Corlys Velaryon has a “long, emotional journey” in House of the Dragon season 2
By Dan Selcke
Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), the head of the richest house in Westeros, had an interesting journey on the first season of House of the Dragon. He started out consumed by the idea of legacy, trying to carve out a place of honor for himself and his descendants in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. By the final episodes, he’s lost both of his children and was gravely injured warring in the Stepstones. He was ready to pack it in and live the quiet life.
But his wife Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best), who’d been encouraging him to do just that for a while, had a change of heart near the end of the season and convinced her husband to support Rhaenyra Targaryen’s claim to the throne. As Steve Toussaint told a crowd at the CCXP convention in Brazil, “he’s now decided he will listen to his wife’s advice immediately rather than take a few months to decide.”
"That union between Corlys and Rhaenys, they are one of the few couples in this realm that actually love each other. There are a couple of scenes we shot in this new season that kind of hint at what they were like when they first met. […] And he’s one of the few men who actually listens to his wife."
And then, at the very end of season 1, Corlys’ grandson Lucerys is murdered by Aemond Targaryen, who happens to be Luke’s uncle. As Toussaint puts it, Corlys is “injured” and has “lost three family members, three possible heirs.” Will he join Rhaenyra on her quest for revenge, or will this inspire him anew to pack it in and cut his losses?
According to Toussaint, Corlys will be feeling more melancholy than vengeful come season 2. “What certainly was surprising for me when I read the scripts is actually just how emotional his journey is in this season,” he said, per Collider. “Because I, initially, before I’d seen the scripts, I presumed he’d be all rough, ‘I’m gonna just lay waste to my enemies!’ But in actual fact, without giving anything away, a lot of his past deeds come back to haunt him, and he has to be very humble. So it’s a very strong and very long, emotional journey that The Sea Snake goes on.”
What an interesting quote. Time to get into SPOILERS…
Which of Corlys Velaryon’s “past deeds” could “come back to haunt him”?
If the second season of House of the Dragon follows the story as set out in George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood, we have some idea of what “past deeds” Toussaint could be talking about. In the book, there will come a time when Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen finds herself with more dragons than riders. She and her team — which includes Corlys — put out a call to the masses: anyone who tames and rides these dragons into battle on behalf of Rhaenyra will be given lands and titles.
Two of the people who respond are Addam and Alyn of Hull, who will be played in season 2 by Clinton Liberty and Abubakar Salim respectively. Both of them go on to be important characters in the story. While it’s never explicitly confirmed in the pages of Fire & Blood, it’s heavily implied that both men are Corlys Velaryon’s bastard children. I’m betting the show will make that explicit.
Having a couple kids out of wedlock could qualify as “past deeds” that will “come back to haunt” Corlys. But we won’t know for sure what Toussaint means until House of the Dragon airs on HBO and Max in the summer of 2024.
Next. Ewan Mitchell (Aemond Targaryen) promises “all-out war” in House of the Dragon season 2. dark
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