Rhaenyra, Daemon Seize King's Landing After Jace's
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- Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) learns of her son Jace Targaryen's death in the Battle of the Gullet and responds with "utter denial," repeatedly demanding his corpse respond — a scene D'Arcy called the only one they "dreaded shooting" this season.
- Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra take the Red Keep and Iron Throne after discovering Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) held captive in the prison below King's Landing; Rhaenyra beheads Otto herself in front of the guards before sitting on the throne.
- Alicent (Olivia Cooke) arrives at the Red Keep to find her father's beheaded body, potentially dissolving the tentative alliance she and Rhaenyra struck at the end of Season 2 — D'Arcy said Rhaenyra still "craves Alicent's affirmation" despite their polarized positions.
- D'Arcy framed Rhaenyra's public execution of Otto as "having to present as something that is familiar to a patriarchal idea of power," leaving whether that crosses a moral line "for audiences to determine."
- Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) may switch sides after Daemon denied her Harrenhal as a reward for supporting Rhaenyra's cause; Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) happens upon her while taking Harrenhal during the King's Landing assault.
- Smith hinted Alys's potential defection is a "tragic mistake" Daemon will regret, citing Daemon's "peculiar world of affection" and unsaid gratitude toward Alys after his time at Harrenhal.
Why it matters: The Red Keep takeover gives Rhaenyra the Iron Throne but costs her the Alicent alliance and potentially Alys Rivers's loyalty. With Jace dead and Otto beheaded by Rhaenyra's own hand, she has traded personal grief and political bridges for the throne itself — what D'Arcy called a crossing into "patriarchal" power she'd spent two seasons resisting.
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