The more I watch shows set in Westeros, the more I realize that no one is really using their brains. It’s nothing but revenge in there, and they always go about it in the worst ways possible. Game of Thrones was bad about it, but House of the Dragon is worse.
Revenge is a constant theme in this franchise, but what I’ve realized while watching House of the Dragon is that it’s all anyone can think about, and then it royally backfires on them. In season 2 episode 2, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is so obsessed with getting back at Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) for what he sees as her fault that he doesn’t think logically about anything. On the one hand, he’s grieving, and that makes you lash out. But also, when has Aegon … ever used his brain cells before?
This is a trend though in the series. The reason Blood and Cheese happened was because Daemon (Matt Smith) didn’t clarify what Rhaenyra wanted—or, more specifically, that he wanted them to kill Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) or Aegon, not a child.
That comes from Rhaenyra and Daemon wanting revenge for Aemond killing Lucerys Velaryon. And that whole fight started because Viserys (Paddy Considine) died, and he didn’t clarify who he wanted on the throne. Do you see the picture here? It is just a cycle of Targaryens not saying what they actually want or mean, and then when things go wrong, they’re shocked that it didn’t work out as planned.
No one thinks a single thing through except for Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), and he’s the worst guy around, but at least he’s thinking. Maybe it’s because all they do is think about conquering and procreating, but really no one in all of the seven kingdoms uses their brain.
What is going on in Westeros?
When you look at Game of Thrones, it is kind of the same. The ones using their brains either end up dead (RIP Ned Stark and Oberyn Martell) or they are controlling everything. Shoutout to Little Finger, who is smart and calculating but also the worst—a real Otto Hightower or Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), if you will.
But I do think that the lack of brain activity for most of these characters is why everything is a mess there. If the Targaryens shut off their revenge brains for two seconds and had a conversation with each other, the bloodshed would stop. Instead, Rhaenyra lost a son, so Aegon lost a son, and then Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) sent Arryk to go pretend to be his twin brother Erryk, to try to kill Rhaenyra, because Aegon … wasn’t thinking.
I don’t think that it would be as fun of a series if everyone were operating at the top of their intelligence, because I do think it is much funnier watching all these characters just make the worst possible moves ever, but House of the Dragon really puts a spotlight on how none of these characters think a single thing through.
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Chris and Andy talk about the news that production has begun on another Game of Thrones spinoff series based on the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas (1:00). Then, they talk about the first few episodes of The Boys Season 4 and the direction the show is heading in its final season (13:56). Finally, they are joined by Top Chef host Gail Simmons to discuss last night’s finale episode and some of the competition changes that were made this season (36:09).
Hosts: Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald Guest: Gail Simmons Producer: Kaya McMullen
House of the Dragon is back, and the Dance of the Dragons is underway. The Targaryen war of succession will come down to control—who can control their impulses, their sycophants, and, yes, their dragons. With each passing episode, The Ringer will examine how Westeros’s key players are aligning their pieces on the board. As the saying goes, chaos can be a ladder. Welcome to the House of the Dragon power rankings.
1. Cregan Stark
In the opening scene of Season 2 of House of the Dragon,Cregan Stark—a.k.a. the Wolf of the North, a.k.a. the ancestor of the Starkfam we know and love from Game of Thrones—immediately comes across as the most righteous dude in all the Seven Kingdoms. Hosting disputed prince Jacaerys Velaryon at the Wall, Cregan shows him around with all the pride and extreme patience of a college senior giving a pre-frosh and their parents a campus tour: Here’s the bazillion-foot-tall elevator built by my ancestors, and over that way is basically death’s door; yes, we believe in single-sex education at this institution, our motto is “Duty Is Sacrifice,” and did you know that our admissions rate is a steady 10 percent?
After all that, Cregan also makes sure to educate the naive, young Jace about the ways of the world. “Do you think my ancestors built a 700-foot wall of ice to keep out snow and savages?” he asks, explaining that the Wall also fortifies Westeros against that oldest and wiliest of foes, Death. (These taciturnt Starks sure love to bring everything back to first principles.) He remarks that, as legend has it, Jace’s Targaryen forebears once showed up flaunting their dragons—and that the mighty beasts, for all their fire-breathing power, instinctively knew not to cross the Wall. And, crucially, Cregan agrees to uphold his family’s old oath to Rhaenyra—but stresses that it’s super not his top priority right now and that the best he can do is send the “thousands of graybeards who’ve already seen too many winters,” take them or leave them.
As the Targaryens continue to bicker about who gets to sit the Iron Throne, Cregan, quite simply, just rules. Sadly, though, like all the best sigma males, the Wolf of the North will be leaving everyone wanting more. According to showrunner Ryan Condal, we’re not likely to see Cregan Stark again until some future season. Terrible news for viewers, but if the good, cold lord has taught us anything, it’s that “this is not a sentence—but an honor.” I bend the knee.
2. Larys Strong
The total opposite of Cregan Stark in so many ways! Far from being motivated by pure familial loyalty, Larys is a dirty double kinslayer. Rather than viewing King’s Landing squabbles as distractions from a broader existential crisis, Larys’s entire existence is defined by the subtle art of the throne room scheme. Whereas Cregan speaks plainly, Larys prefers to insinuate and suggest … like when he murmurs to the Dowager Queen Alicent that he knows she was “indisposed” recently. (By “indisposed,” he means that she was Ser on Criston till she Cole.) And instead of defending against Death, he orders it up: In the Season 2 premiere, we learn that Larys, seeking to root out disloyal servants, has taken the liberty of ousting members of Alicent’s previous castle staff. (By “ousting,” I mean, in his words, that “they no longer breathe our air.”)
Still, while he may be a weird dude through and through, Larys’s lurker shtick does seem to be working. He has long had a certain podiatryst arrangement with Alicent (sorry), but now that he’s personally handpicked all her maidservants, he doesn’t even need to be in the room to make her feel vulnerable and violated and claustrophobic and in need of a good scrub-a-dub-dub. That’s quite some power to wield over the mother of the king! And speaking of the king, Larys is getting in Aegon’s head, too: “Otto Hightower was your father’s hand, your grace,” he tells the young monarch, ostensibly laying the foundation for a Small Council shake-up.
It can be hard out there for Larys types: In Game of Thrones, both Littlefinger and Varys, two elite-level manipulators, eventually made one too many chess moves and met their respective dooms. But for now, Larys appears poised to take a big leap: from Alicent’s wanker footman to, potentially, the hand of the king.
3. The Crime Cloak
Need to stay anonymous in some seedy crowd but don’t feel like hiding even an inch of your face? In the mood to conspire on, commit, or conceal any number of crimes? Look no further than the humble cloak, the hottest garment in Westeros.
Are you someone nicknamed “the White Worm”? Perhaps you’d like this version, which resembles crushed silk. Need to easily reach your various swords and jacket buckles? This one gives Aemond great placket access when he’s on a mission! Rhaenys rocked the cloak when she escaped the castle ahead of Aegon’s coronation, and so did Otto Hightower when he made a business proposition to the White Worm herself. But the GOAT cloaker remains Daemon Targaryen, who really is a man for all seasons. His collection includes a bulky overcloak (worn for the occasion of killing his pesky first wife) and a cloak with lovely trim (his boatwear). He has even sported (while in the midst of grooming his teen niece and future bride) a sort of Flea Bottom version of the Investment Banker Patagonia: a cloak that kind of looks like a vest,worn over a white collared shirt.
With a lewk that is part collegiate swim team parka and part Dark Kermit, and with a hood that somehow never gets blown off by a breeze and ruins the whole disguise, the Crime Cloak comes with all sorts of options to fit one’s sinister style—all while you’re blending in, lying low, and/or planning the murder of an heir to the Iron Throne.
4. The Power Couple (Corlys and Rhaenys Velaryon)
The Sea Snake and his dragonriding bride may not be the most powerful people in the realm, but as Season 2 begins, they are each in possession of a tremendous amount of leverage. Consider:
Corlys is effectively and operationally in charge of what is currently Team Black’s most successful tactic: a blockade of shipping lanes in the Stepstones that “has placed King’s Landing under strain,” according to Otto Hightower. While that hasn’t necessarily been easy to maintain—Corlys mentions a pressing need for more ships—it’s nevertheless a solid head start until Team Green can find a way to bolster its Lannister and Hightower navies.
Rhaenys and her dragon, Meleys, are essential to this effort: “I alone patrol over a hundred miles of open sea, endlessly, to hold the blockade,” she tells Daemon.
Rhaenys and Meleys are also essential to another effort, Daemon says: “With my dragon and yours together, we can kill Vhagar and her rider.” (That rider being Aemond Targaryen.) When Rhaenys demurs, Daemon tries to insist: “Fly with me. It is a command.” But the Queen Who Never Was always knows what’s what. “Would that you were the king,” she deadpans back. Daemon is many things, but he isn’t the boss of her.
Both Corlys and Rhaenys are cooperating with Rhaenyra and Daemon despite having many, many excellent reasons not to. Like the fact that their only two children both married Targaryens and both (to their knowledge, at least) wound up dead, conveniently enabling Rhaenyra and Daemon to wed each other. (That said, I do sometimes wonder whether Rhaenys secretly knows that Leanor lives!) Or the fact that Daemon killed Corlys’s brother, Vaemond, for speaking the truth.
For now, it behooves the Velaryons to align with Team Black. But if that personal calculus changes even a little, suddenly everything from sky to sea becomes a whole different equation altogether.
5. The Royal Couple (King Aegon II and Queen Helaena)
This brother-sister, husband-wife, dalliant-dreamer, king-queen duo has always been a bizarre couple, and not just because of the whole inbreeding thing. “The queen is an enduring mystery, is she not?” says Aegon early in the Season 2 premiere, having just heard Helaena anxiously whisper something about being scared of rats. Indeed, going into this episode and this season, one thing that most excited me was finding out more about this wedded set of sibs. Like, do they have any common interests? What do they possibly talk about?!
In the wake of “A Son for a Son,” I now have my answer: It’s safe to say that they’re about to share the common interest of “avenging the gruesome murder of our sweet, dead, 6-year-old, heir-to-the-throne child.” (Aegon doesn’t know about it yet as the episode ends, but he obviously will soon.) This is a potent motivation—particularly when it comes to Aegon and Helaena, both of whom are powerful people.
One of them, of course, is king, and not just any king: He’s (a) a young king who is (b) eager to prove himself and (c) soon to be grieving his fine boy and, oh yeah, (d) was already close to shaking up the ranks of his nearest advisers. In other words, there’s really no telling what he might do next, only that it will be something drastic. And then there’s Helaena, who has consistently, if cryptically, predicted the future. If she can start harnessing her soothsaying into more actionable thoughts and ideas, she could have a weapon as vital as any flying dragon.
6. Aemond Targaryen
Speaking of flying dragons: Aemond’s mount, Vhagar, remains Team Green’s best weapon by far at the moment. Yet: “You do not have a seat at this council,” snaps Otto Hightower to Aemond when the latter enters the Small Council room in the midst of a meeting. But Otto’s boss begs to differ: “Aemond is my closest blood and our best sword,” says King Aegon II. “I welcome him.” Aemond may be in his mother’s doghouse for that minor mistake of accidentally killing his nephew, but in the Season 2 premiere, he demonstrated that he’s more than ready for the warfare to escalate further.
“My brother is hostage to my grandsire and mother,” Aemond complains to Criston Cole as they plot paths to victory, “and they tell him that a war of dragons can yet be avoided.” Not anymore, needless to say—which means that Aemond is almost certainly about to take flight.
7. Daemon Targaryen
As Aemond positions himself to become the new Daemon, this week’s episode sort of made Daemon out to be the new Aemond: Daemon took his zest for vengeance a little too far, then everything got out of hand, now a boy is dead and war is coming, and probably thar be dragons. He has simultaneously made the world chillingly simple—tit for tat, a son for a son, repeat as often as necessary—while also complicating everything. And the scariest part, as ever, is that he’s probably pretty OK with all that he’s done.
8. Rhaenyra Targaryen
The queen in exile had only one line this episode, but it was a doozy: “I want Aemond Targaryen.” Those four words were all it took to set off the Rube Goldberg contraption of events that culminated in another dead kid. The good news: That’s some power right there! The bad news: Aemond Targaryen still lives.
9. Jacaerys Velaryon
Jace’s diplomatic visit to the Wall was a definite success. And the guy also appears to have some semblance of a moral compass, the likes of which we don’t typically see in the halls of power south of Winterfell. But that makes me nervous for him! If we’ve learned anything from Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon thus far, it’s that Westeros has a way of punishing intrinsic goodness and curdling warm hearts.
10. Mysaria the White Worm
one of the best scenes of episode 01, it summarizes perfectly what matt, emma and ryan talked about how daemon deal with grief, he’s angry but the more she explains the more he backtrack, the more he gets soft and hurt again, it’s not her fault. pic.twitter.com/nV2fqsmUiR
Wired:Saying what the hell, selling secrets to Otto, and then spitting at Daemon: “You only blame me because your true enemies are out of reach.”
Inspired: Sure, Daemon may have imprisoned Mysaria, but this is the White Worm we’re talking about; this woman downright thrives in shitty situations. I completely expect her to emerge from captivity with a whole new cadre of associates and operatives.
