House of the Dragon Season 3 is expanding its cast, including adding the Dance of the Dragons’ version of Arya Stark. Unlike Game of Thrones, the Starks don’t play a major role in the Targaryen-centric prequel. The North’s biggest presence so far has been Lord Cregan Stark, who appeared alongside Jacaerys Velaryon in Season 2’s opening scene, pledging their allegiance to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. That will be paid off in House of the Dragon Season 3, which will see Cregan’s army – the Winter Wolves – involved in battles in the riverlands.
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It remains to be seen if Cregan himself will return, as he’s absent from the story as told in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood until much later on. However, the third season has another major connection to House Stark, with the news that House of the Dragon has cast Alysanne Blackwood, who’ll be played by Annie Shapero in five of Season 3’s eight episodes. That’s a great sign for the show’s future and, more specifically, that of the Starks. Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Fire & Blood.
House Of The Dragon’s Alysanne Blackwood Explained
Alysanne, also known as Black Aly, is a member of House Blackwood of the riverlands. The house itself has been featured in both seasons of House of the Dragon so far, each time proving its loyalty to Rhaenyra. Indeed, Season 2, episode 3, “The Burning Mill,” had the opportunity to introduce Aly earlier. It’s believed, if never 100% confirmed, that she was the one to kill Amos Bracken with an arrow at the Battle of the Burning Mill, something the TV show decided not to include.
Still, the above should give an idea of what Black Aly is like. She’s a fierce warrior and an incredibly skilled archer, not dissimilar to Arya Stark in terms of her characterization and defiance of Westeros’ gender norms at an early age, having slain Amos when she was just 16. Certainly, she’s the closest House of the Dragon has to Arya. She’s also distinctive in appearance for her long, curly black hair, though it remains to be seen whether that is translated to the screen or not.
Alysanne doesn’t play a huge role in the Dance of the Dragons, but it’s nonetheless an important one – and a great one at that. She leads an army of archers in the riverlands, fighting alongside several notable riverlords. This includes the Battle of the Kingsroad, which is the final battle of the civil war, where she helps to defeat Lord Borros Baratheon.
She then factors into the end of the Dance, which is where her becoming a Stark happens. Cregan himself arrives in King’s Landing following the death of King Aegon II Targaryen, and sets about cleaning up the mess left behind. The Lord of Winterfell is immediately taken with Alysanne and, in exchange for agreeing to pardon Corlys Velaryon, he asks for her to marry him, to which she agrees. Cregan and Black Aly eventually return to rule the North, and have several children together.
What Casting Black Aly Means For House Of The Dragon Season 3
Black Aly being confirmed for House of the Dragon Season 3 is exciting, as she’s one of the best, most interesting Stark characters in Game of Thrones history. But it’s also an interesting choice, because she’s not featured in the sections of Fire & Blood that will likely be adapted in Season 3. The show has already made several major changes to Martin’s source material (much to the author’s consternation), and given Aly is set to appear in five episodes of Season 3, it seems like her role – and that of the riverlords as a whole – is going to be expanded quite a bit.
Season 3’s filming reportedly included Daemon Targaryen with the riverlords and some other key characters, in scenes that don’t take place in the book [via @housethedragons on X]. Black Aly may be involved in those, giving her a bigger role that’s more directly connected to the story’s main players.
Of course, there is also the possibility that Aly will be taking on parts of other characters. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for characters to be combined, and so her being an amalgamation of different riverlords, condensing things down so it’s a bit easier for viewers to follow, wouldn’t be surprising. Black Aly is one of the strongest characters in that part of the story, so as long as the core of who she is remains intact, her having a bigger role isn’t a bad thing.
It would be a shame to lose some others from that storyline – Benjicot Blackwood, or Bloody Ben, is one such example of a great character it’d be a mistake to lose. At the same time, it’s clear House of the Dragon is doing its own thing, and given it could’ve saved Black Aly for Season 4, her appearing earlier is still very exciting.
House of the Dragon seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on HBO Max, while Season 3 is expected to release sometime in 2026.
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