Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 and some spoilers for the book Fire & Blood.
The House of the DragonSeason 2 premiere saw the return of many iconic characters, like Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Still, it also introduced some new players to theGame of Thronesuniverse. Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor), along withHugh Hammer(Kieran Bew) and thelong-awaited Blood (Sam C. Wilson) & Cheese (Mark Stobbart) duo, finally made it to the screen. Episode 1 featured Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) in a short scene, and while he appeared only as a secondary character, butthere is much more to Alyn’s story.
Corlys (Steven Toussaint) seeks out Alyn to thank him for saving his lifeduring the war in the Stepstones. Interestingly, Alyn doesn’t offer up the information himself and seemingly would prefer to go unnoticed by Corlys. Alyn is visibly nervous when speaking with Corlys, which indicates he may already be aware of his heritage, even if Corlys isn’t. Alyn was a simple sailor on a trading cog in the books, but the show changes his background to make him a veteran of the Stepstones War, where he likely served under Corlys and Vaemond (Wil Johnson).
House of the Dragon
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO seriesGame of Thrones.Based on George R.R. Martin’sFire & Blood,House of the Dragonis set nearly 200 years beforeGame of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
Driftmark Needs A New Heir
With Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) dead, Corlys lacks an heirto inherit Driftmark, forcing him to question his legacy. After Laenor’s (John MacMillan) death, Corlys returned to the Stepstones to wage war against the triarchy again, only narrowly escaping with his life. Corlys is old, injured, and can’t command his fleets with the same vigor he once had. At the end of Season 1,Corlys grapples with his lifelong pursuit of a great legacy. He lost both his children and his brother, leaving Corlys solely dependent on Lucerys to carry on the Velaryon name,despite his questionable heritage as a Strong. His only viable option to continue his line would be to betroth Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) to Joffrey (Oscar Eskinazi), who is very young and won’t produce another heir in his lifetime. However, there are still other options out there.
‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Character Guide: Who’s Who in the Fight for the Iron Throne
Find out which characters are Team Black and Team Green.
Alyn’s Secret Heritage
Alyn is a major player in ‘The Dance of Dragons’, he and his brother, Addam (Clinton Liberty),are illegitimate Velaryons. The originalFire & Bloodnovel speculates that either Corlys or Laenor fathered Alyn. Corlys is the more suitable candidate inHouse of the Dragon,considering Laenor is revealed to be gay. Alyn will become important later in the season when the Dragonseeds are introduced. The Dragonseeds are various illegitimate-born children with Valyrian blood. WhenTeam Black seeks more Dragonriders for their untamed dragons, they look to the low-born children who may potentially descend from Targaryens and Velaryons. Alyn fails to claim the dragon Sheepstealer but manages to survive the ordeal, making him one of the few people alive tosurvive a failed attempt to claim a dragon.
While many characters ride dragons in the show,Alyn is better suited to naval warfare, making him more comparable to Corlys. Like his father, Alyn became famous for his voyages at sea. Corlys earned his reputationthrough his famous nine voyages. Similarly, Alyn embarks on six voyages across the narrow sea, eventually earning the name ‘Oakenfist’. Without delving too deep into spoiler territory, Alyn becomes an integral figure in ‘The Dance of Dragons’ and proves to be worthy of his father’s name.
How Alyn Affects Corlys and Rhaenys' Marriage
Alyn poses an issue to Corlys' relationship with Rhaenys (Eve Best).Corlys and Rhaenys were one of the healthier marriagescompared to the many toxic relationships featured inHouse of the DragonSeason 1. However, Alyn and Addam are living proof ofCorlys' infidelity to his wife. Alyn is comparable to Jon Snow at the start of Game of Thrones. Like Jon, Alyn is of illegitimate birth but bears the same qualities as his father, which causes his father’s wife to resent him fiercely. Aside from one slightly murderous rampage in Season 1 Episode 9,Rhaenys has always been one of the more level-headed TargaryensinHouse of the Dragon, but even she has her limits. After losing all her children, the notion of a child born from Corlys' affairs may be too much for her to bear. Despite Rhaenyra’s children having no relation to Laenor, Rhaenys recognizes them as her grandchildren, but accepting Alyn might be a step too far.
House of the Dragonstill has many new players to introduce, like Alyn’s brother, Addam. Given some of the changes to the source material in Season 1, it will be interesting to see how events unfold around these new characters in Season 2. Addam will eventually claim Laenor’s old dragon, Seasmoke, which poses the question ofhow Seasmoke can bend to another rider while Laenor still lives. The presence of more Velaryons will inevitably change the hierarchy of succession within their household and could lead to furtherdisputes over who will inherit the Driftwood thronefrom Corlys.
House of the Dragon is available to stream on MAX in the U.S.
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