11. Alyn of Hull
“They tell me that you are the one that dragged my body out of the sea,” Corlys Velaryon says to Alyn of Hull—a newly introduced, seemingly humble boatsman down at the Driftmark docks—in the season premiere. “I am indebted to you, Alyn,” the Sea Snake adds. Not a bad House of the Dragon character debut! Something tells me this won’t be the last we see of Alyn, who also mentions having a brother … a note that seems to pique Corlys’s interest. This situation is developing …
12. Otto Hightower
You know what, in a sick way, I almost felt bad for Otto this episode! He may be a self-involved prick, but the guy couldn’t catch a break. What’s worse: clocking your daughter and her favorite knight basking in clear post-hookup bliss, or discovering your grandson and that same knight discussing battle plans without you? Getting undermined by an amateur king who knows nothing about anything, or being plotted against by a slimy would-be usurper who knows way too much? Otto is a survivor indeed, but even cockroaches know that sometimes the only way to endure is to scatter and hide.
13. The Smallfolk
When it comes to lobbying powerful people to make decisions that benefit special interest groups, King’s Landing is a lot like New York City. You have Hugh the scorpion builder guy asking for, and being granted, better benefits for him and his fellow anti-dragon arms manufacturers, like he’s the NYPD getting funding for a bunch of new drones or surveillance vans or something. And then you have poor Jerard the Shepherd, whose simple ask—that the crown return his tithe of livestock so that he can make it through the winter!—is initially granted by Aegon the Magnanimous … only for the young ruler to get an earful from Otto and totally renege on the deal, Kathy Hochul style. Canceling congestion pricing, it turns out, is the feeding sheep to dragons of our time. Sounds about right.
14. That One Couple (Dowager Queen Alicent and Ser Criston Cole)
We’ve all known that one horned-up secret couple that thinks they’re being all sly and surreptitious with their dalliances but are actually hooking up all over creation and fooling absolutely no one. Typically, this happens during, like, adolescence. But in the case of House of the Dragon—where very few people have developmentally normal upbringings—it’s the Dowager Queen GILF and her Kingsguardsman who have apparently taken to christening every damn room in the palace.
For Alicent, who spent years married to a decaying, old King Viserys and now serves at the pleasure of her firstborn failson, King Aegon II, all this carrying on seems to be a way to reclaim both her lost youth and her feeling of power. For Ser Criston, it’s maybe a bit more complex. Once upon a time, he raged at a young Rhaenyra for even suggesting a sworn-guard-with-benefits situation, but now that’s what he basically has with Alicent. It’s a direct and dishonorable flouting of his Kingsguard oaths, yet it also helps keep Criston in the room where it happens.
This is all fun and games until someone loses a head. (An eye is so Season 1.) Alicent has for years sought to avoid a truly violent conflict, but it now seems like her window of time to achieve peace has slammed shut. And even outside the Small Council, her image as a doting mother is in shambles. It’s bad enough that Alicent and Criston were indisposed while two assassins breached a royal bedroom and killed a child in front of his mother. But then Helaena walks in on her mom mid-bone? That’s the stuff of nightmares, whether you’re a dreamer or not. I expect to see Helaena posting on the r/raisedbynarcissists subreddit before long.
15. Blood and Cheese
While Alicent is banging away, the rats will play! And for a moment, this bumbling pair of Hightower-hating, Harry-’n’-Lloyd-coded creeps seems like they might be the most powerful henchmen in the land. First, they pocket the initial half of that sweet, sweet bounty money. Then they sidle straight through the throne room in plain sight, working the “walk with purpose and act like you’re meant to be there” Super Bowl scammer strategy to perfection. And before long, they find themselves with the future of the realm literally right there in their grasp.
But then they go ahead and destroy all these Ws by completing the job that Daemon contracted them to do. Well, sort of: Unable to locate their primary target, the eminently recognizable and full-grown Aemond, they settle for the next (and worst) option: cherubic 6-year-old Jaehaerys, son of Aegon and his sister-wife, Helaena. “A son for a son,” Blood and Cheese explain to a shell-shocked Helaena, making it pretty obvious who probably sent them—and ultimately removing any remaining leverage or value they may have had.
16. The Next Generation
If you’re a youngish Targaryen or Velaryon or Hightower who thinks you have your whole life ahead of you: You probably don’t!!! While “generation” has a way of losing all meaning in the context of the incestuous Targaryen family tree, it doesn’t really matter in this case who is an uncle-husband or who is a daughter-niece: Anyone young enough to have any future at all is highly vulnerable at present, and the horrors only seem to be escalating.
One day you’re monkeying around in a dragon’s cave with your cousins and/or uncles; the next, you’re getting chomped by Vhagar. One minute you’re playing with attendance balls and being promised human horseback rides; the next, you’re missing a head. RIP, little Jaeharys! I’m bummed we won’t get to see what would have happened when you inevitably reproduced with your nearly identical twin sister a decade hence.
Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, and Steve Ahlman Social: Jomi Adeniran Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal
Last night’s second season premiere of Game of Thrones’ spinoff House of the Dragon tackled one of George R.R. Martin’s most infamous deaths—in a new way that surprised the fandom.
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In an interview with Variety, showrunner Ryan Condal explained the reasoning for the Max show’s departure from Martin’s original recollection of an event known by readers of Fire and Blood—the author’s historical explanation of Targaryen history in Westeros— as “Blood and Cheese,” named for two assassins who are responsible for the murder of Jaehaerys Targayren. In “A Son for a Son” Blood and Cheese take center stage, hired by Daemon (Matt Smith) to retaliate for the death of Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) son Lucerys at the end of last season. We pick up on the duo’s journey to do the dastardly deed which, in the show, is much more directly orchestrated than in Fire & Blood, having Rhaenyra call for Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) death.
“One of the things that’s challenging about adapting Fire & Blood is that there is this intentionally conflicting narrative in the book where there are often these three different viewpoints on the history that don’t line up with one another,” Condal explained, “so it’s our job as adapters to try to find the objective line through this to bring the audience into the narrative as we see it having been laid out.” In the book, it’s a whole lot more messy—Blood and Cheese weren’t given a specific target, just Daemon’s orders for “an eye for an eye, a son for a son,” and so try to kill the first boy they find.
“It felt like Rhaenyra, despite being in grief, she’s looking for vengeance, but she would choose a target that would have some kind of strategic or military advantage,” Condal continued. “Of course, if you did take out Aemond, not only would he be punished directly for his betrayal and murder of Luke, but it would eliminate the rider of the biggest dragon in the world, and immediately create an advantage for their side.” Jaehaerys still dies in House of the Dragon, but it’s presented more as due to Blood and Cheese’s incompetence—instead of finding Aemond, the assassins stumble upon his sister and wife, Queen Helaena, in her room with her twin children.
In the books, Helaena actually offers up her youngest son, Maelor (who isn’t included in House of the Dragon due to how the show has condensed the timeline of Fire and Blood), only for Jaehaerys to be killed by Blood and Cheese anyway—but in the show, Helaena is forced instead to sacrifice him to save her daughter. “We knew it would be horrifying and brutal—we didn’t want it to be gratuitous or over the top,” Condal said of the murder. “The idea of that sequence was to dramatize a heist gone wrong. So we move off the center narrative of Daemon, Rhaenyra, Alicent and Aegon’s world, and suddenly, we’re following these two characters that we’ve just met in an alley in Flea Bottom. Daemon’s given them an assignment to go in and find Aemond Targaryen, and we’re following them, and we’re following them, and we’re not cutting away and we’re not going back to the other narratives—‘oh, God, what’s going to happen?’”
House of the Dragon has always been about how the smallest decisions can have unforeseen consequences, but rarely has that theme been as clear as it was in the season 2 premiere. In the show’s first episode back from break, Daemon Targaryen decides to take matters into his own hands with a plot that probably could have used a little more planning (classic Daemon). But while the book’s version of these events is fittingly brutal, the show’s approach is quieter, more human, and arguably a little more horrifying.
[Ed. note: This story contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1.]
In the book version of the story, the assassins at the center of this episode’s action are named Blood and Cheese. And while they don’t get these silly names in the show, they do get a level of horror and humanity that the book doesn’t have time to afford them. The book versions are boogeymen, terrifying lowlifes who kill a handmaiden and a handful of guards, and seem gleefully cruel in the way they slay Prince Jaehaerys — tricking Queen Helaena into first naming her younger son for death before killing her firstborn instead.
Image: HBO
And while those versions of the characters are significantly more stomach-churning, the show’s approach feels much more appropriate thematically. Rather than the murderous wraiths of the book, who slip into the queen mother’s chambers, leaving a pile of bodies behind them, House of the Dragon’s assassins simply move through the castle unnoticed, a pair of hired hands of low status and low intelligence, functionally invisible to the royalty who own the halls. When they reach difficult junctures in the castle’s tunnels, or difficult choices, they panic and bicker and bumble. The Blood and Cheese of the show aren’t gifted killers, they’re just amoral men sent to do something too disgusting for anyone to have imagined possible.
Adding to all of this is the sense of desperation that the pair’s meeting with Daemon seems to have instilled in them. According to showrunner Ryan Condal, the team wanted the set-piece to play out like a “heist gone wrong,” and as the scene stretches on, we can feel their worry set in, making them more reckless, cruel, and hurried in the process. While the show cleverly leaves Daemon’s final words a mystery, the pair’s fear over what Daemon will do to them if they fail is palpable.
“We know who Daemon is; I don’t think he necessarily directly ordered the death of a child,” Condal said in a roundtable. “But he clearly said, If it’s not Aemond, don’t leave the castle empty-handed.”
So when they can’t find their initial target, it makes sense that these two decide to settle for the first royal son they can find. It’s the kind of hurried decision that only these two brutes could make. And, in a scene that’s both grotesque and funny, the two assassins realize that they can’t even tell the two children asleep in their beds apart, and have to riddle their way through Helaena’s answer. The whole thing is a ridiculous farce from two people barely competent enough to pull any of this off.
Image: HBO
All of this builds into the show’s fantastic slippery slope of assumptions. While the audience may know that Aemond’s slaying of Lucerys Velaryon in the skies over Storm’s End was an accidental consequence of not understanding his own dragon’s power, for Daemon, it seems like an act of clear and predetermined aggression. He probably didn’t expect the assassins to come away with the head of a toddler prince, but he thinks letting two assassins loose in the Red Keep with less-than-clear orders is nothing more than a slight escalation.
These are the kind of spiraling, misinformed decisions that House of the Dragon builds its beautiful, flawed, and deeply human history out of. Sure, the show is elevated to the heights of fantasy, but it’s still fundamentally a story of broken, furious, and faulty characters making rash decisions and then dealing with the consequences — those consequences just often happen to involve dragons and war.
All of this is true to Martin’s vision, of course. It’s the same kind of storytelling he employs constantly in A Song of Ice and Fire, but while the original Game of Thrones series frequently had to cut down on the humanness of its story simply by virtue of its massive scale, it’s constantly thrilling to see how effectively House of the Dragon goes the opposite direction, expanding on Martin’s written history in Fire & Blood and turning these quasi-mythical historical figures into flesh-and-blood people and incredible characters, up to and including the lowlife assassins who don’t even need their silly little names.
Midway through the fifth season of Game of Thrones, Aemon Targaryen, the centenarian maester at Castle Black, advises Jon Snow to mature in his new role as Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch.
“Kill the boy, Jon Snow,” Maester Aemon says. “Winter is almost upon us. Kill the boy and let the man be born.” This speech gives the episode its title and sets in motion the series of events that will lead Jon to Hardhome, the site of Thrones’ most spectacular fight scene.
Sunday’s Season 2 premiere of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon twists that stirring sentiment and, in so doing, transforms both its message and the entire story of which it is a part. Queen Helaena Targaryen’s shocked “They killed the boy” is a scarring statement of fact rather than a confident command, the aftermath of trauma rather than the prelude to a glorious battle. It serves as the last line of the episode, fittingly named “A Son for a Son”—leaving viewers to marinate in the nauseating horror they just witnessed for a full week before House of the Dragon’s next episode airs.
Dragon’s Season 2 premiere functions much like Thrones’ pilot episode all the way back in 2011, which mostly introduced viewers to this fictional world and set the scene for further action—only to end with stunning, appalling violence against a child. The difference is that in Thrones, Bran Stark survived his fall out a window and ultimately became king; in Dragon, little Jaehaerys Targaryen, disputed heir to the Iron Throne, most certainly did not survive his beheading at the hands of two hired assassins, which makes this moment—the sort of showstopping scene for which Thrones was revered—even more grotesque.
But first, before the child carnage, Dragon invites viewers back to Westeros with a new intro decked out with Targaryen-themed tapestries and an opening scene set in the familiar, snowy clime of Winterfell and the Wall. As is typical of a season premiere in this franchise, “A Son for a Son” surveys the important players in the realm after the dramatic conclusion of Season 1, when King Viserys died, Aegon II and Rhaenyra received dueling crowns, and the mighty dragon Vhagar, ridden by Aemond One-Eye, killed Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon.
The new season opens with Rhaenyra’s son Jace at the Wall, recruiting military aid—in the form of 2,000 grizzled Northerners—from the Starks. It then zooms through the other key members of Team Black: Rhaenys with her dragon, Meleys the Red Queen; vengeful, fiery Daemon; Corlys with his ships; and Rhaenyra, who’s searching for her dead son’s corpse. The opposing greens are all in King’s Landing, for now: Aegon has taken to sitting the Iron Throne, while Alicent and sworn-to-celibacy Criston Cole have taken to, well, a different sort of sitting.
