As the title promises, House of the Dragon is all about the Targaryens and their reign over Westeros when they could still fly dragons over all Seven Kingdoms. However, in the first two episodes the show has already hinted at plenty of connections to the main series, Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire. Here’s a quick explainer on the characters from House Baratheon we’ve glimpsed and how they relate to the main story.
In the first episode of House of the Dragon, King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) names his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) his heir, and orders the lords of the Seven Kingdoms to come swear fealty to her in front of the Iron Throne. We see a few characters with familiar names do this, including Lord Boremund Baratheon (Julian Lewis Jones). In George R.R. Martin’s “imaginary history book,” Fire & Blood, we learn a bit of background on Boremund, and presumably, the show will be relatively faithful when it comes to details like these.
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Boremund was considered a stubborn, fearsome man but with a good sense of humor. Boremund was a very outspoken supporter of Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), “The Queen Who Never Was,” and was reluctant to accept Viserys as king. Fair warning: there spoilers for the book and potentially for the TV show from here on!
As Viserys death seemed to approach and civil war threatened to engulf the Seven Kingdoms, Rhaenyra and her allies felt confident that Boremund would join their side. Not only had he supported a queen over a king beforehand, but Rhaenyra had married Rhaenys’ son by then, tying their claims together neatly. However, just as the war broke out Boremund Baratheon died, leaving Rhaenyra’s side to negotiate with his son, Borros Baratheon (Roger Evans).
Borros was considered much more temperamental than his father, without his good sense of humor. He was a seasoned warrior who had frequently clashed with Dornish invaders at his southern border. He was not as calculating as other lords, and in fact he never even learned how to read, relying on maesters to read messages to him instead.
Borros arguably helps escalate the war to the level of physical violence in what will likely be one of the first big dramatic dragon fights we will see on screen. Viewers will see how he influences the outcome of the war from there as House of the Dragon goes on. In the meantime, we can zoom out and look at Borros and Boremund in the context of their House’s history.
House Baratheon actually started as a branch of House Targaryen via Aegon the Conquerer’s bastard brother, Orys Baratheon. They took over Storm’s End and the Stormlands when the previous king, Argilac “The Arrogant” Durrandon refused to kneel. In general, the Baratheons remained loyal to the Targaryens during their reign – making it all the more surprising that it was a Baratheon who successfully rebelled and took over the Iron Throne by the time of the main series.
Borros is one of the few Baratheons who chooses the losing side in a war in all of Martin’s fictional history. He pays for it with his life – dying in a battle near the end of the civil war. We can presume that he is succeeded by his son, Royce Baratheon, but we actually don’t have a full accounting of the Baratheon family tree just yet. Martin still has a second volume of his history book on the way.
We do meet some colorful Baratheon characters about a hundred years after the end of the war in Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. From there we can trace the lineage all the way to the current story. Lord Lyonel Baratheon, “The Laughing Storm,” had only a daughter, but we know he was succeeded by Lord Ormund Baratheon. Many fans speculate that this means Ormund was Lyonel’s grandson. Ormund had three sons – Robert, Stannis and Renly, which brings us up to speed on the generation involved in the main series.
If you’re interested in a deep dive on Martin’s world and its history, you can find Fire & Blood, The World of Ice & Fire and a collection of Dunk and Egg novellas called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms all in print, digital or audiobook format. House of the Dragon airs on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
