HBO’s Game of Thrones was an explicitly white show. Aside from Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) and Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), no black characters were introduced until the final season, when they were underused and ultimately cut. House of the Dragon looks to right that wrong and usher in a new era of black characters in fantasy by casting Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, patriarch of one of the wealthiest families in Westeros.
Corliss and his two children, Lena (Nanna Blondell) and Lenore (John MacMillan), appear throughout the series, but by the time they were grown for the second time, it was clear they were still supporting characters. That was fine, but by episode six, both siblings had been killed off (Lenor faked her own death, but was eventually removed from the show), leaving only three black characters in “House of the Dragon”: Corliss and his two granddaughters, Béla (Bethany Antonia) and Lenore Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell).
The problem is, the two women haven’t been given any lines since they came of age in Episode VIII. They’re always in the background, along with Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma Darcy) eldest daughters, Lutharis Velarion (Elliot Griault) and Jacaerys Velarion (Harry Collett), but unlike the boys, the girls are never given any room to speak or prominent movement. The neglect of these two characters feels like an insult not only to fans of the books who love Béla and Rhayna, but also to black fans of George R.R. Martin’s work who finally get to see themselves in these film adaptations.
But by the second episode of season two, it was clear that the showrunners had realized their mistake and were desperately trying to come to terms with the fact that the show was downplaying most of its black characters and alienating black viewers. They focused on the core of the problem and made Béla and Lena stand out, as they should have from the beginning.
In Season 2, Béla has a fully-formed personality that goes beyond the one inherited from her late mother. We see her fierce pursuit of the now-rejected Christon Cole (Fabian Frankel) on the back of a dragon, as well as her tumultuous relationship with her absent father. Though she doesn’t have as much screen time as the teenagers on Team Green, she’s still an improvement over Season 1. By giving Béla more to do, the writers also allowed Bethany Antonia to show off her acting talents. From her scathing glares at her stepmother’s council members to her tender relationship with Jacaelis, Béla has not only become a strong ally for Team Black, but also one of the standout characters of the season.
Open Image Modal Bethany Antonia in “House of the Dragon.”
This season, her younger sister, Reyna, also gets more screen time. In Season 1, all we know about Reyna is that she is betrothed to Lucerys Velaryon and, most importantly, is the only Targaryen on Team Black who does not have a dragon. In Season 2, this directly leads to Reyna being sent to the Vale with her youngest stepbrothers to care for them away from her family in the middle of the war. Reyna takes this decision in stride, but makes it clear to her stepmother that she neither agrees with the choice nor stays silent without expressing her doubts.
As the season progresses, we see Rayna struggling to take a back seat to the war, but with the revelation that there is a wild dragon in the valley, she may find herself more involved in the conflict than her character was in the original. In episode 7, as Rayna’s young children travel to Pentos for refuge, she goes after the mysterious dragon alone. Though she doesn’t yet own a dragon, the storyline is set up to see her eventually choose one, and it’s clear her determination is irrepressible.
Writers Ryan Condal and Sarah Hess have finally given these two women the depth that was missing in Season 1, and it’s nice to see it happen, even if it’s late. Seeing Béla and Rhaena come to prominence after being relegated to the shadows in Season 1 is a welcome change. Not only will these two women become powerful allies in Rhaenyra’s cause, but it’s clear that they will continue to grow as characters as the series progresses. Thanks to the writers’ careful crafting of these characters, they are quickly becoming some of the most interesting and influential characters in the series.
Alongside Béla and Rhaena’s storyline, Season 2 also provided the perfect introduction to Hal’s Adam and Arryn. Hints dropped over a few episodes that Arryn (Abubakar Salim), the sailor who pulled Corlys from the sea during Operation Stepstones, and his brother Adam (Clinton Liberty) were the bastard sons of the Sea Serpent, before their Velaryon lineage was confirmed in Episode 6. It’s clear from the start that the two are relatives of Corlys Velaryon; he and Arryn share a similarity that’s hard to ignore, and Adam’s personality shares much with his long-lost cousins.
After the Black Team’s failed attempt to claim Seasmoke from Ser Stephon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan), the dragon flies from Dragonstone to Spicetown to find a way to find a rider. Here the dragon and Adam come face to face, with the dragon circling overhead before chasing Adam in a tense chase. This is one of the most compelling scenes so far in “House of Dragons,” as we see Seasmoke circle Adam, circling him like a stray cat circling someone it hopes will be its new owner. This proves Adam is important to the story, and instead of Adam trying to claim the dragon, we get to see Seasmoke claim Adam.
In a world like House of the Dragon, it’s hard to find truly pure characters. When Rhaenyra confronts Adam in episode 7, he kneels and pledges his loyalty to her only after exchanging a few lines. With a powerful dragon on his side, Adam can do whatever he wants, but instead, with no commitment to Rhaenyra’s side, Adam quickly dedicates himself and Seasmoke to Rhaenyra’s cause.
Both Adam and Arryn are important to the story, but in Martin’s novel Fire and Blood, they are decidedly background characters. In House of the Dragon, the writers seem to be giving them more of a role and making them more prominent on screen, which is a big change from, for example, Rhaena, whose friendship with Rhaenyra was replaced on screen by her friendship with Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) in Fire and Blood. Rather than simply tossing these two men into the story, Condal and Hess do a great job of slowly incorporating them into the larger ensemble cast.
Open Image ModalClinton Liberty as Adam Velaryon in House of the Dragon.
It’s a great writing choice, allowing the two men to become characters with personality before their true connection to Corliss is revealed, and it’s a blessing that the show’s other black characters didn’t get the treatment they deserve. Here, the two are given more depth in the introductory season than was given to Corliss’s biological children, Rhaena and Rhaenor, in Season 1. While it’s hard not to feel bad for losing two earlier characters to shoddy writing, the show can be praised for how these two new faces are introduced.
In Episode 7, when Rhaenyra leads the dragonseeds to the dragonpit, it is not her son Jacaeris or the queen’s guards who are at her side, but Adam and Béla. They stand on either side of her as if they were her only strength and comfort. Despite their youth, it is clear that Rhaenyra values them as much as her older knights and raises them as if they were her common second and third comrades. Earlier in the episode, along with them, Arryn is also sent to King’s Landing to recruit dragonseeds. In Episode 7, it is clear that these three remain some of Rhaenyra’s most important companions, and are more advanced than when they were assigned to them in the books.
Season one’s black characters were incredibly underused before they were discarded, but the way Condal and Hess handle Arryn and Adam is a welcome change and it’s clear that these characters, along with Baela and Rhaena, have been better thought out than they were in season one.
From Rhaena’s ghost haunting the demons of Harrenhall to her daughter Baela sitting on Rhaenyra’s council, Black characters in “House of the Dragon” have been given life and purpose in the show.
They’re no longer just there for writers to pat themselves on the back, but to show what fantasy can be like when black characters are given the proper attention and treatment they deserve.