We Need to Talk About House Strong in 'House of the Dragon'
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House of the Dragon giveth and House of the Dragon taketh away.The prequel series may only be set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, but that's still enough time to wipe out an entire line of succession. Do you know what your family was up to in 1822? We just met House Strong and now they're dead. Thanks for playing the game of thrones—next competitor, step on down! By the time that Thrones rolls around, many of Westeros's greatest houses, including House Velaryon, Hightower, Beesbury, and Strong, have already met their end. Knowing this little tidbit about the future doesn't bode well for several characters currently surrounding the king in House of the Dragon, but none have risen and fallen so drastically over the course of six episodes as House Strong.
Who Was Lord Lionel Strong?
When Episode Five opens, some viewers were shocked to find that a man named Lionel Strong had already been appointed the Hand of the King in Otto Hightower's place. It was even more shocking when he burned alive along with his son just one episode later. Before this, King Viserys's Master of Laws had two important scenes as a special advisor to the king. In Episode Two, he councils the king to wed the 12-year-old Laena Velaryon to strengthen the political relationship with Corlys (which Viserys ignores, thankfully), and in Episode Four, he urges the king to have Rhaenyra marry Laenor Velaryon. She eventually does. As the relationship between their great houses is strengthened, so is the man who continually pushed for it. Lord Lionel Strong becomes the Hand of the King.
But how did House Strong come to such prominence in the first place? Well, way before Lionel, there was Osmund Strong. He was the Hand of the King to Aegon "the Conqueror" Targaryen, overseeing the fortification of King's Landing as a home for the new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. His son, Lucamore, was a prominent member of the king's guard, but he was sent to the Wall after breaking his vows and fostering roughly 16 children. His other son, Bywin, was named Lord of Harrenhal—a castle in the Riverlands that is burnt to ash by the time period depicted in Game of Thrones.
Who Was Ser Harwin Strong, a.k.a. "Breakbones"?
Like Osmund before him, when Lord Lionel Strong served as the Hand of the King, he brought his two sons to King's Landing with him. One of them, Ser Harwin Strong, was captain of the king's gold cloaks, who act as the city's protectors. We actually saw him a couple of times already, such as when Princess Rhaenyra bumped into him while secretly out in the streets of King's Landing with Daemon, or when he entered the melee at the wedding in Episode Five to save Rhaenyra and break up the fight. Nicknamed "Breakbones," he was a very strong man (pun intended), and next in line to be the lord of Harrenhal.
Following a time jump, it was revealed that he had not-so-secretly fathered all three of Rhaenyra's sons. Though living as Targaryens, the kids' brown, curly hair all but proved that they were Ser Harwin's children. Once rumors began to spread, Lionel suggested taking Ser Harwin back to Harrenhal. It was there that he and his father met their end, perishing in a great fire.
Who Is Larys Strong?
Lionel's youngest son, Larys "the Clubfoot" Strong, is a cunning and mischievous member of the king's confessors—a group that specializes in torture and the retrieval of information. In Episode Five, Larys confronts Queen Alicent in the garden and reveals that Rhaenyra lied to her about her sexy night out in King's Landing. Just one episode later, he plots and orders the murder of his father and brother by sending condemned criminals to burn them alive at Harrenhal. The event not only allows for Otto Hightower to potentially come back as the Hand of the King, but it further cements his power in King's Landing as well. He is, for sure, not a guy to be trusted.
What is Harrenhal and Why Does it Sound So Familiar?
The Castle at Harrenhal was once a strong fortress in the Riverlands, north of King's Landing, but in Game of Thrones, it was somehow reduced to a charred resting place for armies on the move up North. Fans may recall that Arya Stark briefly lived at Harrenhal when she was undercover as Tywin Lannister's wine pourer. It's also where she met the "Faceless Man," Jaqen H'ghar. However, something terrible must happen at Harrenhal in between the two stories, as the castle is mostly known for being cursed! According to Petyr Baelish, a.k.a. "Littlefinger," everyone who is made Lord of Harrenhal eventually meets a grizzly end. In Thrones alone, Ser Janos Slynt is executed by Jon Snow at the Wall, Roose Bolton is stabbed in the chest by his bastard son, and Petyr Baelish eventually gets his throat cut by Arya as revenge for House Stark. "Strongs, Harroways, Strongs... Harrenhal has withered every hand to touch it," Littlefinger says when King Joffrey grants him the castle. I guess we should have known House Strong didn't have much time left.
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