Civil war is imminent but ostensibly has not yet begun, even though first blood has been drawn. Rhaenyra “needs an army. War is coming,” Jace tells Cregan Stark in the opening scene. Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Otto Hightower forecasts “eventual fighting,” and Alicent still speaks in conditionals: “If we loose the dragons to war, there will be no calling them back.”
That “if” will surely change to a “when” once all the characters learn what transpired in the darkness of the Red Keep at the end of the episode. Earlier, Rhaenys notes approvingly that Rhaenyra has “not acted on the vengeful impulse that others might have.” But finding Luke’s mangled body on the beach removes that caution; when Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone, vengeance is the only motive on her mind.
“I want Aemond Targaryen,” Rhaenyra declares, and the episode emphasizes this singular focus by making these her only words across the hour. The rest of Emma D’Arcy’s performance as a grieving mother is delivered through facial expressions and tears, most poignantly in Rhaenyra’s reunion with her eldest son, Jace, who breaks down while imparting news of his successful alliances in the Vale and North.
The ensuing sequence is the most beautiful one of the episode, as director Alan Taylor cuts between Luke’s wordless, emotional funeral and Alicent’s prayers at a sept in King’s Landing. (Not that sept; this prequel takes place before the construction of Cersei Lannister’s future wildfire target.) Alicent lights a candle for her dead mother (presumably; she’s gone unnamed until now), for Viserys, and then—after a contemplative pause—for Luke. Alicent even names him “Lucerys Velaryon,” despite her prominent Season 1 role in fostering doubts about Laenor Velaryon’s legitimacy as Luke’s father.
Alicent still hopes to avoid “wanton” violence, she says. But what comes next, as Aegon carouses with friends in the throne room and Alicent and Criston continue their tryst in her chambers, can’t help but plunge the realm into full-blown war. It’s the manifestation of Rhaenyra’s desire for vengeance—and the on-screen depiction of the most heinous event George R.R. Martin has devised in the whole A Song of Ice and Fire corpus.
Daemon sneaks into King’s Landing, where he enlists a City Watchman and a Red Keep ratcatcher—called Blood and Cheese in the source text—to sneak into the castle to fulfill Rhaenyra’s command. When Cheese asks, “What if we can’t find him?” Daemon grins, and the camera cuts away, but his next instructions seem clear. Once the duo enters the castle, Blood reminds his assassin partner, “‘A son for a son,’ he said.”
Their search for a green son is shot like a horror film, with flickering candlelight; shadowy, abandoned rooms; and the clangor of a thunderstorm echoing from the stones outside. Eventually, Blood and Cheese stumble upon Helaena and her two royal children. The last the camera shows of the assassins is a large hand descending over the tiny face of 6-year-old Jaehaerys Targaryen—“He’ll be king one day,” a proud Aegon declares earlier in the episode—before it pivots to Helaena as she scoops up her daughter, flees the murder scene, and runs downstairs to find Alicent.
“They killed the boy,” Helaena says, and the episode ends, dangling over a cliff.
Thrones never shied away from depravity and in fact often took steps to amplify Martin’s most violent scenes on the screen. The first victim of the show’s Red Wedding is Robb Stark’s pregnant wife, who’s stabbed in the belly, whereas in the book, Robb’s wife doesn’t attend the wedding trap at the Twins. (In fact, Martin said a decade ago that book Robb’s wife would appear, still alive, in the Winds of Winter prologue.)
But Dragon actually tones down the horror of this vengeful murder. In Fire & Blood, the source text for Dragon, Blood and Cheese sneak into the castle and kill a maid and a guard; tie up Alicent, who witnesses the atrocity; and corner Helaena and the queen’s children. Crucially, in the book, Aegon II and Helaena have a third child, 2-year-old Maelor, in addition to the twins who appear in the show. Then Cheese asks Helaena which son—Jaehaerys or Maelor—she wants to lose:
“Pick,” [Cheese] said, “or we kill them all.” On her knees, weeping, Helaena named her youngest, Maelor. Perhaps she thought the boy was too young to understand, or perhaps it was because the older boy, Jaehaerys, was King Aegon’s firstborn son and heir, next in line to the Iron Throne. “You hear that, little boy?” Cheese whispered to Maelor. “Your momma wants you dead.” Then he gave Blood a grin, and the hulking swordsman slew Prince Jaehaerys, striking off the boy’s head with a single blow. The queen began to scream.
Dragon didn’t show the killing blow (though the sawing sound and motion were gruesome enough). It also excised the second son and the haunting “Your momma wants you dead” line, replacing it with a confusing aside in which Blood and Cheese can’t determine which of the two sleeping children is the “son” and which is the royal daughter, and they ask Helaena to point out the boy. (Why can’t they check themselves? One even says they could inspect the children’s anatomy before trusting Helaena instead.)
But the sequence is still supremely sickening, even in this tamer form. The meta-storytelling result is a prime example of how Dragon, in its second season, will more closely imitate Thrones at its monocultural peak. And the in-universe narrative result will likely be a stronger push toward war, as the greens seek vengeance for Jaehaerys, just as the blacks sought vengeance for Luke. The wheel of violence spins on, crushing ever more victims.
After Jaehaerys’s death, it’s clearer than ever that Dragon’s showrunners are trying to emphasize how avoidable the disastrous Dance of the Dragons was. This civil war stems from mistakes and misunderstandings, from Alicent’s “too many Aegons” interpretation of Viserys’s dying words to Vhagar’s unsanctioned chomping of Luke—with Aemond shouting in vain, “No, Vhagar, no!”—to, now, the murder of a son that Rhaenyra didn’t want killed.
“If we loose the dragons to war, there will be no calling them back,” Alicent says, hours before learning from her traumatized daughter that her grandson has been killed. But as the Targaryens’ feuding factions commit increasingly abhorrent acts of violence against each other, that warning can encompass more than just the dragons. Once the massive machinery of war starts rumbling, it will be all but impossible to shut down.
Have HotD questions? To appear in Zach’s weekly mailbag, message him @zachkram on Twitter/X or email him at zach.kram@theringer.com.
The golden crown was not supposed to fall off King Viserys Targaryen’s rapidly disintegrating head. But when it did, in the midst of a rehearsal three years ago for the HBO series House of the Dragon,it was like a light bulb turned on. In the emotionally and physically arduous Episode 8 scene, the ailing Viserys, played by Paddy Considine, staggers from the threshold of death’s door toward the cold, hard Iron Throne one last time. And during a run-through of this moment,down came that crown—and in came Matt Smith, who plays the king’s mercurial little brother, Daemon Targaryen.
Smith didn’t miss a beat, according to a bit of HotD lore that’s had a level of canonical dissemination that would please any maester. Daemon retrieved the golden adornment and placed it back on the king’s dome, and absolutely no one on set dared to stop rolling. Later, when Smith and Considine got together with director Geeta Patel to discuss how things went, “They were like, ‘We felt this,’” Patel told Entertainment Weekly in 2022. “‘This felt like the turning point in our relationship.’” When they shot the scene officially, they did so two ways: one in which the crown stays put, as originally planned, and one in which Daemon does his best you dropped this impression—which is what made the final cut.
And for good reason. The result is a steely, moving little salute of a scene, understated yet alive with fraternal and courtly devotion. It is also a callback to an earlier moment in the series when Daemon patches things up with his brother by relinquishing to him some super-meaningful driftwood. (This would absolutely work on me.) Almost no words are spoken during the exchange, yet the visual impact of the hale Daemon aiding and honoring the ghostlike husk of his older brother speaks volumes about recurring House of the Dragon motifs such as mortality and rivalry and family-first loyalty.
And then, less than five minutes later in the episode, we got another memorable, if totally tonally different, Daemon-crowning-someone-in-the-throne-room performance. So to speak.
In that scene, a disagreement over the line of succession for the maritime lands of Driftmark devolves into a passionate airing of grievances from Vaemond Velaryon, Daemon’s cousin’s brother-in-law, and/or Daemon’s daughters’ great-uncle, and so on. (This family tree is more like kudzu.) Vaemond shouts that the sons of Princess Rhaenyra, the heir to the Iron Throne, are “bastards” (fact check: true) and that the princess herself is “a whore.” (Well, now you’ve gone and done it, guy.) It’s enough to make Viserys summon enough dad strength to slowly rise to his feet, draw his blade, and shout: “I’ll have your tongue for that!”
Once again, Daemon is there to assist. It takes only one visceral swipe of his Valyrian steel sword to leave Vaemond resting in pieces right there on the throne room floor, silenced forever. “He can keep his tongue,” Daemon says as jaws hit the ground all around him, figuratively and literally.
In just a few minutes, these two fell swoops give a glimpse into the totality of Daemon Targaryen, from his savage, gruesome methods of showing and earning respect to his occasional flashes of humor and even grace. And they demonstrate why Daemon, for all his many, many problems, is such an electric guy to watch in House of the Dragon.
As Season 2 begins later this week, we know there will once again be crowns and bastards and killing, because this is Westeros, and there always are. We know that Daemon will loom large, both within the universe of the show and in real-world conversation. But what we don’t yet know—and what we may never learn—is what Daemon is truly thinking and wanting and feeling. When it comes to him, those sorts of things have never been black-and-white.
In the aftermath of Episode 8 last season, some of the minds behind House of the Dragon suddenly found themselves busy describing all of the people Daemon Targaryen is not. “He ain’t Paul Rudd,” one of the show’s writer-producers, Sara Hess, told The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the character had “become ‘Internet Boyfriend’” in a way that baffled her. Clare Kilner, a director, chimed in that Daemon is not “particularly a good father or a good brother,” either. “He’s not Ned Stark,” showrunner Ryan Condal told TheNew York Times as part of a minor rant about how it confused him to see so many viewers stan Daemon.
“I see Daemon as having heroic aspects to him, and I understand why people would,” Condal said. “I mean, he’s incredibly charismatic, he’s handsome, he looks great in that wig, he rides a dragon, he has a cool sword. I totally get it. But if you’re looking for Han Solo, who’s always going to do the right thing in the end, you’re in the wrong franchise, folks.”
Not Paul Rudd, Ned Stark, or Han Solo—OK, so then who is he? In 2018, when the author and general mastermind of Westeros, George R.R. Martin, was making the rounds to promote Fire & Blood—the book that House of the Dragon is based on—he was asked in a virtual Q&A to name his favorite person in the ancient, silver-haired, tight-knit Targaryen family.
“I’m notorious for my love of gray characters,” Martin responded, “and one of the grayest characters in the entire story of Westeros is Daemon Targaryen, the Rogue Prince.”
Murderous and magnetic, Daemon loves to party, though you rarely see him belly laugh. He rides a dragon nicknamed “Blood Wyrm,” carries a sword called “Dark Sister,” was knighted as a teenager, and is not above pulling stunts like absconding with a dragon egg and holding it hostage for a while. In Fire & Blood, one passage reads:
Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men and monsters. Prince Daemon was both. In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, and so reviled in all Westeros. He was made of light and darkness in equal parts. To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains.
Throughout Season 1 of House of the Dragon, we see all of these dualities at play. Daemon is, first and foremost, an unquestionably brave defender of the realm, fighting doggedly in all sorts of miserable locales—it has to smell foul in that Crabfeeder cave!—to help shore up and maintain his family’s material interests and its powerful name. And, in his own way, he’s also a worthy guardian of his brother—that is, when he’s not annoying or insulting Viserys to the point of getting exiled. (Hey, who among us hasn’t gotten kicked off a sibling’s turf at some point?) Daemon routinely seeks to protect the king from enemies, from allies (“I will speak of my brother as I wish,” he tells Corlys “the Sea Snake” Velaryon near the beginning of the show; “You will not”), and even from the king himself. “You’re weak, Viserys,” Daemon explains in the pilot episode. And he does have a point.
Like it or not, throughout much of the first season, Daemon is what peak performance in Westeros looks like. He has an aura that enables him to pull off both badass suits of armor and sketchy hooded cloaks. His glower is unrivaled; his bars are exquisite. He rules at lurking off to the side of places, smirking and observing like he’s Jared Catalano leaning up against a locker. He is a man of the people who sure does seem committed to ensuring that the Flea Bottom economy is always strong. Whatta guy, right?
But that’s only the half of it, the good half. There’s also the part of Daemon whose civic engagement in Flea Bottom involves, you know, bringing his teenaged niece Rhaenyra to a brothel where he seduces and then abandons her. Daemon is a dark dude who mocks his brother’s dead son, riles up a bunch of sadistic gold-cloaked vigilantes, ignores his own children, and pummels some poor, innocent courier for simply delivering a message. He is a boy who breaks his favorite toys—and all the other toys, for good measure.
Daemon does appear to genuinely live his values. It’s just that his values revolve around the Targaryen supremacist idea that, as a man possessing the blood of the dragon, he has not just the right but the duty to act like a fantastical, uncaged, fire-breathing monster whenever he wants, no matter whom it hurts.
