House of The Dragon’s Episode 7 just unfurled a massive twist in the end that sways away from the book Fire & Blood. The ending left fans wondering if Laenor Velaryon is dead or still alive Find out here as we explain the ending of House of The Dead’s episode 7.
The latest episode was primarily centered around Rhaenyra reuniting with her uncle Daemon as he tells her, “We could not marry unless Laenor were dead.” We also see the whole family brought together to mourn the loss of Laena Velaryon as her funeral unfolds.
Did Laenor Velaryon die in House of the Dragon’s Episode 7?
Rhaenyra wants to marry his father’s brother, uncle Daemon. However, he’s already married and the only condition that he can marry Rhaenyra is that Laenor has to die. However, Rhaenyra had other plans as we see her conversation with Laenor.
During the conversation, Laenor confesses that he hasn’t been a good father to their children and promises to be a better husband in the future. Their conversation also revealed that the two of them couldn’t produce offspring despite trying and Rhaenyra’s sons were actually Ser Harwin’s children.
Rhaenyra was already aware of Laenor’s sexuality before marriage and hence, the two came to an understanding that they’d find sexual pleasure elsewhere. Despite these high levels of freedom, Laenor’s death was written in the stars as per the book but the show took a turn.
How is Laenor Velaryon still alive?
Until the last scene, fans are left with anticipation that Laenor Velaryon has been murdered. However, the ending reveals that Laenor has survived Qar’s attack and is actually sailing off with him. He has a shaven head now to hide his Valyrian heritage.
It’s revealed that when Rhaenyra and Daemon were speaking, she tells him that she loves Laenor and Daemon allows her to grant him kindness and set him free. The two then formulate a plan and recruit Qarl to Laenor’s death.
We see Daemon approaching Qarl and paying him gold while telling, “There are places across the Narrow Sea where it doesn’t matter what a man’s name is, only how much gold he possesses.”
The missing pieces then start to fall back to their places as viewers realized that Laenor Velaryon is not dead and how he survived.
Why did Rhaenyra fake Laenor Velaryon’s death?
Rhaenyra and Daemon faked Laenor’s death using a wise plan including Ser Qarl, Laenor’s lover. Daemon kills a guard and replaces his body with Laenor and puts Laenor’s boots on the corpse before burning the body.
Laenor and Qarl could be seen fighting but their fight seemed a little off when we hear Qarl say, “You have always looked down on me.” We haven’t seen anything like that in any of the episodes this far.
Rhaenrya faked Laenor’s death due to her affection and care for her husband. Daemon allowed her to grant him kindness by making him secretly leave the kingdom with his lover Qarl.
What happens to Laenor Velaryon in the Book?
The ending of House of The Dragon episode 7 deviates largely from the book Fire & Blood. The book states that Laenor was slain by Ser Qarl while out at a fair in Spicetwon. They are surrounded by witnesses as they argue and start fighting with their swords.
The show displays them fighting with their swords but with different intentions. In the book, it is believed that Qarl kills Laenor as he was jealous while many also believe that Laenor was killed on Daemon’s order.
We’ll find out later why the producers decided to make sway the script away from the book. The latest episode has set up many openings for the story to follow. It’s getting more interesting with every release.
House of the Dragon premieres new episodes weekly every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max at 9 PM ET/ 6 PM PT.