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House of the Dragon : Who are Greens and Who are Blacks?

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7m ago

Mar 29, 2024 / 3171 Views

Evan Walker

In what was certainly a genius-level promotional strategy, HBO released not one but two trailers of House of the Dragon season 2 on 21 March 2024 asking fans to pick a side in the Green vs Black war.

Of course, the two trailers not only reveal quite a few interesting things about what to expect in the political intrigues between the warring factions and the Houses that are involved, but also the flying, fire-breathing beasts that will define the outcome of the Dance of the Dragons, also known as the Targaryen civil war.

House of the Dragon boasts of a massive cast. However, the show revolves around two main characters: Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by EMMA D’Arcy, and Alicent Hightower, played by Olivia Cooke. Two other characters are also prominent in driving up much of the coNFLict in the story: Daemon Targaryen, the uncle and husband of Rhaenyra, who is played by Matt Smith, and Ser Otto Hightower, the father of Alicent and Hand of the King, who is portrayed by Rhys Ifans.

House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones (2011–2019). The plot of House of the Dragon season 2 will follow the developments of season 1, which saw the emergence of two factions with the death of King Viserys I Targaryen (played brilliantly by Paddy Considine) vying for control of the Iron Throne and rule all of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

House of the Dragon: Green vs Black explained

Who are the Greens?

House of the Dragon season 2 — Image credit: IMDb

The Green is the faction led by Alicent following the death of her husband, King Viserys I Targaryen. The faction is so named because of the colour of Alicent’s clan, House Hightower.

In fact, the colour is used by the House Hightower when they go to war. Alicent wore a green gown at Rhaenyra’s wedding feast, symbolically making the declaration of the rift in House Targaryen.

As season 1 concluded, Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), her son from Viserys I and half-brother of Rhaenyra Targaryen, became the king and took control of the Iron Throne by conspiracy despite Viserys I naming Rhaenyra as the heir.

Aegon II’s brother is Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), who is one of the most significant characters in House of the Dragon and whose actions lead to severe consequences.

Those who support Aegon II’s claim to the throne are thus collectively referred to as Greens.

Who are the Blacks?

Rhaenyra Targaryen, who was named heir to the Iron Throne by her father, Viserys I, is the head of the Black faction in House of the Dragons and the sworn enemy of the Greens.

She is recognised as the Queen of Westeros by those who support her. Interestingly, among them is her husband-uncle Daemon, who harboured ambitions to sit on the Iron Throne while his brother was alive.

Jacaerys (Harry Collett), Joffrey, Aegon III, and Viserys II are Rhaenyra’s sons. But only Jacaerys has so far been presented as a prominent face.

Her supporters are called “blacks” because of the colour of House Targaryen — black and red, which is also the colour of the three-headed dragon sigil of the House. In fact, several characters who support Rhaenyra can be seen wearing black.

House of the Dragon: Loyalists in Green camp

The most prominent House to have joined the Greens faction is House Baratheon. This is the same House whose head, Robert Baratheon, killed Aerys II Targaryen “the Mad King” almost two centuries later and took control of the Iron Throne leading to the events of Game of Thrones.

In House of the Dragon, both Alicent and Rhaenyra try to win the loyalty of House Baratheon. The former succeeds by offering to marry her son, Aemond, to one of the daughters of Lord Borros Baratheon (Roger Evans). Lord Borros, thus, violates the oath he gave to Viserys I when the latter named Rhaenyra the heir to the throne.

House Lannister, most famous for their conspiracies, influence, ruthlessness and a bunch of powerful characters in Game of Thrones, is the other major House on the side of the Greens. As the richest family in Westeros, the Lannisters are represented by Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who is the Master of Ships in Aegon II’s council.

Among notable characters standing with Aegon II are Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Lord Commander of Aegon II’s Kingsguard and Alicent’s sworn protector. The scheming Lord Larys (Matthew Needham) is the Master of Whisperers and supports Alicent as her most trusted confidante. Ser Arryk (Luke Tittensor), a member of Aegon II’s Kingsguard and the twin brother of Ser Erryk (Elliott Tittensor) is also with the Greens.

House of the Dragon: Loyalists in Black camp

house of the dragon green vs black — Image credit: Ollie Upton – © HBO 2022/IMDb

Unlike Greens, the Blacks have had some difficulty in getting the other Houses in Westeros on their side by the end of season 1. This is despite the fact that nearly all Houses swore allegiance to Rhaenyra when she was named heir to the throne by Viserys I.

The only prominent House standing like a rock by her side is House Velaryon, which is also related to Rhaenyra’s family by marriage. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), who is married to Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint) of House Velaryon and is the older cousin of Viserys I and Daemon, was the one who warned Rhaenyra of Aegon II’s crowning at Kings Landing.

Rhaenyra’s first husband Laenor and Daemon’s second wife Laena were children of Princess Rhaenys and her husband, Lord Corlys.

The House is seen as powerful in the House of the Dragon with formidable control over the seas and finances. But it hardly has any significance by the time of Game of Thrones.

Among the most notable characters in the Black camp is Maester Gerardys (Phil Daniels), the Maester of Dragonstone where Rhaenyra has set her base. Ser Erryk, the twin brother of Arryk, also takes the side of Blacks when he rescues Princess Rhaenys from Alicent’s captivity in the Red Keep. Daemon’s former lover, Mysaria, also known as “White Worm,” the leader of a spy network in King’s Landing, is believed to be in favour of the Blacks.

It is also expected that House Arryn will join Rhaenyra as her mother, AeMMA, was a member of the House.

One of the Houses which is likely to ally with Rhaenyra is House Stark — the most famous House of Game of Thrones. Led by Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor), the House is renowned for being loyal to its oath (“The North Remembers,” as fans know) which one of its members took in support of Rhaenyra when she was named heir. In the trailer for the blacks, Cregan Stark makes his first appearance on the show and is seen in a blink-and-you-miss-it moment at what looks like the Wall.

House of the Dragon: Green vs Black — Dragons on each side

As of the conclusion of House of the Dragon season 1, the Green faction is seen in possession of three dragons. Aegon II rides Sunfyre while his sister-wife Helaena (Phia Saban) rides Dreamfyre.

Their brother, Aemond, controls Vhagar — the largest, oldest and most ferocious dragon in Westeros. Season 1 showed Vhagar’s monstrosity when she devoured Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) and his dragon Arrax on their way back from House Baratheon. The act even horrified Aemond.

Despite the loss of Lucerys and Arrax, the Blacks are much better positioned than Greens as far as number of dragons go.

Rhaenyra rides Syrax, Daemon rides the ferocious Caraxes. Jacaerys is the dragon rider of Vermax and Joffrey rides Tyraxes. Being the only living blood descendents from Old Valyria other than Targaryen, members of House Velaryon, too, can ride dragons. Rhaenys rides Meleys while her granddaughter, Baela (Bethany Antonia), has Moondancer.

Apart from the six claimed dragons, the Blacks also have unclaimed dragons like Seasmoke, who was ridden by Rhaenyra’s first husband Laenor, Sheepstealer, Grey Ghost, Cannibal, and Vermithor.

Moreover, Daemon is known as a master dragon rider and tamer. Dragonstone, which is a volcanic island, is known for providing the ideal environment for dragons and their eggs to thrive.

When and where to watch House of the Dragon season 2?

House of the Dragon season 2 will premiere on 16 June on HBO and Max. While season 1 had 10 episodes, season 2 will have only eight episodes reportedly due to reasons of storytelling.

The fantasy drama series is based on author George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, which is about the history of House Targaryen.

)Main and Featured images: IMDb)

This story first appeared on Augustman India.