House of the Dragon' episode 9

The Queen Who Never Was had the perfect moment to obliterate the chess board and end the Hightowers. But she took the higher road.

Alicent explains she came to Rhaenys to ask for her support. She might have believed Alicent would do her best in guiding her son on the right path. We see her busting out, and being the one that's going to take the news to Dragonstone of the coup and of Rhaenyra's throne being stolen. She informs Rhaenys of King Viserys' passing, and Rhaenys quickly ascertains that Alicent is usurping the throne from Princess Rhaenyra. And it's a complex choice and one that people might dispute or have a problem with, but that's the choice Rhaenys makes in that moment. Seeing Alicent at the coronation ceremony, standing in front of her son, Rhaenys might have decided to have faith in Alicent. Facing down the Hightower clan -- including Queen Alicent, her father Otto and her son Aegon -- Rhaenys has the opportunity to end the Hightowers' reign for good. "And yet you toil still in service to men. All she has to do is say "Dracarys," the High Valyrian (language of the old Valyrian Freehold) word for "Dragonfire" and order Meleys to breath fire. The latest episode -- [episode 9](/culture/entertainment/house-of-the-dragon-episode-9-recap-the-hand-the-queen-and-her-feet/) -- saw Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, aka The Queen Who Never Was, take her turn in the spotlight. She and Meleys then burst through the floorboards, sending the ceremony into chaos. After escaping her room with the help of defected knight Erryk Cargyll, Rhaenys finds herself swept up in Prince Aegon's coronation ceremony.

We see four bloodlines coming off Alicent and Viserys's union — that's right, four: Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, and a child we haven't seen yet, Daeron.

Meanwhile, we get a close-up of the symbols for Alicent's other three children: a spider for Helaena, a naked woman lying on top of what could be a dragon egg for Aegon II, and a sapphire for Aemond. Alicent's symbol represents House Hightower combined with the Faith of the Seven. We see four bloodlines coming off Alicent and Viserys's union — that's right, four: Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, and a child we haven't seen yet, Daeron.

House of the Dragon episode nine's ending left fans with a lot of questions, like why didn't Rhaenys kill the greens when she had the chance?

She’s suffered so much loss, and for her own sake and on behalf of so many others, the urge to destroy is so strong. It’s because she’s so intelligent and in the end chooses to do the right thing, which is not to destroy. Meanwhile, the would-be new king is missing, leading to Ser Criston and Aemond searching the city for him, all while Aemond whines that he should be king, since he actually wants to be. One of the lords on the council speaks up to say that putting Aegon on the throne is basically treason, but Ser Criston Cole immediately kills him. We, the viewers, are pretty sure that he still intended for Rhaenyra to succeed him, and that’s supported by how he worked to try to reconcile the warring factions of his family in his final days. Following the death of King Viserys at the end of episode eight, the succession is somewhat murky.