House of the Dragon’s Bloodraven cameo is a huge tease for a new spinoff
HBODaemon’s last vision in House of the Dragon Season 2 gave viewers a glimpse of Lord Bloodraven, and it’s a sign of things to come in the upcoming spinoff.
After the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale, Daemon’s vision has become the subject of much discussion. There’s suggestions of the Prince That Was Promised’s identity, Helaena’s connection to the Three Eyed-Raven, and a tease for the Knight of Seven Kingdoms spinoff series.
During Daemon’s vision, as shown to him by Alys Rivers, he sees a white-haired man. This is Brynden Rivers, aka Lord Bloodraven.
Given Bloodraven’s connection to the wider Targaryen history and the potential for him to appear in the new TV show, his cameo is a major tease.
Who is Bloodraven?
Lord Bloodraven is Brynden Rivers, the bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen and Lady Melissa Blackwood, who later becomes the Three-Eyed Raven.
Because Melissa was a highborn, Brynden was considered to be one of the “Great Bastards”, the name given to bastards of a higher status born of Aegon IV. Brynden would be legitimized in 184 AC when the king was on his deathbed.
His nickname comes from a significant birthmark he had on the right side of his face, which resembled the shape of a raven, and looked as though it had been drawn in blood.
Brynden was a Targaryen loyalist and Hand of the King to both King Aerys I Targaryen and King Maekar I Targaryen. Aegon V Targaryen would eventually send him to the Night’s Watch, where he became Lord Commander.
In Game of Thrones, Bran Stark finds Brynden beyond the Wall, discovering that he has since become the Three-Eyed Raven, the last Greenseer. He then becomes Bran’s mentor, teaching him the arts of of greensight and skinchanging.
In House of the Dragon, he’s played by Joshua Ben-Tovim.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms connection explained
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is an upcoming spinoff series that follows the Tales of Dunk and Egg, the former being Ser Duncan the Tall, who became a member of the Kingsguard.
Egg is his squire, who later goes on to become King Aegon V Targaryen. It’s based on a series of novellas from George R.R. Martin, and Brynden Rivers appears in the third story, The Mystery Knight.
At this point, he’s already Hand of the King.
This means there’s plenty of precedent for Bloodraven to turn up in the new show at least once over the planned three seasons.
Still, nothing’s been confirmed, and if he is going to play a role in the new adventure series, then it’ll like be in the third season, which is when he comes into the novellas.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms arrives in 2025. For more, find out what we know about House of the Dragon Season 3, and discover the 5 shows like House of the Dragon to watch while you wait. Don’t miss our Season 2 ending explained!