In the second season of the Game of Thrones spin-off, fans will finally see what they’ve been waiting for: the infamous Targaryen civil war. Queen Rhaenyra’s party (the Blacks) will clash with Queen Alicent’s faction (the Greens), and the great houses of Westeros must choose whom they serve.
George Martin’s universe is famous for its many characters with strange names and complicated family relationships. If you feel lost, then we’ve created this guide about who all the main characters of House of the Dragon are and what happened to them in season 1.
We will keep the list of characters updated. We have a similar guide on all the dragons in the series.
Here’s the list of the most important characters who we’ve met so far:
Major spoilers for season 1 below and new season 2 episodes below.
Viserys Targaryen
HBO
Played by Paddy Constantine
Dragon: Balerion, the Black Dread
In season 1, he was the King of Westeros, grandson of King Jaehaerys Targaryen. One of his rivals to the Iron Throne was his cousin Rhaenys Targaryen, who was rejected because of her gender.
Viserys married Aemma Arryn, who bore him a son, Baelon (who died in infancy) and a daughter, Rhaenyra. Alicent Hightower became the King’s second wife. The couple had three children: Aegon, Aemond and Helaena.
In his younger days, Viserys was close with his brother, Daemon. He was regarded as a kind and generous King.
He passed away near the end of last season and had initially named Rhaenyra his successor. His final words to Alicent caused some confusion, as she believed that he named Aegon the next King. However, he was telling a story about Aegon the Conqueror.
Daemon Targaryen
HBO
Played by Matt Smith
Dragon: Caraxes
Called the Rogue Prince (or The Lord of the Flea Bottom), Daemon is King Viserys’ younger brother and Rhaenyra’s uncle. For some time, he was considered the heir to the throne, as Viserys and Aemma had no living son.
Daemon is a very skilled knight and owns a sword of Valyrian steel called the Dark Sister. He is considered handsome and charming but also violent and ambitious. He loves gambling, drinking, fighting and visiting brothels. His favourite mistress was Mysaria, a dancer from Lys.
His first hated wife was Rhea Royce. After her death, he married Laena Velaryon, who bore him two daughters, Baela and Rhaena. His third wife became his niece, Rhaenyra, with whom he has sons called Aegon and Viserys.
Daemon will be one of the key leaders against the Greens in House of the Dragon season 2, fighting for Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne.
Rhaenyra Targaryen
HBO
Played by Emma D’Arcy
Dragon: Syrax
Rhaenyra is Viserys’s and Aemma’s beloved daughter. The former King proclaimed her as the heir to the Iron Throne, which caused conflict between her and her old friend (and Viserys’s new wife), Alicent Hightower.
As a young girl, she had an affair with Ser Criston Cole, a sworn member of the Kingsguard. She married Laenor Velaryon but had a long-time romance with Ser Harwin Strong, who is the secret father of her sons, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey, despite them having Velaryon as their last name.
Her second husband is her uncle, Daemon Targaryen. They have two sons, Aegon and Viserys. In season 2, she will be fighting for her right to the Iron Throne and searching for answers and revenge for her son, Lucerys.
Rhaenys Targaryen
HBO
Played by Eve Best
Dragon: Meleys
She is the Princess cousin of Viserys and Daemon. Rhaenys descended from King Jaehaerys’ older son, and her rights to the Iron Throne were stronger than her cousin. However, according to tradition, the throne of Westeros couldn’t be inherited by a woman and her candidacy was rejected by the great houses.
She married the mighty Corlys Velaryon and is the mother of Laenor and Laena. She fights for Rhaenyra and the Blacks in the Dance of the Dragons.
Corlys Velaryon
HBO
Played by Steve Toussaint
Known as the Lord of the Tides and the Sea Snake, he was a King’s council member overseeing the fleet. Like the Targaryens, his family boasted Valyrian ancestry, though Velaryons are associated not with dragons but with the sea. Corlys is an exceptionally skilled sailor and has visited all the known lands.
The Sea Snake brought many exotic goods from his voyages, which made the Velaryons richer than the Lannisters and Hightowers. He married Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, hoping his descendants would inherit the Iron Throne one day. He is the father of Laenor and Laena.
