If there's one thing House of the Dragon has made abundantly clear, it's that keeping track of the Targaryen family tree is a royal headache for even the most studious of maesters. That becomes even more true during the thick of a civil war where multiple branches of the family are vying for the throne, each with their own line of succession.
That became extra relevant during the Game of Thrones' prequel's latest episode, "Unbowed and Unbent," where Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) dodged a meeting with her young son, Joffrey Velaryon (Oscar Eskinazi) — the new heir to the Iron Throne for the Blacks.
If you haven't been paying strict attention to Rhaenyra's off-screen children, you could be forgiven for forgetting about Joffrey. He has rarely appeared in the show, and this marks his first time showing up in season 3. But now that he's in King's Landing, Joffrey is going to be an important figure in the Dance of the Dragons civil war; even if he is only around six or seven years old.
Where was Joffrey Velaryon in House of the Dragon?
Joffrey Velaryon is the third child from Rhaenyra's affair with Ser Harwin Strong, who she publicly claimed was from her marriage with Laenor Velaryon. He's the younger brother of Jacaerys and Lucerys, and the older half-brother of Aegon and Viserys, Rhaenyra's youngest two sons from her marriage with Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). We actually saw Rhaenyra give birth to Joffrey in season 1 episode 6, "The Princess and the Queen."
Joffrey last appeared in season 2, when he shipped off to the Vale with Aegon, Viserys, and Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell). Yet while Aegon and Viserys went on to Pentos at the end of the season and Rhaena wandered into the mountains to tame the wild dragon Sheepstealer, Joffrey remained at the Eyrie with Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). He's presumably been there all this time, until he was summoned by Rhaenyra.
Now that Rhaenyra's eldest two sons Jace and Luke are both dead, Joffrey is the next in line to the Iron Throne. Of course, that depends entirely on people not finding out that he's a bastard born out of wedlock. That scandal has haunted Rhaenyra's every step toward the Iron Throne. Now that Joffrey is in King's Landing to learn from her attempts at ruling the Seven Kingdoms and Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is spreading propaganda calling Rhaenyra the "Queen of Bastards," we'll undoubtedly see much more of Joffrey Velaryon.
As for what could happen to Joffrey in the show, brace for MAJOR SPOILERS from Fire & Blood.
What happens to Joffrey Velaryon in Fire & Blood?
As with most of the characters in the Dance of the Dragons civil war, there's no happy ending for Joffrey Velaryon. This is a Shakespearean tragedy set in Westeros, after all, and Rhaenyra's children have had a sad trend of becoming casualties of the conflict. That will hold true for Joffrey, who does not make it out alive.
In George R.R. Martin's novel Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra summons Joffrey to King's Landing just like she does in the show, so that he can start assuming his proper place as heir. Joffrey is around twice as old in the novel, so just at the edge of his teenage years. Ultimately, that brashness of youth doesn't serve him well, as King's Landing spirals ever farther from Rhaenyra's control.
After the death of the beloved former queen Helaena Targaryen incites open riots in the city steets, a mob of peasants led by a religious zealot known as the Shepherd descend on the Dragonpit — the massive building housing Targaryen dragons. Several dragons are there, including Joffrey's own companion, Tyraxes. Though he begs Rhaenyra to join the fight, she ultimately ignores the threat, believing the peasants pose no real threat to the dragons. This event becomes known as the Storming of the Dragonpit, and it's going to be an absolutely brutal sequence to watch, most likely in House of the Dragon season 4.
Rhaenyra's shortsightedness proves fatal for Joffrey. He approaches his mother's own dragon, Syrax, and mounts her for a ride to the Dragonpit. But Joffrey has never flown with Syrax, and the dragon doesn't like the unfamiliar rider. Ultimately, the boy slips from the dragon's back and plummets to the street below, breaking his back and suffering grievous wounds that cause his death.
Even worse, part of the mob begins tearing apart his body for whatever scraps of wealth they think to gain from it, like the rings on his hands. After Joffrey flew away on Syrax, Rhaenyra dispatched seven knights to save him, who became known as the Seven Who Rode. Only three of those knights manage to return with Joffrey's mangled corpse for the dragon queen.
Joffrey's death is yet one more tragedy heaped on Rhaenyra's shoulders — and she barely has time to grieve him before another hits, when the Shepherd and his flock storm the Dragonpit and manage to slay the dragons stabled there. This sequence marks Rhaenyra's fall from grace in King's Landing, and it isn't long after that she's forced to flee as the Dance of the Dragons speeds toward its conclusion.
We likely have a while to go before we see this events play out in House of the Dragon. In the meantime, we'll get to see how well the show builds up our connection to Joffrey Velaryon before twisting the knife with his eventual death.
New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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