Warning: This article contains spoilers from ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2, episode 4. The highly anticipated Battle of Rook’s Rest has arrived, marking a pivotal moment in the Targaryen civil war as depicted in Season 2 of ‘House of the Dragon’. While the Season 1 finale teased dragon-on-dragon combat with the chase between Vhagar and Lucerys Velaryon’s Arrax, this mid-season clash brings full-scale aerial warfare to the forefront. “This is the first nuclear conflict,” series co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal explained to Entertainment Weekly. “At the end of this, the world has effectively seen mushroom clouds on the horizon, and they know we’ve now moved into a different era of the war. The entire strategy changes after this because everything is so different. This is what Viserys feared and what Rhaenys dreaded.” Adapted from George R.R. Martin’s ‘Fire and Blood’, the Battle of Rook’s Rest is one of two major battle sequences in the eight-episode second season. Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), now the Hand of the King to Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), lay a trap for Rhaenyra’s forces by besieging Rook’s Rest, held by Lord Simon Staunton (Michael Elwyn), an ally of Rhaenyra. Read more: New Shrek film in production, Donkey to get standalone movie: Eddie Murphy reveals Princess Rhaenys (an unforgettable Eve Best), known as the “Queen Who Never Was,” mounts her dragon Meleys, the Red Queen, to confront Criston. Unbeknownst to her, both Aemond on Vhagar and Aegon on Sunfyre join the fray. The ensuing dragon battle results in the devastating deaths of Rhaenys and Meleys, leaves Aegon dead or critically injured, and reduces Rook’s Rest to ruins. Initially, the Greens planned to ambush one of Rhaenyra’s dragons defending Rook’s Rest. Aemond, hiding in the trees, would attack with Vhagar to thin the ranks of Team Black’s dragons. But then Aegon and his dragon unexpectedly show up. Aemond delays his ambush, allowing Rhaenys to engage Aegon in a fierce combat. When Aemond finally commands Vhagar to attack, the largest dragon’s fire engulfs both Aegon and his adversary. While Rhaenys escapes the initial onslaught, Aegon and Sunfyre plummet to the ground, causing a fiery explosion. Aegon’s fate remains uncertain, and his dragon Sunfyre is gravely injured. However, the sequence highlights Rhaenys’ heroism. After surviving Vhagar’s assault and having the chance to flee, she chooses to confront Aemond again. This decision, rooted in past grievances and the death of her grandson by Vhagar, underscores her determination. She knows she may face death, but believes that if she can defeat Vhagar, it could end the potential for further catastrophic warfare. This epic dragon battle at Rook’s Rest is a game-changer, reshaping the landscape of the war and setting the stage for the ensuing chaos in ‘House of the Dragon’. Read more: Most Hyped South Indian Movies Releasing in August 2024

In the “Game of Thrones” universe and the prequel “House of the Dragon” – season 1 of which just finished airing – members of the Targaryen family possess some distinguishing features. The most striking among these physical features is their silver or white hair. But, many viewers have wondered, why does every Targaryen have silver hair? It is obvious that Targaryens anticipate their offspring having white or silver hair when they are born. In fact, Viserys and Alicent Hightower’s true-born children all inherited their father’s silver hair. Meanwhile, based only on their brown hair, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children are assumed to be “not of pure Targaryen blood”. What is it about the Targaryen silver hair? Can Targaryens have hair that is a different colour at birth? Based on George RR Martin’s books, the answer is not as simple as you may expect. So, what really causes the Targaryens to have silver hair? Read more: House of the Dragon: Did you notice this actor swap in season finale? The Targaryen family hails from Old Valyria, where lighter skin tones and hair colours were particularly common. As a result, the family had white or silvery blonde hair. The Targaryens have been able to keep their distinguishing Valyrian characteristics due to years of inbreeding. George RR Martin might have given the Targaryens such an unusual hair colour out of the blue to set them apart from the Westerosi people and suggest a certain otherworldliness about the royal lineage, underscoring the idea that they do not really belong in the Seven Kingdoms. But not every Targaryen has silver hair. In “Game of Thrones,” Jon Snow is a Targaryen, and his hair is dark. And he is not the only one. In George RR Martin’s books, characters with black hair include Baelor Breakspear and Aegor Rivers. All these instances include those who chose not to “keep it in the family.” Read more: ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel keeps dragons, adds diversity Long story short, as per genetics, it is most likely because dark hair is a dominant gene in the real world and light hair is recessive. Targaryens in “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon” who were not born through incest have darker hair, it seems. Therefore, it is less likely that offspring born to a single Targaryen parent will exhibit Valyrian characteristics, such as silver hair.

HBO was lucky when illness struck the “House of the Dragon” set at the very last minute. Director Greg Yaitanes – on the West of Westeros podcast hosted by Entertainment Weekly – discussed how they avoided delays in filming the season finale when the actor who plays one of the Cargyll twins contracted COVID-19. Arryk and Erryk are portrayed by 33-year-old actors and real-life identical twins Luke and Elliott Tittensor. Read more: ‘Game of Thrones’ prequel keeps dragons, adds diversity Yaitanes claimed that Luke stepped up to fill in for Elliott during filming a crucial part of “House of the Dragon” season 1 finale after the latter contracted COVID-19 on the second day of filming. The scene included Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) returning to Dragonstone, before Ser Erryk informed Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and her council that Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) had arrived to negotiate terms. On the podcast, Yaitanes remarked, “There's that scene, that big scene where Corlys comes down and they're putting the markers on the table and the messenger comes in.” He claimed that the sequence required more than two days to film and that Elliott Tittensor, one of the twins, tested positive for COVID-19 at that time. Yaitanes explained, “So we swapped him out with his brother.” Read more: HBO chief: Sorry, fans, no 'Game of Thrones' do-over It’s unlikely that even the most discerning “House of the Dragon” fan would have noticed the difference unless Yaitanes had mentioned it. Yaitanes remarked that if they hadn’t had access to a similar-looking actor, it might have been disastrous since they were ready to film D’Arcy and Erryk was nearby. Even though the “House of the Dragon” crew avoided delay for that brief moment, they were unable to totally prevent COVID-19 during the 2021 filming. The crew member’s positive test result caused production to stop for two days in July 2021, according to Radio Times. Read more: 'Game of Thrones' final season to debut on April 14 But now that “House of the Dragon” season 1 has aired, viewers will have to pray that the next season doesn’t see any further delays since production may only begin in 2023, according to co-creator and executive producer Ryan Condal.