To War Then: The ‘House of the Dragon’ Preseason Power Rankings (2024)

House of the Dragon is back, and the Dance of the Dragons is underway. The Targaryen war of succession will come down to control—who can control their impulses, their sycophants, and, yes, their dragons. With each passing episode, The Ringer will examine how Westeros’s key players are aligning their pieces on the board. As the saying goes, chaos can be a ladder. Welcome to the House of the Dragon power rankings.

1. King Aegon II Targaryen

His seat is obviously red hot, but he’s still in it! Aegon was crowned before the masses in the penultimate episode of Season 1, and the handful that didn’t die at Meleys’s feet at the coronation see Aegon as their rightful king. He also has a snake of a grandsire (Otto Hightower) desperate to keep him in power, the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard (Ser Criston Cole) swooning over his mother, and a bloodthirsty brother (Prince Aemond) with the biggest dragon in the world. You know, typical royal transition stuff.

All images courtesy of HBO

But let’s be honest: Aegon is not long for the throne. No crown or dragon can mask the fact that he’s a sad*stic turd. He’s emotional, immature, and overconfident. In HBO’s green trailer for the new season, Aegon says he’s “as fearsome as any of them.” Sorry, but no. He’s just a terrible person who accidentally failed upward because his corpse of a dad, King Viserys, was geeked off milk of the poppy while trying to explain a prophecy in his dying breath. Aegon’s own mom, Alicent, even disowned him before he ascended the Iron Throne. He’s essentially the Joffrey Baratheon of House of the Dragon. And he’ll probably meet a similar fate at some point in the series, but for now, where we currently sit, you have to say he’s in control.

2. Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen

Rhaenyra is the firstborn child of the late King Viserys I and rightful heir to the throne. Sure, she blurred the lines of her succession a bit when she had three brown-haired boys with Ser Harwin Strong and staged the fake murder of her first husband, Ser Laenor Velaryon. But Viserys maintained his support of Rhaenyra as the future queen of the Seven Kingdoms despite all of her obvious infidelity. She would already be on the throne and atop this list celebrating a weeks-long tournament in King’s Landing if it weren’t for Alicent’s misunderstanding of Viserys on his deathbed. Instead, Rhaenyra will have to force her sons into war against the greens and manage her jealous, hot-tempered uncle-husband, Daemon, to reclaim her birthright. And she’s not off to a good start!

Daemon’s incendiary personality makes him a ticking bomb. Rhaenyra needs to decide whether she should assert her authority over him or let him loose—potentially to the detriment of both the greens and her. The Daemon-Rhaenyra quarrel was sparked by her interest in not starting a war (and later escalated when Daemon found out his brother kept the prophecy from him), but her stance has surely changed now that her son Lucerys didn’t survive his mission to Storm’s End.

Rhaenyra’s dragon, Syrax, is her biggest edge, but don’t doubt her presence. She’s magnetic. Her aura, however, doesn’t make her a skilled military tactician. Her light-up fire table is a fun party trick, but it’s worthless if she can’t form a better plan than unnecessarily using her 13-year-old son—NOT A RAVEN—to send what was essentially a gentle reminder email. What did the scroll even say?

Hey Lord Borros Baratheon,

Just bumping this in your inbox! I wanted to remind you of the oath you swore to me a few decades back. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Queen Rhaenyra

Even though dragons are faster and (usually) more convincing than ravens, the risk simply didn’t outweigh the reward. Best case: Aemond isn’t already brokering a deal at Storm’s End, Lord Borros gives Lucerys two big thumbs up, and both her son and his bite-size dragon make it home before supper. Worst case: Lucerys and Arrax both die. Rhaenyra needs to wake up. This isn’t one of her dad’s cushy, hard-to-understand pipe dreams. She needs to delegate some of her war (and parenting) decisions before another one of her kids gets caught in Vhagar’s teeth.

3. Alicent Hightower

Alicent initially rose up the ranks because her vulture of a father, Otto, used her to manipulate Viserys immediately after his wife died in childbirth. To be fair to Alicent, she continued to climb the chaos ladder without any “help” from Otto. She fathered the king’s children and embraced her role as a regent. She turned Rhaenyra’s former lover Ser Criston Cole into a permanent ally and Lord Commander of the Kingsguard by continuing to spare his life despite blunder after blunder. (We’ll get to that loser later.) And, perhaps her second-biggest sacrifice after the marriage with Viserys: She has a profitable in-person FeetFinder business with one loyal subscriber, the master of whisperers, Lord Confessor, and lover of feet—Larys Strong. (We’ll definitely get to him later.)

