Who Has the Advantage at the End of House of the Dragon Season 1?

Season 1 of House of the Dragon has just concluded, as we already know the things that happened to the different characters of the series. Of course, season 2 will allow us to see a full-blown war between the Blacks and the Greens, as season 1 merely allowed us to see the events that led to the Dance of the Dragons. So, now that we know what happened in season 1, who has the advantage entering season 2 of House of the Dragon?

The Greens have the advantage over the Blacks right now because they are the ones in King’s Landing and the ones that were able to gain the allegiance of several lords in the Crownlands by threatening them. They also have the allegiance of House Baratheon and were able to kill one dragonrider from the Blacks.

At this point, Rhaenyra has suffered more losses than anyone else in the series, as it is clear that these losses set the storyline up for her to have a reason to wage war against the Greens, even though she was reluctant to do so for the sake of keeping the realm intact. Nevertheless, a lot of things have happened now, and it is now clear that season 2 will show us how Rhaenyra will try to get back at the Greens and gain the advantage.

Who Has The Advantage At The End Of House Of The Dragon Season 1?

The release of episode 10 of House of the Dragon marks the ending of the first season of the series, as we are now in store for one of the most explosive wars in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. Of course, in episode 10, we saw how Rhaenyra was reluctant to wage war against the Greens, as it was clear that it was important for her to make sure that the entire realm was kept intact. However, Daemon didn’t want her to bow down to the Greens and the Hightowers.

But of course, a lot of things happened in episode 10, and it is now clear that Rhaenyra has every right and reason to attack the Greens and get back what was always rightfully hers from the very start of House of the Dragon. But who has the advantage between the two factions? That’s what we are here to look at.

The Greens

In episode 9, it was revealed that the Small Council had been plotting to install Prince Aegon on the Iron Throne, regardless of what Queen Alicent might have understood from King Viserys’s final words. Even if Viserys didn’t say anything to Alicent, Otto and the Small Council would have still wanted to put Aegon on the Iron Throne. That means that they have prepared for this for years already.

As such, a lot of the different things that the Greens had planned were already in place after King Viserys’s death. They made sure to obtain the allegiance of the different lords, ladies, and landed knights in the Crownlands and installed people loyal to them in the City Watch. This means that the Greens have the advantage in terms of how organized their system is, as Otto focused more on Aegon’s future as the king instead of focusing more on actually ruling the Seven Kingdoms in place of King Aegon.

Meanwhile, after King Aegon II ascended to the Iron Throne, the Greens had all of the momentum. Aegon is now seen as a legitimate king because he wears the Conqueror’s crown, wields the Conqueror’s sword, was crowned in front of the people of King’s Landing, and was sworn into the Iron Throne by the High Septon. As Otto said, every symbol of legitimacy is on the side of King Aegon II, as all that Rhaenyra has is the fact that she knows that she was the one who was named King Viserys’s heir.

Then, in episode 10, we saw the fact that the Greens had already beaten the Blacks to Storm’s End. Lord Borros Baratheon, a proud man, was insulted by the fact that Rhaenyra only wanted him to honor the oath that his father made 20 years ago when he swore his allegiance to her as the next ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. On the other hand, the Greens offered Aemond as a suitable marriage partner to one of the daughters of the proud Baratheon lord.

Because the Greens offered a better package than the Blacks, Lord Borros Baratheon had no choice but to accept the proposal of the Greens, as Prince Lucerys Velaryon was sent back to Dragonstone to tell his mother that her proposal had been declined.

Of course, at the end of the episode, Aemond and Vhagar killed Lucerys and Arrax. That means that, at this point, the Blacks have lost one prince and one dragon. Meanwhile, the Greens are yet to lose any of their important characters and their dragons, as they have three adult dragons in Sunfyre, Vhagar, and Dreamfyre.

The Blacks

At the beginning of episode 10 of House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra lost three things: her father, the Iron Throne, and her unborn child. The stress of learning what had happened over at King’s Landing was too much for her that she gave birth to a stillborn child. Nevertheless, she obtained her father’s crown and was named the queen of the Seven Kingdoms by those who were still loyal to her.

After that, Rhaenyra and the Blacks began plotting different strategies on how they could take their power back and defeat the Greens. Daemon, of course, seemed excited about the prospect of war as he never had any love for the Greens and the Hightowers. It was he and the other leaders in Dragonstone that began planning different strategies and actions that could give them an advantage over the Greens.

Of course, it was put forward that the Blacks had the advantage in terms of their dragons. They had Caraxes, Syrax, Vermax, Arrax (although he later died), Tyraxes, and Moondancer. The fact that they also controlled Dragonstone meant that they could keep the riderless dragons (Vermithor, Silverwing, and Seasmoke) away from the Greens and could even have them bond with dragonriders. Of course, these riderless dragons included the wild dragons that were in Dragonstone.

When Lord Corlys Velaryon realized that Rhaenyra was not willing to go to war because she wanted to hold the realm together, he pledged his allegiance to the Blacks and provided them with the greatest fleet in the Seven Kingdoms and another dragon in Meleys. The Velaryons became the most powerful allies of the Blacks.

The Blacks also relied on the fact that they were close to three of the Great House of Westeros. Rhaenyra believed that her mother’s Arryn side was going to be crucial for her in terms of gaining their allegiance. She was also confident that the Starks, who are the most honorable people in the Seven Kingdoms, would never break an oath. Of course, she also believed that the Baratheon’s connection with the Velaryons could help them obtain their loyalty.

However, at the end of the season, we learned that House Baratheon had sided with the Greens. On top of that, Aemond and Vhagar killed Lucerys and Arrax, as the Blacks had lost one prince and one dragon, in addition to the fact that Lord Borros was not willing to honor his father’s oath to Rhaenyra.

Who Has The Advantage?

At this point, there are a lot of different arguments for both sides, but it is clear that the Greens have an advantage over the Blacks. That’s because the Greens are still the ones who are in control of the capital and have the support of the smallfolk of King’s Landing as well as the allegiance of most of the different lords and ladies with lands and settlements that are close to the capital.

There’s also the fact that the Greens had delivered an early haymaker in the form of Prince Lucerys’s death, as this was a terrible blow on the part of the Blacks because of its emotional effect on Rhaenyra and its effect on the firepower of their dragonrider force.

It might be true that the Blacks have the most powerful force in the form of the dragons that are in Dragonstone, but they still don’t have the dragonriders for these dragons. On top of that, the Blacks are unsure of who is loyal to them at this point, as the Velaryons were the only powerful family to pledge to their cause.

As such, the Greens still have the advantage over the Blacks at this point in time because of all of the planning and preparation that they had done before King Viserys even died. Now, the ball is on the side of Rhaenyra and her Blacks, as season 2 is going to show us how she would deliver her own haymaker.