Does Laenor die in House of the Dragon? (Episode 7 ending explained)

Another week, another new episode of House of the Dragon, and with a show like this, you have to prepare for a lot of death. But the ending of Episode 7, “Driftmark,” might have viewers a little confused. Did we get a fake-out death, or did that actually happen? Let’s back up first.

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Episode 7!

Coming off of the events of Episode 6, “The Princess and the Queen,” the Targaryens and Velaryons get together at the start of “Driftmark” for Laena’s (Nanna Blondell) funeral. That means King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his brother Daemon (Matt Smith) reunite, and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon stare at each other from across the way until they finally decide to speak.

Alicent (Olivia Cooke), of course, is still looking to expose Rhaenyra even though they’re at a funeral. Read the room much? And Laenor (John MacMillan) is understandably devastated over the loss of his sister, as is the rest of his family.

Laenor takes Laena’s death the worst out of everyone, but fortunately he has his lover Qarl Correy (Arty Froushan) there to comfort him. While they’re presumably together later that night, Rhaenyra is out walking the beach with Daemon and things heat up pretty quickly.

After the big fight between the families goes down where Lucerys (Harvey Sadler) slashes Aemond’s (Leo Ashton) eye out and Alicent charges at Rhaenyra and her sons with a knife, Rhaenyra must reevaluate her situation. The gossip about who her kids’ real father is isn’t going away, and Alicent has proven herself to be a major threat.

Of course, Rhaenyra knows Laenor isn’t happy despite his wanting to be dutifully there for his wife and children. But at the end of the day, sometimes you can’t have both. And Laenor realizes that when he tells Rhaenyra he will stay with them instead of going to war at the Stepstones with Qarl.

But there might be a better solution, Rhaenyra realizes, and she tells Daemon her plan. If she and Daemon marry, her claim to the Iron Throne would not be so easily challenged. They would be much more powerful together, and as you’d guess, she doesn’t have to convince Daemon of that. “We have always been made to burn together,” she says. But the only problem? Daemon reminds her they cannot wed if Laenor is still alive.

Do Daemon and Rhaenyra have Laenor killed in House of the Dragon?

Daemon and Rhaenyra could easily have Laenor killed, but they figure out a way where everyone wins in the end. So no, Laenor does not actually die in House of the Dragon Episode 7, though they make it look like he does.

Daemon offers a deal to Qarl, bribing him with gold to stage Laenor’s death. That way, everyone will think Laenor is gone, and the two will be able to leave and start a new life where they can be together freely. This will also allow Daemon and Rhaenyra to marry if everyone thinks Laenor is dead. Of course, that also means Laenor might not ever see his parents or children again, but that’s a price I guess he’s willing to pay.

We then see the fake-out death start to play out. Qarl shows up at Corlys’ hall and starts fighting with Laenor. Before we can see what happens next, we cut to Corlys showing up and seeing the aftermath. There’s a man who has been pushed into the fireplace, who is assumed to be Laenor. His body is so badly burned, there’s no way to actually see that it’s not him.

Do Rhaenyra and Daemon get married in House of the Dragon?

Daemon and Rhaenyra get married right away with only a few people present, as we see Laenor and Qarl sail away by boat. That’s how the episode ends, and we can only imagine how the families will react to all of this.

I’ve just got to say, I can’t wait to see Viserys’ reaction to his brother and his daughter getting married. We already know he was very against this idea a few episodes back. I’m sure Alicent will be disgusted, which will be fun to see. What I’m not excited about is another funeral, nor seeing the Velaryons grieve another child so soon after Laena’s death.

Will Laenor be back in the future? We’ve got to expect the unexpected with this show, so… maybe? He actually dies in Fire & Blood, so his future on the show really is unknown to us at this point.

Continue watching House of the Dragon season 1 as we inch closer to the finale, with new episodes airing on HBO every Sunday night.

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