‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 5 Preview Continues to Tease Aegon’s Fate: “Is He Alive?”

House of the Dragon just showed us our very first dragon-on-dragon battle and it looks like the HBO hit has no intention of slowly down in the weeks ahead. In a new preview for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5, we see not only the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Rook’s Rest, but proof that Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is finally getting off his butt and into the fight (and house-flipping business). However, there’s still much the House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 doesn’t confirm…such as the fate of Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) or what Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) plans to do next.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 “The Red Dragon and the Gold” ends with the cataclysmic Battle of Rook’s Rest. Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon Meleys were killed by Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Vhaegar, while Aegon and his small dragon Sunfyre seemingly only narrowly survived. The House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 even goes so far as to tease Aegon’s fate. We hear — the lie — that Aegon killed Meleys while a ventilated coffin-litter is carried through the Red Keep. Yikes!

What can we expect to see in next week’s all-new episode of House of the Dragon? Is HBO playing coy with the action ahead? Or did they drop some serious clues in this week’s teaser? Let’s break down the preview for HBO’s House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5…

What’s In The House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 Preview?

The House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 preview opens with bells ringing in King’s Landing and the sight of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her son Aemond watching a procession below. A man’s voice cries, “Behold! The traitor dragon, Meleys.” We see poor Meleys’s head carted through the streets of the capital as a war trophy. Then the crier says, “Slain by King Aegon!” (Uh, no she wasn’t. It was Aemond.)

However, when the nameless speaker says, “King Aegon,” the camera cuts to Hightower soldiers carrying the hybrid of a coffin and litter through the palace. Servants bow to whoever is inside. The litter is brought into a royal bedchamber and Alicent enters, asking, “Is he alive?” We still have no confirmation of Aegon’s state, but can see a flurry of Maesters crowding the bed. There’s a close up of Alicent in despair and then the title card: “On the next House of the Dragon.”

Rhaenyra now speaks. “We cannot challenge King’s Landing without the Riverlands.” There’s a shot of the Black Council and then we see she’s talking to Ser Alfred Broome (Jamie Kenna). We then cut to Daemon on Caraxes threatening some folks. “Our terms are simple,” Daemon says. “Bend the knee to me or your house burns.” We then see Daemon lift an axe to point it at someone in Harrenhal.

Speaking of Harrenhal, the axe seems to be for those renovations Daemon promised in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3. There’s a shot of the cursed castle under construction. That Daemon, he’s a renaissance man! He’s also still bothered by the castle’s magic. A “mysterious voice,” which honestly sounds like none of the female characters we’ve met so far, whispers to the sleep-addled King Consort: “Daemon, you were made to wear a crown.”

Back in King’s Landing, there’s a shot of the Green Council. Closed Captions suggest that it is Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) who says, “The king does not lack for heirs.” However, Otto is not in the shot we see and was last seen basically exiled from King’s Landing. There’s a close up of Aemond’s hand placing a white Small Council ball in its cradle. Alicent asks, “So, you cast me aside?” She looks at a guilty-looking Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) at the table.

In the next shot, Cole is outdoors with Alicent, telling her, “We have given the war to the dragons. Will you preside over it?” We see a dragon overlooking the Twins, the seat of the Freys, and then what appears to be Jacaerys (Harry Collett) treating with the Riverlands family at a table propped up on the bridge between the two castles.

A silver-haired figure looks at the Iron Throne during a thunderstorm and a woman scurries through the Red Keep in the dark. Mysaria says, “The people whispered, when Viserys lived, there was peace.” Rhaenyra says, “The path I walk has never been trod.” Mysaria replies, “There is more than one way to fight a war.”

There’s a quick montage of Daemon chopping wood — because he’s really got that HGTV host in him — panicked smallfolk trying to climb an iron gate, riders galloping through a forest at night, Rhaenyra contemplating the painted table, a soldier sitting horseback in front of Caraxes, and finally a hand using one piece to knock down another on the painted table.

The final seconds of the teaser show Daemon looking at someone in Harrenhal while Cole says, “What we must do now is terrible.” We see Alicent, upset at the Small Council, and finally a grim Rhaenyra looking up at something high.

And then…House of the Dragon, Sundays 9 PM.

What is the House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 Release Date?

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, July 14 at 9 PM ET.