Who Are the Blacks & Greens in House of the Dragon? Meet Their Members
The death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon due to the attack of Prince Aemond Targaryen and Vhagar in the season 1 finale of House of the Dragon was the signal of the start of the Dance of the Dragons. This Targaryen civil war will be fought by two different parties that are looking to secure the place of their chosen leaders on the Iron Throne. These factions are called the Blacks and the Greens. But who are the Blacks and the Greens in House of the Dragon?
The Blacks are composed of the immediate family members of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Daemon Targaryen. They are also joined by Houses Velaryon, Arryn, and Stark. Meanwhile, the Greens are composed of Alicent Hightower’s Targaryen side as well as Houses Hightower, Lannister, and Baratheon, among others.
The thing about the Blacks and the Greens is that these factions are composed of different houses and people, depending on who they are loyal to. It is also interesting to note that the allegiances in the Dance of the Dragons change depending on the circumstances. So, with that said, let’s look at who the members of the Blacks and the Greens are.
Who Are The Blacks In House Of The Dragon?
In House of the Dragon, the Blacks have been set up as the protagonists of the storyline. That’s because they are the ones who support the true line of succession, as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen was the one who King Viserys Targaryen named as the heir to the Iron Throne. As such, the ones who support the Blacks are the ones who respect the actual line of succession that was based on the wish of Viserys, who never changed his mind throughout his entire reign as the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
The Blacks earned their name due to the fact that they were associated with the traditional red and black color that the Targaryens favored. In that regard, they are the ones who are loyal to the Targaryen traditions.
That said, the most prominent members of the Blacks are the ones who are close to Rhaenyra, such as those who belong to her immediate family. That means that Rhaenyra’s primary allies include her husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen, as well as their respective children, which include the “Strong Boys,” Daemon’s children with Laena, and Rhaenyra’s children with Daemon. House Velaryon is also committed to the Blacks, and that’s why they have the allegiance of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. The royal members of the blacks were:
- Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
- Prince Daemon Targaryen
- Prince Jacaerys Velaryon
- Prince Lucerys Velaryon, who died before the true war began
- Prince Joffrey Velaryon
- Prince Aegon the Younger Targaryen
- Prince Viserys Targaryen
- Lady Baela Targaryen
- Lady Rhaena Targaryen
- Princess Rhaenys Targaryen
Of course, Rhaenyra was also able to secure the support of several other prominent lords and ladies throughout the Seven Kingdoms due to their loyalty to the oaths that their families swore to her and because of how close their families were to Rhaenyra’s side. Such Houses and members included:
- Lord Corlys Velaryon, who became Hand of the Queen
- House Arryn
- House Stark
- House Tully
Due to the fact that two of the Blacks’ greatest allies were the Arryns and the Velaryons, the flag of the Blacks included the sigils of House Arryn and House Velaryon, together with the black three-headed dragon sigil of House Targaryen.
Other houses also joined the cause of the Blacks because they were sworn allies of the other houses that swore their loyalty to the rightful heir to the Iron Throne. This was where it was important for the Blacks to acquire the support of the Great Houses, as smaller houses were vassals of the Great House. Such houses included:
- Staunton
- Massey
- Bar Emmon
- Darklyn
- Stokeworth
- Rosby
- Hayforth
- Harte
- Crabb
- Brownhollow
- Bourney
- Dyre Den
- Quince
- Broome
- Celtigar
- Corne
- Yore
- Dustin
- Manderly
- Cerwyn
- Hornwood
- Mooton
- Darry
- Frey
- Blackwood
- Charlton
- Mallister
- Piper
- Roote
- Vance
- Smallwood
- Butterwell
- Beesbury
- Caswell
- Costayne
- Footly
- Grimm
- Merryweather
- Mullendore
- Oakheart
- Rowan
- Tarly
- Buckler
- Fell
- Swann
- Borrell
- Corbray
- Royce
- Sunderland
There is also the fact that Prince Jacaerys Velaryon called for more dragonriders to fight for them, and that was when the dragonseeds claimed the riderless dragons that were in Dragonstone during that time. These included:
- Nettles, rider of Sheepstealer
- Addam Velaryon, rider of Seasmoke
- Hugh Hammer, rider of Vermithor
- Ulf White, rider of Silverwing
But the problem with the dragonseeds was that they ended up leaving the Blacks. Hugh and Ulf betrayed the Blacks. And Nettles ran away because she was suspected as a traitor to the cause when Hugh and Ulf betrayed Rhaenyra.