I had thought it was pretty unkind that he referred to his first wife, Rhea Royce, as “the Bronze Bitch,” but that turned out to be nothing compared to the time he showed up unannounced in the Vale dressed like Evil Kermit just to bludgeon her to death with that divorce rock. And I’ll admit that—despite witnessing all of these behaviors, and despite having been informed that, in the books, Daemon is actually even more of a nightmare—I had still assumed that Rhaenyra, Daemon’s proud wife, stubborn niece, and High Valyrian–speaking buddy, would be spared from his icy-hot wrath. I was very, very wrong.
Of all the harrowing scenes in House of the Dragon’s Season 1 finale—Rhaenyra’s miscarriage, the dragons at war in the skies—it’s the moment when Daemon reaches out and grabs Rhaenyra by her throat that felt hardest to watch. “I think he has a sense of duty to his family, weirdly,” Smith once told the Los Angeles Times about Daemon. “I think he’d lie on his sword for his brother or Rhaenyra.” And yet. By the end of the first season, Viserys is dead, and Rhaenyra is being threatened by Daemon’s own hand. Without some sort of renewed gravitational force in his life, the Rogue Prince may risk spiraling out—and away into his own limitless darkness.
When Smith was cast as Daemon, he already had experience playing roles whose reputations far preceded his own. “Dr. Who?!” was a common early reaction to his 2009 selection, at the age of 26, as the eleventh Doctor in that storied, high-pressure franchise. When the ambitious historical drama The Crown debuted in 2016, Smith spent the first two seasons defining and refining a portrait of a young Prince Philip in all his prickly, handsome, second-banana glory—a performance that also helped Smith establish himself in the zeitgeist. (According to Smith, the real Prince Harry once shook his hand at a polo match and called him “granddad.”)
As a teenager, Smith had looked down on acting as “girly” and focused his time and energy on playing high-level soccer until a back injury forced him out of the game. Now, all these years later, he plays at being some of the world’s most well-known men—including ones who could not be less like Smith in real life.
In interviews, Smith exhibits a personality that’s so affable and cheeky and non-Daemon that I almost find myself needing to stop watching so as to not ruin House of the Dragon’smoody vibe. He has said that Daemon is probably a Scorpio, that Daemon would make a great vampire, and that Caraxes, Rhaenyra, and “a good night out on the town” are what keep his character grounded.
He has talked about how he slipped a disc in his neck and got a cut on his head during the filming of the show’s first season. And Jimmy Fallon asked him who would win in a fight: Daemon or Jon Snow? “Come on,” was Smith’s response. “Mate, I have a dragon. Listen, I have a lot of respect for Jon Snow. Jon Snow is a bad boy, don’t get me wrong. … But don’t get it twisted: I would fuck those brothers up.”
For all his merry whimsy, though, Smith is also quite comfortable harnessing the unsavory side of Daemon and the world in which he lives. Ever since he accepted the role, he has been all in—like really all in, willing to not only perform Daemon with unsettling aplomb on-screen, but also publicly make peace with the character’s often violent existence. “He’s got a weird moral compass—perverse and strange,” Smith told the Los Angeles Times about Daemon in 2022. “But nevertheless, there is a set of laws that he’s guided by.” During one press conference last week, Smith remarked, “I admire his conviction, his mistakes, and his actions. He’s like, ‘Fuck them all, man, this is how I’m gonna roll!’”
So, how might Daemon be rolling when Season 2 begins this week? One profile of Smith in Varietydescribes a “much weaker” character whose ostensibly shady attempts to look out for himself wind up drawing scrutiny and sowing distrust—especially with Rhaenyra. Interviewed on a CBS morning show recently, Smith hinted that audiences may notice Daemon vibrating at a rather different frequency from last season. “Softer, lazier, fatter, slower,” is how Smith described Daemon’s upcoming arc, sounding a bit like a Daft Punk fan designing a wine mom T-shirt. (Who can mock that up as a new house sigil?)
As for why Daemon might be rounding into his goblin era? “He’s sort of haunted by his demons, really, by ghosts, by apparitions,” Smith told CBS. “The weight of all the bad deeds that he’s done really comes home to roost, so to speak.” This is interesting to contemplate, considering that in the Season 1 finale—as he grips Rhaenyra by her throat—Daemon straight up scoffs at all things spectral.
When Rhaenyra tries to tell him about the Song of Ice and Fire that Viserys had impressed upon her before his death, Daemon is exasperated—and, in his grief, jealous that Viserys never mentioned it to him. “My brother was a slave to his omens and portents,” Daemon snaps. “Anything to make his feckless reign appear to have purpose.”
Viserys may have focused on the fantastical, but Daemon? He prefers things that are real, man.“Dreams didn’t make us kings,” he tells his wife. “Dragons did.” He has a point, but those king-making dragons taketh just as much as they giveth. In Season 1’s closing scene, Daemon has to deliver the news to Rhaenyra that her sweet son Lucerys and his dragon, Arrax, have both been mortally torn asunder in midair by another flying beast.
That beast would be Vhagar—theoh lawd he comin’–sized dragon that Aemond Targaryen claimed as a child, losing an eye in the process. “Do not mourn me, mother,” a wounded Aemond says to the understandably horrified Queen Alicent after he’s been stitched up in Episode 7. “It was a fair exchange. I may have lost an eye, but I gained a dragon.” This is some real Targaryen math through and through, which explains why it sounds so much like Daemon logic as well.
That brings us to maybe the biggest open question about Daemon heading into this new season: How will he handle the rise of Aemond, a possibly more sinister, potentially less humane version of himself? Even their names suggest an ouroboric relationship between these silver-coiffed, secondborn royal sons: You can’t spell one without the other, and maybe you can’t delete one without erasing the other, too. Aemond may not have intended to kill Lucerys, but if he’s anything like Daemon—and he is—there’s a good chance that, far from apologizing or repenting, he’ll dig in and double down and do what is needed to make those dragons dance.
“Prince Daemon had been the wonder and the terror of his age,” reads one of George R.R. Martin’s lines about the Rogue Prince. As House of the Dragon unfolds, not only can you see the scope of what this means, but you can also watch the other characters as they start to see and process what Daemon is capable of, too. When Rhaenyra looks at her husband in the finale, not so much with anger or fear but with pity,it opens up a new world of possibilities for their relationship going forward.
For a split second, this scanned to me as a sweet moment, a mentor passing the torch to the next generation. And then I snapped to and remembered that this is Westeros, and these people are bad news and great liars and unrepentant sinners, and Aemond’s look of wonder is because he is striving to be a young terror himself.
Whether he is validating his brother’s reign or vivisecting his rival, Daemon’s motivations throughout the first season of House of the Dragon feel straightforward: He wants to consolidate and preserve his family’s dragon bloodline, and thus the source of his family’s power, whatever the optics or costs. But as Season 2 approaches and those costs keep piling up, will his motivations or his methods start changing?
For now, the answer to that remains murky, which feels right. Daemon is, after all, one of the grayest guys that this realm has ever seen. That much has always been clear.
After nearly two years, we’re finally returning to Westeros for Season 2 of House of the Dragon. And if, in that long layoff, you’ve forgotten exactly where things stand in the brewing civil war between Team Green and Team Black, we’re here to help. Welcome to our House of the Dragon cheat sheet.
This resource, culled largely from George R.R. Martin’s 2018 Targaryen history, Fire & Blood, will get you up to speed on who is who, what is what, and where is where around 132 AC—when Season 1 of HotD concluded (for reference, Game of Thrones starts in 298 AC). Heads up: This will contain major spoilers for Season 1 (if you’re looking for a cheat sheet entering that season, we have one for you), but it won’t spoil anything from the book.
As a refresher: Season 1 ends when Aemond One-Eye Targaryen and his dragon, Vhagar, killed (somewhat accidentally) Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon, Arrax. That event happened roughly alongside the dueling coronations of Aegon Targaryen and Rhaenyra Targaryen—and put Westeros on a path to war. Here are the people, places, things, and dragons you need to know as we enter Season 2:
People
Team Black
Queen Rhaenyra’s faction is called the Blacks because Rhaenyra appeared in a black gown at the tourney feast to celebrate Viserys and Alicent’s wedding (though in the show, it’s because she just tends to wear black). Currently, most members of the Blacks reside on Dragonstone—the traditional seat for a Targaryen heir.
Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen: The late King Viserys I’s firstborn child, known in her youth as the Realm’s Delight. Viserys named Rhaenyra his heir when she was a teenager, in part because he wanted to disinherit his brother, Daemon. Despite eventually fathering male heirs with his second wife, Queen Alicent Hightower, Viserys never disinherited Rhaenyra—but her ascent to the throne was always going to be difficult. Rhaenyra married Laenor Velaryon as a teenager and produced three sons by him (at least officially, more on that in a minute), then married her uncle Daemon after Laenor’s death (which was fake, more on that too) and birthed two more sons. Rhaenyra rides Syrax, a formidable dragon of fighting size.
Daemon Targaryen: Rhaenyra’s uncle-husband. Daemon can be a bit of a hothead but is a very capable warrior, having fought in the War for the Stepstones early in Season 1. He was previously married to Laena Velaryon and has two daughters—Rhaena and Baela—through her. He rides the dragon Caraxes.
Jacaerys Velaryon: Rhaenyra’s oldest son through Laenor Velaryon, though his biological father is the late Harwin Strong. Called Jace. He is now a teenager and is Rhaenyra’s heir. At the conclusion of Season 1, he was sent on his dragon, Vermax, to treat with Lady Jeyne Arryn in an attempt to bring the Vale to Rhaenyra’s side. He was to continue north to Winterfell to curry favor with the Starks.
Joffrey Velaryon: The youngest of the Laenor/Strong boys. Joffrey is just old enough (11) to ride his dragon, Tyraxes, in the books—but not old enough for his mother to allow him to leave Dragonstone. The series may have aged him down somewhat—it’s implied that he’s only 6 years old at the end of Season 1.
Aegon the Younger Targaryen: The eldest child of Rhaenyra and Daemon. Called “the Younger” to differentiate him from his cousin and half-uncle Aegon II Targaryen. He’s currently a toddler.
Viserys Targaryen: The second child of Rhaenyra and Daemon’s union. Named after his grandfather, King Viserys I. He’s also a toddler.
Rhaenys Targaryen: The cousin of King Viserys I, known as the Queen Who Never Was. Her claim to the throne was rejected at the Great Council of 101 AC, when the lords of Westeros chose Viserys over her, reinforcing a precedent that the succession must pass through a male line. She is married to Corlys Velaryon, with whom she had two children, Laenor and Laena (both deceased or thought to be deceased). She rides Meleys, the fastest dragon in the realm.
Corlys Velaryon: Called the Sea Snake for his many adventures on the water. He is the head of House Velaryon, the Master of Driftmark, and the husband of Rhaenys Targaryen. He is one of the richest, most powerful, and most ambitious figures in Westeros, and he dreams of one day seeing one of his descendants ascend the Iron Throne. His naval power allows the Blacks to consider a blockade of King’s Landing.
Baela Targaryen: The eldest daughter of Daemon and Laena Velaryon. A teenager, Baela rides the dragon Moondancer.
Rhaena Targaryen: The younger daughter of Daemon and Laena Velaryon. The egg placed in Rhaena’s cradle when she was a baby never hatched; she thought she might inherit Vhagar after her mother, Laena, died, but Aemond claimed the ancient dragon before she had a chance to. As a result, Rhaena is currently not a dragonrider.
Bartimos Celtigar: Lord of House Celtigar, a smaller house sworn to House Velaryon (and one of only three houses with Valyrian descent, alongside the Velaryons and Targaryens). He attends the Black Council in Season 1 and shifts the conversation from talk of men and ships to talk of dragons.
Grand Maester Gerardys: Rhaenyra’s household maester and thus the maester at Dragonstone when she is crowned.
Erryk Cargyll: Twin of Arryk Cargyll. Previously in Viserys’s Kingsguard, he disagrees with his brother over whether Aegon is fit to rule and ultimately decides to defect to Rhaenyra’s side. He helps Rhaenys Targaryen flee King’s Landing during Aegon’s coronation. He also steals Viserys’s crown and delivers it to Rhaenyra. He is now part of Rhaenyra’s Queensguard.
Steffon Darklyn: Member of Rhaenyra’s Queensguard. Previously in Viserys’s Kingsguard. (In the book, it is Steffon, not Erryk, who steals Viserys’s crown for Rhaenyra.) He is the lord commander of Rhaenyra’s Queensguard in Fire & Blood, but it is unclear whether he has that title in the show.
Gunthor Darklyn: Head of House Darklyn. His exact relationship to Steffon is unclear. In the books, he sits on the Black Council.
Lorent Marbrand: Member of Rhaenyra’s Queensguard. Previously in Viserys’s Kingsguard.
Elinda Massey: Handmaiden to Rhaenyra.
Alfred Broome: The most senior knight on Dragonstone, he joined the island’s garrison during the reign of King Jaehaerys. Fire & Blood describes him as having a “sullen disposition and sour manner.”
Team Green
When Oldtown calls its banners to war, the Hightower shines a green beacon. Hence the name for Queen Alicent’s faction: the Greens. They currently hold King’s Landing.
King Aegon II Targaryen: The firstborn child of Alicent and Viserys I Targaryen. Married to his sister, Helaena, with whom he has three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor. It’s also implied that he’s fathered a number of bastards in King’s Landing who can be spotted by their silver hair. In Episode 8, he rapes one of his family’s handmaidens. Aegon is a drunk and a layabout—he initially doesn’t want to be crowned king and would prefer a life away from politics. But per the trailers for Season 2, he seems to enjoy the power the Iron Throne provides. Rider of Sunfyre, a formidable golden-scaled dragon.
