House of the Dragon officially kicked off its third season tonight with a massive premiere featuring the sort of brutal naval battle at sea that puts the epic in epic fantasy. The Battle of the Gullet is the single most ambitious sequence the show has produced to date, but it isn't the only battle that happens in the season premiere. We also see the fallout from the Battle of the Red Fork in the Riverlands, where Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Oscar Tully's (Archie Barnes) host defeated the Lannister army and scattered its survivors toward the Gods Eye lake near Harrenhal.
The fallout from the Red Fork also introduced a new faction into the fray: the Winter Wolves, a force of old, battle-hardened Northmen 2,000 strong led by Lord Roderick Dustin of Barrowtown, played by the equally seasoned genre film veteran Tommy Flanagan (Gladiator, Alien vs. Predator). Who is this new warrior, and who exactly are the Winter Wolves? Let's break it down.
Why are the Winter Wolves all old men?
In House of the Dragon's season 2 premiere, Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) made a pact with Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor), the Lord of Winterfell and Protector of the North. Cregan pledged to support Queen Rhaenyra's cause as she was the rightfully named heir, but he could not afford to send his most able-bodied soldiers south with winter looming, when they would be most needed to ensure their families' and communities' survival. Instead, he decides to send 2,000 greybeards.
This may seem odd because the show hasn't really delved into the logic of these old soldiers yet, but Geroge R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood gives more clarity. The elderly fighters of the Winter Wolves are all veterans of battle, who've honed their skills over a lifetime. More, their journey south alleviates some of the burden on their families, rather than adds to it. They're near the end of their lives, and many might not survive the winter anyway. Going south means less mouths to feed and a chance for a glorious end. To the Winter Wolves, it's expected that this war is a one way journey.
Who is Lord Roderick Dustin a.k.a. Roddy the Ruin?
Roderick Dustin is the most ferocious of the lot, a man so old and weathered he's nicknamed Roddy the Ruin. He's the Lord of Barrowtown, a midsize settlement near the southern border of the North, near Moat Cailin. In truth, the book doesn't say too much more about Roderick's past; only that he's such a ferocious warrior that he's the equal of several notable fighters less advanced in years who he crosses paths with in the Dance of the Dragons.
He and the Winter Wolves are also utterly fearless in battle, thanks to their commitment to death on this journey. When Roderick Dustin tells Daemon Targaryen, "We have come to die for the dragon queen," he means it literally.
If I were a member of Team Green in the Riverlands, I'd be more than a little worried about the arrival of the Winter Wolves. Hopefully we see much more of them and Roddy the Ruin in the season ahead.
House of the Dragon season 3 premieres new episodes Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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