Summary
- Season 2 of
House of the Dragon
opens with a brief trip to Winterfell and the Wall, iconic
Game of Thrones
locations. - Tom Taylor’s Cregan Stark only has a small role in Season 2, but may play a larger role in future episodes.
- Cregan Stark becomes a powerful ally for Rhaenyra Targaryen in the Dance of the Dragons civil war, shaping future episodes.
House of the Dragon showrunner, Ryan Condal, has clarified how big a role the show’s surprising new addition will play going forward. Season 1 spent most of its time in The Red Keep and Dragonstone, in the central and southern regions of Westeros. Season 2 opens with a brief trip to the Northern region, showcasing two of Game of Thrones‘ most-iconic locations, Winterfell and the Wall. Set 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones, it was virtually impossible that any familiar members of the Stark family were going to show up in House of the Dragon. But that didn’t mean some new faces from Northern Westeros’ most powerful family couldn’t appear.
House of the Dragon
Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.
- Release Date
- August 21, 2021
- Seasons
- 2
Ryan Condal and actor Tom Taylor (who plays Cregan Stark in House of the Dragon) recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly and discussed the surprise appearance of House Stark in House of the Dragon. In the new season’s opening scene, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) walks with Cregan Stark along the top of The Wall to vie for House Stark’s support in the upcoming civil war. The scene was a highlight of the episode, and left many fans wondering if Cregan Stark will become a permanent fixture in the show’s future, but Ryan Condal isn’t as certain. Condal said:
“We’ll see how that plays. 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.”
Tom Taylor Wants Cregan Stark to Return in House of the Dragon
As well as being a nod to the Stark family, who play a massive role in Game of Thrones, as Condal said, Cregan Stark does affect the outcome of the Dance of the Dragons civil war. Actor Tom Taylor is desperate to return as Cregan Stark in the show’s future, but said his role in Season 2 is only small. Taylor said:
“I was just itching to do more, as well. I was in the costume. I was like, ‘I just want to keep acting.’ But, yeah, it’s just a little tease for now.”
Related
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Without delving too far into spoiler territory, Cregan Stark becomes a powerful ally for the Blacks – led by Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) – in the war to come. Cregan leads one of the Blacks’ largest armies into the Civil War’s bloodiest battle. As Season 2 is still building up to fully exploring the Dance of the Dragons, it is unlikely that Cregan will re-appear this season. However, if House of the Dragon fully depicts the Dance of the Dragons, then it is very likely that Cregan (hopefully played again by Tom Taylor) will return to the show. The first episode of House of the Dragon‘s second season aired last Sunday night, and has already delivered one of the franchise’s darkest moments so far.
House of the Dragon
airs weekly on HBO and Max.
