Game of Thrones already spoiled House of the Dragon season 3’s Sunfyre twist years ago
If you made it through House of the Dragon season three, episode seven, you will have clocked the massive dragon turnaround at the end. If you know George R. R. Martin’s source material, it won’t have been much of a shock. Thing is, even if you’ve only watched Game of Thrones, you’ve actually had this big twist spoiled for you for well over a decade—not that anyone seemed to notice at the time.
After everything went down at Rook’s Rest, we were all meant to think that Sunfyre was finished. Aegon’s dragon’s been lying around looking thoroughly dead, but this is “Dance of the Dragons,” and if there’s one rule about dragons, it’s that you should never count them out. End of episode seven, Sunfyre swoops in for one of those ‘Oh look, I’m not actually dead’ moments, saving Aegon (and Tyland Lannister, still hanging on somehow) from what looked like a certain demise at the hands of Rhaenyra’s army. Cue renewed Aegon with a sense of purpose, just in time as the season gallops towards its finale.
Game of Thrones aired its own spoilers for Sunfyre’s comeback scene all the way back in 2013.
If you’ve read Fire & Blood, you’d expect Sunfyre to be alive—he’s responsible for a brutal bit of family business later on. The show’s made a few tweaks here and there from Martin’s text, but let’s be honest, killing off Sunfyre now would be weirdly counterproductive. The most grisly moment in Targaryen history wouldn’t hit the same without him.
The Original Spoiler: Joffrey’s Big Mouth
Now here’s where it gets properly odd. Game of Thrones actually gave this all away back in season three. Remember Joffrey being an insufferable little twerp at the Sept of Baelor, showing Margaery around? He got positively giddy recounting the fate of Rhaenyra Targaryen. In his words:
‘Rhaenyra Targaryen was murdered by her brother, or rather, his dragon. It ate her while her son watched.’
Joffrey doesn’t name Aegon outright, but Fire & Blood is pretty specific—the only dragon-rider combo that fits here is Aegon and Sunfyre. Absent any wild rewrites (which nobody wants), this scene cemented Sunfyre’s involvement more than a decade ago. And before someone suggests it—yes, technically another brother could’ve done it, but that would require Daeron suddenly levelling up his evil quotient, or for Aemond to completely re-route his entire storyline (including, possibly, his very spectacular death). Not going to happen. The show sticking with Sunfyre is the only way HBO’s flagship Targaryen universe lines up properly from show to show.
The Targaryen Tale: Main Players
- Milly Alcock and Emily Carey originally played Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, before Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke took over for the older versions.
- Matt Smith continues to brood as Prince Daemon Targaryen, with Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen (Rhaenyra’s father).
The series is set about 172 years before Daenerys ever taught us how to Dracarys. It’s the story of the rise (and massive implosion) of the Targaryens—the last original dragonlords of Valyria still knocking around Westeros. And if you thought Game of Thrones had a lot of dragon carnage, just you wait for what’s coming next.