The Starks Finally Debut on House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon's Season 2 premiere introduces the Starks and Winterfell.

By Charlie Ridgely

Fans of Game of Thrones that have read through George R.R. Martin's histories of Westeros have known for a while that the Starks of Winterfell would be showing up in House of the Dragon sooner rather than later. The acclaimed series, set a couple of centuries before Game of Thrones, let fans know back in the Season 2 trailer that Ned Stark's ancestor, Lord Cregan Stark, would be popping up in his sophomore installment. Few, however, expected the Starks, Winterfell, and the Wall to kick off the entire season.

The very first scene of House of the Dragon Season 2 introduced Cregan Stark to the story, after a narration from the character that explained some of the lengthy history of the Starks' duty to the Wall and the Night's Watch. 

Cregan Stark, played by Tom Taylor, is first shown at the Wall, watching over the northern border of Westeros. He's approached by Jacaerys Verlaryon, Rhaenyra's eldest son, about potentially pledging men to fight in the war against Alicent and Aegon. Cregan is clearly loyal to the Blacks in their conflict against the Greens, and commits men to the cause. 

He also plants the seeds for one of the massive conflicts at the center of the original Game of Thrones series. Cregan tells Jace about the mysterious dangers that exist beyond the wall, and that dragons are the least of their concerns that far north.

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(Photo:

Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon and Tom Taylor as Cregan Stark

- HBO)

Cregan Stark's Future With the Targaryens

If House of the Dragon adheres to the history that George R.R. Martin has written down in his various writings on the history of the Targaryens, Cregan Stark will go on to be a vital character in the Dance of the Dragons war. 

In those books, Cregan was a key figure in the war for the Blacks. He even took control of King's Landing and presided over the throne for a few days, as a new king was being established. We'll keep the details light on that period of time here, just in case it becomes a spoiler for the series.

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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. 

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