House of the Dragon is a prequel to Game of Thrones, and while many parts of Westeros look familiar, the connections between the two shows can sometimes feel obscure as they pass through two centuries of intervening history. House of the Dragon takes place about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and author George R.R. Martin has completed his book about all that takes place between these two points in time yet. Still, the names, titles, and deeds of these characters provide enough connective tissue for fans to make note of, and to help flesh out this fantasy world as it really deserves.
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Both House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones have familiar names like Targaryen, Stark, Baratheon, Lannister, and so on to assure you that they take place in the same world. In many cases, we don’t know exactly how the characters in one show are related to those in another — for example, Martin’s books tell us that at some point, a Lord Baratheon dies without a son, and Storm’s End passes to his nephew instead. Things like this make the genealogy harder to trace, even if the family resemblance is still clear.
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To discuss the biggest connections we do know about, we’ll need to delve into all the published details, so fair warning: there are spoilers for Fire & Blood and House of the Dragon ahead! Read on for seven characters that connect House of the Dragon to Game of Thrones.
The Pact of Ice and Fire
The first episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 briefly introduced us to Lord Cregan Stark as he met with Prince Jacaerys Targaryen on The Wall. We actually have enough information to trace the contemporary Starks’ lineage all the way back to Cregan — he is Jon Snow’s great-great-great-great-great grandfather — but there may be an even stronger connection here as well.
Martin’s book mentions a mysterious rumor that Cregan and Jace became great friends during their time together, and that Jace may have even married Cregan’s bastard sister Sara in secret. This may or may not be true, but we know that Jace promised to marry his own future daughter to Cregan’s son — an agreement known as the “Pact of Ice and Fire.” Fans often theorize that there was more to this pact than we understand, and that it may have had something to do with the eventual war with the White Walkers. Whether that’s the case or not, it’s interesting that years later, when a Targaryen did finally marry a Stark, it threw the Seven Kingdoms into war. As the offspring of that marriage, Jon Snow may be the fulfillment of the pact, in some way.
House Strong
One last spoiler warning before I break your heart here — by the end of House of the Dragon, we’ll witness the total extinction of House Strong, as far as Westerosi law is concerned. Rhaenyra’s paramore Harwin is dead, and even for those who suspect her sons are bastards, they’ll all be dead before the war is over, too. Lord Larys Strong, the Master of Whisperers, will be executed for his war crimes, and with that, their lineage is considered over. However, House Strong is known for producing many bastard children — even more so than other noble lords in Westeros — and there are some powerful hints that House Strong lives on in some forms in the later story.
We may not know how exactly Strong genes continue to propagate, but it may start with the mysterious witch of Harrenhal, Alys Rivers. She is rumored to be a bastard of House Strong, and when this war ends, she’ll remain in control of Harrenhal. Last we heard in Martin’s book, Alys was claiming to have borne a son to Aemond Targaryen, and we don’t know where that story is going yet.
One way or another, it may lead to the most prominent suspected Strong in the later story, Ser Duncan the Tall, a.k.a. Dunk. He will be the main character of the new spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and though he grew up as a peasant, many fans subscribe to the theory that he has Strong blood. From there, we have Martin’s confirmation that Brienne of Tarth is a descendant of Dunk. That connection hasn’t been fleshed out yet either, but it definitely promises a lot of intrigue along the way.
The Sea Snake and the Dragon Eggs
Lord Corlys Velaryon is one of the most interesting characters in Martin’s history book, though by the time of House of the Dragon, most of his daring deeds are behind him. Nicknamed “The Sea Snake,” he is a renowned trader and traveler who visited some of the most far-flung ports around the world, including the mysterious city Asshai by the Shadow.
Corlys’ visit to Asshai is our best clue right now about where Daenerys’ dragon eggs came from. A generation before Corlys’ time, a Targaryen Princess was very close with a rebellious young noblewoman named Elissa Farman. Elissa stole three dragon eggs from the princess and used them to finance her own expedition to the west of Westeros. When Corlys arrived in Asshai, he claims to have seen her ship docked there, leading some to believe she sailed all the way around the globe. Fans believe the eggs Elissa stole are eventually handed down to Dany, which may be why she was originally told they “came from Asshai.”
Ser Criston Cole
If you think Lord Commander Criston Cole comes off as a villain on House of the Dragon, you should see how characters talk about him in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. He is remembered as a dishonorable turncloak several times by characters who have studied history, including Danaerys, Ser Barristan Selmy, Princess Arianne Martell, and Ser Jaime Lannister. Jaime, in particular, thinks and talks about Criston several times, clearly contemplating his own honor and how it will look in a history book.
House Velaryon
House Velaryon is a vital asset to the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon, leading many fans to wonder where they were at the time of Game of Thrones. The Velaryons were still alive and well in the contemporary story, and while they didn’t get a lot of screentime or characterization, they were among the bannerman of Stannis Baratheon during his campaign for the crown.
The Velaryons are more active in the novels, where naval strategy also gets more consideration than on the TV show. Their ships allow Stannis to assault King’s Landing early on, and they allow him to travel north quickly to aid the Night’s Watch as well. There may not be an seahorse banners on Game of Thrones, but the Velaryons are the unsung heroes of both Stannis and Jon Snow’s stories.
The Three-Eyed Raven
The only time we’ve seen characters from Game of Thrones on screen in House of the Dragon is the Season 2 finale, when Daemon Targaryen has his prophetic Wierwood vision. There, he glimpses Daenerys hatching dragons, the White Walkers marching, and a mysterious young Targaryen with a birthmark on his face, sitting in a tangle of Wierwood roots. This is none other than Brynden Rivers, a.k.a. Bloodraven, a.k.a. “The Three-Eyed Raven” — the Greenseer who lures Bran Stark into a cave to teach him how to use his powers.
We can only assume that Daemon glimpsed Bloodraven as Bloodraven was looking backward in time through the Wierwood tree, which is a little confusing since Bloodraven assured Bran that it was impossible to communicate with others across time. On the other hand, we already know he’s wrong about that — Bran was able to possess Hodor in the past, after all. This is probably just a visual cue to contextualize the vision for viewers, but it’s a cool connection nonetheless.
Targaryen Successor
Finally, We obviously know that House Targaryen continues to rule Westeros for almost two more centuries after House of the Dragon, which means that someone’s offspring survive and beget the line of monarchs that leads to Daenerys. For those that want the spoiler, the survivors are Rhaenyra and Daemon’s sons, Aegon and Viserys. After the war, the 11-year-old prince becomes King Aegon III, and years later after his death, his brother becomes King Viserys II.
Viserys’ line is the one that leads to Daenerys, though Aegon’s children actually play a big part in Westerosi history as well. Counting backwards directly, Rhaenyra and Daemon are actually the Dany’s great-great-great-great-great grandparents. Hopefully HBO will adapt some of the harrowing stories of the generations in between as well.
House of the Dragon Season 3 is filming now, and is expected to premiere on HBO and Max sometime in 2026. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is scheduled to premiere by the end of this year. Martin’s books, including Fire & Blood, are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats.
