House Of The Dragon’s New Aegon Reveal Changes The Night King’s Death

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 1, episode 4.House of the Dragon season 1, episode 4 further changes the Night King’s death Game of Thrones. Despite being set almost two centuries earlier, House of the Dragon does have a tangible impact upon its parent show. That mostly comes from the prequel’s reveal of Aegon the Conqueror’s dream of White Walkers, which changes House Targaryen’s entire history and purpose in Westeros, in particular for Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen, Game of Thrones’ two dragonriders.

Knowing that Aegon himself had invaded Westeros because of the coming Winter makes it all the more interesting how Jon and Daenerys factored into the Night King and White Walkers’ defeat: it certainly suggests that Jon was indeed (or should have been) the prophesied hero, and that Dany wasn’t destined to rule the Iron Throne for long because her true purpose was to help unite the realm against the dead. House of the Dragon season 1, episode 4 doubles down on the dream, directly connecting it to the Prince That Was Promised prophecy and, beyond that, also revealing the catspaw dagger was owned by Aegon previously.

Not only does this reveal make the catspaw dagger even more important, but it also changes the White Walkers’ ending. In Game of Thrones season 8, episode 3, “The Long Night,” Arya Stark killed the Night King – and did so with the catspaw dagger. Using the Valyrian steel weapon to destroy the White Walkers already fit with Game of Thrones‘ story, not least the long setup of the dagger, but House of the Dragon makes the Night King’s death coming to that specific blade link to Aegon’s Song of Ice and Fire dream. The White Walkers were prophesied to be defeated by the Targaryens, and it’s with their weapon – which dates back to Old Valyria, even before Aegon – that was ultimately used to destroy them, connecting the Night King’s death more closely to Aegon’s dream and fulfilling the ultimate Targaryen goal.

House Of The Dragon Explains Why The Catspaw Dagger Had To Kill The Night King

House of the Dragon‘s reveals add a lot to the catspaw dagger, and suggest that its role in the Night King’s death and the triumph of the living over the dead was always part of Aegon’s prophecy. After all, he’d gone to the trouble of having pyromancers inscribe the blade with the prophecy, suggesting he intended it to be passed down alongside the dream (hence why King Viserys has it), and that he may have suspected it could be used as the key weapon against the great Winter.

Game of Thrones had previously established Valyrian steel and dragonglass could kill White Walkers, which itself is even more intriguing in light of Aegon’s dream: weapons forged in fire are key to destroying the ice, further cementing the notion of Targaryens beating the White Walkers (though curiously dragon fire could not kill the Night King, which hasn’t been explained). But the fact Aegon himself owned the dagger and had the prophecy better explains why that specific Valyrian steel weapon had to be the one to end the Night King and defeat the White Walkers for good.

Do HOTD’s Reveals Mean Jon Snow Should’ve Killed The Night King? Yes… & No

House of the Dragon‘s reveals about Aegon’s dream not only have an impact upon the Night King’s death, but also who brought it about. Arya killed the Night King, but it had been expected that would fall to Jon Snow – indeed, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss decided not to go with Jon because it would seem too obvious, despite setting it up with several stare downs, revealing in the book Fire Cannot Kill A Dragon: Game of Thrones and the Official Untold Story of the Epic Series that it couldn’t be him “because he’s always saving the day.” Thus it fell to Arya, who had the skills and access to a Valyrian steel weapon. Game of Thrones made Arya killing the Night King make sense, connecting it back to Melisandre’s prophecy about different colored eyes, to her Faceless Men training, and to her saying “not today” to the God of Death, but House of the Dragon goes harder on the idea it should have been a Targaryen.

With the setup of a Targaryen defeating the White Walkers and the Prince That Was Promised prophecy, combined with Jon’s status as one of the greatest warriors in Westeros, the ostensible lack of meaning around his own Targaryen heritage, and his developed rivalry with the Night King, then it does suggest Jon Snow killing the Night King would have fully paid off all of these ideas. Would it be predictable? Sure, but it also makes sense on a narrative, character, and thematic level… except House of the Dragon also introduces an issue with it too. Since the origins of the catspaw dagger imply it would always be the weapon to destroy the White Walkers, then that does fit with Arya killing the Night King. The prophecy gets in the way, but there’d have been no good way for Jon to get the dagger from her (it would at best be very contrived, given he had his own Valyrian steel sword).

The foundations for Jon Snow killing the Night King are stronger and House of the Dragon supports them, it also contradicts itself at the same time. Ultimately, of course, prophecies in Game of Thrones are open to interpretation; they can be self-fulfilling, or come true in ways no one expected because of a person’s actions, especially those who have heard it. Daenerys and Jon did help kill the Night King, fitting with Aegon’s prophecy (which does not state a Targaryen would end the White Walkers directly, nor mention the Night King); Arya killed the Night King with Aegon’s dagger, which also works for her story and still fits the origins of the weapon as well.