Alicent Hightower: Now that Viserys has died, Alicent is the dowager queen in King’s Landing. She is the mother of Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron. In her youth, she was a great friend to Rhaenyra—but now they are bitter enemies competing for the throne. She is the daughter of Otto Hightower. Alicent misinterpreted a conversation she had with Viserys I on his deathbed, leading her to believe that the king wanted to name Aegon heir instead of Rhaenyra. She puts her son on the throne in an urgent, frantic plot mere hours after Viserys passes. Alicent is deeply religious and has the Red Keep redecorated, removing the heraldry of the Targaryens in favor of symbols of the Faith of the Seven. Unlike many others on her side, she’s uncomfortable with violence and treachery—though she still engages in both. She once says, “I have to believe that in the end, honor and decency will prevail.”
Otto Hightower: Father of Alicent and Hand of the King to Jaehaerys, Viserys, and now Aegon II, his grandson. Daemon once says that Otto is “a second son who stands to inherit nothing he doesn’t seize for himself.” Daemon also calls him “a cunt.” Otto is deeply ambitious and, by the time of Viserys’s death, has been scheming to put Aegon II on the throne for years.
Helaena Targaryen: Sister-wife to Aegon II. Helaena is a dreamer, blessed (or cursed) with prophetic visions, such as when she comments that Aemond will have to “close an eye” to gain a dragon shortly before he loses his eye after mounting Vhagar. Helaena is considered a bit odd and eccentric but seems to have a kinder heart than most of her siblings and connects with her nephews, while her brothers see them only as rivals. Helaena rides Dreamfyre, a 100-year-old dragon, but she rarely takes to the skies and is no warrior. She is the mother of Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor.
Aemond Targaryen: Known as Aemond One-Eye after Lucerys Velaryon cut out one of his eyes when Aemond claimed Vhagar. As he ages, Aemond becomes strong and intimidating, once beating Criston Cole in a sparring session in the training yard. He loves to torment his nephews. He somewhat accidentally kills Lucerys and Lucerys’s dragon, Arrax, when the two encounter each other at Storm’s End at the end of Season 1. This makes Aemond a kinslayer—and pushes Westeros toward war.
Daeron Targaryen: The youngest child of Viserys and Alicent. Aged 15, he has not been seen on-screen because he is in Oldtown, serving as cupbearer to Ormund Hightower, his mother’s cousin. Daeron rides Tessarion, who is said to be of fighting size.
Jaehaerys Targaryen: Eldest son of Aegon II and Helaena, and Aegon’s heir. In the books, it is said that Jaehaerys was born with “six fingers on his left hand, and six toes upon each foot.” He’s bonded to the dragon Shrykos, but both Jaehaerys and his dragon are far too young and small to be of any use in a war. Jaehaerys is just a toddler at the opening of Season 2.
Jaehaera Targaryen: Daughter of Aegon II and Helaena, and twin to Jaehaerys. Like her brother, Jaehaera is bonded to a dragon—Morghul—but is many years away from flying.
Maelor Targaryen: Infant son of Aegon II and Helaena.
Criston Cole: Lord Commander of Aegon II’s Kingsguard. Ser Criston is the sworn shield—and secret lover—of Rhaenyra in the princess’s youth, but the two have a falling-out when she rejects his offer to run away to Essos together. He later confesses his transgression to Queen Alicent and becomes her close ally from that point on. He kills Joffrey Lonmouth—Laenor Velaryon’s secret lover—at Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding. He also kills—somewhat accidentally—Lord Lyman Beesbury at the small council meeting after Viserys’s death. And when Lord Commander Harrold Westerling resigns his post in the aftermath, Criston ascends to the position. He then helps Aemond track down his brother Aegon, fighting Arryk Cargyll to ensure Aegon is delivered to Alicent, not Otto. At Aegon’s coronation, it is Criston who places the crown on his head.
Tyland Lannister: Younger twin of Jason Lannister. Served Viserys as master of ships, and later as master of coin. Has long schemed with Otto Hightower to place Aegon on the throne once Viserys dies. Currently Aegon II’s master of coin.
Jason Lannister: Older twin of Tyland Lannister and the head of House Lannister. Courts Rhaenyra in the princess’s youth but comes off as arrogant and vain, and she rejects him. As in Game of Thrones, the House of the Dragon Lannisters are one of the wealthiest and most powerful houses in the realm.
Larys Strong: Head of House Strong following the deaths of his father, Lyonel, and older brother, Harwin, which he arranged. Called the Clubfoot because one of his feet was malformed at birth. Served Viserys as master of whisperers and Lord Confessor, roles he retains under Aegon II. A longtime ally of Alicent, he brings the queen information in exchange for … you remember.
Jasper Wylde: Called Ironrod for his unbending attitude. Master of laws toward the end of Viserys’s reign, a post he retains under Aegon II.
Grand Maester Orwyle: Grand maester under Viserys, and now Aegon II. Prefers less traditional methods of healing (in treating King Viserys’s illness, Orwyle wants to try an herbal medicine he’s prepared, but then–Grand Maester Mellos prefers leeches).
Borros Baratheon: Lord of House Baratheon. He makes a marriage pact with the Greens, matching one of his daughters with Aemond Targaryen. Rhaenyra and the Blacks make no such offer—her sons are already betrothed—and so lose Borros’s support, despite Borros’s father’s oath to support Rhaenyra decades earlier. Borros is boisterous and rough around the edges. He’s illiterate.
Rickard Thorne: Knight in Aegon II’s Kingsguard. Also served under Viserys.
Oscar Tully: Great-grandson of Grover Tully, the current Lord of Riverrun. Son of Elmo Tully and younger brother of Kermit Tully. Yep, these are their actual names. This character has been cast, so expect to see the young knight on-screen in Season 2.
Arryk Cargyll: Twin of Erryk Cargyll. Previously in Viserys’s Kingsguard, and now in Aegon II’s. He disagreed with his brother on whether Aegon II would be fit to rule and ultimately stays loyal to the Greens.
Talya: Handmaiden for Alicent and spy for Mysaria, the sex worker turned spymaster who was once Daemon’s paramour and is now known as “the White Worm.”
Humfrey Lefford: Head of House Lefford, which is sworn to the Lannisters. Commander in the Lannister army.
Gwayne Hightower: Younger brother to Alicent. Seen at the tourney in Episode 1—but never without his helmet. The series cast an actor to play him in Season 2, ensuring we’ll see more of this character (including his face).
Eustace: Priest in King’s Landing.
The Royal Family Tree
Got all that? To help keep it straight, here’s the Targaryen family tree as it stands entering Season 2.
Free Agent Characters
As HBO’s marketing has reminded us this season, when civil war comes to Westeros, everyone must choose a side. But the loyalties of these characters are not yet completely clear.
Mysaria: Called the White Worm. Former sex worker who now runs a spy ring in King’s Landing. Former partner of Daemon. She informs Otto of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s Flea Bottom escapade early in Season 1. She kidnaps Aegon when Viserys is near death and uses the information on his location to negotiate with Otto over the closing of the child fighting pits (she also gets a healthy bag of gold out of it). Mysaria is protective of smallfolk—but her exact motivations and goals are not entirely clear.
Jeyne Arryn: Head of House Arryn. Rhaenyra’s mother was Aemma Arryn (exact relation to Jeyne is unknown), and thus Rhaenyra believes Jeyne will side with the Blacks in the coming war. Jacaerys Velaryon is on his way to the Eyrie to treat with Lady Jeyne.
Cregan Stark: Head of House Stark. His father, Rickon Stark, swore an oath of fealty to Rhaenyra when Viserys named her his heir. As a member of the Black Council remarks in the finale of Season 1, “There has never lived a Stark who forgot an oath.” Jacaerys is to continue to Winterfell to meet Lord Cregan after he finishes in the Vale.
Harrold Westerling: Former Lord Commander of Viserys’s Kingsguard. Last seen resigning his post when the Greens put their plan to crown Aegon II into motion. In the books, Harrold is long dead by the time the civil war breaks out, so it is unclear what the show has planned for him.
Simon Strong: Castellan of Harrenhal and great-uncle to Larys.
Orwyle, Eustace, and Mushroom: The three authors whose accounts constitute the only primary sources from Viserys’s reign and the ensuing civil war, which is known as the Dance of the Dragons. Martin’s Fire & Blood is written in the voice of Archmaester Gyldayn, who lived during the time of King Robert Baratheon and was writing a history for the king. As such, there is no definitive account of the events of House of the Dragon—everything we know comes from sources who had their own biases and blind spots. In some cases, these sources directly contradict one another.
Deceased Season 1 Characters
It wouldn’t be Westeros without some bloodshed. Here are the important characters who died in Season 1 but are worth remembering as we stare down Season 2.
Jaehaerys I Targaryen: The Old King who preceded Viserys. Because he had no living sons at the time of his death, a Great Council was called to resolve his succession. The result—that Viserys would be named Jaehaerys’s heir—reinforced a precedent that succession in Westeros must go through a male line.
Aemma Arryn: Rhaenyra’s mother. Died in childbirth. Because her mother was an Arryn, Rhaenyra expects the Vale—now ruled by Jeyne Arryn—to side with the Blacks.
Craghas Drahar: The Crabfeeder. The leader of the Triarchy forces that Daemon and Corlys defeated in the war for the Stepstones.
Rhea Royce: Daemon’s first wife. Bludgeoned to death by Daemon, though the death was made to look like a horse-riding accident.
Joffrey Lonmouth: Lover of Laenor Velaryon. Killed by Ser Criston Cole at Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding.
Laena Velaryon: Daughter of Rhaenys and Corlys, wife to Daemon. Mother of Baela and Rhaena. Lived in Pentos with Daemon for years while the latter was in exile. Loved to ride her dragon, Vhagar, alongside Daemon’s Caraxes. Had Vhagar light her ablaze when childbirth complications made it clear she wouldn’t survive her third pregnancy.
Harwin Strong: Rhaenyra’s lover and the biological father of her first three sons. Killed on the orders of Larys Strong, Harwin’s brother.
Lyonel Strong: Father of Harwin and Larys and formerly the master of laws and Hand of the King to Viserys. Killed along with Harwin on Larys’s orders. With both Harwin and Lyonel dead, Larys becomes the Lord of House Strong.
Laenor Velaryon: Son of Rhaenys and Corlys, husband to Rhaenyra. Officially the father of Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey—though their biological father is Harwin Strong. Laenor is technically alive—he fakes his death late in Season 1 with the blessing of Rhaenyra to gain freedom from his life at her side—but it is highly unlikely we’ll ever see him again in the series. He has escaped to Essos and left his life in Westeros behind.Formerly the rider of Seasmoke.
Vaemond Velaryon: Younger brother of Corlys Velaryon. Killed by Daemon when he questions the parentage of Rhaenyra’s sons and challenges their standing to inherit Driftmark.
King Viserys I Targaryen: Husband of Alicent. Father of Rhaenyra, Aegon II, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron. Died of a prolonged illness.
Lyman Beesbury: Master of coin for Viserys. Killed by Criston Cole when he questions the Green Council’s plan to coronate Aegon. His death marks the first casualty in the Dance of the Dragons.
Lucerys Velaryon: Rhaenyra’s second-oldest son through Laenor Velaryon, though his biological father is the late Harwin Strong. Called Luke. In their youth, Lucerys and Aemond Targaryen get into a fight that ends when Lucerys knifes out Aemond’s eye. At the end of Season 1, Lucerys rides his dragon, Arrax, to Storm’s End to ask for Borros Baratheon’s support, but Aemond beats him there. Aemond chases Lucerys from Storm’s End on his dragon, Vhagar, and ends up killing Lucerys and Arrax. The death of Lucerys makes it impossible for the two sides to avoid war. Lucerys was also the heir to Driftmark, and his death leaves the succession of House Velaryon once again in question.
Dragons
Men and ships are important, but true power in this war lies in dragons. There are 19 named, known dragons at this point in Westerosi history. Here’s what to know about each:
Team Black
Syrax: The yellow she-dragon ridden by Rhaenyra. Of fighting size, but with no experience.
Caraxes: Called the Blood Wyrm. The huge, fierce red dragon ridden in battle by Daemon.
Meleys: Called the Red Queen. The scarlet-and-pink she-dragon ridden by Rhaenys. Probably still the swiftest dragon in Westeros, though she has begun to slow in her old age.
Vermax: The young dragon ridden by Jacaerys. As of the end of Season 1, Vermax and Jace are en route to the Eyrie, with plans to continue north to Winterfell. Vermax is a teenager—capable of combat but nowhere as formidable as some of Westeros’s older, more experienced dragons.
Tyraxes: The young dragon of Joffrey. In the books, Tyraxes is old enough for Joffrey to ride—but the show appears to have aged the character down a touch, so the dragon may still be grounded.
Moondancer: The young dragon of Baela Targaryen. In the books, Moondancer is just too young for Baela to ride at the beginning of the war.
Stormcloud: The hatchling that has bonded with Aegon the Younger. Far too small to be ridden.
