How Princess Rhaenys’ death in House of the Dragon mirrors Queen Rhaenys’ death from the books

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, met her tragic end at the Battle of Rook’s Rest in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4. Fans quickly noticed that her death was strikingly similar to that of the first Rhaenys Targaryen, Aegon the Conqueror’s wife. Besides sharing the same name and having substantial battle and dragon-riding experience, the two also had similar deaths. Read on to know more about how their deaths were similar.

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The Battle at Rook’s Rest

Credits: Max

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, the Queen Who Never Was, fought valiantly at the Battle of Rook’s Rest. Riding her dragon, Meleys, she confronted the forces of King Aegon II. Many believed that Meleys, being the fastest dragon of the Blacks, might have stood a chance against Vhagar, a huge and formidable dragon.

However, the intervention of King Aegon II and Sunfyre distracted her, allowing Aemond and Vhagar to launch a direct attack. The battle was fierce, but ultimately, Rhaenys and Meleys were overwhelmed. In the aftermath, Meleys’ body was found against the castle wall, a haunting image that marked the end of a valiant fighter.

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Similarities between the deaths of Queen Rhaenys and Princess Rhaenys

Princess Rhaenys and Queen Rhaenys both died in similar ways. They both perished in battle while riding their dragons. Queen Rhaenys participated in the First Dornish War, which began in 4 AC when Aegon decided to conquer Dorne. Leading the first assault, she took Dornish seats and burned Planky Town on her dragon, Meraxes. In 10 AC, at Hellholt, an iron bolt from a scorpion hit Meraxes in the eye, causing the dragon and Rhaenys to fall from the sky.

Credits: Chase Stone

Meraxes destroyed the highest tower and part of the castle’s curtain wall in its death throes. It’s uncertain if Rhaenys outlived Meraxes. Some say she fell to her death, while others believe she was crushed beneath Meraxes in the castle yard. Similarly, Princess Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys fell onto the castle of Rook’s Rest, destroying part of its wall. Princess Rhaenys died after being crushed under the weight of her dragon.

Credit: HBO

Meraxes’s skull was returned to Aegon by a peace delegation and was later displayed alongside eighteen other Targaryen dragon skulls in the Red Keep’s throne room. After Robert’s Rebellion, King Robert I Baratheon moved the skulls to a cellar. In 284 AC, Tyrion Lannister saw the skulls, including Meraxes’s, in the cellar during his sister Cersei’s wedding. In 298 AC, Arya Stark encountered these skulls while passing through the Red Keep cellars.

In House of the Dragon, the enormous skull of Meraxes, marked by a scorpion bolt through its eye, is mounted at Dragonstone. Many characters stand alongside this skull, hinting at their fates. The show prominently features this skull just before Rhaenys and Meleys leave for battle, a grim reminder of their shared destiny.

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