War is officially here in House of the Dragon, and the first episode of season 2 certainly sees both sides suffer losses — a son for a son, with a world far more tragic and treacherous than just about any of them were prepared for at this point.
Still, this Dance of Dragons is just warming up. And the noble houses of Westeros are already beginning to choose sides in the rivalry for the Iron Throne between Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). The shifting political alliances and ever-expanding cast of characters can be hard to keep up with, particularly since so many weren’t featured in Game of Thrones. To help you keep track of the various houses — and how they fit into the Targaryen civil war — we’ll be updating this house-and-character guide throughout the season as to who’s Team Black and who’s Team Green.
[Ed. note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1.]
House Targaryen
Declared for: It’s complicated (see below)
“Fire and Blood”The royal house of Westeros. Their ancestral seat is Dragonstone, though they rule out of King’s Landing. Their sigil is a red three-headed dragon over a black field.
The entire show is about House Targaryen, so this is probably the one house you don’t need help keeping straight (or at least we’d hope). We’ll still go over the bullet points here, though, just in case.
When House of the Dragon begins, Viserys I Targaryen is King of Westeros after a Great Council had voted for him to succeed his grandfather Jaehaerys. Following the death of his wife Aemma Arryn and their newborn son, Baelon, Viserys Targaryen named his daughter Rhaenyra as his heir, displacing his brother, Daemon Targaryen, from the line of succession. Viserys later chooses to marry Alicent Hightower, with whom he has a son Aegon, creating a crisis of succession that sets off the first Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons.
House Targaryen are pureblood Valyrians, and Viserys brokers a political alliance with one of the only other Valyrian houses, Velaryon, when he commands Rhaenrya to marry her second cousin Laenor Velaryon. Despite this — and the fact they’re related — Daemon still pursues a marriage with his niece Rhaenyra.
Being the family behind this whole mess of a civil war, House Targaryen is predictably split in terms of allegiance. While King Aegon sits on the throne in King’s Landing, Queen Rhaenyra stays in Dragonstone, with both claiming that they are the rightful ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. By season 2, each has lost a son (Lucerys for Rhaenyra in the season 1 finale; Jaehaerys in the season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon for Aegon). They’ve also staked out team names and colors: Team Black for Rhaenyra and her cohort, Team Green for Aegon (see below).
House Hightower
Declared for: Team Green
“We Light the Way”The rulers of Oldtown, where the Citadel is located. They hold fealty to House Tyrell of Highgarden. Their sigil is a white tower topped by flames on a gray field.
Of all the newly prominent houses in House of the Dragon, Hightower is (obviously) the most important to keep your eye on. The house is headed up by Lord Hobert Hightower, whose younger brother Ser Otto was Hand to King Viserys I Targaryen for much of his reign. Otto has two kids, Alicent and Ser Gwayne, who’s mostly back in Oldtown during the events of the show (though he participated in the tournament in the pilot). Otto encouraged Alicent to get close to the king after the death of his wife Aemma, leading to Alicent and Viserys’ marriage and their son Aegon. Though, as a result of Otto’s behind-the-scenes machinations, Viserys dismisses Otto as his Hand.
After some convincing from her father, Alicent decides to fight for Aegon to be named Viserys’ heir. She all but declares war when she appears at Rhaenyra and Laenor’s wedding feast wearing a green dress.
Ultimately, Alicent and Otto conspired to put Aegon on the throne (more or less thinking they were honoring Viserys’ wishes), and while they survived the coronation, they did actually set the stage for a war this time. Since then, “Team Green” (so named for the Hightower house colors) has been presiding over King’s Landing and the Seven Kingdoms, while trying to recruit banners to their cause.
Hightower holds fealty to House Tyrell, but they also have several vassals of their own: Bulwer, Costayne, Cuy, and Beesbury, whose lord, Lyman, serves as Viserys’ Master of Coin.
House Velaryon
Declared for: Team Black
“The Old, the True, the Brave”The rulers of Driftmark, an island in Blackwater Bay. Their seat is High Tide, an island-castle off Driftmark’s coast. Their sigil is a silver seahorse over an aquamarine field.
