As the proverb goes, “In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.” Well, in the land of Westeros in “House of the Dragon,” there’s a one-eyed man … namely, Aemond Targaryen, who will do almost anything to become king.

Not that it’s going to happen. At least, we’re fairly sure that’s not going to happen. But Aemond, the second son of the late King Viserys and Dowager Queen Alicent, has had his one beady eye on the Iron Throne almost since the beginning.

But here’s a spoiler for those who’ve read the 2018 “Fire & Blood” book by George R. R. Martin: Aemond isn’t long for either the throne or his world. So how will “House of the Dragon” take him out in the end? No one knows yet … but let’s see if we can get some useful intel from “Fire & Blood.”

Aemond Targaryen (HBO)

What happens with Aemond in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season Two?

In “House of the Dragon” as well as “Fire & Blood,” Viserys and Alicent’s second son has always been on the, well, slipperier side of the moral spectrum.

In Season One, we see his villain origin story: He’s an ambitious young child who becomes fueled by vengeance when Rhaenyra’s young son Lucerys takes out his eye in fight. Aemond eventually claims Vhagar, the biggest and baddest dragon in the land, and is aback that dragon when she unleashes on Lucerys and kills him. Aemond earns the title “Kinslayer.”

Throughout Season Two, the more full-grown Aemond (who wears a patch over his missing eye) begins to feel and act more like his uncle Daemon, who’s married to Rhaenyra. They both see the current (or pretender) claimants to the throne as unfit for the position — a position they’d be much better suited for. True, Aemond has some sympathetic moments, as when he shows remorse for Lucerys’ death while visiting Sylvi at the brothel.

But in the later episodes of Season Two, Aemond has remained focused on the war, finding subtle ways (and one very unsubtle way) to undercut his brother Aegon, who’s always been diffident about whether he wants to rule. Aemond sits on the Small Council and helps out the fellow councilors with war strategy, but Aegon dislikes being worked around. In Season Two, Episode Four, he gets his chance to seize control: During a dragon battle between Sunfyre (ridden by Aegon) and Meleys (ridden by Rhaenys, a Blacks loyalist), Aegon turns Vhagar on Sunfyre, sending the dragon crashing into the forest.

Aegon is badly injured and comatose for a time, giving Aemond a chance to slide into the king’s position until he recovers. Immediately Aemond has plans for the war and the kingdom and takes charge. When Aegon wakes up, he claims to not remember anything about the battle.

How does Aemond die in the book ‘Fire & Blood’?

“Fire & Blood,” by George R. R. Martin, is not a novel precisely. The book tells the history of House Targaryen and serves as a prequel to the books that began with “A Game of Thrones.” (The whole book collection falls under the umbrella of “A Song of Ice and Fire.”) “Blood & Fire” is meant to be a historical accounting and features its own in-world sources — some of which are contradictory.

With that understood, Aemond dies in “Fire & Blood” while fighting on dragonback. Aemond and Daemon go after one another on their dragons — Vhagar and Caraxes — and fight over the largest lake in Westeros, the God’s Eye. Both dragons take heavy damage, and Caraxes latches on to Vhagar. This gives Daemon an opportunity to jump from his dragon, tear off Aemond’s helmet, and stab him through his blind eye. Both men and their dragons fall into the God’s Eye. Daemon’s dragon makes it to shore before its death, but Daemon’s body is never found.

Years later, Aemond’s body and Vhagar’s skull are found at the bottom of the lake, his bones still chained to Vhagar’s saddle and the dagger thrust into his eye socket.

Aemond Targaryen (Theo Whiteman / HBO)

When could Aemond die in ‘House of the Dragon’?

Daemon and Aemond have been on parallel tracks for some time — gaining more power at the expense of others, manipulating and maneuvering their way across King’s Landing and Westeros. But they’ve reached about as high as they can right now without actually snatching the brass ring. Daemon has already confessed that he plans to take over when Rhaenyra becomes Queen of Westeros; Aemond probably won’t miss next time he gets a chance at taking out Aegon. (The king dies in the book after drinking poisoned wine, a year after Aemond is killed.)

Still, there’s no reason “House of the Dragon” has to follow the book. Already many changes have been made between the two. Perhaps this seemingly inevitable new dragon battle will wait until Season Three. But Season Two has its finale on Aug. 4, and that seems a perfect time to leave us all hanging. We can totally imagine Daemon and Aemond finally taking to the air in the episode’s final moments, fighting their big fight and plummeting to the lake — just as the screen goes to black.

After all, who wouldn’t want to come back for the next season to see what happens next?