It was arguably the most crucial—and brutally delayed—alliance forged in the narratively rich if dragon-delayed season two finale of House of the Dragon—Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) finally and truly bent the knee to his queen, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), and delivered her the massed armies of the Riverlands. At long last, Daemon said that Rhaenyra was his brother, King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) chosen successor, a truth he had refused to accept for years. In bending the knee, Daemon immediately strengthened Rhaenyra’s position immeasurably—she’d already successfully found fresh dragon riders to tip the scales (pun intended) in her favor against the bloodthirsty Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) and his supporters—now she had the massed armies of the Riverlands pledging their loyalty and their swords.

Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy. Photo by Ollie Upton/HBO

Daemon’s change of heart took a change in his vision, primarily those nurtured in him by the “witch,” Alys Rivers, during his stay in Harrenhal. Alys has been prodding Daemon to snap out of his self-obsessed bluster by opening him up to dreams, nightmares, and visitations, many from his dead brother Viserys, who has tried telling Daemon, in life and now in death, that wearing the crown isn’t a prize to be coveted or a gift of power, but a burden and, at worse, a curse. But it isn’t until Alys leads Daemon into the Godwood that his transformation reaches its necessary conclusion. In a brief moment, Daemon spies what appears to be one of the mystical Children of the Forest, scuttling away into the brush. Then, placing his hand on the Weirwood Tree, Daemon has a vision that brings us back through some of the most seminal moments in Game of Thrones.

Gayle Rankin is Alys. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO

Daemon sees much in his brief communion with the tree. There is Daenerys Targaryen and her dragon hatchlings, as well as the dreaded Night King and his undead army, the evil beyond the mortal evils that plague the schemers and dreamers in Game of Thrones. Daemon also sees visions closer to home—Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne hits hard; a message from Queen Helaena echoing something Alys told him previously—they’re all pieces of a larger story, not the movers of the pieces itself—hits harder.

These visions bring home for Daemon the truth of what his brother Visersys used to say about the Song of Ice and Fire, prompting him to kneel before his wife and true queen.

What was so surprising about the finale is that the eleven dragons in the play for the armies of the Greens and the Blacks weren’t pitted against each other in battle. At least not yet. The massive, imposing Vhagar, Prince Aemond’s steed, had glimpsed in the previous episode the reality that Rhaenyra has padded her numbers. The dragons left waiting to hunt and burn in season 3 include Syrax, Dreamfyre, Vermax, Vermithor, Caraxes, Seasmoke, Silverwing, Moondancer, and newcomers Sheepstealer and Tessarion.

Emma D’Arcy. Photograph by Theo Whiteman/HBO

What Daemon’s vision did was give the headstrong, often petulant, would-be king a shot of humility just when Rhaenyra needed it most. Daemon and the Riverland armies now give her manpower to back her dragons. However, what was left to be seen is precisely how this all plays out—we’ll have to wait until season three to find out.

For now, what we do have are Daemon’s visions of the Song of Ice and Fire and how one man’s humbling and acceptance of a woman in power might change the fate of all men and women in Westeros and beyond.

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Featured image: Matt Smith. Photograph by Ollie Upton/HBO