The 13 saddest deaths in ‘House of the Dragon,’ ranked

Hear us out: We loved Paddy Considine as King Viserys the Peaceful, but his death was so obviously inevitable that it didn’t inspire much shock or devastation.

For one, the king’s death was always going to be necessary to kick off the war of succession known as the Dance of the Dragons, which is the whole point of this show. But more importantly, Viserys’ death was preceded by a long, painful, leprosy-like illness, such that it almost came as a relief to see his suffering end.

By the time Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) was beheaded by Queen Rhaenyra as a traitor, viewers hadn’t seen him for a season’s worth of episodes.

After Otto was fired by his grandson in season two, the former Hand of the King was secretly imprisoned in the dungeons of the Red Keep, awaiting the day he might become a useful political pawn. That day came when Rhaenyra took the Iron Throne, and Otto was delivered to Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) as a prisoner.

Daemon urged his wife to execute Otto — the father of her childhood best friend — as a show of strength and justice. With the throne room full of onlookers, Rhaenyra had no choice but to decapitate Otto on the spot.

The scene is only heartbreaking to watch because of Rhaenyra’s guttural reaction. It’s hard to imagine many fans mourning Otto himself — a brutal striver who schemed to crown his moronic grandson, to the realm’s obvious detriment.

We barely got to know Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford), Daemon’s estranged first wife, before she was heartlessly murdered by her own husband.

Given that Daemon referred to Rhea as the “Bronze Bitch” and refused to consummate their marriage, what we did know of her wasn’t very compelling.

Still, it was hardly fun to watch Daemon sacrifice a real person in his quest for power.

Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) and his father, Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), didn’t have much time to make an impression on the audience. Still, their untimely deaths came as a shock — especially because the tragedy was orchestrated by their own blood, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham).

Following the birth of Rhaenyra’s third son, Joffrey, Harwin was confronted by Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who insinuated that Harwin fathered all three of Rhaenyra’s children.

In the wake of their clash, Lyonel attempted to resign from his position as Hand of the King, citing the dishonor that Harwin brought on their family. Viserys rejected his resignation but allowed Lyonel to escort his son back to Harrenhal. Unfortunately, an apparent murder plot was waiting for them: both men died in a mysterious fire once they arrived at the damp castle.

By all accounts, Harwin seemed like a pretty decent guy. Even worse, his death is a personal blow to Rhaenyra.

Thanks to Daemon’s season-two Harrenhal arc, viewers spent a bit more time with Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) than with his previously murdered relatives.

Simon acted as the de facto Lord of Harrenhal in Larys’ absence. He was quick to surrender, weak by some standards, but also shrewd and resilient in his own way. He ingratiated himself with Daemon when the prince claimed the castle — no small feat — and managed to keep himself and his sons alive without resorting to violence, even as Harrenhal changed hands between murderers and warmongers.

That is, until Aemond came knocking in season three — and by knocking, of course, we mean burning and plundering. In contrast to his uncle, Aemond had no patience for Simon’s benign, measured submission.

Aemond stabbed Simon and his two sons almost immediately upon taking over Harrenhal, robbing the show of one of its last few likable blokes.

In season one, Ser Arryk Cargylle (Luke Tittensor) and Ser Erryk Cargylle (Ellliot Tittensor) worked together as Kingsguard knights, protecting the royal family. But when the Hightowers usurped the throne, the twins were split for the first time in their lives. Arryk sided with King Aegon, while Erryk left to join Rhaenyra’s Queensguard.

In season two, Criston sent Arryk to slay Rhaenyra. The plan was for Arryk to impersonate his brother and enter Dragonstone undetected. However, Erryk was alerted to the intrusion, forcing the brothers into a harrowing showdown.

After killing his brother, Erryk begged Rhaenyra to forgive him and fell on his own sword.

In the book, the Cargylle twins’ tragic deaths inspired singers and storytellers for generations to come.

“In the end,” the book reads, “Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk dealt each other mortal wounds, and died in one another’s arms with tears upon their cheeks.”

The murder of Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod) was the first time that we really saw Criston’s true colors, and man, they were ugly.

When a young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) agreed to marry, they came to an understanding that both would pursue other lovers, namely Criston and Joffrey. But that didn’t turn out exactly as they’d hoped.

At the wedding, Joffrey confronted Criston.

“You don’t know me, Ser Criston, but we are both deeply invested in this union,” Joffrey said. He told Criston that Laenor was “dear” to him, and that he understood Criston and Rhaenyra’s relationship. The strategic move was meant to bond them in the shared secret of Rhaenyra and Laenor’s lavender marriage.

Instead, in the midst of revelry, Criston beat Joffrey into bloody, lifeless pulp.

While the audience didn’t know Joffrey particularly well, he didn’t do anything wrong — certainly not wrong enough to merit such a brutal and public death.

“House of the Dragon” season two kicked off by adapting an infamous murder from “Fire & Blood.”

