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House Targaryen In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
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House Stark In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
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House Lannister In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
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House Baratheon In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
2022’s House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones. Barring differences in plots and subtexts, the Great and Noble Houses in the realm form the narrative’s bedrock in both shows. The royalty and nobility are hereditary, and the most powerful Houses in the realm (ASOIAF uses the nomenclature: Great) have several vassal families under them.
The events of Game of Thrones are set about 197 years after the beginning of House of the Dragon in 101 AC and 167 years after the end of the kin-strife known as the Dance of the Dragons. Minor and major political changes take place, but certain Great Houses in the realm, such as Lannister, Stark, and Baratheon, continue to have political clout in Game of Thrones. The assessment from House of the Dragon, which begins 100+ years after Aegon’s Conquest and dives into the nitty-gritty of House Targaryen’s rule of Westeros, is that the Houses Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, and Baratheon boast an ancient impressive lineage. This raises the question of how key Game of Thrones characters such as Daenerys Targaryen are related to Rhaenyra, or how Cregan Stark is related to Ned Stark and Jon Snow.
House Targaryen In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
House Targaryen sits at the apex of the political structure in House of the Dragon but is ousted from power at the beginning of Game of Thrones. Aerys II, aka the Mad King, is dead, and Prince Rhaegar lies beneath the ground at Trident. The Mad King and his wife, Queen Rhaella Targaryen, have another son, Prince Viserys. After receiving word that the Usurper, Robert Baratheon, killed his heir at the Trident, the Mad King sends Rhaella and Viserys away to the Targaryen stronghold of Dragonstone. Unbeknownst to Rhaella’s husband and her, she is pregnant with Daenerys. The Queen dies nine months later while giving birth to Princess Daenerys amidst a great storm at Dragonstone. This is why Daenerys is colloquially known as “Daenerys Stormborn.”
Tywin Lannister’s loyalist, Gregor Clegane, aka the Mountain, commits the murders of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen’s wife, Elia Martell, and her two children during the Sack of King’s Landing. Aerys, Elia, young Aegon, and Rhaenys Targaryen are killed during the Sack. After the Targaryen empire falls, Daenerys and her brother Viserys are spirited away by loyal retainers to the Braavosian coast. Abusive and overbearing, Daenerys grows up with little to no agency.
At the beginning of Game of Thrones, Viserys the beggar king uses Daenerys as a bargaining chip in negotiating a deal with the Dothraki warlord, Khal Drogo. She is married off to Drogo in exchange for an army to take the Iron Throne. Drogo eventually becomes the death of Viserys, but he himself dies shortly after. Daenerys’ arc comes to a tragic end in Game of Thrones. She is killed by her nephew/ lover, the half-Targaryen half-Stark, Jon Snow, in the final hours of Game of Thrones. Per Thrones’ canon, the remnants of the mighty Targaryens are Daenerys’ dragon, Drogon, and the exiled man, Jon Snow.
How Are Rhaenyra And Daemon Targaryen Related To The Mad King And Daenerys Targaryen?
The decimation of the Targaryen Empire is quite unfathomable in House of the Dragon – Season 1. King Viserys, who rules through Season 1, is the grandson of the Old King Jaehaerys. He has a younger brother, the Rogue Prince Daemon Targaryen. His decreed heir is his and Queen Aemma Arryn’s daughter – Princess Rhaenyra. The Usurper, Aegon II, is Viserys I’s eldest child through his second wife, Alicent Hightower. Viserys and Queen Alicent have two more children in House of the Dragon, viz, Helaena and Aemond Targaryen. After hatching an elaborate scheme to break off her first marriage to Laenor Velaryon, Princess Rhaenyra weds her uncle, Daemon, in the tradition of House Targaryen to strengthen her claim on the throne. Daemon and Rhaenyra have two boys, Princes Aegon and Viserys. Aegon is the Conqueror’s namesake, while Prince Viserys is his grandfather’s namesake. To differentiate Rhaenyra’s son from his uncle, he is often referred to as Aegon the Younger.
The civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, erupts soon after King Viserys I Targaryen’s death. Aegon II is crowned at King’s Landing and Rhaenyra is crowned on Dragonstone. The war of succession erupts between their factions, known as the Greens and the Blacks in lore and show. Most of the Targaryens, except Aegon the Younger, and later Prince Viserys, perish in the Dance of the Dragons. The Targaryen bloodline continues through Daemon and Rhaenyra’s youngest son, Prince Viserys II. He is succeeded by his eldest son, Aegon IV, more commonly known as Aegon the Unworthy. Daeron II rules after Aegon IV and after him come Aerys I, and Maekar I. The greatest Targaryen monarch to sit the Iron Throne after King Jaehaerys I is Maekar’s fourth son, Aegon V. The Mad King and Queen Rhaella are Aegon V’s grandchildren through his secondborn son, Jaehaerys II.
Targaryen Kings/ Queen On The Iron Throne
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Aegon the Conqueror’s two sons |
Aenys and Maegor |
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Aenys I |
Aegon’s heir |
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Maegor I |
Dies childless |
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Jaehaerys I |
Aenys’ third son |
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Viserys |
Jaehaerys’ grandson through Prince Baelon |
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Aegon II and The Black Queen Rhaenyra |
Viserys’ eldest children through two wives. They are currently embroiled in a war of succession |
How Are Rhaenyra And Daemon Targaryen Related To Jon Snow?
In the events preceding Robert’s Rebellion, Daenerys’ older brother, Prince Rhaegar, annuls his marriage to Elia Martell of Dorne and secretly marries Lyanna Stark of Winterfell. Lyanna dies giving birth to Rhaegar’s son, Aegon, as Robert’s Rebellion nears an end. To protect this baby from the Usurper, Robert’s wrath, Lyanna’s older brother, Ned Stark, gives him the name, Jon, and presents him as his bastard born during war.
House of the Dragon takes place 172 years before Princess Daenerys Targaryen’s birth. Generations apart, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen is the sixth great-grandmother of Daenerys Targaryen. The uncle-niece or husband-wife duo, Daemon and Rhaenyra are Jon Snow’s seventh great-grandparents. It is through her and Daemon’s son, Viserys, that the royal bloodline continues. In an overly complicated line which is a result of intermarriage in House Targaryen, Daenerys is Jon’s aunt. Jon and Daenerys briefly romance each other on Game of Thrones but stop after Jon’s heritage is revealed.
House Stark In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
The most benevolent of all Houses, the Starks of Winterfell take a back seat to the Targaryens in House of the Dragon. While the original, Game of Thrones, mainly depicts the power play of the Starks and Lannisters, House of the Dragon, by contrast, is the tale of the war of succession between two scions of House Targaryen. The Starks, with Cregan at the forefront, will ally with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (the Blacks’ camp) in House of the Dragon.
Cregan is succeeded by his fourth son, Barthogan, who is way below the line of succession. The reason why Cregan’s third son, Edric, is bypassed remains unknown in Game of Thrones lore. Barthogan dies without an heir in the Skagosi rebellion, and the rule of the North is passed on to Cregan’s last son, Brandon. Brandon’s rule coincides with Daeron II on the Iron Throne. The later generations of House Stark can be traced from Brandon Stark. Brandon’s eldest, Rodwell, also rules the North during Daeron Targaryen II’s time. Since he dies childless, his brother, Beron, follows him as Warden of the North.
How Is Cregan Stark Related To Ned Stark And Jon Snow?
Beron is succeeded by his eldest son, Donnor, as Lord of Winterfell. The childless, Donnor is succeeded by Willam. After Willam comes Edwyle and finally Ned’s father, Rickard Stark. Robert’s Rebellion is sparked during Lord Rickard Stark’s time. The executions of Rickard and Brandon Stark take place in the wake of the so-called abduction of Lyanna Stark. The truth is that Lyanna and Rhaegar elope and their love sparks a rebellion that fractures the realm and ends House Targaryen’s rule of Westeros.
The Mad King Aerys II Targaryen roasts Rickard Stark to death, while his heir, Brandon, is forced to watch with a noose around his neck. Jon Arryn, Ned Stark, Robert Baratheon, and Hoster Tully raise the banners and win with additional support from the allies. At the end of Robert’s Rebellion, the eponymous figure (Robert) takes the Iron Throne and Ned rules the North as his Warden. Cregan is the great-great-great-great grandfather of Ned Stark and the great-great-great-great-great grandfather of Ned’s children, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon.
