House of the Dragon: Why Harrenhal Is Important To The Game Of Thrones

House of the Dragon Episode 6 has made the passage of time and the weight of inheritance one of the main themes of its history, and no place in Westeros knows better the weight of Harrenhal‘s legacy. Harrenhal is a place that plays a pivotal role in George RR Martin‘s Game of Thrones saga; in House of the Dragon we now learn some of the milestones of Harrenhal’s story that helped shape his place in Game of Thrones history:

House of the Dragon: What is Harrenhal?

Harrenhal is the largest and most grandiose castle in all of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, but also the most cursed. It was built in the Riverlands by Harren “The Black” Hoare as a vain monument to himself, a forty-year project that broke the backs of thousands of slaves from the surrounding Riverlands and Iron Islands.

However, on the day Harrenhal was completed, Aegon “The Conqueror” Targaryen first landed in Westeros; Aegon tried to come to terms with Harren Hoare, but the lord considered his masterpiece castle impenetrable. Aegon’s dragon, Balerion the Black Terror, melted Harrenhal’s five great towers into slag, killing Harren Hoare in the process. Harrenhal then passed to several families, but few remained there for long and even fewer prospered there, and the legend of the dreaded Harrenhal curse only grew…

The House of the Dragon Reveals An Important Secret Of Harrenhal’s History

In the Targaryen era of the House of the Dragon, Harrenhal becomes the family home of House Strong and was the seat of King Jaeherys’ great council to choose Viserys as his successor. The patriarch, Lord Lyonel Strong, was an advisor to King Viserys I and became his second Hand, replacing Otto Hightower after his exile from court. House Strong is the fourth to occupy Harrenhal and, like those that preceded it, the infamous castle only brings her misfortune.

SPOILER: In House of the Dragon Episode 6, “The Queen and the Princess”, the secret of Princess Rheanyra’s relationship with Ser Lyonel Strong’s son (and Captain of the City Guard), Ser Harwin Strong, begins to reveal itself with the birth of their third child. When the court begins to openly murmur that Rhaenyra’s children are bastards and not true royal heirs, Ser Harwin is shamefully exiled to Harrenhal along with his father. We learn that Ser Lyonel’s other son, Larys “Clubfoot” Strong, conspires with some hitmen to set Harrenhal on fire, killing his father and brother. The mysterious fire of Harrenhal will only reinforce the legend of the curse, until the time of Game of Thrones, almost 200 years later.

Why Is Harrenhal Important To Game Of Thrones?

In Game of Thrones, Harrenhal and his curse are once again a central metaphor for the shifting powers of Westeros and the dark karma that can guide them. She is initially held by King Robert, but is awarded several times over the course of the series: to Janos Slynt (commander of the City Guard who helps betray Ned Stark – and who is ultimately executed by Jon Snow); Tywin Lannister used it as a base during the War of the Five Kings after Robert’s death; Arya Stark must survive being a prisoner of Tywin Lannister and escape with Jaqen H’ghar; Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth must also survive Harrenhal when Roose Bolton and her savages (Locke) possess her, and Littlefinger obtains Harrenhal from King Joffrey, only to be executed before he can inhabit her.

At the end of Game of Thrones, Harrenhal is left undefeated under her curse and is left uninhabited. Indeed, the only one who seems to thrive there is “the Mountain”, Ser Gregor Clegane, who terrorized the Riverlands during the War of the Five Kings, killing, plundering and raping the countryside from his Harrenhal base. Except that this is proof of his cursed nature…