‘House of the Dragon’: Who Is Cregan Stark? All About the New Lord of Winterfell

Avery Thompson June 12, 2024, 12:36 pm

Comments

Harry Collett and Tom Taylor in 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 — Ollie Upton / HBO

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.]

House Stark fans, the wait is almost over. The return to Winterfell is upon us. House of the Dragon Season 2, based on George R. R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood, will introduce one of most beloved characters in the world of Westeros: the one, the only, Cregan Stark.

So, who is Cregan Stark? What is his significance in House of the Dragon? Below, we’re breaking down everything you need to know about the man at the head of House Stark in House of the Dragon, including information about the character in Fire & Blood.

Who is playing Cregan Stark?

Tom Taylor plays Cregan Stark in House of the Dragon Season 2. Taylor made his acting debut in a 2014 episode of Casualty. He notably played Jake Chambers in the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower.

How does Cregan Stark fit into House of the Dragon?

At the end of House of the Dragon Season 1, Jacaerys (Harry Collett) was headed north to garner support for Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) cause in the wake of Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) usurping the throne. Jace was tasked with stopping by Winterfell to speak with Cregan, the Lord of Winterfell at the time. Rhaenyra told Jace that he was close in age to Cregan and hoped they would have “common interests.”

As we’ve seen in trailers and photos from Season 2, Jace will make it to Winterfell. In one photo, it appears Cregan takes Jace to The Wall during the visit.

In Fire & Blood (again, this is just what happens in the book), Jace travels to Winterfell and develops a close bond with Cregan. In one of the retellings of the events in Fire & Blood, Jace and Cregan allegedly swore an oath of brotherhood and made the Pact of Ice and Fire, where they agreed on Jace’s future firstborn daughter marrying Cregan’s son, Rickon. At that point, Cregan and House Stark pledged their loyalty to Team Black.

According to Mushroom, who also gives an account of the Dance of the Dragons in Fire & Blood, Jace and Sara Snow, Cregan’s illegtimate sister, secretly wed while he was in Winterfell. However, much of Mushroom’s information was mixed with rumors, so you have to take any of his stories with a grain of salt. There’s no definitive proof that Sara Snow ever existed. Mushroom loved to spread rumors.

House of the Dragon has veered from the source material in Season 1, so the show isn’t married to Fire & Blood. The way Martin wrote the book, Fire & Blood isn’t an exact account of what happened in Westerosi history. The fictional sources included often conflict with one another, so it’s up to interpretation as to what really happened. This gives House of the Dragon the freedom to approach the storylines in a unique way.

What happens to Cregan Stark?

So much goes down during the Dance of the Dragons, and the Targaryen civil war is kicking into full gear in Season 2. As Game of Thrones fans know, the Starks are known for keeping their oaths. Lord Rickon Stark (David Hounslow), Cregan’s father, pledged his loyalty to Rhaenyra becoming the heir to Iron Throne in Season 1.

It’s unclear how the show will incorporate Cregan into the show’s Season 2 narrative (if at all) beyond Jace’s trip north. Taylor told Entertainment Weekly that his entrance in Season 2 is “a little tease for now.” For those that have read Fire & Blood, Cregan become a crucial figure in Westerosi history down the line.

Daemon & Rhaenys Discuss Lucerys' Death in 'House of the Dragon' Preview

He added, “I’ve got so much I want to do with Cregan. I can just imagine it since I’ve stopped filming. I’m getting so many more ideas. And, yeah, I want to kill some people.”

How is Cregan Stark connected to Ned Stark?

They don’t just have the same last name for nothing! In the world of Game of Thrones, Cregan is the great-great-great-great grandfather of Ned Stark. After Cregan, the Lord of Winterfell mantle passes to Brandon, Berran, William, Edwyle, Rickon, and then to Ned.

Taylor revealed that he looked to Sean Bean, who played Ned in Game of Thrones, when crafting his version of Cregan. “For some reason, I felt like I needed to because he’s Sean Bean’s great, great, great, great, great-granddad. I wanted him to have the same presence because the voice tells so much. When they speak, you can hear the weight on all their shoulders.”

House of the Dragon, Season 2 Premiere, Sunday, June 16, 9/8c, HBO, Streaming on Max