War of the Greens and Blacks of the House of Dragons and Dance of the Dragons, explained

You’ve probably noticed a drastic increase in fantasy jargon house of the dragon Fans have been happy to toss around for the past few weeks. From the greens to the blacks to the Dance of the Dragons itself, it can be pretty easy to get lost. Luckily, at this point, all you need to know is who’s batting for which team.

Now that the Dance of the Dragons has begun in earnest, we’ll see multiple seasons of fire and blood. But what is it actually all about? house of the dragon Season 2 and beyond? Here’s what we know (with minimal spoilers) between what was said by the creators of the series about the Dragon Dance and what George RR Martin said Fire & Bloodwhich, in a fun twist, has proven only reasonably reliable when it comes to anticipating the adaptation’s historical plot.

What is the dance of the dragons?

In episode 10, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) has successfully launched a coup to install Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms before his half-sister Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). Of course, that’s not going to go down well with either the Joy of the Realm (Rhaenyra’s nickname) or the many nobles who swore allegiance to her over a decade ago. There will be consequences.

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

To the uninitiated, the Dance of the Dragons is the civil war between warring Targaryen factions vying for control of the realm, resulting in death, betrayal, and the near-annihilation of the dragons themselves. As Archmaester Gyldayn writes Fire & Bloodit would probably have been more appropriate to call it “The Dying of the Dragons”.

It is important to note that there are several different depictions of the dance in George RR Martin’s fiction. For example, Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan), the Grand Maester currently serving under Aegon, wrote his version of the story, while other accounts come from Grand Maester Munkun, Septon Eustace, and the fool Mushroom, whose “history” reeks of embellishment and yet wins the prize for “Most Entertaining”. All of these chronicles have their own unique biases, which means that none of them – not even those mentioned above Fire & Blood

(This is even referenced in-universe in A dance with dragons, the fifth novel in GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Here Tyrion specifically states that one of the chroniclers, Munkun – who purported to write the “true narrative” of the dance – was wrong in mistaking Urrax for Rhaeynra’s dragon Syrax. As we can all remember, he drinks and he knows things.)

Oddly enough, the discrepancies between these accounts are what can ultimately be afforded house of the dragon a worthwhile premise as they allow HBO to carve out its own true version of what actually happened by taking inspiration from everyone. And now, after nine episodes of build-up, we’re finally at the point where the dance begins.

If you want a clear indication of what exactly started the dance, most people would agree that the first victim was Lyman Beesbury, the master of the coin, who vouched for Rhaenyra when Otto announced his plan to Aegon her to be torn. This is a rare case where all of the conflicting accounts agree, despite offering different perspectives on how he died in the book. Somehow, Ser Criston Cole makes even Mushroom’s version of Lord Beesbury being thrown out of a window seem tame compared to his second skull crush in a season. Do you remember how you all liked him?

Anyway, that’s how the dance began. Once Aegon was crowned king (with a new crown no less, since that was stolen by King Viserys to take to Dragonstone in Rhaenyra), there was no turning back. And now the Greens and the Blacks are at war.

But who is on which side?

Who is Team Green?

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

The term “green” derives from the color of a dress worn by Queen Alicent Hightower to a tournament in AD 111 (Rhaenyra wore black to the event, hence “black”). house of the dragon has been referring to this conflict for a few weeks, with Larys calling attention to Alicent’s clothing as early as episode 5: “Green is the color the Hightower burns when they call their banners to war.” The show has since shifted to visual cues as these leave, to the extent that you can generally tell who is fighting for whom by looking at the color of their clothing (obviously black is a pretty standard color for fine clothing, but it’s definitely a reliable say for green).

So who is on Team Green, aka Team Alicent? Here are their main allies at the moment:

• King Aegon II Targaryen, her son and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms
• Queen Helaena Targaryen, sister-wife of Aegon
• Ser Otto Hightower, her father and Hand of the King
• Ser Criston Cole, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard
• Prince Aemond Targaryen, her son
• Prince Daeron Targaryen, her son
• Ser Tyland Lannister, Shipmaster (becomes Coinmaster)
• Lord Larys Strong, Lord of Harrenhal and unofficial Master of the Whisperers
• Grand Maester Orwyle
• Lord Jasper Wylde, Master of Laws

We’ll also see her gain support from the Baratheons, the Hightowers, the Strongs, and the Lannisters. And the most recent episode pointed out that Ser Arryk – one of the two Cargyll twins – is also Team Green.

