Will Laenor Velaryon Return in House of the Dragon Season 2?

One of the biggest changes that were done in House of the Dragon compared to the book is the fact that Laenor Velaryon was not killed but was, instead, allowed to secretly escape to Essos with his lover after faking his death. This allowed Rhaenyra and Daemon to marry one another. But of course, we know for a fact that Seasmoke is now available and that the Blacks are looking for more dragonriders. So, will Laenor Velaryon return in House of the Dragon season 2?

It is unlikely that Laenor Velaryon will return in season 2. That’s because Addam Velaryon should be the new rider or Seasmoke, according to the book. And Addam’s storyline is one of the most important parts of the eventual downfall of Rhaenyra Targaryen during the time she held King’s Landing.

We have seen House of the Dragon changing a few things that happened in the book, and this included Laenor’s death. But the thing is that Addam Velaryon is such an important part of the storyline that it might not be possible to remove him from the story to bring back Laenor. So, with that said, let’s look at the possibility of Laenor Velaryon returning in season 2 of House of the Dragon.

Will Laenor Velaryon Return To House Of The Dragon?

House of the Dragon allowed us to see the different relationships between the characters developing, as it was clear early on that Rhaenyra Targaryen had a desire for her uncle, Daemon Targaryen, who also felt the same way. But marriages were the problem because they were still married during the time when they wanted to be together. Of course, Rhaenyra was married to Ser Laenor Velaryon.

For ten years, Rhaenyra and Laenor were married, but it was a marriage that lacked passion and romance because they both desired other people. In his case, Laenor preferred the company of men, although he was an extremely honorable man that was good enough to be loved by his wife in another way. But Rhaenyra still needed to be with Daemon because doing so would allow her faction to grow stronger amidst the attacks that she was experiencing from the people that were plotting against her status as the chosen heir to the Iron Throne.

That was when we learned that Rhaenyra and Daemon put together a plot that allowed Laenor to “die” so that they could marry one another. But Laenor was alive all along as Rhaenyra loved him enough, and Daemon admired him so well that he was given a chance to escape the politicking in the Seven Kingdoms to be with his lover, Ser Qarl Correy, in the Free Cities of Essos. And while the rest of the realm believed that he was dead, Laenor was in Essos, living a free life with the person that he loved.

But the thing that we do know about House of the Dragon as we await the second season is that the Blacks are in need of dragonriders because they had more dragons on their side than the Greens. The only problem was that they had no riders to mount these dragons, and one such dragon was Seasmoke, who used to be the dragon of Laenor before he eloped to Essos. So, does that mean that Laenor could be returning in season 2?

It is unlikely that Laenor will be returning in season 2, as he never did return or had any role to play during the events of the Dance of the Dragons. Of course, the series has never been truly faithful to the book, especially because certain changes were introduced. One such change that was introduced was Laenor’s “death” because he was outrightly killed in the book and never merely faked his death to elope to Essos. But while changes can still be made, it is highly unlikely that he will ever return.

The reason why Laenor is unlikely to return to the Seven Kingdoms is that his absence allows other Velaryons to become more prominent in the storyline, as far as the book is concerned. And this is where a certain someone called Addam Velaryon comes into the picture.

Enter Addam Velaryon

In the book, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon called for more dragonriders to aid them in their fight against the Greens because they needed more people on dragonback as they were losing to their enemies. That was when the dragonseeds (Targaryen bastards) stepped forward to claim dragons on Dragonstone and Driftmark, and one such dragonseed was Addam Velaryon.

Addam was said to be a bastard of Laenor, although there were also rumors that he could be the bastard child of Corlys Velaryon. Nevertheless, he was able to claim Seasmoke and then fight on the side of the Blacks during the Dance of the Dragons. It was his valiant efforts that convinced Rhaenyra that he was worthy of his noble blood, and that was when he was made into a legitimate child that was allowed to carry the Velaryon name.

However, the problem was that, in the book, Hugh Hammer and Ulf White betrayed Rhaenyra and defected to the Greens during the time that she was occupying King’s Landing. This made Rhaenyra more paranoid of the possibility that the other dragonseeds might betray her, and that was when she turned her attention to Addam.

Unwilling to allow his grandson/son to get imprisoned or possibly executed because he no longer had anyone to carry the Velaryon blood, Corlys warned Addam that Rhaenyra wanted to arrest him. As such, he escaped before his arrest, and this led Rhaenyra to imprison Corlys. And with Corlys imprisoned, the Velaryon forces left the side of the Blacks to weaken Rhaenyra’s side to the point that she no longer had anyone that could help her when the riots in King’s Landing started.

So, with that said, the fact that Addam’s story is so important means that it is unlikely that Laenor will ever return. Addam’s role in the storyline is essential in Rhaenyra’s eventual downfall, even though he might not be one of the main players during the Dance of the Dragons. That is the reason why we believe that it is unlikely that Laenor will return.

The Seasmoke Problem

Another reason why we don’t believe that Laenor will return is the fact that Addam will eventually be the one to inherit Seasmoke and become its new rider. But the thing is that Laenor was never actually dead, and we all know that dragons only recognize one rider. This makes the entire Seasmoke situation problematic because the bond between a dragon and its rider is magical in such a sense that the dragon is able to sense whether or not its rider is still alive. And it is only upon the death of the rider that the dragon will finally be able to freely choose another rider.

So, because Addam is likely to appear in season 2 and will be the one to claim Seasmoke, it is possible that Laenor will forever be out of the picture. And this leads to the possibility of Laenor dying in one of his exploits in Essos.

We know that Laenor wanted to live a life of adventure as a knight together with other knights. That was probably one of the reasons why he left Westeros, as he could freely live the life he wanted to live in Essos. But the fact that Seasmoke probably still knows that he is alive would make it impossible for the dragon to bond with a new rider. As such, it is possible that Laenor would end up getting killed in Essos on his own terms.

As such, this solves the entire Seasmoke problem while also allowing us to understand why Laenor will never return to the series. But this is just pure speculation on our part, as there is still a good chance that Laenor will return, depending on how the showrunners write the second season of House of the Dragon.