House of the Dragons fans traumatized by “disgusting” image in Episode 5 trailer

Emma D'Arcy as Rhaenyra in House of the DragonHBO

After the explosive events of Episode 4, House of the Dragon viewers are already traumatized by the “sick” and “disgusting” image shown in Episode 5’s teaser.

The new House of the Dragon episode is set to explore the fallout of the Battle of Rook’s Rest, with Aegon gravely injured and Rhaenys now dead.

Now it seems as though Episode 5 will include one of the most tragic scenes from the book House of the Dragon is based on: Meleys’ (Rhaenys’ dragon) head being paraded through King’s Landing.

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Considering the emotional trauma viewers were left with after Meleys’ death in Season 2 Episode 4, the sight of her head being carted through a crowd in the promo has turned the stomachs of many.

“Literally parading the dead head of everything house Targaryen represents,” said one X/Twitter user. “They’re so sick.”

The bond between Rhaenys and her dragon was a strong one. Clearly, seeing the dragon be disrespected like this is proving to be too much for many House of the Dragon viewers.

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Another wrote: “This is actually so disgusting. The mascot of house Targaryen is a dragon. How can anyone flying the Targaryen banners parade a dead dragon through the street and still call themselves a Targaryen?”

“Mind you, not even Maegor The Cruel disrespected dragons like that. They are pride and strength of House Targaryen. That’s why all of Team Green are nasty Hightowers at the end of the day,” said another.

Based on fan reactions, the biggest insult comes from the lack of foresight from Team Green. They’re so proud of their victory that they’ve failed to understand what showing off a dead dragon might do to their legacy.

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As one comment pointed out: “Doing this with a dragon when dragons are the biggest strength of house Targaryen goes to show how stupid their team is. It’s basically telling others that their dragons aren’t invincible and neither are they.”

“Dragons are the symbol of their power. And now they’re doing this, showing dragons and therefore house Targaryen aren’t indestructible which will lead to the eventual storming of the pit. Not very intelligent people I’m afraid,” added another.

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The scene can be witnessed in full when Episode 5 airs on July 14.

Until then, find out why House of the Dragon hasn’t introduced the coolest Fire & Blood character yet. You can also check out our breakdown of the Targaryen kings, as well as the Season 2 release schedule.