The penultimate episode of House of the Dragon, "The Green Council," saw Queen Alicent and her supporters seize the opportunity to install Viserys' son Aegon on the Iron Throne in the wake of the King's death.
There were a few bumps in the road (they needed to find the sadistic little shit, for one), but they ultimately managed to crown a new king in front of a large crowd right above the Dragon Pit.
This did not prove to be the best location for a coronation, because "The Queen that Never Was," Princess Rhaenys, used the opportunity to make a powerful statement by exploding through the floor on the back of her immense dragon, Meleys.
So, why didn't Rhaenys take all of Rhaenyra's enemies off the board with a single word?
"I know! The temptation is there, right?," actress Even Best tells Vulture.com. "In the end, she makes a bigger choice. We see that at the moment with what’s going on in Ukraine; to choose not to destroy is the better choice. That’s an important thing for us all to remember right now. It’s why she would have made such a great leader. She had, in that moment, all the power. Yet she has respect for Alicent as a woman and a mother. They understand being in the grip of other people who might torch them. They know the only right choice is not to go there. Furthermore, it’s the intelligent choice, on her part, not to torch a whole bunch of innocent people in the room. What’s to be gained? In the end, it’s not her battle."
Best's explanation does make sense to a point, but her character did end up killing a lot of innocent people when she erupted through the floor, so what difference would a few more have made?
At any rate, if she had said "Dracarys," the story would be over, which is probably the most obvious answer!
"The escape she makes on the dragon is something that’s been brewing since that very moment she was passed over wrongly, unjustly, for the crown. It’s this yearning just to get the hell out and get away from the whole ruddy lot of things. When she bursts out of that arena, she’s internally saying, “[frick] you all.” It’s more about that than a need for revenge or destruction that the men might’ve jumped onto. She’s breaking her own glass ceiling.
What did you guys make of the ending of this episode of House of the Dragon? How do you see the finale playing out? Drop us a comment down below.