House Velaryon is one of the oldest (and wealthiest) houses in Westeros, with a Valyrian bloodline as ancient as House Targaryen — as its current lord, Corlys “the Sea Snake,” loves to remind Viserys. The Velaryons are a Valyrian house, originating from Essos’ Valyrian Peninsula. Corlys is married to Viserys’ cousin, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, dubbed the Queen Who Never Was after she was passed over as Jaehaerys’ heir. Together, Corlys and Rhaenys have two children, Laena and Laenor. Though Laenor is not a member of House Targaryen, he is the rider of the Targaryen-bred dragon Seasmoke.
Corlys, also known as Lord of the Tides, served as Viserys’ Master of Ships and commands the Royal Fleet. His younger brother, Ser Vaemond Velaryon, serves as commander of the Velaryon navy. However, after Viserys rejects marrying the 12-year-old Laena in favor of Alicent Hightower, Corlys leaves his post on the King’s Council and aligns himself with Daemon Targaryen in the war against the Triarchy. After the war, Viserys decides to marry Rhaenyra to Laenor to broker a political alliance with House Velaryon, which by then had taken over the Stepstones.
Though Laenor “died” and Rhaenyra went on to marry Daemon, Corlys and Rhaenys stayed loyal to her cause (at least publicly; they talk some mad shit on their own sometimes). Since Aegon’s coronation, House Velaryon has been working with Team Black.
House Strong
Declared for: Team Green (mostly; see below)
A noble house of the Riverlands that holds fealty to House Tully. Their seat is the Harrenhal. Their sigil is a tripartite of blue, red, and green converging around a fist on white field.
House Strong is ruled over by Lord Lyonel Strong, who acts as Viserys’ Hand after previously serving as his Master of Laws. His youngest son is the quiet schemer Larys Strong, and the oldest is Ser Harwin Strong, who is often called Breakbones and known as the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms.
House Strong’s seat is Harrenhal, which hosted Jaehaerys I Targaryen’s assembly to choose an heir. But between Harrenhal’s alleged curse and the fact that the seat was held by House Whent when Game of Thrones began, things already aren’t looking great for House Strong’s future in House of the Dragon.
Or at least, they weren’t, until two very important things happened: Ser Harwin Strong had a long-running affair with Rhaenyra, secretly (or “secretly”) fathering three of her children. And then later, Larys blew up his brother and dad. The lordship passed to Larys’ great uncle, so Harrenhal is vulnerable to say the least. (Technically any Strong children heirs are being dubbed “Valeryons,” so while they are Team Black they don’t represent the house.) But we know Larys has thrown his gauntlet in with Alicent and Team Green in a big way.
House Cole
Declared for: Team Green
Stewards to House Dondarrion at Blackhaven, a castle in the Dornish Marches. Their sigil is ten black circles on a red field.
We met the hunky Ser Criston Cole in the series premiere when he defeated Daemon Targaryen in the Heir’s Tournament — a loss made more spicy by the fact that Cole is common-born. Criston’s father is the steward to the Lord of Blackhaven, but despite technically being called a noble house, House Cole is largely looked down upon in noble society for their “low-born” status. Cole’s Dornish ancestry probably doesn’t help matters either.
While serving in the Kingsguard, Criston becomes very close with Rhaenyra, and the pair consummate their relationship prior to her engagement to Laenor. But after she breaks up with him, he takes it pretty rough, and grows to hate her. Ever since, he’s been happy to join up with Team Green, where he still serves as commander of the Kingsguard and, as of season 2, started a sexual relationship with Alicent.
House Royce
Declared for: Undetermined
“We Remember”
The rulers of the Vale. They hold fealty to House Arryn. Their seat is Runestone. Their sigil is black circles over an orange square, surrounded by runes on a white field.
