Despite what happens in George R.R. Martin’s “Fire and Blood,” co-creator Ryan Condal explains why they couldn’t spend a lot of time at Winterfell.
The story of Game of Thrones is the “Song of Ice and Fire.” House of the Dragon already has plenty of fire: the Targaryens. Season 2’s first episode now brings us the ice: the Starks.
Tom Taylor (The Dark Tower, The Last Kingdom) makes his introduction as Lord Cregan Stark of Winterfell for the opening sequence of the premiere, “A Son for a Son.” Continuing a thread from the season 1 finale, Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) arrives in the North to secure House Stark’s support for his mother, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), and her claim to the Iron Throne. Jace ascends the Wall with Cregan, where they bond over the sight of the snowy, white abyss that lies beyond.
George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, the author’s literary compendium of Targaryen history that serves as source material for House of the Dragon, chronicles what might have happened between the two lords. One account suggests they had an immediate connection and swore blood oaths of fealty to each other. Another account claims Jace fell in love with a bastard of Winterfell by the name of Sara Snow, and after bedding her, Cregan forced a marriage — even though Jace had already been betrothed to Lady Baela Targaryen (played on the show by Bethany Antonia).
Taylor himself has seen all the fan memes and comments made online that ship Jace and Cregan. “‘Brokeback Winterfell.’ I’ve seen that one going around,” he remarks to Entertainment Weekly. “I think it’s brilliant. Fans, they’re going crazy with stuff. I think it’s so cool that people are so passionate and want to get involved. I saw a video the other day where they stuck my head and Harry’s head on these guys dancing, some AI dancing and stuff. It was ridiculous, but it was so funny.”
None of this backstory from the book, however, is featured on House of the Dragon season 2 due to narrative challenges that came up in the adaptation process.
“We definitely always wanted that scene,” showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal says in a separate interview with EW of the sequence at the Wall with Jace and Cregan. “For a long time, I think going back to filming season 1, I had it in my head that that was going to be the opening sequence of season 2. But as fun as that sequence is, beyond Cregan agreeing to send soldiers South, there isn’t any real inherent drama in that scene. He’s already sworn for Rhaenyra. We know that Starks are never going to go back on an oath, no matter which Stark swore it. So it’s more of a sequence to bring us back into the world, be in a place where we’re ahead of Jace — we know his brother is dead, he does not yet know it — and the fun fan service of going to the North and seeing that.”
“We end season 1 with Luke’s death, and that’s where we want to be,” Sara Hess, Condal’s lead writing partner, further explains. “Jace very quickly gets that news. It didn’t feel right to end season 1 with Luke dying and then just be at Winterfell for a really long time when you’re dying to know what’s going on with Rhaenyra. When you see that look Rhaenyra gives at the end of season 1, how much time do you want to spend away from that? We definitely had to pick our narratives there.”
Condal also wanted to establish Jace as a capable political operator, as he’ll play a larger role in House of the Dragon moving forward, compared to his part in season 1. The opening shots with Cregan serve that mission.
“This is the future of the realm: the two of them,” Condal continues. “It’s literally the ‘Song of Ice and Fire,’ with Targaryen and Stark, but that only sustains itself for so long. [The scene in the show] was the version that gets all the information that you need: it’s a political victory for Jace, we introduce Cregan, we understand his quandary with winter coming and having to release troops, and all that. We have so many other POVs to cover and satisfy on both Black and Green side. That was always the appropriate amount of story.”
HBO officially confirmed House of the Dragon for season 3 in the days leading up to the season 2 premiere. Condal and Hess have been working on crafting that story for months. Whether that involves more Cregan, he’s not telling at this time.
“We’ll see how that plays,” Condal says. “Anybody that reads the books knows that he does play a role in the larger Dance of the Dragons. I would love to have Tom back. We really enjoyed working with him, but I think we need to play the story out a bit and see where it takes us.”