With Criston in the palm of her hand and Larys happy doing his thing, Alicent is powerful. How she continues to manage the relationships with her two less-than-great sons, King Aegon II and Aemond; her daughter, Helaena; and Criston, Larys, and Otto will determine how successfully she holds that power. Her Achilles’ heel (pun entirely intended) is that she’s passive and conflict avoidant. But two Alicent quotes stand out from HBO’s official trailer for Season 2:

• “This senseless war must end.”
• “Proceed cautiously.”

Alicent’s experience running point in the Small Council meetings while Viserys slowly wilted away in the other room is a plus, but she herself isn’t a fighter or a dragonrider. She just doesn’t have the juice to go toe-to-toe with anyone except Larys. The one time she bucked up after her son Aemond lost his eye in a fight with Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys, she barely nicked Rhaenyra’s arm with a dagger. That just won’t cut it in the Dance of the Dragons; Alicent’s caution could slow the greens down or even turn her allies against her.

Another quote stands out in the trailer, this time from Alicent’s son Aemond: “Alicent holds love for our enemy. That makes her a fool.”

4. Aemond Targaryen

First, just look at this f*cking guy.

The silvery hair, devious smirk, and pointed chin are all individually menacing, but the scar and sapphire eye combo really brings the “Legolas with childhood trauma” aesthetic home. (I don’t care that he’s aged up from the books; the casting department cooked with Ewan Mitchell here.) And Aemond doesn’t just look the part. He is one of the best pure fighters in Westeros, and he rides the biggest dragon in the world. He’s also got a silver tongue. All the subtle and not-so-subtle “Strong” jabs at Rhaenyra’s bastards, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey, are phenomenal. “Let us drain our cups to these three strong boys” is iconic.

Aemond’s downfall, if it comes, will be because he’s a revenge-pilled, power-obsessed warmonger who can hardly control his emotions, let alone his dragon. Aemond and Vhagar will pick and win a lot of fights, but they’re destined to bite off more than they can chew. In HBO’s green trailer, Aemond says, “My uncle is a challenge I welcome, if he dares face me.” The showrunners are hyping up an Aemond-Daemon fight on pay-per-view; how Aemond fares in that matchup will dictate how much closer he gets to the crown. (Aemond-Daemon could top Game of Thrones’ Hound-Mountain death match on the “f*ck yeah” scale.)

5. Daemon Targaryen

Vhagar has a significant edge over Daemon’s dragon, Caraxes, but Daemon has to get the nod over Aemond as an on-the-ground fighter based on experience alone. Even if their weapons skills are about the same, Daemon’s multiyear war against and ultimate triumph over the Crabfeeder and the Triarchy in the Stepstones give him the clear advantage over Aemond if they ever draw swords. I also have a slight lean toward Daemon for speed and agility; his Christian McCaffrey impression when he eluded roughly a billion arrows on the beach was exemplary. It also has to be said that Matt Smith is simply a whole lot hotter than Ewan Mitchell. Sex appeal matters!

So why is Daemon below Aemond on the list? Well, we haven’t gotten to his off-the-field concerns. Daemon is ruthless and short-tempered. He maimed people in the streets of King’s Landing in the series premiere. He brutally murdered a messenger with his own helmet because his brother, Viserys, offered to send help to the Stepstones. Daemon also killed his first wife and recently choked Rhaenyra because he found out that Viserys kept secrets from him. His morals and motives are gray, so much so that not even Rhaenyra can yet trust him as her king consort.

In one of the trailers for Season 2, Daemon is seen with his back turned to Rhaenyra when she asks, “Do you accept me as your queen and ruler?” Constant fights between Daemon and Rhaenyra could fold Team Black from within, but that’s simply the price you pay with the Rogue Prince.

6. Larys Strong

“When one is never invited to speak, one learns instead to … observe.” —Larys Strong

HotD really gave us Littlefinger with a foot fetish?! God, I love this slimy little guy. He’s a murderer, deviant, and traitor to the crown—coincidentally the same three names he calls the collection of tongueless prisoners he sends to burn his father and brother alive. He’s also my no. 1 boy. The arson-murder combo landed Larys the master of whisperers gig, all of Harrenhal, and a clubfoot firmly in the door with Alicent, but he didn’t get the premium subscriber package—Alicent’s stockings off—until he revealed that one of her handmaidens was a spy. Larys says truth has many flavors, but apparently so do incentives.

Another Larys-ism I adore: “Love is a downfall.” Littlefinger rode that downfall to his death; Larys avoids it altogether in exchange for more power and some feet and greets with Alicent. As long as he doesn’t escalate things above the ankle, Alicent will likely keep him around far beyond the Dance of the Dragons.

