Breaking down House of the Dragons many new children and parents – Polygon

Time jumps are critical to how House of the Dragon is telling its story about a tumultuous moment in Targaryen history. None of those time jumps are as important as the 10-year leap that episode 6, The Princess and the Queen, takes. While much has changed in Kings Landing in the time the show skipped, one shift that has the potential to confuse audiences is the addition of so many new characters, in the form of the children of Alicent, Rhaenyra, and Daemon.

To help you keep track of all six children that appeared in this episode (including five new ones), heres a breakdown of Rhaenyra and Alicents respective families:

Jacaerys Velaryon (Leo Hart)

Jace is the oldest son of Rhaenyra and Laenor or maybe of Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong, depending on who you ask. Jace is currently the heir to the Iron Throne after his mother, and a strong kid despite only being somewhere around 7 years old. In this episode we see him almost beat Aegon Targaryen in a bout with wooden swords, despite Aegons advantages in size and age.

Lucerys Velaryon (Harvey Sadler)

Also known as Luke, Lucerys is Rhaenyras second child, and is mostly unremarkable in this episode. He does happen to bear a striking resemblance to Ser Harwin Strong, his mothers closest friend and notably not her husband. Unfortunately for all involved, this coincidence is noticed by literally everyone in Kings Landing, drawing Lukes legitimacy into question.

Joffrey Velaryon (a baby)

Born at the start of episode 6, Joffrey is Rhaenyras youngest child, for now, and only a baby and therefore pretty unremarkable on his own terms. He is also likely a bastard fathered by Ser Harwin Strong. Joffrey is named in honor of Laenors late lover, Joffrey Lonmouth, who was beaten to death at their wedding by Rhaenyras former lover, so theres a lot going on there.

Aegon Targaryen (Ty Tennant)

Aegon is one of the children who was not new to this episode, as we had seen a little of him before the time skip. He is the oldest son of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Anyone who knows even a little about Targaryen history knows that Aegon is a bold name to give a child. The name of the Westerosi dynastys first king, Aegon always carries with it a certain implication of earned (or conquered) kingship. Unfortunately, unlike the conqueror, the version of Aegon we see in this episode is mostly just a weird, spoiled brat.

Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton)

Aegons younger brother, Aemond, is Alicents second son. Think of him as the Prince Daemon of this family, except without any of ambition, rashness, or martial prowess that make Daemon who he is at least not yet. As we see in this episode, Aemond does not have a dragon, a fact that he spends much of his young life very self-conscious about.

Helaena Targaryen (Evie Allen)

The second oldest of Alicents children, Helaena is a strange girl who, in this episode, we see playing with a large bug and counting its legs.

Baela Targaryen (Shani Smethurst) and Rhaena Targaryen (Eva Ossei-Gerning)

We dont get much from these two this episode. They are the children of Daemon and his second wife, Laena Velaryon.

See the rest here:
Breaking down House of the Dragons many new children and parents - Polygon