House of the Dragon’s second season is over, and the Dance of the Dragons is well 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 has examined how Westeros’s key players have aligned their pieces on the board. As the saying goes, chaos can be a ladder. Welcome to the final Season 2 edition of the House of the Dragon power rankings.
1. Rhaenyra Targaryen
For much of the second season, Rhaenyra was running out of options and time, feeling helpless as the men around her undermined her authority and wondered—sometimes aloud—whether a woman like her could be the ruler they needed her to be. The Iron Throne was slipping from her grasp, and it seemed as if there was nothing she could do about it. But now, the tides have turned for Rhaenyra and Team Black.
In short order, Rhaenyra has gained three (and potentially even four) dragons, giving her the advantage against Aemond and Vhagar. And, crucially, she has just gained a formidable army in the Riverlands, thanks to Daemon and the young Oscar Tully. With all this firepower at her disposal, Rhaenyra now has everything she needs to reclaim the throne that is rightfully hers. As Mysaria tells her, “You have done what no one else would dream of, and you have been rewarded. The gods favor you. They put the means to victory in your hands.”
As an indication of how much the tables have turned for Rhaenyra, her second meeting with Alicent takes place on her home turf, and Alicent is now the one risking her life to speak with Rhaenyra. Their positions have flipped in every respect: Team Black’s queen now holds all the cards, while Team Green’s dowager queen pleads with her to put an end to the war.
Perhaps most important of all, Rhaenyra hasn’t lost sight of herself or her morals to get here. She hasn’t disregarded the importance of the smallfolk, unlike her enemies, and she’s even empowered a few of them more than any other ruler ever has. Rhaenyra is still trying to prevent the loss of life, yet she also understands that, when the time comes (sometime next season, apparently), sacrifices will have to be made for the good of the realm.
2. Daemon Targaryen
Well, Daemon had us in the first half. But when the moment of truth arrived, he cast aside his own ambitions and bent the knee to Rhaenyra. It only took a season full of haunting visions, sleepless nights, and a lot of truly awful decisions to get him there.
Daemon’s hallucinations at Harrenhal may have dragged a bit at times, but they also made for some of the best moments of the second season and allowed the young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and old King Viserys (Paddy Considine) to return to the screen in a clever and natural way. By the time of the finale, Daemon’s evolution was well-earned. After seeing the White Walkers with his own eyes, Daemon finally believes in the Conqueror’s dream and understands that he’s just a small piece of a much bigger story.
Although he was close to making another terrible decision to betray Rhaenyra and declare himself for the Iron Throne, Daemon ends the season as a changed man, falling in line and returning to the queen’s side as her king consort. And in doing so, he’s provided her with the army she so desperately needed.
3. Tywin Tyman Tyrod Tyland Lannister
We’ve had to listen to the pompous Tyland Lannister in far too many Small Council meetings over the past two seasons. His sniveling and overt political maneuvering haven’t painted an impressive picture. (At one point, his fiercest opponent was a 6-year-old prince.) Yet in the Season 2 finale, King’s Landing’s master of ships (and master of coin) is just about the only one who makes a positive move for Team Green.
On behalf of the crown, Tyland travels to Essos to make a deal with the Triarchy that could break the blockade of the Gullet once and for all. And to prove that he’s worthy of sailing with, Tyland has to go through the wringer: He’s forced to fight Admiral Lohar in the mud and then sing a song at a feast for good measure. Lannister gets his ass kicked and mostly makes a fool of himself—but to his credit, he gets the job done. (And he impresses Admiral Lohar so much in the process that she asks him to sleep with her wives so that she can have his children.)
Tyland is still a pompous fool and just a little pathetic. He’s a bad negotiator, and maybe even a worse fighter. But despite being one of the worst people Aemond could have possibly sent as an emissary, Tyland secured a much-needed victory for Team Green. With the Triarchy at their side, the greens now pose a real threat to the Sea Snake and Rhaenyra’s maritime forces, giving them a chance to finally open up trade again.
4. Rhaena Targaryen
Rhaena could have just accepted her role as the caretaker of the queen’s children and traveled with them to Pentos. Safeguarding the future of House Targaryen is an important task, but it was never a job she wanted. So, Rhaena braved the wilderness, tracked down the rogue sheep-stealing dragon in the Vale, and made her own destiny.
