Corlys Velaryon and Rhaenys Targaryen had the healthiest relationship on House of the Dragon. They truly loved and supported each other through thick and thin, and never stabbed one another in the back for the sake of power. But the curtain of perfection always falls at some point. Corlys’ past infidelities catch up with him when Rhaenys recognizes a familiar face among Corlys’ crew.
Alyn was first introduced in the Season 2 premiere, “A Son for a Son,” when he greets Corlys on a dock at Driftmark. Corlys isn’t too familiar with Alyn, only that they fought beside one another in the War for the Stepstones. He recognizes Alyn for his bravery and loyalty to saving his lord, as Alyn is one of the reasons why Corlys is still alive. But the awkward encounters between both men suggest something connects them, by either the sea or blood. Rhaenys practically confirms Alyn’s parentage, which makes a significant change from George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
Who Is Alyn of Hull in Fire & Blood?
Criston Cole made his first big move on a mission to seize Rook’s Rest on House of the Dragon, but the results were more fatal than expected.
Alyn is a familiar name in the book, and no, he has nothing to do with Alys Rivers, the witch queen of Harrenhal. They’re two completely unrelated characters who are ironically torturing the people around them. But in Alyn’s case, he doesn’t mean to. Fire & Blood‘s version of Alyn was a smallfolk man who was raised by his mother, Marilda and alongside his brother, Addam, in a shipyard. There are conflicting claims about who Alyn and Addam’s real father is. Marilda claimed that Laenor Velaryon was the boys’ true father, although his sexuality could’ve made that impossible.
Another account by the court fool Mushroom said that the men were fathered by Corlys Velaryon. As a largely unreliable text, Fire & Blood‘s description of Alyn can’t be entirely trusted. Nobody can confidently say who their true father was. Laenor wasn’t alive to speak on his own behalf, and Corlys would’ve kept it a secret to not anger Rhaenys. Nonetheless, Corlys showed compassion for the boys. He asked Rhaenyra to acknowledge them as trueborn Velaryons so Addam would be named heir to Driftmark. In the book, Alyn is the younger and prouder brother.
He tried to claim the wild dragon Sheepstealer but was burned and scarred after the dragon set him afire. Alyn found his skills more useful by commanding the Velaryon fleet at just 15-years-old. He was humbly loyal to Corlys, and followed him even when the Lord of Driftmark switched sides to the Greens. Later on, Alyn was awarded the title of Lord of the Tides after Corlys’ death. He would secretly marry Baela Targaryen so she could avoid an arranged marriage, and earn a warrior’s reputation for fighting against the Braavosi in the Daughters’ War. What happened before his period of greatness, however, was a messy saga of scandal that House of the Dragon is slowly unfolding.
House of the Dragon Subtly Confirms Alyn and Corlys’ Relationship
House of the Dragon Season 2 gives a hero of Targaryen and Velaryon descent a major role in the ongoing war between the Blacks and the Greens.
Upon summoning her husband in Season 2, Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” Rhaenys meets Alyn, who is clearly uncomfortable with her presence on a deeper level. She studies his face and recognizes him as Corlys’ own son, later confirming with her husband that she “knows who he is.” But instead of angrily confronting her unfaithful husband about his illegitimate child, she instead suggests that Corlys legitimatize Alyn as his own.
Rhaenys’ progressive reaction to her husband’s illegitimate son is refreshing in the world of Westeros. In Game of Thrones, Ned Stark’s image as an honorable man was stained in Catelyn Stark’s eyes when he brought back Jon Snow as his illegitimate son. For the rest of his life, Catelyn treated Jon terribly, even though she promised the gods she’d treat him as a Stark if he survived a life-threatening illness. Nearly 200 years before, Rhaenys is either hiding her true feelings of betrayal, or actually believes Alyn and Addam deserve better than to live a lie.
There could be another reason why Rhaenys is tolerable about the idea of her husband having illegitimate sons. There’s a chance that Corlys fathered the brothers before he married Rhaenys. There isn’t too much of an age difference between Alyn and Addam, and Laenor and Laena. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume that Alyn and Addam were born in Corlys’ single years, which Rhaenys takes no issue with. After Rhaenys’ terrible death at Rook’s Rest, her request holds all the weight in the world to Corlys.
Is Alyn a True Dragonseed?
Targaryens are known to be dragon riders in the Game of Thrones franchise, but Dragonseeds date back hundreds of years in Westeros. So, who are they?
The true question now is whether Alyn and Addam can even ride dragons. The dragonseed storyline is soon approaching in Season 2, and the Hull brothers are a big part of it. Seasmoke has already taken a distant liking to Addam, who forms a bond in the book. The general pre-requisites for being dragonseeds is quite clear: a person needs at least a drop of Valyrian blood in their veins to claim a dragon.
They don’t need to be a direct descendant of a pure-blooded Targaryen like Ulf White claims to be. Dragonseeds can be distant relatives born into an Andal house that once married into the Targaryen family. Since the Velaryons and Targaryens have joined houses several times since before Aegon’s Conquest, Alyn and Addam are every bit a dragonseed as anyone with silver hair. However, this does not automatically make Alyn a dragonrider.
Some Targaryens themselves fail to claim a dragon. Alyn’s purpose lies at sea as the older brother and Corlys’ eldest son in the show. Corlys is on the hunt for a qualified heir right now, and he’s standing right in front of him. Alyn fought valiantly during the War for the Stepstones, risked his own life so that Corlys could live and has experience on the sea. He’s the perfect solution to Corlys’ problem right now, even if Corlys sees him as a reminder of a possibly unfaithful past.
New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere every Sunday at 9 P.M. ET.
House of the Dragon
TV-MA
Drama
Action
Adventure
Fantasy
Two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, House Targaryen—the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria—took up residence on Dragonstone.
Release DateAugust 21, 2022
CastJefferson Hall , Eve Best , David Horovitch , Paddy Considine , Ryan Corr , Bill Paterson , Fabien Frankel , Graham McTavish , Olivia Cooke , Gavin Spokes , Sonoya Mizuno , Steve Toussaint , Matt Smith , Matthew Needham , Rhys Ifans , Emma D’Arcy , Milly Alcock
Main GenreDrama