WARNING! This article contains major SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 2 and George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book, on which the show is based!

Aegon II Targaryen’s heartbreaking response to Prince Jaehaerys’ death foreshadows another devastating part of his ending in House of the Dragon. High on the list of the most dreaded moments from Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon’s Blood and Cheese event culminated in the cruel murder of 6-year-old Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, the son and heir of King Aegon and Helaena. While Blood and Cheese were originally instructed to find and kill Aemond Targaryen to avenge Lucerys with “a son for a son,” his absence led the two murderers to behead young Prince Jaehaerys instead.

As Helaena more quietly mourns Jaehaerys when dissociating and retreating to her chambers, Aegon erupts in fits of anger, violence, and intense emotion. In addition to smashing his father King Viserys’ model of Old Valyria, Aegon sobs alone in his chambers, agrees to send Ser Arryk to pose as Erryk Cargyll and kill Rhaenyra, and calls Team Black “traitors and villains” in his grief. At one point, Aegon emotionally cries out that his “son is [his] legacy,” mourning not only his son’s death and potential threat to his own life, but also his memory in generations to come. Tragically, Fire & Blood confirms Aegon’s concerns are warranted.

Jaehaerys’ Death Means Aegon’s Line Is Extinguished After House Of The Dragon, Leaving Him Without A Legacy

Aegon leaves no direct male heirs in House of the Dragon’s ending

After the death of Prince Jaehaerys, King Aegon II Targaryen’s line is quickly extinguished in House of the Dragon. Fire & Blood reveals that Helaena dies by an apparent suicide, Aegon himself is poisoned, and their daughter Jaehaera also dies by suicide shortly after the Dance of the Dragons is over, thus leaving Aegon without any direct descendants. While Aegon and Helaena have three children in the books, House of the Dragon has seemingly cut Maelor, their youngest son, from the show. Regardless, Fire & Blood reveals that Maelor is killed before Helaena, Aegon, and Jaehaerys, still leaving Aegon without a direct lineage (excluding his unclaimed bastards in King’s Landing).

Considering Aegon’s claim to the Iron Throne is stipulated by the precedence of male primogeniture, only Aegon’s sons could carry out his legacy on the Iron Throne, not his daughter. Consequently, when he becomes emotional about Jaehaerys being his legacy, Aegon worries that his own flesh and blood will not be who sits on the Iron Throne for generations to come. Ultimately, he’s right, as Aegon dies in House of the Dragon’s story without a son or direct descendant as his heir, putting an end to his own legacy at his death.

Aegon’s “Legacy” Is Actually Only Carried Out Through Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Heirs

After Aegon, the Irone Throne is inherited by Rhaenyra’s children and descendants

While it can be argued that Aegon wins the Dance of the Dragons given he dies after Rhaenyra, the reverse can be argued, given Rhaenyra’s descendants are the ones who ascend the Iron Throne and continue their family line. Since Aegon and his siblings have no living male descendants upon his death, the Iron Throne is ascended by Aegon III Targaryen, the son of Rhaenyra and Daemon. Though Jaehaera was still alive at that point, Aegon’s claim regarding males inheriting the throne meant that the next-eldest Targaryen male would succeed him, which happened to be Rhaenyra’s son.

Shortly after Aegon III Targaryen ascended the Iron Throne, he was married to Aegon II’s daughter Jaehaera, though she would soon die by suicide while still a child. The last of Aegon’s line died at that moment, meaning the rest of the Targaryen family tree and every subsequent Targaryen ruler would descend from Rhaenyra and her children instead. Aegon may be the one who the history books call the official king, but Rhaenyra is the one whose legacy prevails over House Targaryen after House of the Dragon.

New episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 release Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.