Who Is the Crabfeeder in House of the Dragon? (& What Happened to Him)
The first episode of House of the Dragon has opened up a lot of possibilities for the entire storyline of this new HBO original series, as we got to meet new characters that were already introduced in the book by George RR Martin, titled Fire, and Blood. One of the characters that were mentioned in passing but could potentially play a big role in the future is the Crabfeeder, who Corlys Velaryon said could be a problem to them. So, who is the Crabfeeder in House of the Dragon, and what happened to him?
The Crabfeeder is named Craghas Drahar, who is actually a prince in the book. In the series, he is said to be a figure that terrorizes the Stepstones and punishes pirates using inventive methods that are related to his nickname. Corlys Velaryon believes he and the Triarchy could be a problem in the future.
While it isn’t possible that the Crabfeeder will be an important character in the entire storyline of House of the Dragon, we know for a fact that the War for the Stepstones was one of the events that allowed Daemon and Corlys to rise in power in the book. As such, we could see the Crabfeeder fighting in this war against Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon in the series.
Who Is The Crabfeeder In House Of The Dragon?
We are still in the early stages of House of the Dragon, but it is already looking like the series will follow the book from a historical standpoint in the sense that it will be true to the source material, which is George RR Martin’s Fire and Blood. We all know that the series is going to detail the events that happened before, during, and after the Dance of the Dragons, which is the Targaryen civil war that eventually led to the extinction of the dragons and the weakening of House Targaryen. Nevertheless, there were some minor details that were mentioned in episode 1.
One such detail that was interesting was the fact that Corlys Velaryon, during the meeting with King Viserys and the small council, talked about the Triarchy, which is the alliance of Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh over the eastern areas of the known world in what is often called the Free Cities. Corlys mentioned how the Triarchy was becoming quite active in an area called the Stepstones, which are a group of islands that connect the eastern part of Dorne with the western portion of the Disputed Lands in the continent of Essos.
As Corlys was detailing how important the Stepstones were to the Seven Kingdoms and how the disputes in these areas could potentially be troublesome for the crown, he mentioned something about the leader of the Triarchy army. He called that leader the Crabfeeder. So, who is the Crabfeeder in House of the Dragon?
In the book, the Crabfeeder is named Craghas Dahar. Corlys Velaryon, in House of the Dragon, mentioned that the Crabfeeder is an admiral prince coming from the Free Cities, as that is quite true because he is actually a prince of Myr. Of course, Corlys also mentioned that the Crabfeeder is ridding the Stepstones of pirates, which King Viserys was quite happy about because he didn’t care for pirates at all.
Nevertheless, Corlys was concerned about the presence of the Crabfeeder and the Triarchy in the Stepstones because it could cripple the shipping lines of Westeros to the rest of the eastern cities of Essos. Still, King Viserys didn’t bother with him at all.
What Happened To The Crabfeeder In The Book?
We are yet to see the Crabfeeder in action in the House of the Dragon series, but his story was told well in the book because he played a good role in the improving relationships between Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon. Nevertheless, the Crabfeeder was mostly unchecked in the Stepstones due to the fact that King Viserys did not want to go to war with the Triarchy, for it meant that it was also an act of war against some of the powerful nations over at the Free Citys of Essos.
In the book, however, the Crabfeeder became quite active in his pursuit of the Stepstones because he now held it. Corlys, whose family made its money out of shipping, was bothered the most by the Triarchy’s presence in the Stepstones because the Crabfeeder was demanding a toll from any Westerosi ship that sailed. On top of that, violence was not beyond the Crabfeeder because he would actually hurt some of the sailors that were not willing to pay such a heavy toll.
Because Corlys wanted to get rid of the Crabfeeder and the Triarchy over at the Stepstones for the sake of his shipping lines, he partnered with Prince Daemon Targaryen’s own forces to defeat them against the will of the king himself. Daemon was a glory-hungry king that wanted to improve his claim to the Iron Throne when Viserys failed to produce a male heir from his first wife. As such, the prince wanted to become more popular with the common folk and even his king brother so that he could improve his standing.
The war involving the combined forces that Corlys and Daemon sent to the Stepstones to fight the Crabfeeder and the Triarchy became known as the War for the Stepstones. This war raged on from 106 AC to 115 AC, as it was a nine-year war that managed to force several losses on both sides despite how powerful of an army Corlys and Daemon held.
However, during one of the decisive battles, Daemon was able to slay the Crabfeeder himself, as this severely weakened the Triarchy forces. This happened in 108 AC, as Daemon used Dark Sister to behead the Crab Feeder.
In the books, the war raged on until 115 AC, even though Daemon had already held the Stepstones. He still needed to defend it from the forces that the Triarchy was sending. Daemon eventually abandoned the Stepstones because he wanted to claim Runestone for himself after the death of his wife, Rhea Royce.
Throughout the entire time that Daemon fought the Crabfeeder’s army, King Viserys didn’t try to intervene due to the fact that this could cripple the relationships that the Seven Kingdoms have with the rest of the Free Cities. In the book, he said, “Let Daemon play at war. It keeps him out of trouble.”
The presence of the Crabfeeder and his Triarchy army was one of the most important parts of the storyline that led to the Dance of the Dragons because of how it allowed Daemon’s relationship with Corlys to improve. As history shows, Daemon ended up marrying Corlys’s daughter, as the Velaryons rallied to the side of Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne instead of joining the greens, led by Aegon II and his queen mother, Alicent Hightower.
In that regard, the Crabfeeder was never an important character. Still, it was ultimately his actions in the Stepstones that allowed some political maneuverings to happen in relation to Daemon’s camp and House Velaryon.
