‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Needs To Do More With This Character

HBO’s House of the Dragon is the second adaptation of George R. R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire universe. Set a few hundred years before Game of Thrones, it follows the ruling family of Westeros, House Targaryen, at the height of their power under the reign of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine). After he dies, a civil war erupts between his eldest child, Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and his eldest son, King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), over who will sit on the Iron Throne. The numerous smaller houses find themselves forced to choose a side, while in the sky, massive fire-breathing dragons bring death and destruction.

One of the most prominent characters during this period is Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), the head of the second of three Valyrian houses in Westeros. Called the Sea Snake, Corlys once sailed the world and built a fortune for himself, which he invested in merchant ships and the largest navy in Westeros. He eventually married the Queen Who Never Was, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), and declared for Rhaenyra when the civil war began. Unfortunately, Corlys was underutilized in Season 2, with his story arc mainly setting up future plotlines for him in Season 3.

What Happens to Corlys Velaryon in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2?

Having recovered from his life-threatening injury in Season 1, Corlys dedicates himself fully to Rhaenyra’s cause. Using his navy, he establishes a naval blockade across the Gullet, protected by Rhaenys and her dragon, Meleys. This causes a major food shortage in King’s Landing. Most of Corlys’ time is spent among his shipyards talking with one of his shipwrights, Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), who saved him from near death. Unbeknownst to most people, Alyn and his brother Addam (Clinton Liberty) are Corlys’ bastard sons.

Following the death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), Corlys is left without a clear heir for the seat of his house, Driftmark. Rhaenys suggests that he name either of their granddaughters through their daughter, Laena (Nanna Blondell), Baela (Bethany Antonia) or Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell), but Corlys refuses. When Rhaenys is killed by Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) at the Battle of Rook’s Rest, Corlys is devastated. He attempts to name Baela his successor, but she refuses, saying that Driftwood must pass to salt and sea. Afterward, Corlys accepts the position of Hand of the Queen.

Yet Corlys continues to spend more time among his shipwrights than he does Rhaenyra’s council, and only has one significant conversation with her in the season’s finale, “The Queen Who Ever Was,” where he convinces her to press her advantage after she acquires new dragonriders, one of whom is Addam. As for Alyn, Corlys moves to name him first mate on his newly-repaired ship, The Queen Who Never Was, but Alyn berates his father for never caring about his bastard children, and only doing so once he has no other option for a legitimate heir. Alyn ends the conversation by saying that he rejects any offers of help from Corlys, and the two men board Corlys’ flagship to join the blockade, sharing the same boat in terse silence.

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‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Doesn’t Do Enough With Corlys

When Season 2 begins, Corlys is in a very strong position on Rhaenyra’s council. Compared to the rest of her councilors, who grew up in Viserys’ long peace, Corlys was actually leading men into battle in the Stepstones, a disputed island chain fought over between Westeros and the Free Cities of Essos. Thus, his voice carries strong authority, especially in matters of warfare. Why is it, then, that he only gives military advice to Rhaenyra in the finale? One complaint of Season 2 was that, despite losing her son at the end of Season 1, Rhaenyra dithers and drags her feet regarding any decisive retaliation, allowing her enemies to slowly take out her allies on the mainland. The advice Corlys eventually gives to the Black Queen is sound: using dragons as deterrents will only get her so far, and she’ll need to dirty her hands to win a war that has already begun. It was a breath of fresh air, but the fact that it came at the very end of the season left viewers wondering why the two of them didn’t have more conversations.

Most of Corlys’ time in Season 2 focuses on his strained relationship with Alyn and Addam, which is good in theory, but awkward in execution. Their conversations become repetitive, with Corlys stiff in his attempts to show them affection, and Alyn, who he favors, being understandably cold and blunt in return. As for Addam, Corlys only has one interaction with him after he claims the dragon Seasmoke, originally ridden by his son, Ser Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan). While this subplot builds to a well-acted conclusion, with Alyn chewing Corlys out, it’s not worth the slow build-up because viewers don’t learn much of anything new about all three men.

Instead, Corlys’ most interesting moments come from Episode 5, “Regent.” With Rhaenys and their children gone, Corlys is left alone to ruminate on how his pride and ambition have led him to this state. He pushed for his children to marry into House Targaryen because he couldn’t be satisfied with what he had. Now he has no one, and the one thing he valued most, his family legacy, is close to coming to an inglorious end. Toussaint’s acting is some of the best in the entirety of Season 2, capturing all of Corlys’s tumultuous emotions, from grief and self-loathing in his present state to his eventual resolve to keep fighting for his grandchildren and the cause that his wife believed in.

How Can ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Do Better by Corlys?

If Season 3 wants to fix Corlys’ story, the writers need to give him more to do than watching ships being built and having cold conversations with his bastards. Fortunately, we see the Sea Snake finally moving to act as Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) sails towards the Gullet with the Triarchy’s navy. This means that Season 3 will begin with an epic battle, giving Corlys the chance to demonstrate his skills as a sailor and admiral. His fallout with Alyn will also likely be resolved, since the seeds have already been sown for Corlys’ bastard son to become the next heir of Driftmark. As Alyn himself put it, he is of salt and sea with no aspiration to ride dragons, meaning that it’s only a matter of time before they patch up their relationship.

The most pressing matter, however, has to be Corlys’ relationship with Rhaenyra. Along with providing her counsel as her Hand of the Queen, there is a lingering familiar matter Corlys needs to confront her about. Both Rhaenys and Corlys have long suspected that Rhaenyra was responsible for Laenor’s death, given that she was so quick to marry Daemon afterward. Audiences know that Laenor faked his death to flee to Essos (though he might have died off-screen, given that Seasmoke took a new rider), but it’s strange that Corlys or Rhaenys never directly confronted Rhaenyra about the incident. Should Corlys learn the truth, that Laenor ran away to live the life he wanted, it could give him another dose of humility that could lead to him reconciling with Alyn. Or perhaps it could foster more resentment towards Rhaenyra, because the queen’s silence meant Rhaenys died believing all of her children had been taken from her. With a planned animated show covering Corlys’ adventures in the works, it would only benefit viewers more to have a bigger opportunity to learn more about the Sea Snake in House of the Dragon Season 3.

House of the Dragon is available for streaming on Max in the U.S.

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