Breaking down House of the Dragon’s many new children and parents

It is crucial to understand how time jumps work. House of the DragonIt tells the story of a turbulent moment in Targaryen’s history. The 10-year leap that episode 6 makes is more important than any of the other time jumps. While much has changed in King’s Landing in the time the show skipped, one shift that has the potential to confuse audiences is the addition of so many new characters, in the form of the children of Alicent, Rhaenyra, and Daemon.

To help you keep track of all six children that appeared this episode (including five new ones), here’s a breakdown of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s respective families:

Rhaenyra’s children

Jacaerys Velaryon (Leo Hart)

Leo Hart as Jacaerys Valeryon from House of the Dragon. A young boy with longer brown hair stands next to his brother, who has curly brown hair. Both wear chest armor. An arrow points to Jacaerys, who has longer hair.

Jace, Rhaenyra’s oldest child, is also the youngest son of Laenor and Rhaenyra. Or maybe Rhaenyra or Ser Harwin Strong depending on whom you ask. Jace, who is 7 years old, is the current heir to his mother’s throne. He is a very strong child. In this episode we see him almost beat Aegon Targaryen in a bout with wooden swords, despite Aegon’s advantages in size and age.

Lucerys Velaryon (Harvey Sadler)

Harvey Sadler as Lucerys Velaryon from House of the Dragon. A young boy with longer brown hair stands next to his brother, who has curly brown hair. Both wear chest armor. An arrow points to Lucerys, who has curly hair.

Also known as Luke, Lucerys Velaryon is Rhaenyra’s second child and is mostly unremarkable in this episode. He does happen to bear a striking resemblance to Ser Harwin Strong, his mother’s closest friend and notably not her husband. Unfortunately for all involved, this “coincidence” is noticed by literally everyone in King’s Landing, drawing Luke’s legitimacy into question.

Joffrey Velaryon (a baby)

Born at the start of episode 6, Joffrey is Rhaenyra’s youngest child, for now, and only a baby — and therefore pretty unremarkable on his own terms. It is possible that he was a bastard, possibly fathered likely by Ser Harwin Strong. Joffrey is named in honor of Laenor’s dead lover, who was beaten to death at their wedding by Rhaenyra’s former lover, so there’s a lot going on there.

Alicent’s children

Aegon Targaryen (Ty Tennant)

Ty Tennant from HBO’s House of the Dragon as Aegon Targaryen, spreading his arms out wide as a challenge to Ser Criston Cole. He wears plate armor and long green sleeves, and has bright long hair.

Aegon was one of the children we saw before this episode. Viserys Hightower and Alicent Targaryen are his oldest children. Aegon is an unusual name for a Targaryen child, according to anyone who has ever studied Targaryen history. The name of the Westerosi dynasty’s first king, Aegon always carries with it a certain implication of earned (or conquered) kingship. The Aegon that we see here is, unfortunately, not like the conqueror.

Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton)

Leo Ashton as Aemond Targaryen, losing a sword fight. He has long bright hair and wears a green outfit covered by plate armor.

Aegon’s younger brother, Aemond, is Alicent’s second son. Think of him as the Prince Daemon of this family, except without any of ambition, rashness, or martial prowess that make Daemon who he is — at least not yet. This episode shows that Aemond doesn’t have a dragon. A fact that Aemond is very conscious of throughout his life.

Helaena Targaryen (Evie Allen)

The second oldest of Alicent’s children, Helaena is a strange girl who, in this episode, we see playing with a large bug and counting its legs.