House Stark is finally getting a proper introduction in House of the Dragon season 2, and their impending declaration of loyalty will lead to the North’s greatest moment in Game of Thrones’ prequel. While House Stark was front and center in Game of Thrones, the powerful family has taken the backseat in the prequel as it focuses on the dynasty of House Targaryen. As of House of the Dragon season 1’s ending, Ned Stark’s ancestors have only been represented through a brief appearance at the confirmation of Young Rhaenyra as Viserys’ heir, but this will quickly change in season 2 as the Dance of the Dragons truly begins.
In the season 1 finale, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen sends her son, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, as an envoy to the Vale and Winterfell in the hopes of recruiting Houses Arryn and Stark to her cause. The trailer for House of the Dragon season 2 has already revealed that Jacaerys will join Lord Cregan Stark on a trip to the Wall, with George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book also setting up several more dramatic moments for the two in the North. By the end of Jace’s trip, House Stark will confirm their loyalty to the Green or Black Targaryen party, later culminating in a thrilling moment from the North’s forces.
House Stark Seals The Pact Of Ice & Fire With Rhaenyra’s Party In House Of The Dragon Season 2
House Stark Joins The Black Party In House Of The Dragon
As revealed in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel, Lord Cregan Stark will declare his loyalty to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen after treating with Jacaerys. According to the book, Cregan and Jace strike up a close friendship throughout the latter’s time in Winterfell, which ends with the Starks and Targaryens signing the Pact of Ice and Fire. The pact between the Warden of the North and Jacaerys, in Rhaenyra’s stead, states that in exchange for Cregan’s loyalty and the support of his armies, a marriage will take place between their heirs. When the war is over, Cregan’s young son will marry Jacaerys’ firstborn daughter, who would theoretically be in line to inherit the Iron Throne.
Within the Civil War, the Pact of Ice and Fire declared that Cregan would send his armies in the North, known as the Winter Wolves, to march south and fight in battle alongside Rhaenyra’s Black Party.
Within the Civil War, the Pact of Ice and Fire declared that Cregan would send his armies in the North, known as the Winter Wolves, to march south and fight in battle alongside Rhaenyra’s Black Party. While Cregan Stark will remain in Winterfell for the vast majority of the Civil War, the North will be greatly represented by the Winter Wolves in House of the Dragon seasons 2 and 3. Led by Lord Roderick Dustin and starting with a pack of over two thousand Northmen, the Winter Wolves partake in some of the most notable battles in the Targaryen Civil War, including one confrontation that is easily the North’s most exhilarating contribution to the Dance.
House Stark Siding With Rhaenyra Sets Up The Winter Wolves’ Incredible Arrival At The Battle By The Lakeshore
The Battle By The Lakeshore Will Be An Epic Northerner Moment
Not too long after Lord Cregan Stark and Jacaerys Targaryen seal the Pact of Ice and Fire, Roderick Dustin and the Winter Wolves head south to the Twins to convene with the Frey army. The Winter Wolves then march to the Gods Eye alongside those from the Riverlands pledged to Rhaenyra’s cause, where they face a force of Westermen led by Humfrey Lefford and the Lannisters in what would become the Battle by the Lakeshore. The North may not be featured heavily in many of Rhaenyra’s battles throughout House of the Dragon, but the Battle by the Lakeshore will certainly be the most memorable of the ones fought by Lord Stark’s men.
The battle takes place directly after Queen Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing from the Greens, with Lord Roderick Dustin declaring to his fellow soldiers before the attack, “We have come to die for the dragon queen.” With it being custom that older Northmen would often leave their homes in the winter in order to leave more supplies and rations for their children and families, the soldiers who went south during the Targaryen Civil War had no expectation of returning home after the fighting. Consequently, when the Winter Wolves finally entered the Battle by the Lakeshore, Roderick Dustin’s men begged for the opportunity to bravely lead the charge and die in Rhaenyra’s name.