To be fair to Alicent, she’s a lot more complex in the show than in the book. In the latter, she is involved in Otto’s intrigues from the start and was not a childhood friend of Rhaenyra. Here, however, we see that she is driven by her misinterpretation of the dying words of Viserys. There was even a moment in episode 9 when it seemed like a reconciliation might be possible! That is, until you remember, this is a story written by George RR Martin.

Who is Team Black?

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

We’ve already explained where the term “Black” comes from, but who are the main characters on Team Rhaenyra?

• Prince Daemon Targaryen, her uncle husband
• Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, her son
• Prince Lucerys Velaryon, her son
• Prince Joffrey Velaryon, her son
• Prince Aegon Targaryen, her son
• Prince Viserys Targaryen, her son
• Lord Corlys Velaryon, Master of Driftmark and Lord of the Tides
• Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, her aunt and Lady of Driftmark
• Lady Baela Targaryen, her stepdaughter
• Lady Rhaena Targaryen, her stepdaughter

Rhaenyra will receive much more support from the houses game of Thrones Fans will be familiar with the Arryns, the Freys, the Greyjoys, the Tarlys and even the Starks who have sworn their allegiance to her. She also has Erryk, the other Cargyll twin. It should be pretty obvious that they are preparing for this house of the dragon‘s Clegane Bowl.

Who is in better shape to win the Dance of the Dragons?

To answer this, a few variables need to be considered.

When it comes to positioning, the Greens obviously have an advantage. You’re in King’s Landing, you can easily visit the Great Houses to enlist support, and you have access to virtually unlimited money. But the blacks have something no amount of money can buy: dragons.

The final scene of Episode 9, where Rhaenys storms the dragon pit with Meleys, had more than shock value. The reason Alicent imprisoned Rhaenys before was because their dragon is an invaluable bargaining chip – either Aegon has an extra winged cannon or Rhaenyra.

When it comes to sheer (and literal) firepower, Blacks are in a much better position. As it stands, the Greens have three dragons: Sunfyre, Dreamfyre, and Vhagar. (Slight spoiler: Prince Daeron will also receive one later.)

But the scales are still heavily tipped in Rhaenyra, who has Syrax, Caraxes, Vermax, Arrax, Tyraxes, Moondancer and Meleys, and Seasmoke, now riderless thanks to Laenor’s departure. There are also three wild dragons on Dragonstone that can be tamed with Dragon Seed: The Cannibal, the Gray Ghost, and the Sheep Thief. Not to mention all the eggs knocking around.

Unfortunately, the blacks only have five real dragon riders at the moment. Despite having more dragons, they lack people to tame them (although that can be arranged). When you factor in the size of Aemonds Vhagar, a five-on-four scenario becomes much more balanced.

Another detail we’d be reluctant to leave out is Daemon’s influence, the value of which cannot be overstated. From his past allegiance to the Goldcloaks, to his relationship with Mysaria, to all of his various connections throughout Westeros and beyond, his charm is good for much more than flattery. It’s basically an army in itself. And he’s hungry for a fight: In The Black Queen, Rhaenyra refers to the upcoming battle as the Demon War.

What will happen in House of the Dragon Season 2?

So what happens after the coup?

Without going too deep into spoiler territory, we’re obviously going to see a counter-coronation for Rhaenyra, who will then form her own Black Council. Once the war starts, it’s going to last about three years, which means we’re almost definitely done recasting the actors. That fits house of the dragon will have four seasons. Maybe one for each year?

There are also some intriguing changes that show ways how house of the dragon might even undermine the expectations of book readers like Laenor and Ser Harrold Westerling who are alive. It’s an exciting time for game of Thrones Fans – if only we didn’t have to wait a whole year after the finale airs this Sunday.

Ah great. At least we can go back thronesthe world-famous fantasy series, which also has exactly four seasons and no more.