Per Game of Thrones, the current head of House Stark and the Queen of the independent Kingdom of the North is Ned’s eldest daughter, Sansa Stark. Sansa succeeds in seeking the North’s secession from the Iron Throne. Her true brother, Bran Stark, grants this at the Great Council of 305 AC. Bran is chosen as King of the Six Kingdoms by the assembly of the heads of the Great Houses, which include his uncle Edmure Tully, sisters, Sansa and Arya, and Tyrion Lannister among others.
House Lannister In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
In House of the Dragon, House Lannister has a high-ranking position in the royal spectrum at King Viserys’ court. The cunning Lannisters are just as important if not more in Game of Thrones. The two notable Lannisters in House of the Dragon are twins, Jason and Tyland. Jason proposes to Princess Rhaenyra, and she fobs him off at the royal hunt held in honor of Aegon’s second nameday. As a member of Aegon II’s small council, Tyland throws his weight behind the Greens. The Lannisters in House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones are vain, haughty, and entitled.
How Are Jason And Tyland Lannister Related To Tywin Lannister?
Tyland Lannister is King Aegon II’s Master of Coin, and he survives the Dance of the Dragons. He receives a royal pardon as his sister-in-law and Jason’s widow, Johanna Lannister, return their high seat’s portion of the crown’s gold in exchange for a royal pardon for Tyland. He goes on to serve as Aegon III’s Hand and dies in 133 AC during the Winter Fever epidemic in King’s Landing. His brother, Jason, is mortally wounded at the Battle at the Red Fork. Tyland leaves behind no child, while the Lannister bloodline continues through Jason’s son, Loreon Lannister.
Loreon is succeeded by his eldest son and heir, Damon, as Lord of Casterly Rock. Tybolt follows his father, Damon as Lord of Casterly Rock. Upon Tybolt’s untimely death, his three-year-old daughter, Cerelle, becomes the Lady of Casterly Rock. Cerelle Lannister’s half-year rule is overseen by her uncle, Gerold. It’s largely believed that Cerelle was murdered by her uncle for power.
The second son of Damon, Gerold rules from Casterly Rock for thirty-one years and leaves the family prosperous. Gerold’s eldest son, Tytos, is incompetent, and as Tywin puts it in Game of Thrones, “…a weak man who nearly destroyed our House and name.” The rule of Casterly Rock passes on to Tywin Lannister, who is the patriarch of House Lannister in Game of Thrones. Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion are Lord Tywin’s children.
Loreon is Tywin Lannister’s great-grandfather. This would make Jason Lannister the great-great-great-grandfather of Tywin Lannister.
House Baratheon In Game of Thrones And House of the Dragon
House Baratheon, under Lord Borros, sides with Aegon II’s faction – the Greens in House of the Dragon. Borros died in the Battle of the Kingsroad and a week later, his wife, Elenda, gives birth to a son who she names Royce. Royce rules as the Lord of Storm’s End and the head of House Baratheon during the reign of Aegon the Younger, formally known as Aegon III.
How Are Boremund and Borros Baratheon Related To Robert, Stannis And Renly Baratheon?
The next known Baratheon to hold the title of Lord of Storm’s End is Lyonel Baratheon. He participates in the Ashford Tourney, which is the precursor to the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall and Aegon V. Lyonel rules Storm’s End during the reign of Egg, i.e., Aegon V Targaryen. Lyonel is followed by Ormund and Steffon Baratheon. Robert Baratheon is Steffon’s eldest son.
Robert serves as the Head of House Baratheon and Lord of Storm’s End upon Steffon’s death. He ushers a new era with Baratheon kings at King’s Landing upon claiming the Iron Throne for himself. With Robert in the capital, he names his youngest brother, Renly, Lord of Storm’s End. Originally betrothed to Lyanna Stark, he marries Tywin’s daughter Cersei Lannister at Jon Arryn’s direction. Robert’s death (in reality an assassination orchestrated by Cersei) sparks the War of the Five Kings in which two of the claimants, and Robert’s brothers, Stannis and Renly, perish.
Robert didn’t have any trueborn children. Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen were fathered by Cersei’s twin brother, Jaime Lannister. Cersei and Jaime die when Daenerys Targaryen burns down most of the Red Keep with dragonfire in the Battle of King’s Landing. Robert’s bastard, Gendry Rivers, legitimized by Daenerys as Gendry Baratheon after the Battle of Winterfell, is the current ruler of Storm’s End, per Game of Thrones‘ canon.
House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres June 16 at 9/8c on HBO and Max.
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