9 ‘Game of Thrones’ ancestors who might star in ‘House of the Dragon’

This post probably(?) contains spoilers for HBO’s House of the Dragon. It’s all in the books though. 

HBO’s recently announced Game of Thrones prequel will be called House of the Dragon and focus on the history of House Targaryen in Westeros. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will be set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones. 

That might seem like a long time, but 300 years puts  the start of the series at the war of Aegon’s Conquest, which is directly connected to the events of Thrones. That war, started by Aegon Targaryen and his sister-wives Rhaenys and Visenya Targaryen, began the process of turning the independent kingdoms of Westeros into the unified Seven Kingdoms, over which Aegon’s descendents ruled until Robert Baratheon’s rebellion. 

The cool part about having a prequel series cover Aegon’s Conquest is that many of the primary characters in Game of Thrones have ancestors who were directly involved in the war. House of the Dragon won’t just be the history of the Targaryens — it will also be an origin story for Houses Tyrell, Tully, Baratheon, and Greyjoy; a way to explain some of Game of Thrones’ political quirks, like why the “Prince of Dorne” still has a royal title; and shed light on the foundational legends of Houses Arryn and Stark. 

Here are some of the Game of Thrones–adjacent characters who are likely to show up in House of the Dragon, and some of what fans can expect if they arrive. 

Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys Targaryen 

These three are almost guaranteed to be three key players in House of the Dragon, considering they are literally the house of the dragon. 

The Targaryen siblings Aegon, Visenya, and Rhaenys were the original conquerors of the Seven Kingdoms. They were strong. They were ruthless. And they were collectively a sister-brother-sister power throuple. Bigamy and incest, straight out the gate! This show is going to be fun. 

Even though their family had lived in Westeros for over a century, Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya launched a full-scale invasion of the continent. Armed with dragons, an ever-growing army, and their wits, the sibling-spouses fought hard to set up a lasting royal legacy for House Targaryen. 

We all saw how that turned out. 

Orys Baratheon 

Fun fact about House Baratheon: they’re (probably) Targaryens. Yup. Orys Baratheon was Aegon Targaryen’s best friend and right-hand man, but according to George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, he was way more than that. Orys, who went on to found House Baratheon after slaying King Durrandon of Storm’s End and marrying the king’s daughter Argella, was also rumored to be Aegon’s paternal half-brother. 

Though Orys never knew his mother, the famous black hair he inherited from her was so dominant in his line that it squashed the Targaryens’ silver-haired genes and made it so Baratheon men would always be identifiable by its color. That’s how Ned Stark was able to find out Cersei’s blonde children weren’t Robert Baratheon’s offspring, and also how he recognized Gendry as Robert’s natural heir. Thanks for making Punnett squares easy, Orys! 

Torrhen Stark

The King in the North! Until he wasn’t. Torrhen Stark is the reason the Northmen on Game of Thrones are so dang touchy about bending the knee. After Aegon and his sisters captured the first few kingdoms with fire and blood, King Torrhen of Winterfell rallied his armies and marched south to confront the Targaryens head on. As he traveled, more news of the dragons’ destruction reached him, and he privately realized there was no point in fighting an unstoppable force. 

On the morning of battle, King Torrhen crossed over to the Targaryen camp and laid his crown at Aegon’s feet, bending the knee and sacrificing the North’s independence to save his kingdom from bloodshed. The north was safe, but mostly pissed, and they didn’t let that shit go until Torrhen’s distant descendent Sansa Stark unbent that knee and became the first Queen in the North. 

Loren Lannister

King Loren Lannister of the Rock tried to hold on to his kingdom and joined forces with King Mern Gardener of The Reach (that’s the kingdom with Highgarden) in an attempt to defeat the invading Targaryens. Because the combined strength of the Rock and the Reach was so formidable, Aegon, Rhaenys, and Visenya did something they hadn’t done before and never would again — they took all three dragons out to play. 

The ensuing battle became known as the Field of Fire, probably because three dragons set the fricking battlefield on fricking fire, but Loren Lannister survived to bend the knee to Aegon the next day. Classic Lannister move. 

Harlen Tyrell

Loren Lannister may have survived the Field of Fire, but Mern Gardener of the Reach and his entire line perished in the flames. After the battle, Aegon marched to Highgarden and found Harlen Tyrell, King Mern’s castle steward, waiting for him with the key to the castle and the Westorosi equivalent of a “Welcome Home, Dragon Boy” banner hanging from the ramparts. 

Even though Harlan Tyrell had lesser blood than many Reachborn nobles, Aegon rewarded his family with the high lordship. The Tyrells became fabulously rich, but older families like the Lannisters always resented them for being “up-jumped stewards” without any true ties to royal blood. 

Meria Martell

Anyone who misses Olenna Tyrell should keep an eye out for Meria Martell in House of the Dragon. At the time of Aegon’s Conquest, Princess Meria of Dorne was a blind, bald, 80-year-old badass whose frailties did not stop the Martells from becoming the only reigning house to withstand the Targaryen invasion.

Princess Meria refused to bend the knee to Aegon’s sister Rhaenys, preferring instead to whittle at the Targaryen army using guerilla tactics and generally making the queen’s life a living hell. When Rhaenys had enough of Meria’s shit, she flew to Sunspear on her dragon to intimidate Princess Meria into surrendering. “Dorne will never surrender,” replied Princess Meria. 

It took the Targaryens nearly two hundred years to successfully annex the Kingdom of Dorne. 

Sharra Arryn

Sharra Arryn didn’t rule the Vale during Aegon’s Conquest, but she did act as regent for her young son Ronnel. A famous beauty, Sharra tried to seduce Aegon by sending him a sexy portrait and offering marriage, but who needs a third wife when you already have…two hot sisters? Yeah wow, that’s still gross. 

To end hostilities between the Targaryens and the Vale, Visenya Targaryen flew up to the Eyrie and offered to take the child king Ronnel for a ride on her dragon Vhagar. Knowing she was beat, Sharra Arryn allowed her son to trade his kingdom for one miraculous flight on Vhagar’s back. 

Aegon’s Conquest is an ideal time period for the first Thrones prequel because there are dozens of potential origin stories lurking in the potential narrative. There are weddings, twists, semi-familiar names to pick up on, but to go over all of them would take an entire book. Or a television series. Either way, get hype again. Our watch is back on.