In the world of Game of Thrones, seeing people of color was few and far between. Black fans were particularly excited for characters like Missandei played beautifully by Nathalie Emmanuel and Grey Worm played by the awesome Jacob Anderson. We cheered for the Black love depicted in this medieval universe between these two characters. But the representation didn’t end there. There were creative liberties taken with the character with Xaro Xhaon Daxos, depicted brilliantly by Nonso Anonzie. In George RR Martin’s version, the character was white. These aforementioned characters were pretty significant in the series. Other characters of color were sprinkled here and there but in House of the Dragon, we have a larger number of Black characters in notable roles.
Yes, there are yet again more creative liberties taken with this based on how they are described in the books, but with the exception that this was not exactly different from Martin’s original vision when he came up with the concept for Fire and Blood. In an interview with showrunner Ryan Condal he discusses why he elected to make the Velaryons Black based on an article he read about George RR Martin:
“And it always stuck with me, this article … where George had talked about, at first when he set out to write these books, considering making all of the Velaryons Black. Black people with silver hair — and that always really stuck with me as an image,” Condal says.
There’s also the fact that the showrunner wanted to create a distinction between House Velaryon and House Targaryen.
“Having a Black family on the show helps differentiate “people on screen and remembering who’s from what house. This aids in highlighting the questionable parentage of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen’s very white-looking children, who have the last name Velaryon,” he adds.
There is one canon character from Fire and Blood who is Black in the book named Nettles. She is described as a small, skinny, brown-skinned girl, with black hair and brown eyes. She is a dragonseed character from the book. A dragonseed is a term to describe bastards from House Targaryen and House Velaryon. Season 2 promos have shown us that there are dragonseeds making an impending appearance. As of right now it is confirmed that Addam of Hull, Hugh the Hammer, and Ulf the White will show up this sophomore season. But where’s Nettles?
In an interview with BGN we asked Ryan that question and although he was pretty tight-lipped about her appearance he did say “stay tuned”.
You can watch the full interview with Ryan Condal and the cast here.
The premiere of House of the Dragon season 2 begins June 16th on HBO and will be available for streaming on MAX.
