‘The House of the Dragon’: Who is who after the second time jump and the new candidates for the Iron Throne

SPOILER attention!

* We talked about some relevant facts of the 1×08 of “The House of the Dragon”. If you haven’t seen the episode, don’t read on!

The eighth episode of ‘The House of the Dragon’, entitled ‘The Lord of the Tides’, brings us a new time jump, with the renewal of some members of the cast, and the presentation of two new candidates with the possibility of occupying the Throne of iron. This time jump lasts about 6 years.

The time jump of chapter eight has left us with new faces among the cast members, since the children of the previous chapter, who played the children of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke), were replaced by teenagers. . Furthermore, this leap presented us with two new candidates to inherit the Throne of Westeros, the sons of Daemon and Rhaenyra, who had married in the previous chapter and in this one already have new heirs, this time authentic Targaryen, unlike the first sons of the princess, who are not purebreds because bastards she had with Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr).

The little ones are called Aegon, after Alicent’s eldest son, and Viserys, after Rhaenyra’s father and the current king of Westeros (Paddy Considine). The monarch is very happy with the choice of that name for his grandson and tells his daughter that Viserys is “a name worthy of a king”. These children are a possible solution to the conflict that has been presented to Rhaenyra regarding the legitimacy of her children as authentic Targaryens, since her first offspring have not been viewed favorably due to their status as bastards, which will not happen with these. little ones, who are authentic Targaryen entitled to the Iron Throne. However, these characters will not play a major role in terms of succession to the Throne in the future, as they are still very young and have their brothers ahead of them, Rhaenyra’s first children with Lord Strong.

The Targaryen-Hightower brothers

In addition, “The Lord of the Tides” also brings us new faces and substitutions of actors. First, Aegon Targaryen, played by Ty Tennant in his more adolescent version, will now be played by Tom Glynn-Carney, who will play an older Aegon than will play an important role in the succession conflict, as he is the eldest son of Alicent and Viserys, therefore, Rhaenyra’s main competition in terms of succession to the Throne. Aegon owns a dragon called Sunfire, something that will be important in A Dance with Dragons. Additionally, we find the replacement for the actress who played her sister Helaena, who also happens to be Aegon’s future wife. Played by Evie Allen as a child, Helaena changes her actress to Phia Saban, who will play her adult version of her in the series. An interesting character who seems to possess the gift of prophetic dreams, as well as being the knight of Dreamfire, a powerful female dragon. The latest acting change regarding Alicent and Viserys’ children is that of Aemond, the little one and the one who appears to be the protagonist of multiple conflicts. Played by Leo Ashton as a child, the young Targaryen will have actor Ewan Mitchell to bring the adult version of him to life. This character will be important in the next conflict and has a dragon, the oldest and largest in all of Western Continent, Vhagar, which we have already seen with the late Laena and, without a doubt, one of the most powerful in the history of West Continent.

The Velaryon-Targaryen brothers

As with Rhaenyra’s first children, there will also be a change of actors. Chief among them the eldest of them, Jacaerys Velaryon, who was played by Leo Hart as a child, and will now be played by Harry Collett in a slightly more adult version. This character also owns a dragon named Vermax and is the heir to the throne after his mother. Jacaerys, who knows the secret of his origin and knows he is a bastard, is a character with a noble heart who will be one of the most important in the conflict. On the other hand we have his younger brother, Lucerys Velaryon, who was played by Harvey Sadler as a child and now Elliot Grihault will play a teenage Lucerys. We do not yet know the dragon of Lucerys, but it is speculated that it could be Arrax, as told in the novel “Fire and Blood”.

The Targaryen-Velaryon sisters

Finally, there were also two actress changes for Daemon’s first daughters with Laena Velaryon. First, Baela Targaryen, the eldest daughter, was played by Shani Smethurst as little Baela and is raised by actress Bethany Antonia in the latter episode. Baela rides the dragon Moondancer and will be a valuable asset as a dragon knight in the battle for the Throne. And finally, we find the character of Rhaena Targaryen, Baela’s sister, who is played in the child version of her by actress Eva Ossei-Gerning, and is replaced by Phoebe Campbell for the adult version of her character. At the moment she Rhaena has no dragon, because the egg she was given as a child has not hatched, and she is not yet a rider, nor do we know if she will be in the future. Although, with or without a dragon, this will be of major plot significance for just who she is, a legitimate daughter of House Velaryon and House Taragaryen, just like Baela.

The importance of time jumps

‘The House of the Dragon’ tells us about the events that took place before the great war between the Targaryens and the Hightower, called the Dance of the Dragons, as well as the conflict itself. To do this, the showrunners had to make several time hops in the series, as the book covers many events and years before the conflict, and they were important to contextualize and not slow down the story.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, series co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal explained the following: “I’m thrilled with the pace and structure of the story we tell in Season 1. It’s very complex. It happens over a long period of time because children need to get married and then raise themselves and have children of their own who grow up to tell the story. ” of this generational war waged. HBO gave him [al showrunner Miguel Sapochnik] the creative freedom to tell this incredibly complex story in a very patient and character-centric way that prepares a first season to catapult you into one of the most famous and bloody conflicts in Westeros history. – if not the greatest of all “. Furthermore, he added: “That’s how you tell this story correctly. We are telling a story of generational warfare. We’ve set everything up so that when the first swing of the sword lands, you understand all the players, where they are and why they are. The whole story is there instead of being told through an exhibition. This way you can see how everything happens “.

In theory, and if everything works as it should, this time jump of the eighth chapter would be the last we see in the series which, from now on, will work linearly in its plot.