George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire is known for its rich lore and history. Its massive world—including Fire and Blood, which House of the Dragon is based on—bore hundreds of characters with detailed backstories. Martin took painstaking time and effort to give nuances to every character, motivation, and contribution to the story as a whole. Every single decision every character makes has an impact on the series’ future events, and Martin’s meticulous effort made all of the characters significant to House of the Dragon.
Get to know the main characters and go behind the scenes of the ongoing epic series!
The show introduces us to a different timeline in the vast universe of Song of Ice and Fire, predating the events of Game of Thrones by almost 200 years during the height of House Targaryen’s power and their reign of the Seven Kingdoms.
Subscribe to HBO Go with your PLDT Home bill and get unlimited access to House of the Dragon episodes! While you patiently wait for the next, here are some of the interesting faces to watch out for in the series!
(Editor’s Notes: Spoilers ahead for what’s to come in the next few episodes!)
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
Played by Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy
Smart, adventurous, and feisty, Princess Rhaenyra is a woman ahead of her time. It annoys her that she lives in a time when women played a secondary role to men. Women of high social standing are expected only to birth a male heir for their more celebrated husbands. Despite this, her father eventually names her heir to the Iron Throne—leaving the princess constantly looking over her shoulder for those seeking to exploit her young age and challenge her claim to the throne. This ignites Rhaenyra’s fire with a searing desire to prove herself worthy of the same respect as male nobles. She’s very fond of dragons and her uncle Daemon Targaryen, to whom she will lose her virginity before turning 16. Welcome back to Game of Thrones!
King Viserys I Targaryen
Played by Paddy Considine
Viserys ascended the Iron Throne after a Great Council declared him the successor to his grandfather King Jaehaerys I who had lost his sons in tragedy. In the time of House of the Dragon, Viserys and his wife Aemma struggled to further their line after Rhaenyra’s birth. In a tragic turn of events, he lost both his queen and his new heir, Baelon, from birthing complications. Pressured to remarry, he chooses his daughter’s 15-year-old best friend Alicent Hightower in the hopes of strengthening his line of succession.
Prince Daemon Targaryen
Played by Matt Smith
Prince Daemon, Viserys’ younger brother, is widely known as a “rogue prince.” In the beginning of the series, he is named the commander of the City Watch known as the Gold Cloaks—a rather derogatory move as they are seen as a redundant band of army rejects. However, Daemon transforms his men into a formidable force that’s extremely loyal to him. These recent developments unnerve the nobles, knowing Daemon is a violent and highly ambitious troublemaker with his eyes on the Iron Throne.
Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Played by Eve Best
Known as The Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys is King Jaeherys I’s eldest female descendant whose strong claim to the Iron Throne was overlooked by the Great Council just because she is a woman. To rub salt into her wounds, her cousin Viserys (to whom she lost her bid for the Iron Throne) named his young daughter Rhaenyra as his heir—leading Rhaenys on campaign to challenge her nieces’ position as the next ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
Ser Otto Hightower
Played by Rhys Ifans
The Hand of the King and the ultimate politician, Ser Otto Hightower’s proximity to King Viserys and his family’s great wealth and influence already make him a very powerful man, but he isn’t stopping there. Ser Otto consolidates power by conspiring a marriage between his teenage daughter and the widowed King Viserys. He is slowly revealed as a sycophant who is not above turning family members against each other to further his goals.
Lady Alicent Hightower
Played by Emily Carey and Olivia Cooke
Lady Alicent Hightower, the daughter of Ser Otto Hightower, was Rhaenyra’s childhood best friend who later on becomes Viserys’ wife. Although Rhaenyra has been named heir to his now-husband, the birth of their son Aegon complicated the succession with many expecting for Viserys’ male heir to take over. Some fans are speculating Lady Alicent will end up like Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones, but that remains to be seen in the ongoing early stages of House of the Dragon.
Lord Corlys Velaryon
Played by Steve Toussaint
Lord Corlys Velaryon is House of the Dragon’s walking green flag. His relationship with his wife, Princess Rhaenys, is the healthiest since Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully’s union in Game of Thrones. They supported each other’s causes, and Lord Corlys always stood firm in his wife’s right and competence to rule the Seven Kingdoms. A wealthy Lord from a very wealthy house, Lord Corlys is a strong seafarer and trader with an adventurous and restless spirit.
Go behind the scenes of House of the Dragon
Dive deeper into the Targaryen dynasty and the characters that contributed to its rise and fall with exclusive featurettes in The House That Dragons Built, streaming exclusively on HBO Go with PLDT Home. Watch out for new episodes, airing after the premiere of each episode on Wednesdays at 12PM.
Courtesy of HBO Go
Banner photo courtesy of HBO Go.