In the first season, Corlys sided with Rhaenyra, although he didn’t trust her entirely.
Laenor Velaryon
HBO
Played by John MacMillan
Dragon: Seasmoke
He is the son of Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen. As a result of Viserys and Corlys’s alliance, Laenor married Rhaenyra. By name, he is the father of Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey – but they aren’t his real sons.
In season 1, Laenor, Rhaenyra and Daemon planned a scheme. They faked Laenor’s murder and, to make the case plausible, planted a burned corpse. As a result, Rhaenyra could marry Daemon and strengthen her claim to the throne, while Laenor escaped from court life to Essos. However, his parents aren’t aware of the plot.
Laena Velaryon
HBO
Played by: Nanna Blondell
Dragon: Vhagar
She was the daughter of Corlys and Rhaenys and Laenor’s sister. Initially intended as Viserys’ second wife, she eventually married Daemon and gave birth to Baela and Rhaena.
Laena died just after a difficult labour – unable to give birth to a child, she let her female dragon Vhagar burn her.
Jacaerys Velaryon
HBO
Played by Harry Collet
Dragon: Vermax
He is the eldest son of Rhaenyra and (officially) Laenor Velaryon. However, his birth father is Ser Harwin Strong. If Rhaenyra wins the Iron Throne, Jacaerys will be her successor.
At the end of season 1, he was sent as an emissary to the House Stark of Winterfell.
Lucerys Velaryon
HBO
Played by Elliot Grihault
Dragon: Arrax
He was the second child of Rhaenyra and (officially) Laenor Velaryon, but actually, he is the bastard child of Ser Harwin Strong. As a younger son, he would inherit the Castle Driftmark, the mighty fortress owned by the House of Velaryon. As a child, he took Aemond Targaryen’s eye in a fight.
In season 1, he was sent as an emissary to the House Baratheon of Storm’s End. While on his way back, he was attacked by Aemond and his female dragon, Vhagar. Although Aemond’s goal was only to scare the boy, he lost control of his dragon who tore Lucerys apart, which became the direct cause of the civil war.
Baela Targaryen
HBO
Played by Bethany Antonia
She is the eldest daughter of Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon. She was raised by her grandmother, Rhaenys, at Castle Driftmark. During season 2, she chased Ser Cristen Cole and his fellow knights on her dragon, Moondancer.
Rhaena Targaryen
HBO
Played by Phoebe Campbell
She is the younger daughter of Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon. She was raised by Rhaenyra and her father, and doesn’t own a dragon. However, she is in charge of four dragon eggs and has been sent to the Vale to watch over Rhaenrya Targaryen’s young sons, Joffrey, Viserys II, and Aegon III.
Otto Hightower
HBO
Played by Rhys Ifans
The Hand of King Jaehaerys, King Viserys and King Aegon, Ser Otto is the younger brother of the mighty Lord Hightower from the Old City. He is considered a competent governor but also a proud, ambitious and rough man. Ser Otto has many enemies among the lords, and his fiercest opponent is Daemon Targaryen.
In the first season, Otto manipulated his daughter, Alicent, to become Viserys’ wife and queen of Westeros. In the second season, he was stripped of his role as the Hand by Aegon – the role was handed to Cristen Cole.
Alicent Hightower
HBO
Played by Olivia Cooke
She is Ser Otto’s clever and formidable daughter. As a young girl, she arrived in King’s Landing and befriended Princess Rhaenyra. However, their relationship deteriorated after Alicent wed Viserys.
After marrying the king, Alicent gave birth to Aegon, Aemond, and Helaena. She is a woman committed to family, duty, and faith, but she is also stubborn and will go to extreme lengths to protect the family name.
She wishes her eldest son to inherit the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenyra, as she believed that this was the dying wish of Viserys. However, she unknowingly misinterpreted his final words. In season 2, she began a secret affair with Ser Criston Cole – only Queen Helaena is aware of the relationship.
Aegon Targaryen
HBO
Played by Tom Glynn-Carney
He is the eldest son of King Viserys and Alicent and, according to the Hightowers – the rightful heir to the throne. He is a drunk and a rapist, and has numerous bastard children. In keeping with Targaryen tradition, he is married to his sister, Helaena. They have two children together, twins called Jaehaerys and Jaehaera.
