Prep pack · temporal graph

House of the Dragon

About to watch S02E01 · A Son for a Son

Spoiler-free to End of Season 1 · Episode 10 "The Black Queen"

100% spoiler-free up to the final frame of S01E10. Nothing from S02E01 or later is included. Gold pack · temporal graph at ordinal 10.

Months since last watch

14m

Long gap (passport-weighted): foundational who/where listed first.

Standard

King Viserys is dead. Two rival courts now claim the Iron Throne: the Greens in King's Landing and the Blacks on Dragonstone.

Aegon II has been crowned by the Green Council. Rhaenyra has been acclaimed queen at Dragonstone.

Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon Arrax are dead after a storm confrontation with Aemond and Vhagar near Storm's End.

Season 1 traced the long fracture of House Targaryen: Viserys named Rhaenyra heir, then remarried Alicent Hightower and fathered sons. Court, marriage, and time turned a succession promise into a powder keg. The time jumps showed children become rivals and friendships curdle into factions.

On Viserys's death, Otto Hightower and the Green Council moved to crown Aegon rather than send for Rhaenyra. Alicent believed (or chose to believe) Viserys's final fevered words pointed at Aegon. Criston Cole and Larys Strong enforced the coup's muscle and secrets.

Rhaenyra, recovering from a traumatic birth, learned of the usurpation and was crowned on Dragonstone. Messengers on dragonback were sent to call banners. Lucerys flew to Storm's End; Aemond was already there. Over Shipbreaker Bay, Vhagar killed Arrax and Lucerys - the first royal blood of the war.

Viserys dies; Greens crown Aegon II; Blacks crown Rhaenyra on Dragonstone.

Lucerys and Arrax die over Shipbreaker Bay after Storm's End.

The Dance of the Dragons has begun.

Decades of succession fracture (Rhaenyra named heir, Alicent's sons, time jumps) lead here.

Season bridge: everything above is end of Season 1. S02E01 ("A Son for a Son") has not started.

Cutoff discipline: every fact above ends at S01E10. Do not import anything from S02E01 ("A Son for a Son") or later.

Key events (pre-cutoff)

01Viserys names Rhaenyra his heir after Aemma and Baelon's deaths.
02Alicent marries Viserys; Green children are born into rivalry with Rhaenyra's line.
03Aemond claims Vhagar; loses an eye in the brawl; Luke is blamed in Green memory.
04Green Council crowns Aegon II in King's Landing after Viserys dies.
05Rhaenyra is crowned on Dragonstone; war councils begin.
06Lucerys and Arrax die in Shipbreaker Bay after Storm's End; Aemond and Vhagar survive.

Character status cards

Snapshots as of graph ordinal ≤ 10 (S01E10).

Rhaenyra Targaryen

The Black Queen

alive

Claimed Queen of the Seven Kingdoms (Blacks)

Loc. Dragonstone

Motivation: Secure the succession her father named; avenge Lucerys; hold the realm
Emotional state: Grief-stricken rage after Lucerys; steeling into wartime queen
Last known: Declared queen at Dragonstone; sent Luke as messenger; learned of his death

Allies

Daemon, Jacaerys, Rhaenys, Corlys (alliance), Black council

Threats

Greens in King's Landing, Aemond, Otto's machine

Daemon Targaryen

Rogue Prince

alive

Consort / war captain of the Blacks

Loc. Dragonstone

Motivation: Power, Targaryen glory, protect Rhaenyra's claim - on his terms
Emotional state: Volatile; hungry for war; complicated loyalty
Last known: At Rhaenyra's side as the Dance begins

Allies

Rhaenyra, Blacks

Threats

Greens, his own recklessness

Alicent Hightower

alive

Queen Dowager; mother of Aegon II

Loc. King's Landing

Motivation: Protect her children; justify the Green usurpation as necessity
Emotional state: Pious resolve mixed with dread of open war
Last known: Helped crown Aegon; faces the cost of the Green Council

Allies

Otto, Aegon II, Aemond, Criston Cole, Greens

Threats

Rhaenyra's claim, Daemon, dragons of the Blacks

Aegon II Targaryen

alive

Crowned King (Greens)

Loc. King's Landing

Motivation: Hold a crown he did not clearly want; survive court
Emotional state: Unsteady, indulgent, pressured into kingship
Last known: Crowned in the Dragonpit; public spectacle of Green power

Allies

Alicent, Otto, Aemond, Criston

Threats

Rhaenyra, legitimacy crisis

Aemond Targaryen

One-Eye

alive

Prince; rider of Vhagar

Loc. King's Landing / on Vhagar

Motivation: Prove strength; Green supremacy; personal vendettas
Emotional state: Cold ambition after killing Lucerys (as the Blacks understand it)
Last known: Storm chase over Shipbreaker Bay ended with Lucerys and Arrax dead

Allies

Greens, Vhagar

Threats

Rhaenyra's vengeance, Daemon

Otto Hightower

alive

Hand of the King (Greens)

