WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6!
Summary
- Lions have historical ties to Lannisters in House of the Dragon, adding a new layer to their power dynamics in battle.
- Lannisters' caged lions in House of the Dragon have no magical connection, making them harder to control in combat.
- Lions truly did roam Casterly Rock at one point, as Cersei Lannister recalls seeing caged lions as a child in Game of Thrones' books.
House Lannister’s association with lions isn’t just limited to their family sigil, as their army has actual caged lions marching with them in House of the Dragon. The sigils of noble houses in Game of Thrones play an important role in their power, symbolism, and often the traits of their family, with the franchise putting the greatest emphasis on the shared bonds between House Targaryen and their dragons and House Stark and their direwolves. While Game of Thrones doesn’t feature any lions at Casterly Rock, House of the Dragon’s Lannisters are shockingly heading into battle with them.
Jason Lannister reaches the Golden Tooth in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6 with lions in tow, a detail that wasn’t included in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book. The lions being in cages indicates they aren’t as easily tamed by or personally connected to the Lannisters as dragons are to Targaryens or direwolves are to Starks, but they do add another terrifying layer to House of the Dragon’s already catastrophic, dragon-heavy war. Though the Lannisters’ lions had never been seen in the TV franchise before this episode, their inclusion has some basis in book lore.
There Really Were Caged Lions At Casterly Rock
Game Of Thrones' Books Include References To Lions Historically Being At Casterly Rock
The Lannisters possessing lions isn’t farfetched in House of the Dragon, as Martin’s books have alluded to the species inhabiting the Westerlands in the past. The novel A Dance with Dragons reveals that lions roamed the hills of the Westerlands prior to the arrival of the Andals, and would supposedly even make dens in Casterly Rock. The franchise’s histories claim that Lannister kings owned lions, but sadly they’re all believed to have been killed before Game of Thrones. Thus, there are likely very few lions held at Casterly Rock or roaming wild in the Westerlands during House of the Dragon’s timeline.
Related
House Of The Dragon Already Changes How You See The Lannisters
House of the Dragon episode 3 introduces a pair of Lannisters into the series. However, these Lannisters are much different from their descendants.
Martin’s A Dance with Dragons book also includes a segment where Cersei recalls caged lions being kept at Casterly Rock when she and Jaime were children. While wild lions were supposedly still around when their grandfather Tytos Lannister was the Lord of Casterly Rock, the caged ones from their childhood appear to be some of the last lions from that era. Oddly, when Cersei became Queen of Westeros in the HBO show, she mentioned wanting elephants for battle in Game of Thrones, but made no mention of lions.
House Of The Dragon Season 2's Remaining Episodes | |
|---|---|
Episode # | Release Date |
7 | July 28 |
8 | August 4 |
A Lion Could Be Very Useful In Battle
Direwolves Similarly Proved Useful During Combat In Game Of Thrones
While nothing compared to a dragon in battle, a lion being unleashed to attack enemies in combat can be a great asset for House Lannister and Team Green. However, since there’s no indication that Lannisters ever had deeper magical connections to lions like the Starks and Targaryens to the animals of their sigils, they’ll find it much harder to control the lions in battle should they be uncaged. Still, like Jon Snow’s direwolf Ghost being incredibly useful while traveling beyond the Wall, the lions in House of the Dragon could devastatingly terrorize enemy forces in the Dance of the Dragons.
House of the Dragon
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Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alco*ck and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.
- Cast
- Jefferson Hall , Paddy Considine , Fabien Frankel , Ryan Corr , Eve Best , Gavin Spokes , Graham McTavish , Steve Toussaint , Olivia Cooke , Sonoya Mizuno , Bill Paterson , Matthew Needham , Emma D'Arcy , Matt Smith , Rhys Ifans , David Horovitch
- Release Date
- August 21, 2022
- Seasons
- 2
- Streaming Service(s)
- HBO Max
- Franchise(s)
- Game of Thrones
- Writers
- George R.R. Martin , Ryan Condal
- Directors
- Miguel Sapochnik , Clare Kilner , Alan Taylor , Greg Yaitanes , Geeta Vasant Patel , Andrij Parekh
- Showrunner
- Ryan Condal
