SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen Game of Thrones, this article does contain a few spoilers for both shows.
Game of Thrones was a complex, nuanced, thought provoking series inspired by the late 15th century English conflict of succession between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, aka the War of the Roses. The series was special for many reasons, but the one that stuck out in my mind was how Game of Thrones humanized its villains in ways that made audiences think twice before easily judging the cruel actions they viewed on screen and writing these people off. In Game of Thrones, no matter who the person was or their status, there were always unintended consequences for every action.
With over one hundred and fifty characters, the characters of color were portrayed to be the lowest classes, savages, pirates or slaves. Game of Thrones was also criticized for its graphic sexual violence and gratuitous female nudity. When I watched the show I saw it as a commentary on empire and the toxicity of whiteness. White people were killing one another for status and power, not even considering the lower castes (the smallfolk in the show’s parlance) when, at the end of the day, a larger evil that will destroy everyone looms in the background. Game of Thrones was frustrating because in the early seasons I loved the complex character studies, action, costumes and great storytelling, but I hated the way the white male writers portrayed characters of color and women in the stereotypical ways that white male writers have traditionally placed these characters.
House of the Dragon, based on the book Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin, is set two hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones take place, and one hundred years before House Targaryen unites the Seven Kingdoms. The white-haired scions of House Velaryon and House Targaryen are the monarchy. In Game of Thrones, the last two members of House Targaryen are played by white actors in white wigs. In House of the Dragon, Steve Toussaint (Doctor Who), a dark-skinned Black actor with long white locs, plays Lord Corlys (the Sea Snake) Velaryon as the husband of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best, The Crown), creating a multiracial nuance to the monarchy that adds layers of fascinating complexity.
Lord Corlys is a self-made man who grew the financial resources to buy his way into royalty. It’s very American. The Sea Snake is like a Rockefeller. Corlys is determined to solidify his power and does so by marrying his son Ser Laenor (John Macmillian, One Day) to King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine, Peaky Blinders) daughter and heir, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy, Mothering Sunday) and his daughter Lady Laena (Nanna Blondell, Attack on Finland) to the the the King’s brother Daemon (Matt Smith, Doctor Who). Ser Laenor is in love with a man, and Princess (soon to be Queen) Rhaenyra is in love with one Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr, High Ground). Rhaenyra offers a progressive arrangement within this arranged marriage. Sounds kinda like a soap opera, right?
But it gets better. Turns out that the Sea Snake, like most men of his station, not only has children with his white wife Rhaenys, but he also has two illegitimate sons: Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim, Jamestown) and Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty, Normal People). These two are introduced in Season 2 and become significant players in the story. In the Season 2, Episode 8 finale, “The Queen Who Ever Was”, Alyn talks with Lord Corlys about the impact of growing up and seeing Corlys take care of his heir. At the same time, Alyn and his brother lived in poverty and had to pull themselves out with hard work and much luck. Seeing these two Black men have this kind of conversation was the kind of layered relationship that I loved seeing happen between a Black father and son.
I am also obsessed with the thought of Alyn and Aadam’s mother. Who was she? What was it like for her? Why did Corlys not support her? Did he love her? They had two sons together. I wish this character were a person we could see on screen played by a dark-skinned Black female actor. I love how casting all of these Black actors has attracted more of a Black audience, and the memes on social media give me life. I mean, the Seasmoke and Addam memes brought me joy for days after that episode aired.
In Season 1, I was mad at House of the Dragon because Lady Laena suffered a horrible death, which the actor justified as her choice as a dragon rider. But in Season 2, through Laena’s daughters, Lady Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell, Midsomer Murders) and Lady Baela (Bethany Antonia, Nolly), we see two young Black women navigating their royal responsibilities and being significant players. It’s nice to see these two characters evolve. Lady Baela is a dragon rider. One of my favorite episodes features this baddie flying on her dragon, Moondancer, getting key intel that shifts the trajectory of this story.
In Game of Thrones, women wield power in broad strokes. Some characters are driven by motherhood, and the other by a lust for power. Both end up being one-dimensional tragic villains. In House of the Dragon, women are like surgeons using power like scalpels, thinking of the consequences before initiating violent action. The women in this era coexist with patriarchy differently. Not only do we see women in front of the camera, but there are also women in the writer’s room and women directing episodes. In Game of Thrones, the gore is on the battlefield. In House of the Dragons, the blood is in the birthing chamber.
Sexual violence is not glorified in House of the Dragon. The one time this happens, it occurs off-camera. The audience sees the horror of the coverup rather than the visual shock of the violent action. In Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen hate one another without meeting until a late episode in the last season. In House of the Dragon, Alicent and Rhaenyra start off as best friends and gradually their love for one another turns to tragedy because of the battle for the line of succession. The Greens have top notch health care provided by the best Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan, Skyfall), who also happens to be Black.
The storytelling in House of the Dragon is far more compelling and rich because it shows a world where a multiracial world of human beings are dealing with the challenges of monarchy, caste, power struggle between genders, social class, inheritance based on birth with magic and dragons, without any white saviors. I’m totally here for it.
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