Aegon II's quick but viscerally brutal slaying of Queen Rhaenyra doesn't seem to do her justice.
Joffrey Baratheon spoils Rhaenyra Targaryen's fate on Game of Thrones. As Joffrey tells us, eventually, Rhaenyra's half-brother Aegon Targaryen will feed her to his dragon Sunfyre. She dies as her son, Aegon III, watches. That's the bullet point version.
Rhaenyra's three eldest sons all died fighting during the Dance of the Dragons, but her two youngest sons, the sons by her second husband, Prince Daemon, survived the civil war.
The moment happens in season 3, episode 4, “And Now His Watch Is Ended,” when Joffrey Lannister is chilling with Margaery Tyrell and giddily explains, “Rhaenyra Targaryen was murdered by her brother, or rather, his dragon. It ate her while her son watched. What's left of her is buried in the crypts right down there.”
As for Rhaenyra Targaryen, she grew up believing she would rule Westeros. But when the time came, her enemies and family stole the crown from her. She answered with fire and blood and was destroyed by them. So while Rhaenyra may have been the first woman to claim the Iron Throne, she never ruled the Seven Kingdoms.
As the two dragons struggled in the Battle Above the Gods Eye, Daemon plunged from Caraxes, wielding his sword Dark Sister and stabbing it into Aemond's remaining eye. Both dragons crashed into the Gods Eye, and Vhagar drowned with Aemond's body still chained to the saddle while Caraxes died on the shore.
Sunfyre devoured Rhaenyra in six bites, leaving only her left leg below the shin. Prince Aegon the Younger was forced to watch his mother die, and Elinda Massey allegedly gouged out her eyes in horror.
Rhaenyra Targaryen is killed by her half-brother Aegon II Targaryen when he cruelly feeds her to his dragon Sunfyre. Don't worry, Aegon II and the Greens don't win the war, though the Blacks ultimately triumph and put Rhaenyra's son Aegon the Younger on the throne.
Jacaerys, Rhaenyra's eldest son, and his two younger brothers have spent their short lives surrounded by whispers that their real father was Ser Harwin Strong.
Eventually, Rhaenyra is killed, as is Aegon II, meaning both major claimants to the Iron Throne are dead. As Aegon had no heirs, the Iron Throne fell to Aegon III, Rhaenyra's firstborn son with Daemon Targaryen.
After Daemon's first wife dies, he gets together with Laena Velaryon—who was initially suggested as a bride for King Viserys. They have two daughters. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra marries Laena's brother, Laenor Velaryon, and they have several kids.
Rhaenyra's stillbirth is particularly graphic and the scene goes on for over six minutes, with the exception of a few cutaway shots of Daemon in between.
The duel that became known as the Dance over Harrenhal ended in the deaths of both riders and both dragons over the God's Eye. Daemon was 49 when he died.
But the death of Rhaenyra's son Lucerys at the hands of Aegon's brother Aemond—mistake or not—enraged Rhaenyra and kicked off a civil war that will play out over several seasons.
Aemond killed Rhaenyra's son after a dragon chase through the rain, before which Aemond laughed and tried to cut out Luke's eye. The pursuit culminated in Aemond losing control of his dragon, which brutally chomped Luke and his dragon.
Turns out, Rhaenyra and Daemon are endgame, meaning they have a sexually tense relationship, eventually hook up, and get married—which is pretty significant from a power play perspective considering (1) they both want the throne and (2) their Targaryen union is almost sure to guarantee that happens—even though Alicent ...
We last saw her find out the truth in "We Light the Way" that Rhaenyra lost her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
As he tells Rhaenyra: marrying her is the only way out of the dishonorable hell he has created for himself. She wants the status quo to carry on while he can't stand to be her common whore while she's married to another man. That is simply just too many dishonorable things stacked on top of one another.
1 Daemon Probably Loves Rhaenyra
However, Fire & Blood gives some insights into Daemon's character, which House of the Dragon only touches on in the last episodes of Season 1. Daemon shows his genuine care and attention to Rhaenyra several times before the two marry.
Aegon II sentenced Rhaenyra to death by dragon. In front of all the assembled courtiers, he fed his older half-sister to Sunfyre, who breathed fire on her before devouring her remains. That was the end of Rhaenyra's life, but as fans may get to see on the show, not the end of the war.
Visenya was stillborn, adding another tragedy to Rhaenyra's life. Rhaenyra Targaryen has six children, but unfortunately has already lost two of them, including one during birth. House of the Dragon's second season will undoubtedly continue to follow her family as they fight for control of the Iron Throne.
When finally did give birth to the baby, it is said that the child had a hole where her heart should have been, a tail, and scales for skin—a monster, as her mother had cursed her to be. Upon her death, Rhaenyra swore yet another vow. “She was my only daughter, and they killed her.
In the seventh episode of the blockbuster HBO series, Prince Daemon marries his own niece, Princess Rhaenyra. The incestuous romance had been building for some time. Before a 10-year time jump occurred in the show's sixth epsode, Daemon took a young Rhaenyra to a brothel in King's Land where the two got intimate.
According to Fire & Blood (the source material for House of the Dragon), Daemon dies after an epic dragon fight with Prince Aemond… who also dies, womp.
Following Laena's funeral on Driftmark, the ten-year old prince Aemond Targaryen claimed Vhagar as his own dragon.