House of the Dragon trailer breakdown: Episode 10, “The Black Queen”

Erryk Cargyll chooses a side

“I swear toward the queen,” proclaims Ser Erryk Cargyll as he offers up the crown worn by Viserys and Jaehaerys before him. After helping Rhaenys escape in Episode 9, Erryk will be joining the blacks, and bringing this very symbolic offering with him. Recall that Aegon II instead wore the crown of Aegon the Conqueror, so Erryk must have snatched this other crown from the keep on his way out. It’s probably what was in that satchel he was wearing when he freed Rhaenys from the Red Keep.

Back to the storm, Lucerys and Arrax raced up into the sky as they’re buffeted by wind and rain. Then we get this intriguing shot of Rhaenyra with Jace and Luke:

As the camera pans up, we can see that Rhaenyra is staring into a brazier while her sons stand in the background. The big question I have here is whether Rhaenyra is going to tell them about the Song of Ice and Fire. As things stand, she is the last person alive who knows about Aegon the Conqueror’s prophecy, so it would make sense to impart that knowledge to her own heirs so that it isn’t lost if anything should happen to her.

Baela, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Rhaena stand at the ready. This is likely that same scene where Jacaerys is offering to be an emissary to the lords of Westeros.

Rhaenyra and Daemon, standing on the cliffs of Dragonstone. She looks pretty exhausted and is wearing the same clothes she had on in the earlier scene where Daemon left her in the hall of the keep. Perhaps they’ve both been up all night, seeing to various plans?

Our next shot gives us an idea of what Daemon got up to that night, and it looks pretty incredible:

A lullaby for a dragon

A dragon’s eye snaps open; you can just see Daemon reflected in it, holding up his hand to calm the beast. He lays a torch on the ground while singing soothing words in High Valyrian:

Finally, the camera pans back to give us our first good glimpse of the dragon:

The prevailing theory is that this enormous dragon Daemon is trying to soothe is Vermithor the Bronze Fury. Vermithor was the mount of King Jaehaerys the Conciliator, who we saw very briefly at the beginning of the series during the Great Council of 101 AC. After Jaehaerys’ death, Vermithor goes to live in a cave on Dragonstone, refusing to accept another rider.

Why Daemon might be going to Vermithor at this twilight hour is a mystery. He already has his own dragon. What’s he up to?

Dragons take flight! I imagine this shot is depicting the various dragonriders setting out to secure the alliances Rhaenyra needs. The orange one at the forefront is Arrax, ridden by Lucerys. I’m not positive about the reddish one behind him; it looks like Meleys to me. Perhaps that’s Rhaenys leaving to return to Driftmark and gauge the status of her husband’s health?

My guess for the dragon in the background is that it’s Jacaerys on Vermax, since they’re heading in the opposite direction.

Another absolutely breathtaking shot of Daemon and Vermithor. Note the stalactite hanging from the ceiling; House of the Dragon may be sticking close to the book with Vermithor’s hermitage in a cavern on Dragonstone.

One of the tensest moments from the first few episodes of the show was when Otto Hightower and Daemon Targaryen had their standoff on the bridge of Dragonstone during Episode 2. It looks like the season finale will parallel that scene, putting them together once more on the narrow walkway:

Daemon and Otto aren’t the only important characters on the bridge; if you zoom in a bit, it’s clear that the person talking to Otto is Rhaenyra, and that she’s wearing Viserys’ crown. She appears to be reading something, most likely the terms that Alicent was suggesting in Episode 9. Sending Otto to deliver this message is an interesting departure; in the book, it’s Grand Maester Orwyle who goes to Dragonstone. I guess they’re giving the job to Otto because he’s a more main character than Orwyle.

The trailer ends with this terrifying shot of Vhagar emerging from storm clouds and snapping her mighty jaws. It’s a bad day to be Lucerys Velaryon.

“The Black Queen” debuts on HBO and HBO Max this Sunday, October 23.

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