Team Green
Vhagar: The massive, ferocious, bronze-and-green-blue she-dragon that was ridden by Queen Visenya during Aegon’s Conquest. Vhagar is the oldest, largest, and fiercest dragon in Westeros. She is the mount of Aemond Targaryen. Last seen killing Arrax and Lucerys.
Sunfyre: The glittering, gold-scaled dragon ridden by Aegon II. Said to be the most beautiful creature ever seen in Westeros. Of fighting size, but without experience.
Dreamfyre: The century-old, pale-blue-and-silver she-dragon ridden by Helaena Targaryen. Dreamfyre has never been much of a fighter, and Helaena doesn’t have much interest in riding her—it is said that she goes up into the sky only rarely.
Tessarion: The cobalt-and-copper dragon ridden by Daeron Targaryen. We haven’t seen Daeron or Tessarion in the show—both are presumably in Oldtown, where Daeron serves as cupbearer to Ormund Hightower.
Shrykos: The hatchling she-dragon bonded with Jaehaerys Targaryen.
Morghul: The hatchling dragon bonded with Jaehaera Targaryen.
Unclaimed
Vermithor: Called the Bronze Fury. The bronze dragon ridden by King Jaehaerys I until his death. Vermithor is roughly 100 years old—and presumably one of the largest dragons in the realm. He resides somewhere on the Dragonmont, a volcano that lies on the island of Dragonstone. This is the dragon we see Daemon singing to toward the end of Season 1.
Silverwing: The roughly 100-year-old she-dragon formerly ridden by Alysanne Targaryen, King Jaehaerys’s sister-wife. Silverwing is presumably large, but inexperienced. She resides somewhere on the Dragonmont.
Seasmoke: The slender and nimble silver dragon that was formerly the mount of Laenor Velaryon. Resides on Driftmark.
The Cannibal: A wild dragon that lives on Dragonstone and is known to feast on other dragons and their eggs. Coal black, large, and angry as hell, the Cannibal is rumored to be one of the oldest dragons in Westeros.
Sheepstealer: A wild dragon that lives on Dragonstone and frequently hunts for sheep.
Grey Ghost: A wild dragon that lives on Dragonstone and is rarely spotted. Known to feed on fish.
Places
While Season 1 of House of the Dragon had a much smaller scope than Game of Thrones, Season 2 is expected to expand the series’ geography. These are the most important places to know.
King’s Landing: The capital of the Seven Kingdoms, located on the eastern coast of the continent. It is a short distance from the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone and was the location where Aegon the Conqueror first landed on the Westerosi mainland as he began his invasion. King’s Landing is the most populous city in the Seven Kingdoms. It is under the control of the Greens.
The Red Keep: The castle in King’s Landing that serves as the home of the current ruler of Westeros and the location of the Iron Throne. The Red Keep contains numerous secret passages and underground connections, and no one knows where they all lead. It’s often said that in the Red Keep, “the very walls have ears.”
Maegor’s Holdfast: The fort at the center of the Red Keep, which lies behind massive walls and a dry moat.
The Dragonpit: The massive stone home built for the royal dragons of House Targaryen. The Dragonpit lies on a hill on the side of King’s Landing opposite the Red Keep. In Game of Thrones, the Dragonpit is in ruins—but in House of the Dragon, it is alive with purpose as not only the holding pen for the many dragons in the city, but also a key outpost for the city’s defense. One dragonrider resides at the pit at all times in the event that a dragon needs to be roused quickly for combat. It is the site of Aegon II’s coronation in Episode 9 of House of the Dragon.
Flea Bottom: The foul, seedy underbelly of King’s Landing. A hub of lawlessness and filth—but a good place for residents looking for a cheap winesink or a discreet whorehouse.
Blackwater Bay: The body of water that sits around King’s Landing, Dragonstone, and Driftmark.
Dragonstone: The gloomy island home of House Targaryen before Aegon the Conqueror launched his invasion of Westeros and established a new seat (both figuratively and literally) at King’s Landing. It is also where the heir to the current ruler typically resides. This is where Daenerys planned her own invasion of Westeros in Season 7 of Game of Thrones. It is currently controlled by the Blacks.
Driftmark: A fertile island between Dragonstone and King’s Landing. It is the seat of House Velaryon.
High Tide: The castle on Driftmark that was constructed by Corlys Velaryon to serve as the seat of his house. Corlys had grown tired of the damp and musty halls of Castle Driftmark and constructed High Tide out of magnificent pale stone as a symbol of the power of House Velaryon.
Harrenhal: The largest castle in Westeros, which Aegon the Conqueror melted into a somber pile of stone and metal during his invasion. However, Harrenhal remains an important castle, with fertile land surrounding it and a central location just northwest of King’s Landing. House Strong currently holds Harrenhal. At the end of Season 1, when the Blacks are planning for war, Daemon notes that Harrenhal would be the perfect “place to gather, a toehold, large enough to house a sizable host.” Widely believed to be cursed because of the many tragedies that have occurred there.
Oldtown: A large, ancient city that lies on the western shore of Westeros. It is home to the Citadel, the headquarters of the Maesters, as well as the Starry Sept, the seat of the Faith of the Seven. That makes it the center of both knowledge and religion in Westeros. It is also a hub of trade and arguably the wealthiest city in the Seven Kingdoms. Oldtown is ruled by House Hightower.
The Hightower: A massive castle and lighthouse that sits just outside Oldtown and serves as the seat of House Hightower. When House Hightower calls its banners to war, the Hightower shines a green beacon—which is where the Greens get their name.
Dorne: The southernmost region of Westeros, populated by the Rhoynar, who are distinct from the Andals and First Men that make up most of the citizens of Westeros. Dorne was the only kingdom of Westeros that Aegon the Conqueror failed to bring into his realm, and it remains an independent kingdom all the way through the reign of Viserys. Criston Cole is from an area called the Dornish Marches.
The Free Cities: A group of nine city-states in Essos, the continent east of Westeros. They are important trade partners for Westeros, though they are also frequently in conflict with the crown or with one another. A handful of the free cities not-so-secretly funded Craghas Crabfeeder’s pirates in the war for the Stepstones in Season 1.
Valyria: A ruined city in Essos that was once the home to the Targaryens and many other dragon-riding families known as dragonlords. Valyria controlled a large empire known as the Valyrian Freehold until the Doom, a mysterious cataclysmic event that wiped out the city and its inhabitants roughly a century before Aegon’s Conquest. The Targaryens escaped the Doom thanks to prophetic dreams that foretold the destruction, and thus they became the only dragon-riding family in the known world.
The Narrow Sea: The sea to the east of Westeros that separates the continent from Essos.
The Stepstones: A series of islands in the Narrow Sea south of King’s Landing that are well positioned to control important shipping lanes between Westeros and Essos. Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon travel there in Season 1 to wrest control of the islands away from the Triarchy.
The Eyrie: An ancient mountain castle that is the seat of House Arryn and the center of power in the Vale.
Storm’s End: A large, stout castle that is the seat of House Baratheon and the center of power in the Stormlands.
Winterfell: An ancient, huge castle that is the seat of House Stark and the center of power in the North.
Casterly Rock: A towering castle that is the seat of House Lannister and the center of power in the Westerlands.
Riverrun: A small but well-defended castle that is the seat of House Tully and the center of power in the Riverlands.
Things
Objects can be important symbols of power, prestige, or history in Westeros. Here are some of the most important ones.
Blackfyre: The Valyrian steel sword of Aegon the Conqueror that is typically wielded by Targaryen kings. It is in the hands of Aegon II—a symbol that helps prove his legitimacy to many.
The Crown of Aegon the Conqueror: Aegon I wore a Valyrian steel crown embedded with a red stone. It’s the crown Aegon II uses for his coronation—another physical symbol the Greens use to project Aegon’s legitimacy.
The Crown of Viserys I Targaryen: Rhaenyra dons the same crown her father wore, which was also the crown of Jaehaerys I Targaryen—the Old King. Her crown signals continuity as well as her place as her father’s chosen heir.
Dark Sister: The Valyrian steel sword wielded by Queen Visenya Targaryen during Aegon’s Conquest. King Jaehaerys I gave the sword to Daemon Targaryen, who currently possesses it.
The catspaw dragonbone dagger: The dagger that Game of Thrones fans called the catspaw dagger returns in House of the Dragon, and in Season 1 Viserys revealed that Aegon the Conqueror had the Song of Ice and Fire—Aegon’s prophetic dream about an icy apocalypse coming to Westeros—embedded in the steel. The dagger is currently in the possession of Aegon II, who is unaware of the prophecy. In Game of Thrones, this dagger is used in the attempt on Bran’s life in Season 1. Arya ultimately kills the Night King with it.
The Painted Table: The long table on Dragonstone that is carved to depict the continent of Westeros. It’s where Aegon the Conqueror planned his invasion of the continent and where Rhaenyra holds her first war council at the end of Season 1. It’s also where Daenerys plans her invasion of Westeros in Game of Thrones.
The Iron Throne: The seat of power in Westeros. The throne was forged from the melted blades of Aegon the Conqueror’s enemies, forming a twisted, intimidating seat that does not allow a king to “sit easy.” Some blades are still sharp enough to cut the throne’s occupant—a sign that the king (or queen) may be unprepared to hold power. The throne cut Viserys throughout his reign, possibly contributing to his illness.
Rhaenyra’s Valyrian steel necklace: Back in the first episode of Season 1, Daemon gave Rhaenyra a Valyrian steel necklace that she wears through much of the season. It’s a symbol of their relationship—and of Targaryen power.
Firefly brooch: Larys has his own sigil—a firefly—that decorates his cane. It is also sometimes seen as a brooch worn by those in his service. It’s something to watch for in Season 2.
Miscellaneous
Here are some phrases that viewers will likely hear during the series.
Valyrian steel: Ancient steel that was forged in the Valyrian freehold, before the fall of Valyria. It is widely believed that Valyrian steel was forged using blood magic and/or fire magic, but the exact technique has been lost. As a result, no new Valyrian steel weapons can be made, though the blacksmiths in Westeros can rework existing Valyrian steel. Valyrian steel weapons are far superior to any others—they hold a razor-sharp edge and are exceptionally strong and lightweight. Noble houses in possession of Valyrian steel weapons pass them down for generations.
Dragon dreams: Prophetic dreams experienced by some Targaryens, including Daenerys and Maester Aemon. It was a prophetic dream of Daenys the Dreamer’s that prompted the Targaryen family to leave Valyria 12 years before the Doom destroyed the city and all the remaining dragonlords. Viserys reveals in Season 1 that Aegon the Conqueror also had such dreams—and that he saw the Long Night and a Prince That Was Promised who would stand against an icy apocalypse that would come to Westeros. Viserys says that this is why Aegon conquered Westeros in the first place. But as with all prophecies in Martin’s writing, there is a question of whether the future is set in stone or whether the characters’ own desire to change their future ultimately leads to self-fulfilling (and often self-destructive) behavior.
The City Watch: The standing army of King’s Landing, which is tasked with maintaining order and defending the Iron Throne. Daemon Targaryen commands the Watch shortly after Viserys is crowned king, and he gives the Watch its signature gold cloaks.
Lord of the Tides: The title traditionally given to the head of House Velaryon.
War for the Stepstones: A war fought between Westeros (led by Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon) and the alliance of Free Cities known as the Triarchy (led by Craghas Crabfeeder) for control of an important series of islands in the south of the Narrow Sea. Daemon and Corlys win this war early in Season 1.
The Great Council of 101 AC: A council of all the lords of Westeros held after the death of Baelon Targaryen, King Jaehaerys’s son and heir to the Iron Throne. The council was called to pick a successor for Jaehaerys, who did not attend the council but agreed to abide by any decision made by the lords. The main claimants to the throne were Viserys, Jaehaerys’s grandson through Baelon; Rhaenys, Jaehaerys’s granddaughter through Aemon (Baelon’s older brother, who had died years prior); and—in the books only—Laenor Velaryon, Rhaenys’s son. Despite the influence of Corlys Velaryon, Viserys won the vote by a rumored margin of 20-1. And the council’s reasoning was, in part, that it wanted the throne to pass solely through a male line of descendants. Picking Viserys also ensured that the throne stayed in the hands of a Targaryen, rather than a Velaryon.
The Prince or Princess of Dragonstone: The title given to the heir apparent of the Iron Throne. The heir also typically resides on Dragonstone and rules over the island.
Kingsguard or Queensguard: The order of knights sworn to protect the king or queen and the royal family. There are typically seven such knights, who are prohibited from inheriting land, holding titles, taking wives, or starting families. They wear white and are commonly called white cloaks.
Small council: The group of seven trusted advisers who aid the king.
Hand of the King: The king’s second-in-command and the only person authorized to make decisions in the king’s name. However, this is not considered a glamorous position. The smallfolk across Westeros say that “the king eats, and the hand takes the shit.”
Dragonseeds: Bastard children of House Targaryen. Especially common on Dragonstone, where many smallfolk claim that the blood of the dragon runs through their veins. A key question that has not yet been answered in Westeros: Can dragonseeds become dragonriders?
The Netflix drama about humanity’s struggle to unite in defiance of an alien invasion that’s zeroing-in on our world from light years away, has been renewed by the streamer for not one, but two more seasons—promising viewers a full conclusion to the survival struggle between cosmic civilizations.
Plans for more episodes were already underway, but a commitment to both a second and third chapter was announced by showrunners, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo at a for-your-consideration award season panel for the Television Academy on Friday evening.
