This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2, “Rhaenyra the Cruel.”

House of the Dragon showrunner clarifies which twin won the duel in episode 2. The latest season 2 episode follows the immediate aftermath of young Jaehaerys’ slaying. Team Green, more specifically King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), plot an infiltration by Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor), where he would pose as his twin brother Erryk (Elliot Tittensor) and assassinate Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). The imposter is spotted by Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who presumably warns Team Black, and a duel between the two twin brothers ensues, where one is defeated in combat and the other, out of grief, kills himself.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal told Decider which twin won. He confirmed that Ser Erryk won the duel by killing his own twin brother, with the hint when Erryk said “Your Grace” to Queen Rhaenrya. Condal praised the performances of the Tittensor twin actors, who did the duel without stunt doubles. The showrunner also shared a helpful tip for telling the twins apart and said that the Tittensor brothers have tricked their own mother with their identical appearance. Read the quote below:

That is Erryk at the end, who’s the last survivor, who falls. Erryk is the one that falls on his sword at the end, yeah. So, you know, Arryk is dead. The infiltrator is dead and then Erryk falls on the sword.

So when he says, ‘Your Grace,’ to the queen, that’s when she knows who it is.

Look, they’re amazing actors and performers. They did that entire thing themselves. They studied that choreography. They learned it from Rowley [Irlam], the stunt coordinator. They did that whole fight on their own and it’s so incredible and moving.

So, the way to remember is that Arryk, ‘A,’ goes with Aegon and Erryk, ‘E,’ is played by Elliott Tittensor.

They told us their own mother confuses them and they’ve tricked their own mother by changing their beard or whatever.

How The Duel Between Arryk & Erryk Unfold In The Book

There Were A Few Changes, But The Tragedy Still Remains.

In the book, Fire & Blood, the infiltration of Ser Arryk upon Dragonstone was conjured up just after King Aegon II appointed Criston as his hand, replacing his grandfather, Ser Otto Hightower. Aegon initially wanted to storm Dragonstone on dragonback “to seize or slay his half-sister and her ‘bastard sons.’” The green council dissuaded Aegon, and Criston urged that the monarch use stealth like his enemies did, choosing Arryk as their tool for revenge.

In the book, just like House of the Dragon, Arryk was unhappy about the mission and even visited the Red Keep’s sept to pray for forgiveness. What’s different in the book is that Arryk’s target is unclear, leaning back and forth toward Rhaenyra herself and her sons. When Arryk arrived at Dragonstone, he infiltrated the castle without hindrance until he ran into his brother.

In Fire & Blood, one account says that Erryk said, “I love you, brother,” as he unsheathed his sword, and that Arryk replied with, “And I love you, brother,” as he drew his own. According to the account told by Grand Maester Munkun, the brothers dealt mortal wounds to each other and died in each other’s arms with tears on their cheeks, which is a slight book change in House of the Dragon season 2. Still, the show portrayed the duel differently but still conveyed the love the two brothers had for each other, resulting in a different but faithful and heartbreaking adaptation of the infamous duel.

House of the Dragon season 2 drops new episodes on Sundays on Max at 9 pm ET.

Source: Decider