'House of the Dragon' Fans Are Beginning to Take Sides

By Michael Hein

War is coming to Westeros – and, perhaps, to the Game of Thrones fandom. As the plot thickens on House of the Dragon, many fans are zeroing in on certain details and ascribing different weights to them. It looks like many fans are choosing sides in the impending civil war for succession.

It's no secret that House of the Dragon will depict a civil war within House Targaryen. Fans have watched the tension in Westeros build across several decades in the episodes we've seen so far, and starting in Episode 9, there are no more time skips to put the fighting off. The show has done a remarkable job of depicting how small personal grudges, perceived offenses and even misunderstandings have contributed to the enmity between Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and her "Black Council," and Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and her "Green Council."

What is surprising is how earnestly some fans have gotten invested in one side or the other. George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO's Game of Thrones both explored how power corrupts its holder and how the titular struggle for power often makes villains out of its most noble players. From a bird's eye view, House of the Dragon has done the same, but on social media fans have begun to argue the ethics of one side or the other as if they will find a satisfactory answer.

Many self-described "green supporters" or "black supporters" on social media are simply role-playing and are playing out the in-world debates for fun. However, their impassioned conversations have caught some readers off-guard, and many want to believe one fictional faction has the moral high ground over the other. With two or three more seasons of war to go, we can expect fans to get more invested in their chosen Westerosi monarch for the next few years.

House of the Dragon Season 1 concludes on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. In the meantime, here's a look at how the lines between greens and blacks are being drawn online.

Presence

After Episode 8, fans hotly debated whether Alicent or Rhaenyra deserved more of Viserys' (Paddy Considine) protection. Some felt that Alicent's steady presence had primed her and her family for rule, while others noted that it was her presence that pushed Rhaenyra away.

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Moments of Happiness

The moments of genuine happiness in this show have become few and far between by now, but they are all the more heartbreaking for that very reason.

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Interpretation

Fans who read Martin's book Fire & Blood sometimes noted that their affinity for certain characters might be based on nuances that weren't included in the show's interpretation of this story. The details in Martin's "imaginary history book" are intentionally vague, leaving room for fans to make up their own minds. Some are dissatisfied with the show's interpretation and are believe the story would come together better with a different take.

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Not Gray Enough

For many fans, the unique draw of Martin's writing is that no character is wholly good or bad – all exist in a moral gray area. Whichever side they personally lean towards, some fans feared that this show was beginning to miss that grayness and depict a war that is righteous on one side and evil on the other.

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Missing the Point

At the same time, some thought that the fandom itself was imposing this moral binary on the show. They felt that participating in these debates on social media were beginning to lessen their appreciation for the show.

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Fringe Contenders

To the extent that anyone in this story is worthy of absolute power, many viewers argued that there were better candidates to throw their support behind than either Rhaenyra or Aegon.

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Viserys

Finally, many fans felt like the show hasn't pinned enough blame on Viserys for cultivating this war. They wondered if the show would ever force its characters to reckon with Viserys' willful ignorance and neglect.

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