Those ideas are best represented in Season 2’s penultimate episode by Rhaenyra’s determination to open up dragonriding to non-royals. The idea was forced upon her by her desperate prewar position and because one of the dragons at her castle, Seasmoke, got loose and chose a commoner as its rider. That commoner, Addam, is not so common: He’s the illegitimate son of Rhaenyra’s Hand, the Sea Snake Corlys. Now, with the knowledge that the pool of potential dragonriders could be much bigger than anyone ever thought, Rhaenyra starts recruiting.

Daemon finally gets the support he’s been seeking from the Riverlords, led by newly minted Lord Paramount Plus, Oscar Tully. But this requires Daemon to acknowledge, publicly, that he’s a monster and that the Riverlands are joining Rhaenyra’s alliance despite his horrific actions. This and a strange dream make Daemon wonder whether everything he’s been doing to get to the Iron Throne is worth the trouble.

Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, no one throne-adjacent is particularly happy. Aegon is in awful pain, recovering from his burns. Alicent goes camping to avoid the castle’s misery. And Aemond becomes uncomfortably aware that the dragon power dynamic between his side and Rhaenyra’s has flipped.

Should control of a realm come to those who are born next in line, or paradigm-shifters who want to take the throne by force? Let’s recap how it played out:

Daemon spent this season miserable at Harrenhal, a leaky haunted castle that was essentially the worst Airbnb experience ever. Now, he just needs to convince young Oscar Tully to rally the warring Blackwood and Bracken families to the Tully banner. Teen Tully is ambivalent about Daemon, reminding the Targaryen that he was dismissed as useless when his grandfather was still alive. Despite his distaste, though, Tully plans to honor the oath his house swore to King Viserys.

At a meeting under the Godswood tree, Daemon is upstaged by a surprisingly savvy Teen Tully, who manages to thread the needle in front of the doubtful Riverlords. Tully convinces the older leaders they should keep their oath to Viserys despite finding Daemon “loathsome.” Daemon gets a little testy, but Tully makes it simple: “Will you have our army or not?” But there’s one more thing. For justice to be served, something must be done with Willem Blackwood, who led the horrifying campaign sanctioned by Daemon. Blackwood argues that he was just following orders, but Daemon puts him to the sword anyway.

The killing leaves Daemon disoriented and out of sorts; inside the castle, he’s bleated at by a judgmental goat. The goat becomes desiccated Viserys, feebly holding a crown in his hand. He says it caused nothing but pain. “It crushes whoever wears it. Do you want it still?” he asks Daemon. For the first time, Daemon seems to think not.

Team Alicent, Aemond and Aegon

Sneaky Larys and Grand Maester Orwyle are helping Aegon recover with a new regimen of hobbling around the room on Orwyle’s arm and screaming a lot, followed by shaking exhaustedly in bed. Aegon looks healthier, relatively speaking, but he’s still more Crypt Keeper than king. Aegon wants to give up, but Larys won’t allow him to rest.

Larys is also keeping a close eye on Aemond, who is settling in as king regent. Lord Jasper tells Larys he heard the dragon Seasmoke has a rider. But the information has come from such a long chain of sources that Larys advises him to keep the game of telephone to himself.

Alicent, meanwhile, has gone from mournful and shellshocked to bored and disassociated. She tells Orwyle, who’s treating her wound from last week’s riot, that nothing she does matters. In the episode’s weirdest turn, Alicent decides to go glamping with a tent and Ser Rickard as her guard. She’s spends the rest of the episode hiking in full royal gear and then swimming in a lake in her undergarments. When Rickard asks when she’s returning to the city, she says she’s not sure she will. Congratulations if you had “Abrupt, Unnecessary Camping” on your Season 2 bingo card.

