House of the Dragon: Who Are The Greens and Blacks? The Allies Of The Targaryen Explained
The war is getting closer in House of the Dragon and it all starts when Viserys I Targaryen marries his daughter’s friend, Alicent Hightower, and has more children with her. We know that Viserys I lost his wife, Aemma Arryn, and their child in a very painful and complicated birth, and that is part of what leads him to choose Rhaenyra Targaryen as his successor and Princess of Dragonstone (because Aegon I had already said that a Targaryen must lead humans against a winter threat to come), but, as king, he also must take a new wife and search for a male heir, and that causes more problems than he could imagine.
Rhaenyra Targaryen is his choice as heir to the throne, but the birth of Aegon complicates everything, especially when Otto Hightower, father of the queen and Hand of the King, decides to do everything possible to place his grandson on the throne, even if that goes against the king’s wishes. It is precisely this that gives rise to the Dance of the Dragons, a war that brings the Targaryens to fight among themselves, and that leaves the kingdom divided between those who support Rhaenyra and those who believe that the way the line works of succession means that the true heir must be his younger half-brother.
House of the Dragon: Who are the Greens in House of the Dragon?
Aegon II is a Targaryen, but he is also Hightower on his mother’s side, and the color that identifies the crest of this powerful Oldtown family is green, which is why Aegon’s allies identify themselves as the Greens.
For obvious reasons, the Hightowers support Aegon (he doesn’t have his last name, but he is of the same blood and that gives them power), but the alliance also includes Criston Cole (who was originally an ally of Rhaenyra, but changes sides quickly), Tyland Lannister, Master of Whisperers Larys Strong and Grand Maester Orwyle, eventually joined by Corlys Velaryon and Borros Baratheon.
House of the Dragon: Who Are the Blacks in House of the Dragon?
Rhaenyra Targaryen is the one who wears the color of her house, being the chosen one of her father, whose shield is identified by the color black, so her followers identify themselves as the Blacks, which includes Daemon, who for the point of the war is the second husband of the princess. Until before Rhaenyra, no woman had ever sat on the Iron Throne, and it is this that helps Aegon II amass powerful allies to his cause, but as her father’s chosen, she also manages to recruit various figures key to fight for the throne.
Within the Blacks (and this comes from the tournament of the heir, where Alicent wore green and Rhaenyra wore the colors red and black) is Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s three children from her first marriage (Lucerys, Joffrey and Jacaerys Velaryon), her children with Daemon (Aegon and Viserys), Daemon’s children from his first marriage (Baela and Rhaena), and Rhaenys Targaryen, who was also skipped in the line of succession for being female.
In addition, the Blacks had Corlys Velaryon (who later defected to the Greens), members of House Crabb, and Northmen such as Cregan Stark, Lord of Winterfell, members of House Tully, and House Arryn, where he came from. Queen Aemma Targaryen, who was the mother of Rhaenyra. Each alliance had powerful characters and important families, which is why it was a complex and bloody battle, and many lives were lost in the process.
