House of the Dragon’s Greens-Blacks war and Dance of the Dragons, explained

You’ve probably noticed a drastic uptick in the kind of fantasy jargon that House of the Dragon Over the past few weeks, fans have enjoyed a lot of fun. It can be easy to get lost in the shuffle of the Greens and Blacks as well as the Dance of the Dragons. Fortunately, all you really need to know at this point is who’s batting for which team.

Now that the Dance of the Dragons has kicked off in earnest, we’re about to see several seasons’ worth of fire and blood. But what’s actually in store for House of the Dragon Season 2 and beyond Here’s what we know (with minimal spoilers) between what’s been said about the Dance of the Dragons by the series creators, and George R.R. Martin’s Fire & BloodThis, with a humorous twist, only has been somewhat reliable in anticipating historical plotting for the adaptation.

What is the Dance of the Dragons and how does it work?

By episode 10, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) has successfully launched a coup d’état to install Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms ahead of his half-sister, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Naturally, this isn’t going to go down well with the Realm’s Delight (Rhaenyra’s nickname) or the many nobles who swore fealty to her over a decade ago. There will be consequences.

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

The Dance of the Dragons refers to the civil war that pits rival Targaryen factions against each other for the control of the Realm. It results in the death of the Targaryens and the betrayal of the Dragons. Archmaester Kyldayn writes about it in Fire & Blood, it probably would have been more accurate to call it “The Dying of Dragons.”

It’s important to note that there are multiple different accounts of the Dance within the fiction of George R.R. Martin. For example, Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan), the Grand Maester currently serving under Aegon, wrote his version of the story, while other accounts come from Grand Maester Munkun, Septon Eustace, and the fool Mushroom, whose “history” reeks of embellishment yet wins the prize for “Most Entertaining.” All of these chronicles have their own unique biases, meaning that none of them — not even the aforementioned Fire & BloodThe official source material is. House of the Dragon — can be fully trusted.

(This reference is made in-universe. Dance With Dragons, the fifth novel in GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Here, Tyrion explicitly states that one of the chroniclers, Munkun — who purported to write the “true telling” of the Dance — was wrong in that he confused Urrax with Rhaeynra’s dragon, Syrax. We all remember that he drinks, and knows many things.

Funny enough, it is the differences between these accounts that ultimately allow for this. House of the Dragon They are a good idea because they let HBO create its own version of the events by drawing from them all. And now, after nine episodes of buildup, we’re finally at the point where the Dance begins.

It is clear that Lyman Beesbury was the initial victim in the Dance. This master of money vouched to Rhaenyra’s cause when Otto declared his plans for Aegon to take her. Although they give different viewpoints on his death, this is an unusual case in which the various accounts of what happened are consistent. Somehow, Ser Criston Cole makes even Mushroom’s version, in which Lord Beesbury is flung from a window, seem tame in comparison to his second skull-shattering in one season. Do you remember how much you loved him?

Anyway, that’s how the Dance commenced. Once Aegon was crowned king (with a new crown no less, in that King Viserys’ was stolen to bring to Rhaenyra in Dragonstone), there was no going back. The Greens and Blacks now are at war.

But who’s on which side?

Which Team Green are you?

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

The term “Green” is derived from the color of a dress Queen Alicent Hightower wore to a tourney in 111 AC (Rhaenyra wore black to this event, which is similarly where “Black” comes from). House of the Dragon has been referencing this conflict for several weeks, with Larys drawing attention to Alicent’s attire as early as episode 5: “Green is the color the Hightower burns when they call their banners to war.” The show has relied on visual cues like this ever since, to the extent that you can generally tell who’s fighting for who by looking at the color of their clothes (obviously, black is a fairly standard color for noble attire, but it’s definitely a reliable tell for green).

So who’s on Team Green, aka Team Alicent? Below are her major allies:

• King Aegon II, Targaryen, is her son and Lord in the Seven Kingdoms
• Queen Helaena Targaryen, Aegon’s sister-wife
• Ser Otto Hightower is her father, and the Hand of King
• Ser Criston Col, Lord Commander in the Kingsguard
• Aemond Targaryen is her son
• Prince Daeron, Targaryen’s son
• Ser Tyland Lannister is master of the ships. (This will become master of the coin).
• Lord Larys Strength, Lord of Harrenhal & unofficial master for whisperers
• Grand Maester Orwyle
• Jasper Wylde is the master of laws, Lord Jasper Wylde

We’ll also see her receive support from the Baratheons, the Hightowers, the Strongs, and the Lannisters. And the most recent episode pointed out that Ser Arryk — one of the two Cargyll twins — is Team Green, too.