Rhaenyra is on a seashore with Syrax opposite Seasmoke and that dragon’s new rider, Addam of Hull. When she, queen of the Seven Kingdoms, demands to know how he got this dragon (there’s an unfortunate racial-profiling undertone), Addam says he had no designs on it and that the dragon chose him. Addam wishes to serve Rhaenyra, bent knee and all, and learn the ways of the dragonriders. When Rhaenyra probes his parentage, Addam says his mother was a shipwright and his father was “no one of consequence.” I can just see Corlys wincing at that. Rhaenyra lets her guard down enough to express relief. She says he’s done something impossible and she’s glad.

Of course, Rhaenyra’s stodgy council is already talking smack about this unknown rider, saying that the “lowborn” can’t go around seizing dragons like Lime Scooters. Corlys, who is told the rider is a shipwright in his employ, stays quiet. When he meets with Addam later, Corlys agrees to grant his son leave from ship duties so he can pursue … a bachelor’s degree in the dragonly arts? A PhD in Burn Theory? “Well done,” is all Corlys can say. No hug. No high five.

When Rhaenyra confers with her trusted associate turned lover, Mysaria suggests that there may be many more offspring given how randy the royals were at her old pleasure house. Rhaenyra has a change in thinking about loyalty and royalty after Mysaria reminds her that common-born folk such as her and Addam are risking their lives to serve while her half-brothers Aemond and Aegon are out for Rhaenyra’s blood. Rhaenyra is convinced: “Let us raise an army of bastards!” But maybe workshop the name a little.

Jace is extremely annoyed with this plan, especially “lowborn” claiming dragons. Eek, don’t post that on social media, Jace, you’re gonna get canceled. Because Jace’s biological father wasn’t Laenor and he has dark hair, he now feels like his claim to the throne is in jeopardy. “You are my heir,” Rhaenyra reminds him. Still, Rhaenyra insists, they need more dragons, and this is the only available path. Her minions proceed to spread news that dragons are now available for long-term lease to anyone who might be Targaryen by blood.

Rhaena, whom we’ve only seen briefly — she’s the sister of Baela and Daemon’s daughter from his previous marriage — wanders off from her caravan outside the Eyrie to investigate the dragon burnings nearby. How soon will it be before she encounters a wild beast and makes it her own?

The King’s Landing recruitment campaign reaches two characters we’ve been learning about all season: Ulf the barfly, who claims he’s half brother to Viserys and Daemon, and Hugh the blacksmith.

Dozens of people, most with silver-blonde hair, board rowboats overseen by Addam. Rhaenyra is blown away by how many show up. She gives an inspiring speech for the would-be riders, telling them she doesn’t know if it’s blood or worth that matters now, but she’s impressed that they’re walking away from their lives for a potentially transformative undertaking. She wants peace restored. And she wants a rider for Vermithor, the second-largest dragon in the world next to Vhagar.

Everyone gathers at the Dragonpit: Ulf, Hugh, lots of blondes and at least four non-blondes. Vermithor, gigantic, appears. The dragon is becalmed by Rhaenyra, but when she walks away to let the rest vie for him, fire is unleashed. As everyone scrambles, some are incinerated on the spot. Vermithor chomps others, bodies still aflame like this is Fogo de Chão. But Hugh stands tall in front of Vermithor. The dragon bows and they look into each other’s eyes. The only thing missing is Taylor Swift singing, “All along there was some invisible string/ Tying you to me.” Meanwhile Ulf, who has fallen into the pit during the melee, hobbles along trying to escape. A different dragon, one called Silverwing, approaches him and bows. Ulf laughs in relief as they bond, too.

We cut to King’s Landing, where a council meeting is interrupted by the sound of a dragon in flight. Ulf, up there on Silverwing, is having the time of his life. Riding Vhagar, Aemond follows Ulf all the way to Dragonstone where Rhaenyra stands on the shore defiantly with three dragons behind her. Wisely, Aemond and his dragon flee.

Score one for Rhaenyra’s army of bastards as we head into next week’s season finale.