A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Is Finally Fixing HBO’s Broken Game of Thrones Lore

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Whether you’re a fan of Game of Thrones or not, most people recognize the distinct Targaryen appearance: silver-gold hair, striking features, and a sharp way of speaking. While the TV show didn’t show it, Targaryens are also known for having purple eyes – a detail left out because it was difficult for Emilia Clarke (who played Daenerys Targaryen) to wear the necessary contact lenses. Interestingly, not all Targaryens actually look like typical Targaryens, a little-known fact the show hasn’t explored until now.

It’s true – not all Targaryens have the signature silver-gold hair. Jon Snow is a prime example, looking so much like everyone else in Westeros that no one suspected his Targaryen heritage. Even when the Targaryens ruled, some family members were born with dark hair, inherited from ancestors outside the Targaryen line. However, the show House of the Dragon didn’t acknowledge this genetic reality when it premiered in 2022. Luckily, the new spinoff series – which author George R.R. Martin is very excited about – is finally addressing this.

Not All Targaryens Are Blonde in Game of Thrones Lore

Recently released photos offer a better look at the Targaryen family members appearing in the first season. Fans will recognize young Prince Aegon, nicknamed “Egg,” who is known for being bald. Also featured are Prince Aerion, Egg’s older brother, and Prince Maekar, the father of both boys, who both have the classic silver Targaryen hair.

Besides Aegon and Aerion, the series will feature their older brother – a different character from Alicent Hightower’s son with the same name. Importantly, Prince Baelor Targaryen, nicknamed “Breakspear,” will play a significant supporting role, and notably, he has dark brown hair.

For Targaryen fans, the recent developments are particularly interesting when you consider the history of their family’s silver hair and how it became less common over time. This distinctive hair color comes from the Targaryens’ Valyrian ancestry – a nearly vanished people originally from Essos. They were either killed or forced to leave their home during a catastrophic event called the Doom of Valyria. The most prominent members of Old Valyria were renowned for their beauty, which was often considered otherworldly due to their unique features.

Historically, the Targaryen family prioritized maintaining the purity of their lineage to secure their long-term power. They occasionally made exceptions for strategic marriages to forge political alliances. One example is Prince Aemon Targaryen’s marriage to Jocelyn Baratheon, which produced a child, Rhaenys Targaryen, who was originally described as having black hair. However, in the TV series House of the Dragon, Rhaenys is depicted with the traditional silver hair common among Targaryens.

Why Some Targaryens Have Dark Hair

Revealing Daenerys Targaryen’s heritage immediately diminished a key element of the family’s story: the gradual weakening of their power and the dilution of their bloodline. Historically, the Targaryens had to work hard to rebuild trust with the great houses and ensure the family continued, often through strategic alliances. Over time, they moved away from the practice of marrying within the family. After interacting with common people, Egg, a Targaryen, grew to dislike these marriages and arranged for his children to marry into other noble houses.

Baelor Targaryen’s unique look came from his family’s marriage alliance with the Martells. His mother was a Martell, and he inherited her dark hair and eyes. This made him stand out from the rest of his family, and some people criticized him for not appearing traditionally royal.

If A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms could easily give Baelor dark hair, it seems strange that House of the Dragon didn’t do the same for Rhaenys. There’s no clear reason why Rhaenys was given a blonde wig, but many believe it was to avoid viewers mistaking her as a Targaryen.

House of the Dragon Created a Rhaenys Problem

The dark hair color of certain characters was a major factor in the show’s central conflict. Because of this, the creators of House of the Dragon likely decided to give Rhaenys a different hair color to avoid viewers mistakenly thinking she was not a true Targaryen. They probably also wanted to clearly establish her family connection to Viserys and Rhaenyra, as she wasn’t directly related to them as a sibling or parent.

Simply changing Rhaenys’ character didn’t fix the issue of viewers getting confused about who was who. Unlike Game of Thrones, which focused on a single Targaryen for much of its run, House of the Dragon immediately introduced many Targaryen dragonriders. The second season made the family relationships even more complex, and it was inevitable that viewers would struggle to keep track of everyone. Some viewers even mixed up the names Rhaenys and Rhaenyra. A large, complicated family is typical for Targaryen stories, and using the same hair color for all the characters doesn’t change that.

Unlike many shows, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms respects its audience by letting them figure things out for themselves. It also subtly hints at a complex family history spanning multiple generations. Just looking at Baelor reveals how much the Targaryens have fallen – at a time when their dragons are gone and they’re no longer seen as divine figures. The fact that this Targaryen heir doesn’t have the family’s signature blonde hair suggests the dynasty is nearing its end, which, historically, it would be in about a hundred years.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Will End a Long-Running Targaryen Misunderstanding

Let me tell you, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is shaping up to be a show that feels much truer to George R.R. Martin’s original stories. Look, changes are inevitable when adapting a book – sometimes they even improve things! But with House of the Dragon, a lot of those changes were so significant, they really altered the established history of the Targaryens. Martin himself describes it as the “butterfly effect” – small changes snowballing into big differences.

Even small changes, like altering Rhaenys’ hair color, diminish the impact of her potential claim to the Iron Throne. While the primary reason she wasn’t chosen over Viserys was her gender, a dark-haired Targaryen would have been unusual and possibly unsettling to people at the time. This also complicates the situation surrounding Rhaenyra’s children and their parentage. If Rhaenys had naturally black hair, it would have been easier to believe the children inherited it from her, supporting the claim that Laenor was their father.

The Targaryens have clearly fallen from power since the events of House of the Dragon. By the time of Game of Thrones, common people view them with contempt, calling them cruel, foreign, and incestuous – a reputation likely earned during the brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. The selfish conflict between Rhaenyra and Aegon caused widespread famine and death, permanently damaging the Targaryen name.

A major problem with House of the Dragon was its focus on Targaryen dominance, so it’s good to see A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms delving into the complexities of the family. House of the Dragon seems to be heading toward a story about how the Targaryens brought about their own ruin through ambition and recklessness, ultimately leading to the destruction of their lineage. It’s striking to see the long-term effects of this, even just in the way Baelor appears.

Stripped of their dragons and distinctive appearance, they’re just people like the rest of us. If that’s true, it’s understandable why commoners and other noble families would start to wonder if they still deserve to rule.

HBO will premiere A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on January 18, 2026, and the third season of House of the Dragon is also expected to arrive sometime in 2026.

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2025-12-09 02:48