The Starks Will Be Cleaning Up Targaryens' Messes in HotD Season 2
Here's a quiz for you – can you name a noble house from Game of Thrones that is almost entirely absent from House of the Dragon?
Need a hint? Here's one: members of this house usually die when they go south.
Of course, we're talking about the Starks here, and a Stark will be a major character in HoTD season 2. He will go south and even return home safely. So it looks like the infamous curse will have no power over the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North.
Cregan Stark will lead his large army to King's Landing as the Targaryen Civil War draws to a close. Loyal to Queen Rhaenyra, he will try to help her, but it will be too late. By the time his units enter the city, the queen, like King Aegon II, will be dead.
The reason it took him so long to bring his army of childless, homeless, unmarried men and younger sons to King's Landing may be different, but the political manoeuvring required to "bring the full might of each House into the Stark-led forces", as fans put it, may well be the reason.
No matter how respected House Stark is, the North is a vast territory with many noble houses fighting their own wars and pursuing their own agendas. At the same time, Stark is concerned with the safety and welfare of his people and has acted as any lord would.
Once in the South, Cregan will rule for six days before Aegon the Younger takes the throne as Aegon III. Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North will even be his Hand, who will show no mercy to traitors.
Remember Ned Stark's motto, "He who passes the sentence must wield the sword"? This is what Cregan is going to do.
Some traitors will be sent to the Wall, others will be beheaded – like Ser Gyles Belgrave and Larys Strong, who betrayed the King. But Ned Stark's great-great-great-grandfather would have killed more people, including Lord Corlys, if Aegon III hadn't talked him out of it.
After his cleanup, Cregan will return to Winterfell because that is what the Starks usually do – they make things right and say goodbye. The North is where they feel at home.
Filming on House of the Dragon is due to start in 2023, which means it will probably not be released until 2024 at the earliest.