The breaking up of House of the Dragon’s many new children and parents

Jumps in time are crucial to the how house of the dragon tells his story about a turbulent moment in the history of Targaryen. None of these time jumps are as important as the 10-year jump that Episode 6, “The Princess and the Queen” makes. But Episode 8 takes an almost as big leap six years into the future. While there aren’t quite as many new characters this time around, many of the young actors have been recast, so Alicent, Rhaenyra and Daemon’s children might look a little different than you remember – and there are a few new ones.

To help you keep track of all the children who appeared in this episode, here is a breakdown of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s respective families:

Rhaenyra’s children

Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collet)

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Jace is the eldest son of Rhaenyra and Laenor – or maybe Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong, depending on who you ask. Jace is currently heir to the Iron Throne after his mother and is a strong kid despite being only around 7 years old. In Episode 6, we see him nearly defeat Aegon Targaryen in a wooden sword fight, despite Aegon’s advantages in size and age.

By episode 8, Jace is well into his teens and while it’s clear he’s still ready for a fight, he doesn’t have much to do besides going to festivals.

Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault)

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Lucerys, also known as Luke, is Rhaenyra’s second child and is mostly unremarkable in episode 6. He happens to bear a striking resemblance to Ser Harwin Strong, his mother’s closest friend and especially not her husband. Unfortunately for everyone involved, this “coincidence” is noticed by literally everyone in King’s Landing, calling Luke’s legitimacy into question.

By episode 8, it’s clear that Luke is still quite touchy about his resemblance to Harwin, even as episode 8 doubles his claim to Driftmark, and thus his legitimacy as the trueborn Targaryen. Just as importantly, this episode also sees Luke getting engaged, thanks to his mother’s promise to marry him to Baela Targaryen.

Joffrey Velaryon (any toddler)

Born at the beginning of Episode 6, Joffrey is Rhaenyra’s youngest child and only a baby for now – and therefore fairly unremarkable on his own terms. He is also likely a bastard sired by Ser Harwin Strong. Joffrey is named in honor of Laenor’s late lover, Joffrey Lonmouth, who was beaten to death at her wedding by Rhaenyra’s former lover, so there’s a lot going on there.

In Episode 8, Joffrey is a toddler playing on the ground near a fire. That’s it.

Viserys Targaryen (Infant)

Viserys is the second child of Rhaenyra and Viserys. Viserys is introduced to his grandfather/uncle, the man he is named after, King Viserys Targaryen.

Aegon Targaryen (Aegon the Younger) (Infant)

Aegon is the firstborn child of Rhaenyra and Daemon. Aegon is more in the background while Viserys is introduced to the man he is named after.

Alicent’s children

Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney)

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Aegon is one of the kids who wasn’t new to this episode as we had seen a bit of him before the time skip. He is the eldest son of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Anyone who knows even a little bit of Targaryen history knows that Aegon is a brave name for a child. The name of the first king of the Westerosi dynasty, Aegon, always carries with it some implication of earned (or conquered) kingship. Unfortunately, unlike the Conqueror, the version of Aegon we see in this episode is mostly just an odd, spoiled brat.

In Episode 8, Aegon graduates from spoiled brat to bona fide monster in a manner pretty recognizable from Westeros’ worst kings and nobles. For now, it seems that Aegon is more concerned with using his privilege to do what he wants and abuse who he wants, rather than pursuing something more ambitious like power or combat prowess.

Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell)

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Aegon’s younger brother, Aemond, is Alicent’s second son. Think of him as Prince Daemon of this family, except without the ambition, rashness, or martial skills that make Daemon what he is—at least not yet. As we see in this episode, Aemond doesn’t have a dragon, a fact he spends much of his young life very confident about.

Aemond’s daemon connection got a lot stronger in episode 8 as we see how hot headed he’s gotten and how dangerous he is with a sword. Already better than Ser Criston Cole, he seems impressive enough to rival almost anyone in the Seven Kingdoms. Most dangerously, though Aemond has lost an eye and gained a dragon, he doesn’t quite believe the score between him and Rhaenyra’s “Big Boys” is settled.

Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban)

Helaena, the second oldest of Alicent’s children, is a strange girl who is playing with a big bug and counting her legs in this episode.

Helaena is barely in episode 8. But she is older now.

Daemon’s children

Rhena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell)

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Rhaena does not play a major role in episode 8.

Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia)

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Baela becomes engaged in this episode when her mother agrees to marry her off to Luke Velaryon, meaning the two will one day rule Driftmark together.