In a reckless act of vengeance, Daemon hired two mercenaries named Blood and Cheese to assassinate Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) in the Red Keep. Daemon told the men that he wanted “a son for a son.”

When the pair failed to find the prince, they settled for plan B. In a shocking act of cruelty, they forced Queen Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) to point out which sleeping toddler was her son.

Blood and Cheese then descended upon Jaeharys with knives, decapitating the boy in his crib.

Thankfully, Helaena fled the room with her daughter. But the extent of their brutality is displayed for all of King’s Landing to see during Jaeharys’ funeral procession.

In the premiere episode of “House of the Dragon,” Rhaenyra’s mother told her the birthing bed is a woman’s battlefield.

That is proven more literal than figurative, as season one featured more than one agonizing death related to pregnancy and childbirth, including that of Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell).

After he murdered his first wife, Daemon married Laena. The couple moved to Pentos and welcomed two healthy daughters, Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell).

However, Laena’s third pregnancy proved fatal. In episode six, “The Princess and the Queen,” she struggled with a complicated delivery and began to bleed out. Daemon was offered the same choice that Viserys once had: save his wife, or save the baby. Instead, Laena took matters into her own hands and decided her fate.

Laena commanded her dragon, Vhagar, to incinerate her.

While the scene is gut-wrenching to watch — especially since Vhagar seemed reluctant to kill her rider — it’s a small comfort to know that Laena died on her own terms as a dragonlord, with fire and blood.

As soon as Rhaenys flew off to battle at Rook’s Rest, there was already a sense that she wouldn’t make it back.

But that didn’t make her death at the hands of Aemond and Vhagar any less wrenching. Across two seasons, Rhaenys had distinguished herself as virtuous and loyal, at once level-headed and fierce, making her a favorite character among fans.

Even as Rhaenys realized she couldn’t hope to defeat Vhagar alone, she didn’t run away. Instead, she strapped herself tighter into her saddle and fought valiantly till the end, dealing serious damage to King Aegon and Sunfyre in the process.

One of the true noble warriors in “House of the Dragon” is now gone, and to paraphrase Otto Hightower, we (the audience and Westeros) are poorer for it.

“House of the Dragon” made a bloody debut in the season one premiere with the heartbreaking death of Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke), the beloved wife of King Viserys.

When Aemma went into labor, the baby got stuck, and Viserys was forced to decide whose life to save. Despite his love for Aemma, the king chose his unborn child in the hopes of getting a son.

The maesters cut Aemma’s belly open to save the child, killing her in the process. In her final moments, Aemma’s agency was stripped away, and her life was tossed aside for the mere concept of an heir to the throne.

The withering loss was only made worse when Aemma’s newborn baby, Baelon, died a day later.

Lucerys and his dragon Arrax’s deaths are some of the biggest tragedies in “House of the Dragon.”

Though the Greens and the Blacks were preparing for a war, bloodshed wasn’t yet inevitable. It may have been possible to find another way to settle the dispute after a cooling-off period. But there could be no reconciliation once Rhaenyra’s son was slain.

The murder of Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), aka Luke, was a turning point in the Dance of the Dragons — made all the more tragic because it looked like an accident.

The scene unraveled almost like a horror movie, with Aemond and Vhagar stalking and taunting Luke in the dark, rainy skies. Aemond likely saw this as an opportunity to toy with Luke, as payback for his missing eye, but a dragon’s fury is not so easily restrained.

After a brief moment of seeming relief, Vhagar emerged from the haze, ripping tiny Arrax and his rider apart.

Luke lost his life; Rhaenyra lost a son; Jacaerys lost a brother; Corlys lost an heir; Rhaena lost a future husband; and Aemond lost the respect of his family — forever known to history as a ruthless kinslayer. The ripple effects from Luke’s death are vast and untold.

What’s more tragic than one of Rhaenyra’s beloved children being murdered? Two of Rhaenyra’s beloved children being murdered.

Rhaenyra’s firstborn son and heir, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), aka Jace, had always been eager to prove himself. He was passionate, clever, daring — yet constantly (and lovingly) restrained by his mother, who feared his youth and lack of experience would spell disaster in battle.

Sadly, Rhaenyra was right. In the season three premiere, Jace forcibly took his mother’s place at the Battle of the Gullet, locking Rhaenyra in her room and flying off to his doom.

While Jace burned enemy ships on his dragon, Vermax, those enemies were plotting to take him down. Vermax was impaled from the sky and pulled to his watery grave, while Jace managed to survive by unclipping from his saddle — though his survival was all too brief. Jace was quickly shot by enemy arrows, and his corpse was left to float among countless other warriors.

Over two seasons, Jacaerys had become a surprisingly savvy diplomat and a fan-favorite character. It’s devastating to know that he won’t grace our screens again — and even more devastating to imagine how his death will affect Rhaenyra, who’s already lost one son in her quest for the Iron Throne.