Loc. King's Landing

Motivation: Hightower power through Aegon's reign
Emotional state: Calculating; war-aware
Last known: Architect of the Green Council succession coup

Allies

Alicent, Green court

Threats

Blacks, overreach

Viserys I Targaryen

dead

Late King of the Seven Kingdoms

Loc. King's Landing (deceased)

Motivation: —
Emotional state: —
Last known: Died after naming Rhaenyra heir for years; death triggered the Green Council

Rhaenys Targaryen

Queen Who Never Was

alive

Dragonrider; Velaryon matriarch figure

Loc. Dragonstone (with Blacks after choosing sides)

Motivation: Family, dragons, political survival
Emotional state: Weighed options; chose not to burn the Greens in the pit when she could have
Last known: Meleys crashed the coronation spectacle; later aligned with Blacks' war path

Allies

Corlys, Blacks (by S1 end trajectory)

Threats

Greens

Corlys Velaryon

Sea Snake

alive

Lord of the Tides; naval power

Loc. Recovering / Driftmark interest

Motivation: Velaryon legacy; succession of Driftmark
Emotional state: Wounded pride and health after injury arc; alliance value high
Last known: Critical naval ally potential for whoever holds his loyalty

Allies

Rhaenys, Velaryon fleet

Threats

Green diplomacy, internal Velaryon claims

Lucerys Velaryon

Luke

dead

Messenger prince; son of Rhaenyra

Loc. Shipbreaker Bay

Motivation: —
Emotional state: —
Last known: Killed with Arrax in the storm after Storm's End mission

Jacaerys Velaryon

Jace

alive

Heir to Rhaenyra; envoy

Loc. Dragonstone

Motivation: Support mother's claim; unite allies
Emotional state: Grief for Luke; forced into war adulthood
Last known: Part of Black council as war begins

Allies

Rhaenyra, Blacks

Threats

Greens

Criston Cole

alive

Lord Commander of the Kingsguard (Greens)

Loc. King's Landing

Motivation: Service twisted by bitterness toward Rhaenyra
Emotional state: Hardened loyalist to Greens
Last known: Enforcer of Green order

Allies

Alicent, Aegon II

Threats

Blacks

Larys Strong

Clubfoot

alive

Master of whisperers-type operator

Loc. King's Landing

Motivation: Power through secrets
Emotional state: Controlled menace
Last known: Serving Green interests with intelligence and cruelty

Allies

Alicent (transactional)

Threats

Anyone who knows too much about him

Mysaria

White Worm

alive

Spymaster / information broker

Loc. King's Landing networks

Motivation: Survival and leverage
Emotional state: Wary
Last known: White Worm network still a factor in the capital

Allies

shifting

Threats

Green purge

Continuity web

Relationship map

Ink diagram of who is bound, opposed, or entangled as of the cutoff (End of Season 1 · Episode 10 "The Black Queen"). Click a name to pin. Edge labels appear on focus.

13 figures31/31 ties shownhub: Rhaenyra (10)

Hover or click any figure to open their tie dossier. Hostile and tense ties carry direction marks. Secret ties are dashed.

Open threads

How does the Dance open?

critical

Both sides have crowns. Luke's death makes blood debt personal. First military moves are imminent.

Who cares: Rhaenyra, Daemon, Aegon II, Otto

Which houses declare for Black or Green?

critical

Envoys and ravens are in flight. Naval Velaryon power and regional blocs remain undecided in full.

Who cares: Jacaerys, Otto, Corlys

Vhagar as strategic terror

high

Aemond's mount outclasses most dragons. Any Black plan must account for Vhagar.

Who cares: Daemon, Rhaenyra, Aemond

Blood for Lucerys

critical

Rhaenyra's grief demands answer. Whether justice or vengeance, the war now has a martyr prince.

Who cares: Rhaenyra, Daemon, Jace

Path to now

S1 early · King's Landing

Rhaenyra named heir

Viserys binds the realm by oath to his daughter.

S1 mid · King's Landing

Green marriage and children

Alicent's line creates a competing succession story.

S1E09 · King's Landing

Green Council

Aegon crowned; Rhaenyra not summoned.

S1E10 · Dragonstone / Storm's End

Black Queen / Luke dies

Rhaenyra crowned; Lucerys killed over Shipbreaker Bay.

World state

Iron Throne: contested - Aegon II crowned in KL; Rhaenyra acclaimed on Dragonstone.
Dragons: both factions field living dragons; Vhagar is the largest living weapon.
The realm's great houses have not all declared; ravens and dragon-envoys are the clock.

Constrained desk chat

Temporal RAG over this pack only. No model calls. No post-cutoff index rows exist.

Desk · Cutoff desk open. I only know this show through End of Season 1 · Episode 10 "The Black Queen". Ask about characters, threads, or events before that line. I will refuse anything later.

Spoiler-free to End of Season 1 · Episode 10 "The Black Queen"

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