In the battle between The Black and The Greens, we will see a fundamental shift in the unity of the Seven Kingdoms on HBO’s House of the Dragon. As Otto Hightower says, Aegon II currently has all the symbols of legitimacy in comparison to his elder half-sister, Rhaenyra. With that being established, who are the current members of The Blacks, and who are the potential allies that Rhaenyra could be reaching out to?
Spoilers for House of the Dragon S1 Finale
Well, we can scratch out House Baratheon due to the actions of its current lord Borros Baratheon, who both shot down Rhaenyra’s message and allowed her son to get accidentally murdered by a dragon. The other Houses that we hear get called and that Rhaenyra’s other son, Jace, are heading to, are House Arryn and Stark. We also get a mention of the Tullys.
Starting with The Arryns, the current head of House Arryn is Jeyne Arryn, a woman. Mentioned in “The Green Council,” it was brought up that due to being a female leader she might be reluctant to participate in the usurping of another woman. From the books, we are told that Jeyne became Lady of the Eyrie at three years old. We are told that she has also dealt with male family members trying to usurp her claim. Despite the fact that Daemon killed Rhea Royce, from a family sworn to House Arryn, due to the mutual gender struggle Rhaenyra and Jeyne have faced, and the fact that Rhaenyra’s an Arryn through her mother, it is a natural allegiance.
Lord Cregan Stark is the current ruler of Winterfell, who first came into his power at thirteen years old. He will become a formidable character and part of the excitement of seeing him next season is returning to the Starks, who were famously the central family in Game of Thrones. We have been used to seeing the Starks as honorable, but also reactionary. Their wars and battles were mostly personal until Game of Thrones’ last few seasons. We will finally be privy to the Stark family in a new way and as huge players in the game for the future of the throne. We know they have previously bent the knee to Rhaenyra, but they are also traditional.
Finally, the Tullys. This generation of Tullys have been name-dropped and you might have found those names familiar: Lord Grover, Kermit, and Elmo. Yes, George R.R. Martin put Sesame Street character tributes into the books. Grover is described as weak, stubborn, and unremarkable. They have not given us most of the characters, but if they appear it will be a small example of the struggles within families to pick a side.
The Lannisters and Hightowers are out of the question for The Blacks and are solidly for The Greens, but we have not heard from Dorne or the Tyrells. It is also very possible for some Houses to not get involved in the Civil War. Of course, it will not prevent the battle from coming to their doorstep. When dragon-fire is on the table, you never know who will burn.
(image: HBO)
