Which twin killed the other in ‘House of the Dragon?’ Ser Erryk and Arryk, explained

One of the emotional highlights of House of the Dragon season 2 was the dynamic between the Whitecloak brothers Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk, with torn loyalties that ultimately ended in disaster. But if you, like many other viewers, find their final duel a little too confusing, then we’ve got you covered.

Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk were knights of the Kingsguard who served under King Viserys for most of their adult life. When Viserys died and the whole shenanigan with the Blacks and the Greens divided the realm into two opposing sides, so did Erryk and Arryk find their common purpose and loyalties fractured. Arryk ed Aegon II’s claim, while his brother Erryk ed Rhaenyra Targaryen in Dragonstone.

When Aegon’s son, Jaehaerys, was murdered in the Red Keep, Aegon sought revenge. Criston Cole tasked Arryk with going to Dragonstone under the guise of his brother and attempting to kill either Rhaenyra or one of her heirs. Arryk easily managed to infiltrate Rhaenyra’s inner circle, but not without alerting his twin brother of his intentions. In the book, Erryk accidentally runs into Arryk and immediately realizes his purpose there, while in the show, it’s Mysaria who puts two and two together and warns Erryk.

The aftermath of both the book and television show was nevertheless the same. Erryk and Arryk engaged each other in a duel and mortally wounded one another. Again, the way things transpire differs slightly in each version, so let’s break it down based on what we know.

Which twin killed the other in House of the Dragon?

In the books, it is recounted that Arryk and Erryk’s duel woke up half of Rhaenyra’s court and stretched for an hour before the two brothers mortally wounded one another to a point of no return. Much like the show, the two express their love for each other and then begin to fight, which ends disastrously for both of them.

In the show, however, one of the brothers survives the duel but decides to fall on his own sword. According to showrunner Ryan Condal, the brother who won the battle and decided to commit suicide was indeed Erryk, so he could’ve continued to serve Rhaenyra if not for Arryk’s needless death.

“That is Erryk at the end, who’s the last survivor, who falls,” Condal said. “So when he says, ‘Your Grace,’ to the queen, that’s when she knows who it is.”

Regrettably, the tragedies involving the Dance of Dragons are only going to mount up as we move forward in HBO’s House of the Dragon.