Rhaena failed to become a dragonrider twice, but the third time’s the charm—or so it seems. The episode ends before we see the outcome of her encounter with Sheepstealer, but in all likelihood, Rhaena has finally found her dragon. Assuming she doesn’t get barbecued like Ser Steffon Darklyn did, Rhaena will be able to return to Dragonstone with quite the pleasant surprise for Rhaenyra.
T5. Hugh Hammer and Addam of Hull
As two of Rhaenyra’s newest dragonriders, Hugh and Addam have come up in the world in a major way. In the Season 2 finale, we get to see what their new life looks like, as they now live in a fancy castle and get to dine with the queen.
After bonding with the Bronze Fury, Hugh has the biggest dragon of the bunch, and he really earned it, surviving as most of the other dragonseeds around him got torched during the Red Sowing. Hugh also knows how to comport himself around his new, esteemed company, and he seems to take on his very sudden responsibilities to the realm with a sense of duty.
Meanwhile, Addam has handled himself well enough to gain Rhaenyra’s trust—perhaps even more quickly than her other new riders, given that she chooses him as her backup when traveling to Harrenhal.
Hugh and Addam are thriving right now. And then there’s Ulf.
7. Ulf the Dragonlord
In case you hadn’t heard, Ulf has a dragon now—and for that recent change alone, he remains high in our rankings this week. After somehow gaining Silverwing’s favor in the penultimate episode of the season, Ulf now lives at Dragonstone and enjoys all the luxurious perks that come with his new digs. But my goodness, Ulf, can you read the room?
Against all odds, the fate of the realm has been entrusted partly to him, but he’s already managed to piss off the prince and the queen with his complete lack of decorum and grace. He has all the confidence in the world right now, but we’ll see how he acts when he’s staring down Vhagar’s flames in battle. As Addam told him, “There will be time enough to see which one of us is a coward.”
8. Alys Rivers
Daemon may get all the credit for delivering Rhaenyra her army, but without Alys, the king consort would probably be on his way toward King’s Landing with his rivermen to declare himself as the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. The hallucinations the woods witch helped induce in Daemon all season both wore him down and prepared him for his spiritual journey by showing him exactly what he needed to see to start believing in something bigger than himself. With one last trip to Harrenhal’s godswood and a glimpse into the future that unfolds on Game of Thrones, Alys’s work is complete.
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9. Helaena Targaryen
The second-season finale was a pretty big one for Helaena. House of the Dragon reminded us that she’s not just the quirky Targaryen on Team Green, but a dreamer with prophetic visions. Helaena holds her ground when Aemond tries to force her into riding her dragon to battle, and later tells him how he’ll die. (She found her way into Daemon’s dreams, too.) It’s certainly a bold move after she also informed Aemond that she saw him burn their brother Aegon, yet Aemond does nothing but offer empty threats.
As Aemond goes off to war in Season 3, and as Aegon stays away from King’s Landing, Helaena might be in line to gain a lot of power as the queen and the highest authority remaining.
10. Alicent Hightower
In playing the game of thrones, Alicent was overcome by her ambitions and sense of duty to further her house’s legacy, which had been instilled in her since she was a child. She lost her way. But after a sabbatical in the woods and a little dip in a lake, Alicent has been reborn with a fresh perspective.
Although she lost her formal power on the Small Council when Aemond took control, Alicent still has a few tricks up her sleeve. She makes the same desperate move to secretly visit her childhood friend that Rhaenyra made earlier in the season, risking her life to do so. In a last-ditch effort to end the war without additional loss of life, she offers Rhaenyra the chance to waltz into King’s Landing when Aemond is in the Riverlands and claim the Iron Throne without (much) further bloodshed. And to prove that she means business, Alicent offers up Aegon’s head in exchange for peace. She’s made her choice, and now Rhaenyra needs to make hers.
11. Larys Strong
The only problem with Alicent’s plan? Well, the king isn’t home anymore—and that’s all thanks to Larys and his shrewd foresight.
Recognizing that Aegon’s time is short, Larys makes a power play to save the king from his imminent demise—whether it be at the hand of his brother or Rhaenyra’s forces. Larys has apparently saved up enough extra coin for them to live comfortably in Essos until they return to King’s Landing so that Aegon can reclaim the throne as Viserys’s supposed true heir and the hero of the smallfolk. It’s a nice dream, but it sounds like little more than that.
T12. Jacaerys Velaryon and Baela Targaryen
Baela said it best: Jace has been pouting and sulking a lot lately. Ever since Rhaenyra embraced the idea of bastards riding dragons, the prince has done nothing but pout and whine about what it all means for him and his legacy. Thankfully, Baela finally sets him straight.
