Women of Thrones: The supporting ladies we hope to see in House of the Dragon

The OG Sam Tarly

Lady Samantha Tarly is a namesake and ancestor of the Sam we know from Game of Thrones. Daughter of Lord Tarly of Horn Hill, she became Lady of Oldtown when she married Lord Ormund. As a Hightower, her family’s allegiance was to the Greens, the faction facing off against Rhaenyra under her half-brother Aegon II.

Lord Ormund died at the Battle of Tumbleton in 130 AC. His son, the newly-made Lord Lyonel, was famously infatuated with his widowed step-mother. Lady Sam used this to her advantage in 131 AC when Lord Lyonel refused to accept Corlys Velaryon’s terms of peace to end the civil war, promising to marry him if he signed the peace. The two became lovers but could not marry for some time, as the current High Septon viewed their union as bordering on incestuous. Later on they married and carried on the Hightower line with their six children.

Lady Sam is effectively one of the most important players in the game of thrones, as her cleverness put an end to the cold war that followed the Dance of Dragons. She is also the founder of the Bank of Oldtown.

Black Aly

Lady Alysanne Blackwood was a staunch supporter of Rhaenyra’s faction during and after the Dance of the Dragons. She was a skilled archer, fierce in battle and at court. When her brother Samwell, the lord of Raventree, was killed, she avenged him by landing an arrow in his killer’s helm. In 131 AC, she commanded the archers to victory in what was effectively the last battle of the war, defeating the Green loyalists and marching on King’s Landing with the allied forces of the Riverlands. In the capital, she promoted peace between factions and convinced Lord Cregan Stark, then Hand to King to Aegon III, to spare the life of Lord Corlys Velaryon to avoid further bloodshed and future rivalries. Alysanne also stole Cregan’s heart and became his wife and Lady of Winterfell, where she was beloved by all, even Cregan’s young son by his first wife.

As lady, Alysanne suggested that thousands of landless Northern soldiers stay in the Riverlands to marry widows instead of returning North where they would become burdens due to the harshness of winter, thus leading people of both cultures to a better life. It’s definitely a juicy role for the right actor.