Like the second season of Game of Thrones, the second season of prequel series House of the Dragon will introduce us to a bevy of new characters. Clinton Liberty is Addam of Hull, Gayle Rankin is Alys Rivers, and 22-year-old English actor Tom Taylor is Cregan Stark, the lord of Winterfell during this period of Westerosi history.
Cregan Stark will be an important player going forward. If you recall, in the final episode of House of the Dragon season 1, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) dispatched her son Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) to meet with Lord Cregan and try to win the young lord of Winterfell over to Rhaenyra’s side; she’ll need all the allies she can get if she wants to retake the Iron Throne from her half-brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). In season 2, Jacaerys and Cregan will meet. In fact, if the show sticks to the source material — the book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin — they’ll become good buddies!
I predict Taylor will be one of the more popular new additions to the cast, in large part because he’s playing the first Stark we’ve seen since Game of Thrones ended. People love the Starks. After the trailer for House of the Dragon dropped this past weekend, Taylor shared a video message thanking fans for their warm welcome:
Tom Taylor says thank you to the #HouseOfTheDragon fans for welcoming him as Lord Cregan Stark pic.twitter.com/3XrBdC8Bhr
— westerosies (@westerosies) December 6, 2023
“Before I sleep, I just thought I’d say: Thank you to everyone who’s messaged and commented and just been really welcoming about my involvement in House of the Dragon,” Taylor said. “I’m really looking forward to it. Yeah. I’m knackered, but thanks.”
“Knackered” is British for “sleepy,” FYI.
House of the Dragon may expand Cregan Stark’s role
We don’t know exactly when Cregan will show up on House of the Dragon, but it will probably be pretty early on, since Jacaerys was already on his way to Winterfell at the end of the first season. In the book, after Jacaerys and Cregan meet, Cregan doesn’t appear again until later in the story. I suspect the writers may expand his part in House of the Dragon, especially if Taylor makes a big splash.
There’s already evidence that this is happening. For instance, in the trailer, there’s a brief shot of what looks like the Night’s Watch, who don’t appear during this stretch of Fire & Blood. Maybe Cregan and Jacaerys will take a tour of the Wall in the show?
Night gathers, and now my watch begins. ❄️ pic.twitter.com/QVmWwi9GDk
— westerosies (@westerosies) December 4, 2023
We’ll find out the details when House of the Dragon season 2 premieres on HBO and Max in the summer of 2024!
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