Seeing the North take such a brave, powerful stance in House of the Dragon will be all the more meaningful after seeing their armies persist throughout Game of Thrones – from the Battle of the Bastards to the Battle of Winterfell. Furthermore, the North will be the ones who utter some of the most chilling and uplifting lines before House of the Dragon’s battles, with Roderick Dustin remarking that their armies should “make an end to these lions before the dragons come” ahead of the Battle by the Lakeshore. For viewers who support Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon, this will certainly mark one of the most exciting moments.
With the Winter Wolves in the lead, the Battle by the Lakeshore becomes the bloodiest land battle in the entire Dance of the Dragons, earning it the nickname “The Fishfeed,” as a great victory for the Black Party. Sadly, however, the greatest proportion of losses comes from the Winter Wolves themselves; more than two-thirds of these Northmen die or become wounded in this battle as they fight for Rhaenyra. The Battle by the Lakeshore will be the most resounding, heartfelt, and bloodiest showing of the North in House of the Dragon’s timeline, but it certainly won’t be the last great sequence they take part in during the HBO prequel.
The Battle by the Lakeshore will be the most resounding, heartfelt, and bloodiest showing of the North in House of the Dragon’s timeline, but it certainly won’t be the last great sequence they take part in during the HBO prequel.
The Winter Wolves Moment Is A Reminder Of How Great House Of The Dragon Will Still Be After The Civil War
The North will have a bigger presence after the fighting ceases
Among the biggest Northern moments to come after the Battle by the Lakeshore in House of the Dragon will be the Butcher’s Ball, marking the death of Ser Criston Cole; the First Battle of Tumbleton, which unfortunately sees the last of the Winter Wolves die after Ulf White and Hugh Hammer betray Rhaenyra; and Lord Cregan Stark’s arrival at King’s Landing with a host of ten thousand fighters. While the Butcher’s Ball will be the second-greatest Winter Wolves battle, the latter event has a far bigger impact on the story. Of course, it takes place after King Aegon II Targaryen and Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen die in House of the Dragon.
Perhaps surprisingly for those who haven’t read Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon’s story will have to continue after Rhaenyra and her half-brother Aegon are both killed. The Dance of the Dragons doesn’t truly end until the ascension of Rhaenyra’s son, King Aegon III Targaryen, after his uncle’s death. Of course, Aegon the Younger’s quick ascension is due to the swift action of House of the Dragon’s Cregan Stark at King’s Landing. When Cregan arrives with the Northmen, he oversees the execution of traitors on both sides and briefly makes himself Hand of the King, which becomes known as the Hour of the Wolf.
Though this part of the tale will go by quickly, the North’s arrival at King’s Landing after the war still provides some incredible storytelling for House of the Dragon ’s ending.
The Hour of the Wolf is seemingly what will take up a substantial portion of House of the Dragon season 4 or 5’s story, and will finally give House Stark a larger presence in the prequel series. The aftermath of the Targaryen Civil War is quickly dealt with under Cregan’s brief lead, with his return to the North only two weeks later being followed by a sickness that took many of the remaining survivors of the Targaryen Civil War, such as Alicent. Though this part of the tale will go by quickly, the North’s arrival at King’s Landing after the war still provides some incredible storytelling for House of the Dragon’s ending.
The Winter Wolves Give House Of The Dragon A Rival For Game Of Thrones’ Season 6 Finale
“We Have Come To Die For Our Dragon Queen”
One of the most bone-chilling and enlivening moments in the original HBO show occurs in Game of Thrones’ season 6 finale. When leaders from the Northern houses convene, they ultimately join the call to support Jon Snow and House Stark in battling the White Walkers, concluding in an uplifting scene where everyone repeatedly chants “The King in the North” for Jon. This was certainly among the greatest scenes of all time in Game of Thrones, and was a standout moment for the unity of the North and House Stark’s victories.
House of the Dragon won’t share many similar sequences given its constant battling, oft-shifting alliances, and regional and inter-family disputes. Consequently, the Winter Wolves declaring that they have come to die for Rhaenyra before taking part in the war’s bloodiest land battle is the closest that House of the Dragon will come to that Game of Thrones moment. House Targaryen will certainly be at the center of House of the Dragon’s most electrifying and aborrent events, but House Stark and the North will undoubtedly make the most of their limited screen time.