He was officially crowned King, which became one of the main reasons for the conflict between the Rhaenyra and Alicent factions. He later declared war after his heir was murdered by assassins, sent by Daemon Targaryen.
Aemond Targaryen
HBO
Played by Ewan Mitchell
Dragon: Vhagar
He is the second son of Viserys and Alicent. He despises Aegon and considers himself a better candidate for King. Aemond is well-educated and is an excellent swordsman, but he is also violent and ruthless. He illegally claimed the dragon Vhagar, even though she was to be inherited by Baela Velaryon.
As a child, he lost his eye during a fight with Lucerys, Rhaenyra’s son. As revenge, he wanted to scare Lucerys during his journey from the Storm’s End, which ended in the boy’s death and the outbreak of war.
In season 2 he has proved a valuable strategist for the Greens.
Helaena Targaryen
HBO
Played by Phia Saban
Dragon: Dreamfyre
She is the third child of Viserys and Alicent and married to her eldest brother, Aegon, who she has had two children with. She is a quiet and peaceful girl interested in insects. Helaena has prophetic abilities – she predicted the loss of Aemond’s eye, the claim of Vhagar, and Rhaenys’ intrusion at the coronation.
In the second season, she watched as her son, Jaehaerys Targaryen, was murdered by assassins.
Sir Criston Cole
HBO
Played by Fabien Frankel
He is a handsome knight, the son of Lord Dondarrion’s steward. He is a skilled warrior and a member of the Kingsguard. He broke his vows by having an affair with the young Rhaenyra. Bitter by being rejected by the Princess, he supported the party of Alicent Hightower.
He’s been having a secret affair with Alicent and is responsible for the deaths of Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk Cargyll.
Harwin Strong
HBO
Played by Ryan Corr
He was the elder son of Lyonel Strong, the Hand of the King. Harwin was the heir to Harrenhal Castle, but for some time, he stayed in the King’s Landing as the Commander of the City Watch. He was Rhaenyra’s lover during her marriage with Laenor, and the birth father of her children Jacaerys, Lucerys and Joffrey.
Harwin and his father were killed in the Harrenhal fire, set at the order of his younger brother, Larys.
Larys Strong
HBO
Played by Matthew Needham
He is the younger brother of Ser Harwin Strong, Rhaenyra’s lover. He is physically disabled but well-educated, clever, and cunning. He spied for Queen Alicent and became one of her most loyal allies.
Knowing that he had no chance of formally inheriting the titles and estates of the Strongs, he ordered the murder of his father and older brother.
Mysaria
HBO
Played by Sonoya Mizuno
She was Daemon Targaryen’s mistress, a dancer from Lys. Their relationship didn’t stand the test of time – probably after the events surrounding the theft of the dragon’s egg, Mysaria left the Prince and returned to King’s Landing. Eventually, she became a spy for Ser Otto Hightower.
In season 2 she was captured by Team Black, and she provided key information to Daemon that allowed him to infiltrate King’s Landing and order the assassination of a Targaryen son.
Ulf the White
HBO
Played by Tom Bennett
A mysterious commoner who claims to be a so-called dragonseed – an illegitimate child of the House Targaryen. Ulf claims to be the bastard son of Prince Baelon the Brave, and the half-brother of King Viserys and Prince Daemon.
Alys Rivers
HBO
Played by Gayle Rankin
The mysterious black-haired woman first appears in the series during Daemon’s visit to Harrenhal. She is likely the illegitimate daughter of the late Ser Lyonel Strong, father of Harwin and Larys. According to rumours, she is older than she looks and was once the wet nurse to her half-brothers.
Many consider Alys a witch with the power to foresee the future.
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Author: Weronika de Oliveira, Entertainment Writer, Tech Advisor
Weronika is an Entertainment Writer at Tech Advisor, where she covers topics related to TV shows, streaming, and movies. With an MA degree in Film Studies, her areas of expertise range from classical and postmodern cinema to contemporary films, series, and pop culture.
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