3 Body Problem, which debuted in March, was the first return to large scale fantasy storytelling for Benioff and Weiss after concluding eight seasons of Game of Thrones for HBO. Woo joined the pair after serving as showrunner on 2019’s The Terror and working as a producer and writer on Manhattan and True Blood. The trio are currently working on scripts for seasons two and three of the invasion drama, based on the Remembrance of Earth’s Past series of novels by Cixin Liu.
“There are three books. There are three bodies. So we always thought three seasons made the most sense,” Weiss said. “We knew what more or less what we needed in terms of hours to tell the story the way we felt it needed to be told. And that’s what we’re going to do.”
“The very last page of Cixin Liu’s epic is one of the best last pages I’ve ever read, and it kind of destroyed me when I read it,” Benioff added. He said he and Weiss finished the last of the novels together on a flight from Osaka, Japan, to Los Angeles before committing to make the first season. “He came over to my seat and said, ‘We’re doing this, right?’ I said, ‘Yeah, we’re doin’ this.’ So, the idea that we get to go to that last page gives me great joy.”
The series favored heady philosophizing and existential hand-wringing rather than the explosions and action typical of alien attack stories, and the beings threatening the planet are never seen, communicating with inhabitants of Earth through digital simulations and inexplicable science-defying miracles. 3 Body Problemproved to be a slow burn, challenging viewers with its puzzling story but benefiting from strong word of mouth as the full scale of its story became clear. Forbes reported that the show “dominated the entire streaming industry at the end of March,” citing a Neilsen’s rating report that the show had been watched for a collective 1.79 billion minutes after only a month on the air.
Woo said it was four years of work from when they first joined forces to make the first season until its completion. He joked that the second season will be ready, “next month.”
While they don’t have firm dates to announce for when they’ll start filming and when the show might return to the air, Woo promised the second season completion “will go faster.”
Now it’s up to you to decide! What is the worst TV series finale? You can vote for the winner at TheRinger.com, on The Ringer’s X feed, and in the Spotify app, where you’ll find Trial by Content. The winner will be announced on the next episode!
You can send your picks for the next topic and a few sentences to support your pick to TrialByContent@gmail.com. You can also submit suggestions for future Trial by Content topics. Is there a great pop culture debate that you’d like us to settle? Send it on over!
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British actor Ian Gelder, widely known for his role in “Game of Thrones,” has died, according to a social media post from his husband. He was 74 years old.Ben Daniels, Gelder’s husband, said on Instagram Tuesday that Gelder, who portrayed Kevan Lannister in the award-winning drama, had been battling cancer for months.”It is with huge huge sadness and a heavy heart broken into a million pieces that I’m leaving this post to announce the passing of my darling husband and life partner Ian Gelder,” Daniel wrote. “Ian was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in December and yesterday he passed at 13.07. I’d stopped all work to be his carer but neither of us had any idea that it would all be so fast.” Daniels and Gelder were together for more than 30 years.”I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without him by my side. He coped with his dreadful illness with such bravery, with no self pity. Ever. He was remarkable and will be so missed,” Daniels added.Gelder’s agency also confirmed the actor’s death to PEOPLE and on X, formerly known as Twitter.”It was a pleasure to represent Ian Gelder for the latter part of his career. The world will be a lesser place without him in it,” DPA Management said. “Ian was such a lovely person and a wonderful actor.”Gelder was also known for numerous stage roles and the BBC show “Torchwood: Children of Earth.”
British actor Ian Gelder, widely known for his role in “Game of Thrones,” has died, according to a social media post from his husband. He was 74 years old.
Ben Daniels, Gelder’s husband, said on Instagram Tuesday that Gelder, who portrayed Kevan Lannister in the award-winning drama, had been battling cancer for months.
“It is with huge huge sadness and a heavy heart broken into a million pieces that I’m leaving this post to announce the passing of my darling husband and life partner Ian Gelder,” Daniel wrote. “Ian was diagnosed with bile duct cancer in December and yesterday he passed at 13.07. I’d stopped all work to be his carer but neither of us had any idea that it would all be so fast.”
Daniels and Gelder were together for more than 30 years.
“I honestly don’t know what I’ll do without him by my side. He coped with his dreadful illness with such bravery, with no self pity. Ever. He was remarkable and will be so missed,” Daniels added.
Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for SOLT
Ian Gelder
Gelder’s agency also confirmed the actor’s death to PEOPLE and on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“It was a pleasure to represent Ian Gelder for the latter part of his career. The world will be a lesser place without him in it,” DPA Management said. “Ian was such a lovely person and a wonderful actor.”
Gelder was also known for numerous stage roles and the BBC show “Torchwood: Children of Earth.”
Back in its heyday, Game of Thrones looooooved killing off characters. Whether they were sad, hilarious, or kind of dumb, those ends have been memorable in their own ways, the mark of a good show filled with great actors. And who can forget the death of Jack Gleason’s Joffrey Baratheon, one of the show’s most disliked (in a mostly good way) antagonists?
Lamar Johnson Loves Beyblades and Pokemon
On April 13, 2014, HBO aired the second episode of Game of Thrones’ fourth season. At the end of “The Lion and the Rose,” Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell get married and celebrate their new union at the Red Keep. Everything seems to be going well—relative to the show’s last wedding, I guess—and then in the middle of insulting Tyrion, Joffrey starts choking before blood runs down his nose as he seizes up and dies in his mother’s arms, but not before silently accusing Tyrion of poisoning his wine. Cersei puts Tyrion under arrest, and the episode lingers on Joffrey’s bloody, colorless face. Musical crescendo, cut to black, the audience cheers.
Game Of Thrones (Season.4 ep.2) Death of King Joffrey.
In real life, “Lion and the Rose” received critical acclaim at the time of its airing, with many calling it one of the series’ best episodes ever. Come awards season, it received five Emmy nominations, with two in the acting categories for Lena Heady (Supporting Actress in a Drama) and Diana Rigg (Guest Actress, Drama), and winning one for best costuming. Moreover, this episode set up some plotlines from the books…some of which ended up not getting used. Whoops. And within the show itself, Joffrey’s death caused a domino effect for the rest of the season, resulting in even more deaths and Tyrion getting hell out of dodge to avoid getting his head chopped off. It also paved the way for some of the show’s big moments later on and other members of his family to get some wins of their own. (Well, until theydied.)
With Joffrey dead, Gleason used his character’s exit to take a break from professional acting, which he’d been doing since he was 8 years old. Despite that, he wasn’t gone for too long: after appearing in the 2016 short film Chat, he’s gradually returned in the last several years, appearing on a few episodes of Sex Education and Out of Her Mind. Along with his appearance in last year’s The Famous Five on BBC, he was in 2021’s Rebecca’s Boyfriend and 2023’s In the Land of Saints & Sinners.
Even if you didn’t watch Game of Thrones back then, you probably knew who Joffrey was and how much folks wanted him to get got. “The Lion and the Rose” gave audiences what they wanted and then some, and it’s still one of the most satisfying moments in the show. RIP Joffrey, but at least you went out on such a nice day.
A decade ago, Abubakar Salim lost his father. That grief lives within him. An actor by trade, with credits in Raised by Wolves and House of the Dragon’s upcoming season, he searched for years for the right medium to work through the hurt. A film. A TV show. Nothing did it justice—until he tried to make a video game. “If you’re really depicting grief in a truthful and honest way, it is so open and chaotic that actually, you can kind of gamify it,” he says.
Salim is the CEO and creative director of Surgent Studios, the developer behind the upcoming Metroidvania game Tales of Kenzera: Zau. The game, set to launch April 23, follows a young shaman, Zau, who has made a deal with the god of death to bring his father back to life in exchange for three great spirits. Its story is a reflection of coping with loss—even its premise is built on bargaining, a common stage for someone dealing with death. The button-mashing, the mask-switching—these are all, Salim says, representative of the madness people can experience.
Games about grief reflect those feelings in many ways. Platformer Gris turns the stages of grief into literal ones as its heroine silently navigates a world that uses color and music to express emotion. What Remains of Edith Finch explores the death of a family by sifting through their things, alongside vignettes dedicated to those lost.
Kenzera has its own methods. Throughout the game, Zau takes time to pause and talk about his feelings. That’s the result of Salim and the game’s developers trying to figure out how the character would be able to restore his health. The solution wound up being quite literal: creating a space where Zau simply sits under a tree and reflects.
Each biome in the game’s world is a reflection of the journey through that anguish. Salim, who grew up playing games with his dad, reflects on something his father used to tell him as a child: “When you’re born, you’re alone, and when you die, you’re alone.” Kenzera’s developers infused that idea into the Woodlands setting, which is meant to evoke a sense of the questioning: “Will I be remembered? Will I be forgotten?”
Stories that Salim’s father told him heavily influenced the game, as did Bantu culture, which he says was done as a form of celebration rather than an effort to educate people. In recent years, games like God of War and Hades have brought new familiarity to Norse and Greek mythology. A game like Kenzera could do something similar for the culture of southern Africa. “It’s to inspire people to see these stories and lean into these stories,” Salim says.
Although Kenzera’s combat has evolved over time, it is influenced by Dambe, a form of Nigerian boxing. Zau swaps between masks to switch up his fighting style—sun and moon masks that represent life and death. In Bantu culture, Salim explains, the two balance each other. “That’s really where the inspiration for these two masks came from,” he says. The sun mask is heat, flame-heavy by nature, while the moon mask has an icier look and feel. Both masks are beautiful and infused with energy, an ode to how other cultures handle death. “Especially within African cultures, [death] is almost celebrated in a way,” he says. “It’s a passing into the new.”
A Song of Ice and Fire is, of course, the basis of the HBO (now Max) series Game of Thrones. Like the TV series, A Song of Ice and Fire tells the story of the embattled land of Westeros, in which lords and rightful monarchs battle for control of the Iron Throne.
The first book in the series, A Game of Thrones, first came out in 1996. The novel told the story of Ned Stark (played in the TV series by Sean Bean), who pushes back against House Lannister’s efforts to seize the throne. Meanwhile, the exiled queen Daenerys Targaryen (played in the series by Emilia Clarke), comes into her power and makes plans to take her rightful place as Westeros’ ruler.
There are currently five books in A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, a Feast For Crows, and A Dance With Dragons, which was published in 2011. Martin has reportedly been at work on the penultimate volume, The Winds of Winter, for about 14 years. According to IGN, Martin reported in December 2022 that he had 1,100 pages of the book written. However, when asked about his progress in November 2023, Martin said that the total number of pages was still at 1,100, with some characters’ stories complete but other storylines unfinished.
That means that, as of this writing, there’s no solid release date for The Winds of Winter.
Meanwhile, the Game of Thrones TV series wrapped up in 2019, with Martin serving as an executive producer. Season 2 of the show’s spin-off series, House of the Dragon, is currently in production.
Julia Glassman (she/her) holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, and has been covering feminism and media since 2007. As a staff writer for The Mary Sue, Julia covers Marvel movies, folk horror, sci fi and fantasy, film and TV, comics, and all things witchy. Under the pen name Asa West, she’s the author of the popular zine ‘Five Principles of Green Witchcraft’ (Gods & Radicals Press). You can check out more of her writing at <a href=”https://juliaglassman.carrd.co/”>https://juliaglassman.carrd.co/.</a>
Around mid-April 2023, HBO announced that it had officially ordered another Game of Thrones prequel—the success of the first season of House of the Dragon having assured the powers that be that the horrid garbage fire that was the two final seasons of GoT miraculously did not kill the franchise. The latest prequel series is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight.
Just like George R.R. Martin, the creator of A Song of Ice and Fire, HBO realized that focusing on the three centuries of Targaryen rule that happened before all the events we saw in Game of Thrones is both very fun and really entertaining. That’s what happens when you take a family riddled with incestuous tendencies and god complexes and put them on the throne of a fantasy realm.
So, even though news about A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is still sparse, let’s recap what we know so far—both from HBO’s announcements and from what the ASOIAF canon can tell us.
What is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms about?
The new prequel is titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. It will be set almost a century before Game of Thrones, and about 80 years after House of the Dragon (and the devastating Dance of the Dragons the show is readying to unleash upon our television screens).
The two main characters, as the caption of HBO’s announcement post says, are “Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg.” The two have been mentioned a couple of times in the main A Song of Ice and Fire books and have also gotten their own little trilogy of novellas, the Tales of Dunk and Egg—The Hedge Knight, published in 1998; The Sworn Sword, released in 2003; and The Mystery Knight, published in 2010. The three novellas were also collected in a single illustrated edition in 2015, released under the title A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
This new show’s official synopsis, as reported by a 2024 The Hollywood Reporter article, goes as follows: “A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes and dangerous exploits all away these improbable and incomparable friends”.
We can guess the plot will follow the story of the first novella and then continue with the other two—maybe while also taking a peek at what’s happening in the wider world beyond Dunk and Egg’s adventures.
Of course, the fact that the novellas exist obviously means that readers can easily pinpoint the major plot points of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and which characters will appear around the two leads. If you want to go into the show completely spoiler-free, skip the next three paragraphs—otherwise, here’s what the existing ASOIAF canon can tell us.
