Warning: SPOILERS for House of the Dragon Episode 7 - "Driftmark" and Future EpisodesPrincess Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) sons in House of the Dragon share five major parallels with Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon episode 7 saw a horrific conflict between Rhaenyra's boys, the daughters of the late Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), and Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton), the second son of Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Aemond's accusation that Jacaerys (Leo Hart) and Lucerys (Harvey Sadler) are the bastard sons of the late Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) cost Aemond an eye, even though it's the truth.
House of the Dragon makes it clear that Rhaenyra's three sons are bastards. They all have the dark hair of their true father, Harwin Strong. Jace and Luke bear no resemblance to their supposed father, the blond and dark-skinned Ser Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan), nor do they have the obvious physical traits of the Targaryens. This is very much like how, in Game of Thrones, Jon Snow physically resembled the black-haired Starks and showed no traces of his Targaryen heritage. Thus, no one questioned Jon was a bastard, least of all "Lord Snow" himself. Jon believed that he was the bastard son of Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) of Winterfell, but he discovered his true parents were Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Ned's sister, Lyanna Stark. Jon's real name was Aegon Targaryen, and he was the true heir to the Iron Throne, with a stronger claim through primogeniture than Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), Jon's lover who turned out to be his aunt.
Jon ended up murdering Daenerys when she became the Mad Queen, and he was banished to live North of the Wall with the Wildlings at the end of Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon is poised to deliver its own tragic and unfortunate series of events with the bastard Velaryon princes, and Westeros' history will play out to be even less kind to Jacaerys and Lucerys than it will be to Jon Snow almost 200 years later. Meanwhile, many aspects of Jon Snow's story are playing out with interesting twists and variations in House of the Dragon.
Lucerys' "I Don't Want It" Repeats A Major Jon Snow Theme
After Laena's funeral in House of the Dragon episode 7, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) approached Lucerys and reminded him that he is the heir to Driftmark. According to the line of succession, Jacaerys will follow Rhaenyra as King of Westeros and, as the second born son, Luke will inherit House Velaryon's seat of power. The mourning boy replied, "I don't want it," because he realized for him to claim his inheritance, his beloved family members will have to be dead.
Jon Snow also didn't want the inheritances and ascensions offered to him throughout Game of Thrones. Snow reluctantly became Lord Commander of the Night's Watch when there was no one else to lead them against the White Walkers. Jon grudgingly accepted the title King in the North, and he wasted no time in bending the knee to Daenerys, which made the North a vassal kingdom to the Targaryen Queen. Although, Jon did this to gain her armies and her dragons to fight the Night King. Finally, Jon didn't want to claim the Iron Throne as Aegon Targaryen and accepted banishment out of his guilt for murdering Daenerys
Jacaerys Velaryon's Story Flips Jon Snow's Arc
There is no mystery as to who Jacaerys and Lucerys' true father is, unlike Jon Snow's parentage for most of Game of Thrones' run. But Jacaerys, who is the heir to the Iron Throne as Rhaenyra's firstborn son, also neatly reverses Jon Snow's arc. Jace is a bastard who is in line to be King based on Rhaenyra's lie being willingly perpetuated by King Viserys (Paddy Considine). Conversely, Jon Snow should have been in line to be King and had the strongest claim in Westeros, but he and everyone else thought Snow was a bastard. Jon was never considered to be a potential or rightful king until Brandon Stark (Isaac Hemstead-Wright) and Sam Tarly (John Bradley) deduced the truth about Jon Snow.
Rhaenyra's Children And Jon Snow Have Similar Bloodlines
Targaryens and Velaryons have a history of incest in order to keep their families' bloodlines pure, but Jon Snow and Rhaenyra Targaryen's sons are of mixed bloodlines. Jon is half-Targaryen on his father's side and half-Stark on his mother's side. Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey are half-Targaryen on their mother's side and half-Strong on their father's side. Thus, Jace, Luke, Joffrey, and Jon all have the blood of the dragon and the blood of the First Men thanks to Jon's Stark heritage and the Strong side of the Velaryon siblings' genes. Meanwhile, despite claims to the contrary and their surnames, Rhaenyra's boys don't have a drop of Velaryon blood in them.
Being Bastards Is Important To The Stories Of Rhaenyra's Kids And Jon Snow
Being a bastard was a massive part of Jon Snow's identity. It defined his personality, his worldview, and his true identity was one of the central mysteries of Game of Thrones that decided how the series ended. Officially, Rhaenyra's sons are trueborn Targaryens/Velaryons, but they are widely known to be bastards, and Jacaerys even knows it's the truth. Like Jon Snow, the fact that the Velaryon brothers are Harwin Strong's bastards, or at least publicly perceived to be, informs how they are treated by their aunt, Queen Alicent, and their own cousins, who were also fed the truth by their mother.
For most of his life, Jon was ridiculed for being a bastard, and Ned's wife, Caitlyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), despised him as living proof of her husband's infidelity (even though it wasn't true). For Jacaerys and Lucerys (and eventually, Joffrey), the fact that they are bastards is the source of the enmity towards them from Alicent's faction, the Greens, and her side of the family. Alicent dreads that her trueborn Targaryen sons will be put to death by Rhaenyra if she becomes Queen in order to prevent any challenge to her bastard sons' claims to the Iron Throne.
Rhaenyra's Children And Jon Snow Have Prince That Was Promised Potential
Aegon the Conqueror's prophecy of the Long Night, which Jon Snow fought and helped win in Game of Thrones, does apply to Rhaenyra's sons in House of the Dragon, in theory. No one in Rhaenrya's era knows what will happen nearly 200 years later in Game of Thrones, but the Princess was told of Aegon's prophecy by her father, King Viserys, in order to continue the Targaryen's rule that will eventually save Westeros from the Night King. Jon Snow (and Daenerys) can be seen as the Prince That Was Promised in Aegon's prophecy, but Jacaerys and Lucerys have the same potential.
Rhaenyra sees the Prince That Was Promised prophecy in Aegon's dagger in House of the Dragon episode 7, which hints the Princess could see Jacaerys as that fabled hero. Indeed, Jace, Luke, and Jon all become dragon riders thanks to their Targaryen heritage, and they also have the blood of the First Men. Jon was a genuine war hero in Game of Thrones, but the same can't quite be said for Jacaerys and Lucerys. Rhaenyra's sons have different destinies in store for them as House of the Dragon continues, and they will be victims of tragedies in very different ways from Jon Snow's fate.
House of the Dragon airs Sundays @ 9pm ET and streams on HBO Max.