Proud descendants of the First Men, House Royce holds fealty to House Arryn and has a vassal of their own, House Tollett. Rhea Royce, the Lady of the Vale, was the first wife of Daemon Targaryen, although the two loathed each other. Following Rhaenyra’s engagement to Laenor, Daemon murdered Rhea in order to clear the way for his plots to marry Rhaenyra and claim Runestone for his own. However, Rhea’s cousin Ser Gerald Royce knows Daemon killed Rhea, and will likely challenge Daemon’s inheritance.
House Royce was also moderately featured in Game of Thrones, with its then-head Lord Yohn Royce playing a key rule in liberating Winterfell from the Boltons and electing Bran Stark to the Iron Throne.
House Westerling
Declared for: Undetermined
A noble house of the Westerlands that holds fealty to House Lannister. Their seat is the Crag.
Ser Harrold Westerling is a long-standing member of the Kingsguard, having begun his service under Jaehaerys’ rule. He currently serves as the sworn shield to Rhaenyra Targaryen. In Game of Thrones, the only time House Westerling popped up was when they surrendered their seat to Robb Stark. However, in the Song of Ice and Fire books, this house played a much more prominent role, with Robb marrying Jeyne Westerling rather than Talisa Maegyr, as he did in the series.
House Lannister
Declared for: Team Green
“Hear Me Roar!”The rulers of the Westerlands. Their seat is Casterly Rock. Their sigil is a golden lion on a crimson field.
House of the Dragon has given us another set of Lannister twins in season 1: Tyland and Jason, who, fortunately, are not in an illicit incestuous relationship. As befitting members of one of Westeros’ Great Houses, both men hold important roles in the kingdom. After Corlys Velaryon left King’s Landing to fight in the War of the Stepstones, Ser Tyland took over as Master of Ships. His brother Jason serves as the Lord of Casterly Rock. During the royal hunt on Prince Aegon’s second nameday, Jason attempted to win Rhaenyra’s hand but was promptly shut down.
Season 1 also saw brief appearances by a few other Lannisters — the twins were joined at the royal hunt by their widowed mother Ceira and Brett, a relative whose exact connection to the family is unknown. But most important to season 2 so far is their brief mention at Aegon’s small council meeting in the premiere, when Otto says their navies will be important for breaking through Ser Corlys’ blockade.
House Stark
Declared for: Team Black
“Winter Is Coming”The wardens of the North. Their seat is Winterfell. Their sigil is a running gray direwolf.
While the Starks really go through it in Game of Thrones, we get a glimpse of the house’s halcyon days in the season 2 premiere, with Lord Cregan Stark showing Jacaerys the Wall, and speaking of the nobility of sacrifice and service (classic Stark shit). Later, Jacaerys tells his mom that Lord Cregan has promised 2,000 men to their cause, although we don’t hear the finer points of the deal.
House Tully
Declared for: Undecided
“Family, Duty, Honor”The rulers of the riverlands. Their seat is Riverrun. Their sigil is a leaping trout on blue-and-red mud.
One of the more interesting situations on the list: Aemond and Aegon see Riverrun as a key area to control in order to protect King’s Landing. “Fat old Lord Tully will either raise my banner, or see his burn,” Aegon tells his Small Council. A great foot to start an alliance on.
House Arryn
Declared for: Team Black
“As High as Honor”The rulers of the Vale. Their seat is the Eyrie. Their sigil is a blue falcon soaring against a moon.
That’s right, the family with the moon door! The ones up in the Vale, where Tyrion was once held captive. Most of their mention here has been in Jacaerys’ debrief to Rhaenyra: Lady Jeyne Arryn has pledged her support in exchange for a dragon to guard the Vale.
House Greyjoy
Declared for: Undetermined
“We Do Not Sow”The rulers of the Iron Islands. Their seat is Pyke. Their sigil is a golden kraken.
They haven’t gotten a ton of play in House of the Dragon yet. But apparently Aegon is in need for a master of ships, and “young Lord Dalton Greyjoy” gets his name thrown around.
The post All the House of the Dragon houses and characters you need to know appeared first on Polygon.