7. Otto Hightower

Otto is a manipulative “c-nt”—Daemon’s word, not mine!—whose only claim to fame is abusing the little power he has to use his dying friend (Viserys), his only daughter, and every other child and buffoon he comes across for his own political gain. He’s also so painfully obvious and shameless. He forced his teenage daughter on Viserys while he was still mourning the death of his wife and son. He later advised Viserys to wed Rhaenyra to her half brother (and Otto’s grandson) Aegon on his second birthday. (It didn’t happen, but still!) Otto tells the truth only when it’s advantageous to him and his house; he twists it in his favor when it’s not. Even Alicent had to say something when Otto was first relieved as hand of the king, telling him that “if [he hadn’t] been so relentless in advancing Aegon as heir,” he would’ve never been forced out of King’s Landing.

Otto, of course, slithers his way back to the badge and keeps Viserys sedated on enough milk of the poppy to gain full control of the Small Council alongside Alicent. But he doesn’t even fully trust her! Otto plans Aegon’s succession without Alicent and later tasks Erryk and Arryk Cargyll with bringing Aegon straight to him, not Alicent, in the immediate hours after Viserys’s death. Alicent beats them to Aegon, and Larys catches Otto scheming with Mysaria in some knockoff Palpatine disguise.

Otto is a plotter and a schemer, but he’s losing his fastball. Those types don’t last long in King’s Landing. For him to be a legitimate value add for Team Green, he needs to add some pitches to his game that don’t involve Mysaria, children, or milk of the poppy.

8. Rhaenys Targaryen

It’s a goddamn shame the Queen Who Never Was really never was and will never be queen. Sexist Westerosi men prevented Rhaenys from ever reaching the throne when her cousin King Viserys I was chosen over her at the Great Council in the very first scenes of the series. She wasn’t the queen they deserved but definitely the one they needed. Viserys the “Peaceful” sparked a Targaryen civil war with his offspring while Rhaenys lost both of her children and nearly her husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon. Rhaenys has every reason to hate what Viserys and his family have done to hers, yet she has remained uniquely loyal to her niece, Viserys’s daughter, Rhaenyra. While her opportunity to command the huddle has passed, Rhaenys can still be a two-way player for Team Black. She’s a wise, levelheaded voice in any council meeting, and her dragon, Meleys, is the fastest in the world.

9. Vhagar

Vhagar, the Queen of All Dragons, is the biggest, baddest, and most battle-tested dragon in Westeros. I don’t care if she’s Aemond’s mount; talk of men is moot! We all know who has the power in the relationship after Vhagar’s one-bite triumph over Lucerys and Arrax. To quote Viserys, “The idea that we control the dragons is an illusion. They’re a power man should never have trifled with. One that brought Valyria its doom. If we don’t mind our own histories, it will do the same to us.”

10. Corlys Velaryon

Thank God the Sea Snake is healthy and back on-screen. Corlys’s six-year-long escapades in the Stepstones, where he suffered a grave injury, really sunk morale (and cost his brother, Vaemond, his head). Corlys commands the world’s most powerful naval fleet and will be an integral part of Team Black’s initial plan to cut off all seaborne travel and trade into King’s Landing with a blockade of ships in the Gullet. Corlys, like his wife, Rhaenys, will be a high-impact player for the blacks but not the captain of the team—just his fleet. Give him the opportunity to game-plan over the light-up table and be a vocal presence in Dragonstone, and he’ll deliver.

11. Ser Criston Cole

I’m admittedly very low on Crispin. (Or is it Criston? Apologies. Neither Daemon nor I could recall.) He’s obviously an über-talented fighter, and his haircut in the trailers looks really good. But I have concerns about Criston’s composure. He tends to run hot and loses control of his temper a lot, and he rarely has the smarts to think solutions through before launching into Hulk smash mode. He’s no Rogue Prince, but his rogue killings of both Ser Laenor Velaryon’s childhood lover, Joffrey Lonmouth, and Lord Beesbury are still quite baffling in hindsight. Criston pummeled Joffrey’s face in the middle of a crowd of people at a wedding, and he smashed Beesbury’s head into the table at a Small Council meeting. A short fuse is dangerous for all parties involved.