Alicent is right to be fair. She is more complicated in the TV show than in the book. In the latter, she’s in on Otto’s scheming from the start, and wasn’t childhood pals with Rhaenyra. Here, however, we see that she is driven by her misinterpretation of Viserys’ dying words. Even episode 9 had a scene where reconciliation seemed possible. This is until you realize that this story was written by George R.R. Martin.

Which Team is Team Black?

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

We’ve already explained where the term “Black” comes from, but who are the main characters on Team Rhaenyra?

• Prince Daemon Targaryen, her uncle-husband
• Prince Jacaerys Valaryon, her only son
• Prince Lucerys Velaryon is her son
• Her son Prince Joffrey Valaryon
• Aegon Targaryen is her son
• Her son, Prince Viserys Targaryen
• Lord Corlys Valaryon, Master Driftmark and Lord the Tides
• Her aunt, Princess Rhaenys Tarrayen and Lady of Driftmark
• Lady Baela Targaryen is her step-daughter
• Lady Rhaena Targaryen is her step-daughter

Rhaenyra will get much more support by the Houses. Game of Thrones Fans will recognize the Arryns and Freys as well as the Greyjoys, Tarlys, Tarlys and Tarlys who pledge their loyalty to her. Erryk, another Cargyll twin, is also hers. It should be pretty obvious that they’re gearing up for House of the Dragon’s Cleganebowl.

Which one is better suited to win the Dance of Dragons contest?

This question can be answered by a variety of variables.

When it comes to position, the Greens have an advantage. They’re in King’s Landing, can easily visit the Great Houses to enlist support, and have access to essentially infinite cash. However, the Blacks possess something that money cannot buy: dragons.

Episode 9, where Rhaenys invades the Dragonpit along with Meleys was more than just a shock scene. The reason Alicent had previously imprisoned Rhaenys was because her dragon is an invaluable bargaining chip — either Aegon has an extra cannon with wings, or Rhaenyra does.

Blacks hold the upper hand in terms of sheer firepower. The Greens currently have Sunfyre and Dreamfyre as their dragons. (Light spoiler, Prince Daeron will also get one.

But the scales are still tipped heavily in favor of Rhaenyra, who has Syrax, Caraxes, Vermax, Arrax, Tyraxes, Moondancer, and Meleys, as well as Seasmoke, now riderless thanks to Laenor’s departure. Dragonseeds can also control the wild Dragonstone Dragons The Cannibal (Grey Ghost), and Sheepstealer. That’s not to mention all of the eggs knocking about.

The Blacks currently have only five dragonriders. So while they have more dragons, they’re short on people to tame them (though that can be arranged). When you consider the size of Aemond’s Vhagar, a five-versus-four scenario becomes much more evenly matched.

Another detail that we would be remiss to omit is Daemon’s influence, the value of which can’t be overstated. Daemon’s past allegiances to the Goldcloaks and his relationships with Mysaria are just a few of many reasons his charm is more than mere flattery. He’s basically an army in and of himself. And he’s hungry for a fight: In “The Black Queen,” Rhaenyra refers to the coming battle as Daemon’s war.

How will House of the Dragon Season 2 unfold?

But what about after the coup?

Without delving too deep into spoiler territory, we’ll obviously see a counter-coronation for Rhaenyra, who will then form her own Black Council. Once the war begins, it will go on for around three years, which means we’re almost definitely finished with actors being recast. This makes perfect sense. House of the Dragon There will be four seasons. Maybe one season for each of the years?

Some fascinating developments also point out ways that House of the Dragon This could subvert expectations for book-readers such as Ser Harrold Westerling living and Laenor Westerling. It’s an exciting time for Game of Thrones fans — if only we didn’t have to wait a whole year after the finale airs this Sunday.

It’s okay. We can always go back. ThronesThe iconic fantasy series -. It also only has four seasons.