While nothing has been released yet about the plot of this new prequel, we can safely guess it’s going to follow what has been laid down in the three novellas about Dunk and Egg (Subterranean Press)
Ser Duncan the Tall and Egg are pretty well-known figures in the history of Westeros: a hedge knight turned Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and his squire, who is secretly a Targaryen prince—one who everyone assumes will never inherit the crown (being the fourth son of a fourth son), which is why they allow him to follow a knight of little importance around the realm. We, of course, know that Egg will grow up to become King Aegon V the Unlikely—Daenerys Targaryen’s great-grandfather.
The plot of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms depends on how many seasons they intend to develop. The most obvious of answers seems to be three, maybe even with a reduced number of episodes compared to the usual 10, with each tackling one of the three novellas. We’re bound to follow the whole series of complicated events at the tourney at Ashford Meadow at the start, with Dunk and Egg actually meeting for the first time and the Trial of the Seven.
With a focus on Dunk and Egg, this new prequel is definitely going to be less intrigue-filled and more like that chunk of Game of Thrones season 3 where Arya and the Hound were trotting around the realm and exploring the typical “grumpy man and his feisty surrogate daughter” trope. Still, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set in a particular period of Westerosi history that definitely allows for some venture into politics—we are in the middle of the Blackfyre rebellions, after all.
Who will star in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
Despite the fact that a new rumor about Henry Cavill playing this or that ASOIAF character surfaces regularly every couple of months—and it’s never young, Rebellion-era Robert Baratheon, which is objectively the only correct answer—absolutely nothing has been announced yet when it comes to the casting of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
Considering how Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon have been cast, we can expect a mix of established names, especially for the older characters, and newcomers—Egg in particular, being around 10 at the time the story starts, will probably be cast in the same way that the younger Stark children were, for example.
The same thing happened for the younger version of the children in House of the Dragon, so we can expect the actor portraying Egg to be a previously unknown name (HBO)
What about the team behind the scenes?
We know a bit more about the people who will take up the roles of executive producers in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. The people listed in the HBO announcement are George R.R. Martin (always a good sign) and Ryan Condal, who is also part of the team behind House of the Dragon. The other executive producers are Ira Parker and Vince Gerardis.
When is A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms coming out?
According to a February 2024 statement by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, reported by The Hollywood Reporter, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is set to premiere sometime in late 2025.
It definitely makes sense, considering that the second half of 2024 will be entirely dedicated to the second season of House of the Dragon—while the release date is yet to be announced, we know it’s going to be in the summer of 2024 just like season one took up the months between August and October of 2022.
According to the same The Hollywood Reporter article, A Knight of the Seven Kingdom is set to start principal photography very soon. If both productions can stay on track, it could potentially mean a new ASOIAF show every year—for however long they both run.
Benedetta (she/her) lives in Italy and has been writing about pop culture and entertainment since 2015. She has considered being in fandom a defining character trait since she was in middle school and wasn’t old enough to read the fanfiction she was definitely reading and loves dragons, complex magic systems, unhinged female characters, tragic villains and good queer representation. You’ll find her covering everything genre fiction, especially if it’s fantasy-adjacent and even more especially if it’s about ASOIAF. In this Bangtan Sonyeondan sh*t for life.
British actress Maisie Williams has revealed that, while playing Arya Stark in the Netflix fantasy drama Game of Thrones brought her worldwide fame and riches, it brought its personal darker side for her as a young person.
“I was so lost for so long and I knew that I was, and when I couldn’t pin down what I felt my identity was within that, it brought me a lot of discomfort. Now I feel a lot more comfortable in my own skin. It’s hard to even put myself back there and talk about how tough it was just because I think it’s done.”
Williams got the role of Arya, beating 300 other girls to the part, and says she learned her trade on set by watching older, more experienced colleagues:
“Charles Dance was a standout for Game of Thrones. I admired watching him rehearse, and the things that he and the director talked about.”
Williams is now playing Catherine Dior, the sister of the fashion designer and a member of the French resistance, in The New Look now streaming on AppleTV+. Additionally, she runs her own production company, and is intent on bringing original content to the screen, rather than adapting intellectual property from video games and products.
She also says she tries to offer advice to other child actors experiencing the giddy pressures that come with starring in hit shows: “I really dig within myself to try and bring out something that I feel would be really useful. I’ve no idea if I ever have, but I know that at least they could text me or call me.”
Two weeks ago, news broke that actor Kaitlyn Dever was joining the cast for the second season of HBO’s The Last Of Us TV series—which is still floating along without a release date, with “some time in 2025” the best anybody in TV land can guess. But despite that mild ambiguity, Dever’s casting kicked off a small firestorm of speculation, because it was revealed that she’d be playing a character named Abby Anderson when she joined the Emmy-winning video-game adaptation’s second season—which means The Last Of Us is almost certainly diving whole hog into the story of 2020’s The Last Of Us Part II. And that means things are about to get … messy.
The Last of Us’s Lamar Johnson On Learning Sign Language For The Show
[Editor’s note: This article contains spoilers for 2020 video gameThe Last Of Us Part II—and, likely, for at least some of the plot elements of the still-filming second season of HBO’s The Last Of UsTV show.]
Because while the critical consensus on Part II has mostly calmed down in the four years since its release—give or take some moderate consternation lately at the fact that Sony has already rolled out a “remastered” version of the hardly retro game, out last week–the game was something of a lightning rod when it first came out. Some of that wasn’t developer Naughty Dog’s fault. (A high-profile leak from the game’s development, showcasing several cutscenes and character models, fired up the kinds of chuds who get angry when female video-game characters aren’t “feminine” enough, to pick one of the more vitriolic examples.) But some of it was in direct to response to the game’s big narrative swings, which were, depending on who you asked, either “bold” or “super-aggressive and kind of manipulative.”
Many of which, we have to assume, will now be inherited by its TV adaptation: Excepting its critically heralded third episode, Craig Mazin’s adaptation of the first game into the show’s first season was almost overwhelmingly faithful–down to the season’s final scene almost exactly mimicking both the dialogue, and the staging, of the game’s famous ending. With game series creative director Neil Druckmann on board for the second season, as he was for the first, it would be shocking to see the series diverge more than a few inches from established canon.
What does that all mean? A few things—all of which could make The Last Of Us’ second season a very weird run of TV.
The Pedro Pascal “issue”
Pedro Pascal, Bella RamsayPhoto: Liane Hentscher/HBO
Anyone hoping to avoid spoilers for either the game series, or the show’s next season, should hop off this train now, because there’s really no way to talk about either without addressing the fungus-encrusted elephant in the room: protagonist Joel Miller’s sudden death, an hour or so into The Last Of Us Part II.
Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel on the show, has, understandably, hedged a bit when asked about this plot element–because how could he not? (Nobody wants the HBO Spoiler Squad on their ass.) But The Last Of Us Part II really doesn’t function as a story without it: Joel’s sudden death, at the hands of a group of survivors who come to the almost ludicrously idyllic community where he and Ellie (Bella Ramsay) have been living out their post-apocalypse, is rooted in both the aftermath of the first game and the narrative obsessions of the second. Everything The Last Of Us Part II wants to say about humanity–and it wants to say a lot—grows out of that early moment of sudden, shocking brutality, one moment of horrifying trauma birthed directly from another.
This was controversial, to say the least, in the games, where Joel was a beloved character played by well-liked voice actor Troy Baker. Applying it to a rising/risen star like Pascal—who did so much work to build a beautiful, broken human out of some fairly stock parts with his performance as Joel in the show’s first season–might be even more disruptive. Pascal and Ramsay both came up through Game Of Thrones, of course, so neither is unfamiliar with being on a series that jettisoned its “star” at a critical early point. But seeing the show’s most marketable star go the way of Logan Roy one episode into its new season is still likely to leave fans a bit discombobulated.
The absolute brutality of Ellie Williams
Bella RamsayPhoto: Liane Hentscher/HBO
If the above paragraphs didn’t clue you in, The Last Of Us Part II is an aggressively grim game. Even its genuine moments of love or levity come with the unavoidable knowledge that something truly awful is right around the corner—and rarely in the form of something as simple as a rampaging fungus monster. That goes doubly true for the character of Ellie, who came of age in the first game/season—and who spends the second game having her last few shreds of innocence sliced off of her piece by piece.
And really, we’re looking forward to seeing what Ramsay, who was excellent in the first season, will do with this material, as Ellie becomes harder and harder, and harder and harder to root for, the further into her need for vengeance she descends. But it’s going to be a lot for audiences, even by the standards of HBO: We’ll be curious to see if the TV show stays true to the moment that would, in a less ugly narrative, be Ellie’s rock bottom—i.e., the confrontation with Mel, for game players—or if it’ll back away from quite that level of character-alienating horror. But either way, we’ll likely depart the show’s second season with very little idea of who, if anyone, we want to see getting what they want out of this broken and miserable world.
A question of perspective
Pedro Pascal, Bella RamsayPhoto: Liane Hentscher/HBO
There’s also a question of structure to be addressed here, requiring us to spoil The Last Of Us Part II’s other big twist: the fact that only about half of the game is played from Ellie’s perspective, with the game rewinding at a major turning point to show what its three violent days in Seattle have been like for Joel’s killer, Abby.
On the one hand, this might actually be easier for the TV show to handle than the game; one of The Last Of Us franchise’s big tricks is adapting techniques from film and media, where they’re less familiar, to the medium of games, and this kind of perspective flip is far closer to old hat for television. That being said, the parts of the game where you play as Abby constitute a huge portion of the game, introducing new characters, stories, motivations, and problems, all to drill in for players that she’s just as much a person, a “protagonist,” as Ellie herself. A 24-hour-long video game can take that kind of time to make its points—a nine-hour TV series, not so much. It’s key to Druckmann’s vision of The Last Of Us Part II that Abby feel as “real” to the player/viewer as Joel or Ellie did. Building that kind of identification, without feeling repetitive or digressive, is going to be a fascinating struggle for the show to handle in a fraction of the time.
Is there room for another “Long, Long Time”?
Nick Offerman, Murray BartlettPhoto: Liane Hentscher/HBO
As we noted above, the first season of The Last Of Us deviated from the game’s plot in only one serious regard—and was rewarded powerfully for it, with critics and viewers alike holding up that digression point, “Long, Long Time” as a series highlight. With Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett moving mountains to flesh out characters who were, in the game, an asshole and a corpse, respectively, the episode served as a necessary antidote to the grimness of the rest of the season, reminding viewers that there was still the possibility of life, even for “the last of us.”
Mazin, and writer Peter Hoar, could fit that material into the series in part because they were adapting a largely episodic narrative: The first Last Of Us plays out as a series of vignettes as much as it is a more cohesive story, and it was fairly simple to swap out the running and shooting of the game’s “Bill’s Town” segment for something with considerably more heart. Just as importantly, it demonstrated at least some justification for the entire show, dialing into quieter, more human moments, at a distance from Joel and Ellie’s story.
The Last Of Us Part II is a much tighter narrative ship, though, with a big chunk of its power coming from the way it buries you in first Ellie and then Abby’s head. And so it remains to be seen where Mazin and his team can find room for a bit of light to shine through. (Even if you zoom out of the Ellie-Abby conflict, the game’s background plot is about a brutal inter-clan war waged between military despots on the one hand and transphobic religious zealots on the other; there’s not a lot of room for gentler shading there.) We suspect that the Abby material will have to stand in for that kind of digression, but her story is so married and mirrored to Ellie’s that it’ll be difficult to get meaningful breathing room out of it.
All that being said: It’s worth stepping back and remembering that we’re talking about a TV show that hasn’t even been filmed at this point, let alone aired. Speculation can only go so far before it just becomes fortune-telling and just as useful. But The Last Of Us’ nature as an adaptation—and one especially beholden to its source material—invites these kinds of questions. The Last Of Us Part II landed like a bomb in 2020, detonating video-game discourse for months around it. We can only imagine what its adaptation to television will do when it arrives some time next year.
Inspired by a recent screening of Netflix’s animated series “Blue Eye Samurai,” “Game of Thrones” creator George R. R. Martin penned a new blog post praising the work of Amber Noizumi and Michael Green. And while he was in a sharing mood, Martin decided to drop a little news about his own up-and-coming animation aspirations.
“‘Blue Eye Samurai’s’ very much its own thing, and it is magnificent,” Martin wrote. “Even if you don’t normally watch animation, give it a try. It’s terrific. If you like my own stuff, I think you’ll love it.”
The writer then pivoted to his current work. “As it happens, HBO and I have our own animated projects, set in the world of ‘A Song Of Ice & Fire.’ None of them have been greenlit yet, but I think we are getting close to taking the next step with a couple of them.”
The father of Westeros revealed that he previously had four animated series pitches in development with HBO. Variety broke the “Game of Thrones” animated series news back in 2021, and Martin went even further revealing that there were several writers rooms, scripts and outlines created, unfortunately, two out of the four projects were “shelved,” as Martin likes to phrase it.
“We have moved ‘Nine Voyages,’ our series about the legendary voyages of the Sea Snake, over from live action to animation. A move I support fully. Budgetary constraints would likely have made a live action version prohibitively expensive, what with half the show taking place at sea, and the necessity of creating a different port every week, from Driftmark to Lys to the Basilisk Isles to Volantis to Qarth to… well, on and on and on. There’s a whole world out there. And we have a lot better chance of showing it all with animation. So we now have three animated projects underway.”
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