Cregan Stark Is The Perfect Replacement For House Of The Dragon Season 2’s Biggest Missing Character
Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) will make his debut in House of the Dragon season 2, and returning to Winterfell will be key to the Game of Thrones prequel.
House Stark is coming to House of the Dragon season 2 with the introduction of Lord Cregan, and it’s important for reasons beyond just the Dance of the Dragons. The Starks only had a minor role in the Game of Thrones prequel’s first run of episodes, with Lord Rickon swearing allegiance to Rhaenyra Targaryen as King Viserys’ heir. However, House of the Dragon season 1’s ending had Jacaerys Velaryon leaving Dragonstone for the Vale and then Winterfell, guaranteeing a bigger role for the Northerners going forward.
That’s further confirmed with the addition of Tom Taylor to House of the Dragon season 2’s cast, as he’ll portray Cregan. While the Starks made up many of the main characters in Game of Thrones, Cregan won’t quite be at that level. Nevertheless, he will be a crucial part of Jacaerys’ story in House of the Dragon season 2, as well as valuable to Rhaenyra’s war efforts and, most of all, the quality of the show overall.
Cregan Stark & Jacaerys Velaryon Can Give House Of The Dragon Season 2 Levity
The show could otherwise lack it without King Viserys.
Starks may not be known for their humor, but levity is something Cregan and Jacaerys’ story could (and should) bring to House of the Dragon season 2. The two characters are similar in age and, according to one historical account in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, get on incredibly well. Cregan and Jace spend time at Winterfell drinking and hunting, which should allow for some light moments of bonding and warmth in the early parts of the season. With House of the Dragon season 2 set photos hinting they will visit the Wall, that adds to the idea that they’ll become firm friends and pal around, letting Jace briefly be an actual teenager while war breaks out further south.
That could be great for showing the kind of male friendship House of the Dragon doesn’t really have, but it’s even more important in the context of what’s to come. As House of the Dragon season 2’s trailer demonstrated, it’s going to be a heavy run of episodes. War, death, and dragons are the order of the day; it should be great, but also quite grim, especially with events such as Blood and Cheese. King Viserys (and Paddy Considine’s performance) was the main source of humor and levity in season 1, with several great jokes, some impeccable comic timing, and moments of physical comedy, but obviously he’s now gone. If Cregan and Jace can provide a little bit of light in the pitch-black darkness, it’ll make the Starks’ return all the more important.
House Of The Dragon Season 2 Can Make Cregan Stark’s Later Role Much Better
Cregan’s big role will likely be in season 4.
Cregan Stark will be important for House of the Dragon season 2, but he doesn’t do a huge amount. He and Jace make what is called the Pact of Ice and Fire, wherein Jacaerys agrees to marry his firstborn daughter to Cregan’s son, but he won’t actually join the fighting this season. In fact, Cregan’s biggest role in the show will likely come in season 4 – long after Jace and even Rhaenyra have died. That’s what happens in Fire & Blood, as he marches on King’s Landing but, by the time he arrives, King Aegon II has just been killed (poisoned by one of his own men, no less).
