House Of The Dragon: What Happens In The Gods Eye, Explained (2024)

The storytelling in House of the Dragon does a superb job of bringing in the necessary ingredients from George R.R. Martin's Targaryen lore in Fire & Blood and adapting it into live-action, the second season finale in particular. How the closing episode cleverly frames one important aspect of what's to take place in future seasons is masterful.

The use of foreshadowing is plenty in the finale, and it's all tied to one major name – the Gods Eye. What is it? Why is it being mentioned now? Why is it only associated with two specific Targaryen names? Your pressing questions will be answered here if you don't mind some spoilers.

Major spoilers for plot points in House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood are ahead.

What Is The Gods Eye?

When hearing a name such as 'Gods Eye,' you might rightfully think this means something more philosophical or tied to a religion in the mythology of A Song of Ice and Fire. In actuality, it's no more than a major landmark in Westeros.

The Gods Eye is a lake in the Riverlands region, specifically the largest in the land, located north of King's Landing and to the west of the Kingsroad, and hosts the castle Harrenhal on its northern shore.

The water of the Gods Eye flows into the Blackwater Rush river and there's an island in the center of the lake called the Isle of Faces, which gives the area the appearance of an eyeball among a large land mass when viewed on a map.

The Isle of Faces is its own unique and eerie location. Filled with weirwood trees, it's said to be the home of the mysterious Green Men and the site where the Children of the Forest and the First Men signed their war-ending Pact.

In Fire & Blood, during the Second Battle of Tumbleton in the Dance of the Dragons, it's even alleged that Addam of Hull would visit the Isle of Faces with Seasmoke to have an audience with the Green Men.

Why Is The Gods Eye Important In House Of The Dragon?

In House of the Dragon, the mention of the Gods Eye is a foreshadowing of a devastating battle still to come, precisely as Helaena Targaryen witnessed in her vision that connected with Daemon's.

Harrenhal is an important location throughout the Dance of the Dragons, as it's the largest castle in all of Westeros, and it's where Daemon sets up a stronghold for the blacks to unite the Riverlords of the Riverlands to join Rhaenyra's cause.

The castle has a long, doomed history believed to be brought upon by a curse, and it's also important for one other reason – the weirwood tree on its grounds.

In the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon, Daemon Targaryen is instructed by the mysterious witch of Harrenhal, Alys Rivers, to place his hand on the face of the now ominously bleeding weirwood tree to gain insight into his future.

He sees glimpses of Aegon the Conqueror's prophesized Song of Ice and Fire with the Three-Eyed Raven, the White Walker army beyond the Wall, the impending Long Night, the dying of the dragons, and a bare Daenerys Targaryen with her three baby dragons from GoT's Season 1 finale.

But Daemon is also filled with two more searing images – Rhaenyra seated on the Iron Throne and him drowning in a dark void of water.

Helaena also makes a surprise appearance at the end of it, as though she is sharing the vision with him, and tells Daemon: "It's all a story, and you are but one part in it. You know your path."

In another scene, sparring verbally with her ruthless brother Aemond One-Eye, who implores her to go to battle for him with Dreamfyre, Helaena echoes the same fate befalling her brother.

In a tense exchange (where Aemond also threatens to have her killed after Helaena confesses she knows he burned Aegon II and Sunfyre), Helaena tells him: "You'll be dead. You were swallowed up in the Gods Eye, and you were never seen again."

Helaena is, once again, able to see into the future and foreshadow events that will play out later during the Dance of the Dragons, and this vision is a more blatant reveal that the rivalry between Daemon and Aemond Targaryen will end with them fighting each other over the Gods Eye, where both will succumb to their deaths.

What Happens In The Gods Eye In Fire & Blood, Explained

So, is what Helaena's seeing this time going to be proven true yet again?

Fire & Blood ultimately says yes. There is a major battle over the Gods Eye between familial foes Aemond and Daemon Targaryen, and House of the Dragon Season 2 has begun laying the groundwork.

In a scene only created for the show, Alicent seeks an impromptu audience with Rhaenyra on Dragonstone, saying how Aemond, with Vhagar and Ser Criston Cole, plans to march on Harrenhal, leaving King's Landing largely unfortified and ripe for the taking, and Alicent promising that it would be an easy surrender.

Save a few major character deaths and a much bloodier resistance, that's exactly what follows in the book. Rhaenyra, Daemon, and their allied Dragonriders see the fall of King's Landing to their side and Rhaenyra reclaims her rightful seat on the Iron Throne.

However, that means Harrenhal is also stripped of its major defenses, since Daemon and Caraxes abandoned it, so it falls to Aemond and his forces, with Aemond slaughtering the last of the Strongs, though sparing Alys Rivers and taking her as his lover, who would eventually sire his child.

With Daemon in King's Landing and Aemond in Harrenhal, a series of conflicts and betrayals continued to take place after the opposing sides' territories switched, particularly along the lake shores of the Gods Eye.

Such two infamous battles were The Battle by the Lakeshore, more brutally known as The Fishfeed, which was the "bloodiest land battle of the Dance of the Dragons," and The Butcher's Ball on the Southern part of the Gods Eye, where Ser Criston Cole takes three arrows and finally meets his end.

And then, as prophesized, not long after these battles, the fates of the Targaryen princes Aemond and Daemon would ultimately collide over the Gods Eye in a battle known as the Battle Above the Gods Eye.

Prince Daemon Targaryen leaves the company of Lord Mooton of Maidenpool in the Riverlands to return with Caraxes to Harrenhal and finally face his one-eyed nephew Aemond Targaryen. The latter would arrive with a pregnant Alys Rivers on Vhagar.

Next, it's a climactic moment like none other happening in the night – Daemon versus Aemond and Caraxes versus the mighty Vhagar in a fearsome tournament of dragons they both lose.

There's a short cat-and-mouse pursuit through the clouds over the Gods Eye, and then Caraxes injures Vhagar and Vhagar returns the favor to Daemon's Blood Wyrm.

Daemon ends up launching himself off of Caraxes and onto Vhagar, catching Aemond off-guard and brutally driving his sword, Dark Sister, down Aemond's empty eye socket and out through his throat.

As is commonly the theme (and the title of the book), fire and blood indeed spill over the Gods Eye, and a fallen Aemond on Vhagar along with Daemon on Caraxes all plummet into the lake. This would be their final resting site.

While Caraxes makes it out of the water to succumb to his injuries along the shore of Harrenhal and Aemond's remains are eventually recovered (still saddled to Vhagar), Rhaenyra's husband and king consort Daemon Targaryen's remains are never found.

You can expect this long-anticipated battle between uncle and nephew to be included in a major episode of the show's third season, which is confirmed to be its penultimate. But now you know for certain that it will happen!