Baela continues to be the voice of reason for the insecure men around her, pushing them in the right direction when they falter. To Jace’s credit, he listens to his betrothed, and he starts supporting his mother instead of becoming another issue for her to solve. The young royal couple had few moments in the spotlight this season, but together they are crucial to Rhaenyra’s cause, and they stand as the future rulers of Westeros should everything go according to plan for Team Black.
14. Aemond Targaryen
Aemond may still be the most powerful person in King’s Landing, but his attempted takeover of the Iron Throne is unraveling. Rhaenyra continues to increase her advantage over him, as he repeatedly demonstrates that he lacks the temperament to be a good ruler. First, he burns an entire town in a fit of rage, and then he fails to bully Helaena into saddling up on her dragon and joining him in battle. It’s Alicent who finally puts Aemond in his place, reprimanding him for not only mistreating his sister, but also failing to see the value—and humanity—of the smallfolk.
Aemond later takes a more measured tack to appease Helaena, but she denies his request again and tells him how he will die. “You were swallowed up in the Gods Eye, and you were never seen again,” Helaena says. Given how she accurately foretold Aemond’s loss of an eye, things aren’t looking too good for the prince regent.
Maybe most telling of all, for the first time since Season 1, Aemond is scared. And he should be.
15. Alyn of Hull
Alyn chewed out his dad, and it was incredibly satisfying to watch.
There are much worse men in Westeros than Corlys Velaryon, but that doesn’t mean that the Master of Driftmark wasn’t a terrible father to Alyn and Addam. Alyn was a man of very few words until this episode, but when he finally chooses to tell his absent father how he really feels, Alyn makes those words count. He doesn’t seem to be excelling as a leader in his new job as Corlys’s first mate, which is perhaps to be expected given the rather awkward circumstances. But now that he’s finally blown off some steam, maybe he’ll loosen up a bit and gain the favor of his men as they all ship off to battle.
16. Corlys Velaryon
Corlys got righteously chewed out by his son. The man truly did not handle his dressing-down well at all. But, hey, at least he gave his ship a sweet new name!
17. Simon Strong
After putting up with Daemon’s antics for the majority of the season, and almost getting stabbed several times in the process, Ser Simon stands his ground in the end. When it looked as if Daemon was about to commit treason and betray Rhaenyra, Simon does the most honorable thing he could have done in the moment: snitch.
By warning the queen of what he’d overheard between her supposed adviser and Daemon, Simon inadvertently summons Rhaenyra to Harrenhal—and she’s rewarded with an army. Daemon probably would have ended up bending the knee either way, but thanks to Ser Simon’s loose lips (or loose quill?), we’ll never have to wonder.
18. Aegon Targaryen
The king continues to recover at a rapid pace, but as Alicent tells Rhaenyra, Aegon is broken—in body and in spirit. He’s such a lost cause that his own mother is prepared to give up his head to their enemies. Thanks to Larys, Aegon will get to keep his head for another day. But as he flees King’s Landing with Larys, Aegon leaves his crown behind, with little to live for except the hope that he can return to take it back someday.
19. Ser Criston Cole
Criston Cole was the most hated man in Westeros for a little while there, but now I kind of just feel bad for the guy.
When Cole went on the march in the third episode, he was feeling himself after getting a big job promotion. He made some power moves in a Small Council meeting, got a new haircut (which wasn’t an improvement), and even asked for a royal blessing from Alicent, very much in public. But when Cole saw those dragons in action at Rook’s Rest, he became a different person—and it’s tough to blame him.
Now, Cole is just out here sniffing Alicent’s soiled handkerchief and waiting to die. Gwayne Hightower threatened his life, and Cole didn’t even flinch. Instead, he told Alicent’s brother that “to die will be a kind of relief.” By the end of their conversation, Gwayne was sitting down next to him, probably rethinking his entire life. The new Cole will have that effect on you.
20. Otto Hightower
He lives! But the former hand of the king has seen much better days. Not that we really know what’s even happening here: Otto appears on-screen only long enough to show that he’s been imprisoned, somewhere, by someone.
The Season 2 finale lasted about 70 minutes, and while that apparently wasn’t enough time to give us that long-awaited battle, House of the Dragon did spare perhaps 15 seconds for Otto to remind us that the guy is still around. He went from being one of the show’s main characters to the equivalent of a Marvel stinger. I bet he’s really regretting calling the king a feckless, self-indulgent, trifling idiot right about now. I guess we’ll have to wait a few more years to find out.
