Has Team Green lost its leader?

In House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” the body toll continues to mount in the great war between the Greens and the Blacks, as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) continue to fight for the Iron Throne. At the battle of Rook's Rest, Rhaenyra and Team Black suffer a major blow when Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her dragon, Meleys, fall from the sky to their deaths. But once the dust has settled, we learn that another key figure is down for the count and possibly dead as well: King Aegon II.

Ahead of the battle, things weren't looking great for Aegon. In the wake of the death of his heir, Aegon grows increasingly frustrated with his council of advisors, particularly his younger brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). While Aegon is under the impression that that his army is going to take the stronghold of Harrenhal, Aemond has hatched a plan with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) to instead attack Rook's Rest, a smaller castle that’s the more strategic move. Aegon protests Aemond's power grab, although it's clear that intellectually, he simply cannot keep up with his younger brother, leaving him no choice but to follow Aemond’s plan.

After being humiliated by Aemond in front of his council, Aegon is even more irritable, itching to get in on the action and prove his worth as king. He receives a stern talking-to from his mother, Dowager Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), who chides him, begging him to listen to his advisors rather than assuming he knows best. Does Aegon listen to her? Absolutely not. Instead of taking his mother's sage advice, Aegon throws on a suit of armor, hops onto his dragon, Sunfyre, and flies into battle at Rook's Rest.

This was not a part of Aemond's carefully laid plans for the battle—but does give the prince an unexpected opportunity to make a play for the Iron Throne. While Aegon and Sunfyre are engaged in combat with Rhaenys and Meleys, Aemond and his dragon, Vhagar, purposefully blast his older brother with dragonfire. Aemond's move is at once surprising and inevitable; although Aegon once considered Aemond to be his closest ally, Aemond is still smarting from Aegon embarrassing him and is hungry for revenge and power.

The brotherly blast causes Aegon and Sunfyre to fall from the sky. After taking care of Rhaenys, Aemond steals away to find his brother Aegon—and perhaps to secretly finish the job he began mid-air. The episode ends with Ser Criston stumbling upon Aemond in the forest. This forces the prince to restrain himself from conclusively executing Aegon, who lies seemingly lifeless on the forest floor next to the heavily injured Sunfyre.

So, did Aegon actually die? The series won’t say for sure until next episode—but for those who want to know now, the answer can be found in House of the Dragon’s source material. (Beware: book spoilers ahead.)

According to George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, Aegon does in fact survive his great fall. However, that survival comes at a great price. Due to that blast of brotherly dragonfire, the Valeryian armor that Aegon wears into battle has melted into his skin, leaving him badly burned and bedridden. (While Targaryens are immune to regular fire, they are not immune to dragonfire).

So, things are looking increasingly bleak for Aegon. But it isn't all bad news. As Aegon's father Viserys (Paddy Considine) demonstrated in House of the Dragon season one, a bedridden king is still king. If Aegon survives, he will still sit on the iron throne. Even so, it looks like Aegon will have to suffer the consequences of his foolish and impulsive actions, and that his grasp on the throne will be more tenuous than ever before. At least now it's clearer than ever that he's got enemies on both Team Black and Team Green—and one of them is his own brother.