Aemond calls Alicent a fool behind her back while talking directly to Criston in one of the Season 2 trailers. How will he react to that? Will he do nothing but still tell Alicent? Will he challenge Aemond to a duel on the spot? Oftentimes, the solution in familial disputes and civil war isn’t to smash a dude’s face in, and I just don’t think Criston’s meathead brain can handle the necessary posturing and wordsmithing to rise up any further than his current standing as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He got that title only after he slew Beesbury for interrupting the meeting and the other Lord Commander quit. Criston’s everything but a schemer and a plotter; he’s a sexy knight with a fancy title and a good hairline. (OK, maybe I’m just jealous!)

12. Helaena Targaryen

Put some respect on Helaena’s name. Yes, she’s a bit of an oddball, but she’s also a prophetic dreamer and sister-wife to King Aegon II. She’s constantly overlooked and under-leveraged. Maybe if Alicent talked to her only daughter more and cross-referenced her version of King Viserys I’s dying wish with Helaena, the greens and blacks would all be celebrating at Rhaenyra’s coronation right now. Even Aegon could benefit from being a better brother and/or husband to Helaena; she predicted Aemond would have to lose an eye before he mounted a dragon. That kind of accurate shot calling goes a long way in a civil war.

13. Jacaerys Velaryon

Jace simply doesn’t have that “Jon Snow” dog in him to make it far as a bastard. Not even the Velaryon last name or his dragon, Vermax, can hide that. Jace is a nice boy with a good head on his shoulders. He’ll probably do well negotiating with the Arryns and the Starks to secure their support, but he’s just a strong talker until he proves himself either on dragonback or on the battlefield.

14. Baela and Rhaena Targaryen

HBO’s official black trailer shows just a second of Baela Targaryen, Daemon and Laena’s oldest daughter, riding her dragon, Moondancer, with a grimacing face in what in all likelihood is some sort of aerial battle.

Another HBO trailer gives us a glimpse of Baela’s younger sister, Rhaena, who doesn’t have a dragon because she whiffed on her chance of claiming Vhagar before Aemond could, simply staring at the sky with a puzzled look on her face.

The screenshots tell us all we need to know. Barring some wild come-up on the dragon front for Rhaena, Baela and Moondancer will steal her screen time. Neither of the daughters will sniff the crown, but Baela should at least have some SportsCenter Top 10 plays.

15. Mysaria (the White Worm)

Mysaria’s only line in the trailer for Season 2 is “There is more than one way to fight a war.” It’s an exciting perspective, especially coming from a spy ring kingpin who has slept with and spied on Daemon and struck deals with Otto, but it sticks out like a sore thumb because of her intolerable, borderline unrecognizable accent. It’s a running joke (and the subject of countless Reddit threads) because it’s just so bad. WHY DIDN’T THEY LET SONOYA MIZUNO USE HER OWN VOICE?!

Surviving the accent is a grind, but the White Worm is worth it. She’s born from the trenches and stands for the lowborn people still fighting in them. She can swing wars with whispers and always manages to squirm into the winning side. Will Mysaria continue to support Otto and the greens through the end of the Dance of the Dragons? Or will she make her way back to Daemon and tip the scales in favor of Team Black?

16. Erryk and Arryk Cargyll

I’m sorry, but I can’t take these guys seriously. Why the hell would you name your identical twin boys Erryk and Arryk? That’s just ridiculous. I could tell them apart only because I kept the subtitles on after covering my ears through the various Mysaria scenes.

Even Alicent mistakes Erryk for Arryk before Erryk trades green for black. Both Erryk and Arryk served as knights on King Viserys’s Kingsguard, but only Arryk with an “A” could stomach the transition to King Aegon II. Erryk with an “E” abandoned his brother in the middle of a sword fight with Criston Cole to free Rhaenys, steal King Viserys’s crown for Rhaenyra, and join Team Black. It’ll be a bit easier to tell the difference between the two in HotD Season 2 because they’re now on opposing sides, but they’d better get green and black jerseys for when they inevitably square off. I give the slight edge to Erryk only because he actually has integrity and acts on his own beliefs; Arryk is just another green puppet with a stupid name.

17. Aegon the Younger and the Rest of the Little Targaryen Kids

Aegon the Younger has a slight edge over all of the other toddlers because he’s the oldest of Rhaenyra’s non-bastard sons, but only time will tell what roles all of the others—Rhaenyra’s other son with Daemon (baby Viserys) and King Aegon II and Helaena’s children (Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor)—will play. The Dance of the Dragons starts more than 150 years before the events of Thrones; at least one of these kids will eventually make some plays. (Joffrey “Velaryon” doesn’t really count; he’s just another brown-haired bastard.)

18. Lucerys Velaryon

Lucerys and Arrax would be alive and well if Rhaenyra had just sent a goddamn raven. It’s not your fault, Lucerys. It’s not your fault.