House of the Dragon Writers Reveal Why Cregan Stark Didn’t Have a Bigger Role in Season 2 Premiere

The Season 2 premiere of finally brought House Stark into the picture, with Tom Taylor taking on the role of Lord Cregan Stark. The opening scene of Sunday’s premiere shows Cregan meeting with Jacaerys Velaryon on the Wall, committing his men to Rhaenyra’s cause and furthering his alliance with her family. Those who read George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood may have expected a bigger scene between Cregan and Jace, given all their history discussed in the book, but Cregan’s introduction on the series was a rather short one. House of the Dragon showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal explained that the scene didn’t actually need to do much in order to establish that bond.

“We definitely always wanted that scene,” Condal told EW of the Jace and Cregan sequence. “For a long time, I think going back to filming season 1, I had it in my head that that was going to be the opening sequence of season 2. But as fun as that sequence is, beyond Cregan agreeing to send soldiers South, there isn’t any real inherent drama in that scene. He’s already sworn for Rhaenyra. We know that Starks are never going to go back on an oath, no matter which Stark swore it. So it’s more of a sequence to bring us back into the world, be in a place where we’re ahead of Jace – we know his brother is dead, he does not yet know it – and the fun fan service of going to the North and seeing that.”

Sara Hess, Condal’s lead writing partner on House of the Dragon, added that the scene with Jace and Cregan was important, but not as important as the death of Luke at the end of Season 1. Had that scene taken longer, it would’ve taken away from the story of the loss the Targaryen family was suffering.

“We end season 1 with Luke’s death, and that’s where we want to be,” Sara Hess, Condal’s lead writing partner, further explains. “Jace very quickly gets that news. It didn’t feel right to end season 1 with Luke dying and then just be at Winterfell for a really long time when you’re dying to know what’s going on with Rhaenyra. When you see that look Rhaenyra gives at the end of season 1, how much time do you want to spend away from that? We definitely had to pick our narratives there.”

Based on George R.R. Martin‘s “Fire & Blood” book, House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. In Season 2 of House of the Dragon, Westeros is on the brink of a bloody civil war with the Green and Black Councils fighting for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra, respectively. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

The cast for House of the Dragon includes Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower.