House of the Dragon Season 2 Cast Guide: Meet the Two Factions of the Targaryen Civil Wa

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Send a raven and mount your dragon because the Targaryens are back.

“House of the Dragon,” the spinoff of HBO’s fantasy mega hit “Game of Thrones,” is returning for Season 2 on Sunday, June 16. It’s all-out war for the white-haired Targaryens, as Westeros is engulfed in the Dance of Dragons — a bloody civil war from the pages of George R. R. Martin’s novel “Fire and Blood,” on which “House of the Dragon” is based.

In the wake of the Season 1 finale, contentious sides have formed in Westeros: the blacks and the greens. Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) had been promised the Iron Throne from her father King Viserys (Paddy Considine), but her succession was usurped by her younger half-brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) — his mother, Viserys’ queen and Rhaenyra’s childhood best friend. A bloody, dragon-filled war has now erupted between Rhaenyra’s black faction and Aegon and Alicent’s greens.

Rhaenyra has taken the island of Dragonstone, the Targaryens’ ancestral home, as her base for the blacks. She’s joined there by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), her husband and uncle; Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), master of ships; Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), her aunt; Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett), her son; their dragons Syrax, Vermax, Meleys, Caraxes and their council and other allies.

King Aegon rules over Westeros and controls King’s Landing for the greens. He’s advised by his mother Alicent; her father and his hand Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans); his brother Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell); head of the Kingsguard Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel); the manipulative Larys Strong (Matthew Needham); plus their dragons Vhagar and Sunfyre.

See the cast below.

  • Rhaenyra Targaryen

    After the death of her son Lucerys in the Season 1 finale, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) is in mourning and seeking revenge on the greens – especially Aemond Targaryen, whose massive dragon Vhagar killed Lucerys and his dragon. She rides the yellow dragon Syrax.

  • Alicent Hightower

    Dowager Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is now an advisor to her son, King Aegon II Targaryen, as he sits on the Iron Throne. She has plenty of strategic experience learned from her father, Otto Hightower, and her late husband, King Viserys Targaryen, that will help in the civil war.

  • Daemon Targaryen

    Daemon (Matt Smith) is Rhaenyra’s husband, uncle and hot-headed advisor as the Dance of the Dragons inches closer. As a skilled warrior, Daemon will play a crucial role in the war, but he previously had his own ambitions for the Iron Throne. He rides the red dragon Caraxes.

  • King Aegon II Targaryen

    Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) is the sixth Targaryen king of Westeros, following the death of his father Viserys. He’ll now lead the Targaryen green forces against his half-sister Rhaenyra’s black army, who calls him an illegitimate king. He rides the golden dragon Sunfyre.

  • Aemond Targaryen

    The one-eyed brother to King Aegon II, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has a target on his back after his massive dragon Vhagar killed Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys in the Season 1 finale. As we saw last season, he’s also got his remaining eye on the Iron Throne if anything were to happen to his brother.

  • Otto Hightower

    Alicent’s father Otto (Rhys Ifans) is King Aegon II’s hand, putting him extremely close to Westeros’ highest power. As the Dance of Dragons looms closer, he’ll need to plot to keep the greens alive.

  • Criston Cole

    After a brief romance with Rhaenyra in her youth, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) switched sides and now serves as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard for Aegon II. 

  • Corlys Velaryon

    Corlys (Steve Toussaint) is the head of House Velaryon, an ancient seafaring family that boasts the strongest navy in Westeros. He’s one of Rhaenyra’s most powerful council members.

  • Rhaenys Targaryen

    Married to Corlys, Rhaenys (Eve Best) is Rhaenyra’s aunt who once sought the Iron Throne herself. Now, she’s a member of the black council and rides her dragon Meleys. In Season 1, Rhaenys and Meleys crashed King Aegon’s coronation by bursting through the sept’s floor from the dragon pit.

  • Baela and Rhaena Targaryen

    Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) are the daughters of Daemon and the late Laena Velaryon. Despite their age, they play a larger role this season in the Dance of Dragons. Baela rides the small dragon Moondancer

  • Jacaerys Velaryon

    Rhaenyra’s eldest son, Jace (Harry Collett), steps up after his brother Lucerys was killed in the Season 1 finale. While Luke traveled to Storm’s End to rally the Baratheons, Jace flew on his dragon Vermax to meet with Cregan Stark in Winterfell to seek their aid.

  • Mysaria

    Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) is Daemon’s former mistress and a foreign brothel dancer. Like Larys, she peddles secret information around King’s Landing.

  • Larys Strong

    Larys “The Clubfoot” (Matthew Needham) is one of Alicent’s best spies in King’s Landing – but he also has a creepy fetish for her feet, as we saw in Season 1. He’ll stop at nothing to manipulate his way to the top, including orchestrating a fire that killed some of his own relatives.

  • Helaena Targaryen

    The wife and sister of King Aegon, Helaena (Phia Saban) often has strange visions of the future, like when she predicted Rhaenys and her dragon would burst from the floorboards during Aegon’s coronation.

  • Alyn of Hull

    Alyn (Abubakar Salim), from the Driftmark island Hull, is a skilled sailor who ends up playing an important role in the Dance of Dragons, along with his younger brother Addam.

  • Cregan Stark

    Young Cregan (Tom Taylor) is the lord of Winterfell, the home of the Starks. Rhaenyra’s son Jace flies to Winterfell to meet with Cregan to negotiate the Starks’ support in the Targaryen civil war.

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