There were also members of the Blacks that ended up leaving the faction due to different reasons. But most of them left when Corlys was imprisoned by Rhaenyra for helping Alyn Velaryon escape her wrath when she suspected all of the dragonseeds as traitors. As such, most of the houses that supported the Velaryons defected to the Greens. There were also Black supporters that betrayed Rhaenyra when King Aegon II secretly fled to Dragonstone during Rhaenyra’s occupation of King’s Landing.
Who Are The Greens In House Of The Dragon?
The Greens, who are often called the queen’s faction, earned their name due to the traditional green color that House Hightower was always known for. During the betrothal banquet of Rhaenyra and Laenor in House of the Dragon, Alicent wore a green-colored dress to signify her desire to wage war on Rhaenyra after she had learned of the different things that she did during her youth and the fact that she had been lying to her. Traditionally, the beacon of the Hightower in Oldtown was colored green whenever the Hightowers were ready to go to war.
In that regard, the most important members of the Greens are the immediate family members of Alicent Hightower. They installed King Aegon II on the Iron Throne, and that’s they have a three-headed golden dragon on the traditional Targaryen banner, as this represented his mount, Sunfyre the Golden. Aegon II’s immediate family members were naturally allied with the Greens. These included:
- Queen Alicent Hightower
- Queen Helaena Targaryen
- Prince Aemond Targaryen, who became prince regent when Aegon II was too weak and injured
- Prince Daeron Targaryen
- Prince Jahaerys Targaryen
- Princess Jaehaera Targaryen
- Prince Maelor Targaryen
The members of the Kingsguard that were present in the Red Keep during the time that the Greens decided to install Aegon on the Iron Throne were also loyal to them. These included the likes of:
- Lord Commander Criston Cole, who later became the Hand of the King
- Ser Arryk Cargyll
- Ser Rickard Thorne
- Ser Willis Fell
- Ser Marston Waters
- Ser Gyles Belgrave
Of course, considering that one-half of the lineage of the Green royals was from the Hightowers, that means that House Hightower was allied with them. In fact, House Hightower was the most prominent ally of the Greens. Members of this house included:
- Ser Otto Hightower, who was the first Hand of King Aegon II
- Lord Ormund Hightower
- Ser Hobert Hightower
There were also other houses that allied with the Greens because they were allied with the houses that had already declared their allegiance to the faction of the queen. Some of these houses were Great Houses, but some were smaller houses. In fact, as seen in episode 9 of House of the Dragon, some of these houses had no choice but to ally themselves with the Greens because they were threatened. Such houses included:
- Lannister
- Baratheon
- Peake
- Roxton
- Norcross
- Ambrose
- Graceford
- Risley
- Leygood
- Wylde
- Strong
- Reyne
- Swyft
- Tarbeck
There were also others that were loyal to the Greens due to the fact that they hated some of the members of the Blacks. In fact, Ser Otto Hightower allied with the Triarchy because they were enemies of Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon during the War for the Stepstones. As such, the Greens were able to secure help from foreign allies as well.
While the Blacks initially had more supporters than the Greens, things changed when Rhaenyra’s paranoia got the better of her and when there were several things happened to cause some of the members of the Blacks to defect to the Greens. Aegon II’s faction became more powerful when the Velaryons and those loyal to them moved to the Greens, especially after Rhaenyra imprisoned Corlys.
It was the fact that some of the Blacks betrayed Rhaenyra that ended up allowing King Aegon II to secure the Iron Throne by killing his older half-sister. But the Dance of the Dragons was far from over because the Starks and the other forces of the Blacks still honored their loyalty to Rhaenyra and her heir, Aegon the Younger, by marching on the capital. As such, the northerners of Lord Cregan Stark were the ones who changed the outcome of the war, as Corlys and his co-conspirators were forced to assassinate King Aegon II to end the Dance of the Dragons for good when they realized that the Greens had no hope of winning.
