that Rhaneyra was given. It seemed like this would get Rhaenyra off the hook, given that the situation now looks like she just slept with Cole, not Daemon, but it's one more thing that Rhaneyra didn't tell her best friend about.

Alicent was convinced by her father that she would have to face off against Rhaneyra directly if she wanted her children to be killed in the future. She wears the Oldtown colors of green as she arrives at the dinner.

Cole was provoked by Laenor's love, who revealed that he knows that Cole and Rhaenyra have a relationship, while revealing his own with Laenor. Just as Daemon and Rhaneyra are having a moment in full view of everyone, Cole snaps and beats the man to death in the middle of the dance floor.

What's the final result? Rhaenyra and Laenor were married in a quiet ceremony next to the pool of blood where Laenor's lover died. It seems likely that Cole will be recruited to be her ally and possibly a spy against Rhaenyra as a result of Alicent stopping Cole from killing himself out of honor. According to next week's previews, Viserys is alive and well.

It wasn't quite the Red Wedding, full of massive betrayals and mass death, but it was brutal and horrifying, with just one death changing the course of the series. We will see how these characters evolve a decade later with new actors playing them. The house of the dragon is still gripping.

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