Rhaenys has always been one of House of the Dragon’s most important characters

polygon.com:

[Ed note: This story contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4.]

The Dance of Dragons has just claimed the most influential Targaryen yet. And no, we’re not talking about Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) — we’re talking about Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), who will be sorely missed following her harrowing, triumphant death in episode 4. A key player in Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) council, Rhaenys went down with the same high level of grace, persistence, and morality she’s held steadfast through her time on House of the Dragon.

And at least we get one helluva dragon fight out of it, too. We begin in the contested area of Rook’s Rest, where Rhaenyra sends Rhaenys to demolish Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) encroaching army. “We’re off to battle again, old girl,” Rhaenys says as she boards Meleys in Dragonstone, a real tug at the heartstrings as the pair begin what we now know will be their final ride together.

Before she meets her own demise, Rhaenys has one last hurrah, pummeling the living daylights out of a drunken, uninvited Aegon. But once Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) arrives aboard Vhagar, it’s all over for the lot of them. Aegon goes down first. Then Vhagar sinks his teeth into Meleys’ neck. Meleys turns to face her rider, a warning that defeat is coming, and Rhaenys simply nods. Their journey together is over. But they’ve done a damn good job together, haven’t they? As the pair spiral to the ground together, the look on Rhaenys’ face is less one of fear and defeat and more reflecting a peaceful resignation and understanding of what must be done.

While the loss of Rhaenys may be tragic, her death is magnificent and powerful. In fact, it might just be the best scene of season 2 thus far — at least the princess did not die in vain. As the episode comes to a close, a bruised Criston crawls through the neighboring forest to find Aemond crouched over his brother and Sunfyre. Aegon is down for the count. Both he and Sunfyre appear to be either dead, dying, or