‘House of the Dragon’ Relationships: Where Each One Stands Ahead of Season 2
Familial war between the two great houses of Westeros breaks out in HBO‘s House of the Dragon Season 2.
Premiering June 16, the Game of Thrones spinoff will see the Targaryens (the blacks) and the Hightowers (the greens) battling for control of the Iron Throne following the onset of their deadly feud in the Season 1 finale. The fight to hold onto the stolen crown (the green’s cause) and the fight to wrest it back (the black’s) will affect every relationship in the series.
Relationships between the members of Westeros’ great houses are often forged as strategic alliances, but some pairings are both for love and power. Season 1 saw several romances begin and die within the 10-episode season. Which ones still stand? Here, we break down the relationship status of every major relationship we’ll see in House of the Dragon Season 2 this summer.
House of the Dragon, Season 2 Premiere, Sunday, June 16, 9/8c, HBO, Streaming on Max
Rhaenyra & Daemon
Niece and uncle Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) are still married in Season 2. Between the children from their former marriages and their current one, they share eight children total. Rhaenyra’s second child, son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), was killed in a dragon fight with his Uncle Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), triggering the Dance of the Dragons. Rhaenyra and Daemon’s daughter, Visenya, was stillborn.
Rhaenyra and Daemon’s romance was a slow build over the years in Season 1. Daemon violently strangled Rhaenyra in the finale when tensions between them rose following the death of King Viserys (Paddy Considine). In the Season 2 trailer, Rhaenyra doubts Daemon’s ability to bend the knee to a woman, even if that woman is his wife.
Alicent & Rhaenyra
Some fans of the series feel there’s an unaddressed romantic connection between the two central queens. This was shown in their close friendship as teenagers (when Milly Alcock and Emily Carey played Rhaenyra and Alicent), but their bond was severed when Alicent was made to marry Rhaenyra’s father and become her step-mother.
They scarcely get along in adulthood, with unexamined and long-harbored resentment for each other resulting in explosive fights at some points in Season 1 (the exploding was mostly on Alicent’s part…). The book on which the series is based, George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood, says that Alicent and Rhaenyra will never see each other again from this point on. With the fanbase behind these two, it’s reasonable to think the show would want Rhaenyra and Alicent (played by D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke) together on-screen again, but we also know how much Game of Thrones likes to keep characters separated.
Corlys & Rhaenys
Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) and her husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), have been married the longest out of any of the main cast. The parents of Laenor (Rhaenyra’s first husband, played by Theo Nate and John MacMillan) and Laena (Daemon’s first wife, played by Savannah Steyn and Nanna Blondell) are still grieving the loss of their children but have taken their granddaughters, Baela and Rhaena, under their wing.
Having been denied the Iron Throne because of her sex, despite being the rightful heir to the throne (Viserys, her cousin, was crowned in her stead), Rhaenys takes the usurping of Rhaenyra’s throne personally. Rhaenys and Corlys are united in their support of Rhaenyra’s cause.
Aegon & Helaena
Alicent and Viserys’ son and daughter were married in the tradition of Targaryens marrying family members to keep the bloodline strong, but these two could not be more different.
Where Helaena (Phia Saban) is delicate and soft, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is brutal and cruel. Their marriage is strictly political, neither of them is happy with it. They are parents to twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera in House of the Dragon, but in Fire & Blood they have three children. Season 2 could show the third child’s arrival.
Baela & Jace
Jace (Harry Collett) is Rhaenyra’s firstborn child and her heir. He was betrothed to Baela (Bethany Antonia), his step-sister/cousin, in Season 1. Lucerys and Baela’s sister Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) were also betrothed. The two have been sweet to each other since their betrothal, with Jace defending Baela in squabbles with Aemond and Aegon.
Daemon & Mysaria
Mysaria is a former prostitute and slave who Daemon often employed in Season 1. She eventually became his favorite, and he brought her to Dragonstone to be his wife. She got pregnant but lost the child.
With Daemon out of her life, Mysaria went on to be a brothel proprietor and powerful information broker in King’s Landing.
Daemon murdered his first wife, Lady Rhea Royce (Rachel Redford), in Season 1.
Rhaenyra & Ser Criston
The knight Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) was Rhaenyra’s first lover, their one lustful night shared in response to Daemon igniting Rhaenyra’s sexuality in a brothel and then leaving her behind. Criston fell in love with Rhaenyra and wanted to run away together, but she rejected him because she had no interest in denying herself her birthright to the Iron Throne.
Criston vehemently resented Rhaenyra from that point on, attaching his loyalty to Queen Alicent instead. This still causes Rhaenyra grief as an adult, as Criston never let go of his obsessive hatred of Rhaenyra. He lets that affect how he treats her children, the eldest of whom (Jace, Luke, and Joffrey) were fathered by Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), Rhaenyra’s secret lover with whom she was in love for years before he was murdered.
Alicent & Ser Criston
Criston has put all of his eggs in Queen Alicent’s basket. He views her as the more pure and righteous when compared to Rhaenyra, and his fierce protection of her can easily be interpreted as a twisted kind of romantic passion.
Alicent doesn’t reciprocate the feelings, but she does use his care to her favor. She knows that she can trust him to be on her side more than anyone else, for better or for worse.
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