All Of Rhaenyra, Daemon, And Alicent's Children On House Of The Dragon Untangled And Explained

Thanks to a ten year time jump in the sixth episode of "House of the Dragon," characters like Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Alicent Hightower are now played by Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke, respectively — and now that they're all grown up, they've got plenty of kids between them. (Matt Smith, as Daemon Targaryen, sticks around, simply aging a little bit.) Beyond that time jump, each episode that's followed has contained even more time jumps, aging up those kids as well.

Considering that "House of the Dragon" has already been renewed for a second season and promises to bring viewers through the entirety of the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, these kids will, with absolute certainty, play enormous roles in the infighting to come. That said, it can be tough to parse which children belong to whom or how and why they might even be important (particularly because, as the show has continued, each of these young actors have already been replaced by older counterparts like their on screen parents before them). So who are the Targaryen offspring that we need to know, and why do they matter?

When it comes to childbirth, Rhaenyra is nothing short of prolific, despite her character's early assertions that she never wanted children at all. That said, her children cause a fair amount of controversy... at least, when it comes to the first three, Jacaerys (Leo Hart and Harry Collett), Lucarys (Harvey Sadler, Elliott Grihault), and Joffrey, since they're supposed to be the children of her first husband Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan). Unfortunately, they look nothing like the silver-haired Laenor; instead they're all brunette — anyone who remembers Ned Stark muttering "Baratheon, black of hair" in the first season of "Game of Thrones" probably knows what that sort of thing means — and in reality, they were all sired by Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr). 

Ser Harwin and Laenor have both left the picture, however, and Rhaenyra is remarried to her uncle Daemon, producing three much younger siblings: Aegon the Younger, Viserys, and Visenya. As for Jace and Luke, so far, they're the only ones who have played any real role in the series thus far thanks to their age. Jace, for his part, is already bonded with a dragon named Vermax, and the two of them participate in a brawl over Vhagar that has some seriously long-lasting consequences, with Luke committing a violent (but warranted) act against his uncle. Meanwhile, the two boys are also engaged to their Velaryon cousins to strengthen the connection between Houses Velaryon and Targaryen... largely because everyone knows they're not Laenor's issue.

Twins Baela (Shani Smethurst, Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Eva Ossei-Gerning, Phoebe Campbell) start their turn on the series stranded with their parents Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) and Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). Though they lead a seemingly peaceful and bountiful life out in Pentos, the girls dream of more; in one scene in "The Princess and the Queen," Baela laments not having a dragon egg from birth, while Laena reassures her that she'll go on to be a rider someday. She does, in fact: Baela eventually rides a dragon known as Moondancer.

However, these two young girls are struck by tragedy early in the series when their mother Laena, in labor with their younger brother, encounters complications that can't be overcome. Dying the proper death of a dragonrider, Laena opts to burn herself and the burgeoning baby alive with the help of her dragon Vhagar. When it comes to Vhagar, she ends up stolen by one of Alicent's children, invoking Baela's rage as she's left without a dragon she considered her birthright. They're also an important part of the alliance on the Blacks side of the Dance of the Dragons, as they're engaged to Jace and Luke.

If there's one thing you need to know about Aegon II Targaryen (Ty Tennant, Tom Glynn-Carney), it's this: he sucks. Truly, Aegon, the eldest son of Alicent and the late King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) is a total jerk, whether he's doing disgusting deeds in his window as a teen or wantonly assaulting serving maids as a young adult. He's also a fairly negligent husband to his own sister, Helaena, though the two share a few children — Jaehaerys, Jahaera, and Maelor. 

Unfortunately, as Alicent's eldest child, he's also first in the Greens faction's ideal line to the throne, and when Viserys dies, they steal the Iron Throne out from under Rhaenyra by quickly crowning Aegon before anybody can do anything about it. Aegon doesn't particularly want this seat of power, though, absconding into the bowels of King's Landing and sending half the court chasing after him in the process. Aware that his dad wasn't a fan (understandable) and unsure if his mother loves him (why would she?) Aegon shakily takes the crown before being threatened by his father's cousin Rhaenys (Eve Best), who drags her dragon Meleys out from the dragonpit as a clear warning before joining the Blacks against the new king.

If her husband-brother Aegon is terrible, Helaena (Evie Allen, Phia Saban) is just... tricky. A quiet, unassuming girl who likes to play with critters and mumble stuff, Helaena is just sort of there in the background of several scenes, though she certainly draws attention to herself at a family dinner where she announces that marriage isn't terrible, trying to reassure her cousin Baela upon her engagement to Jace. Your husband will mostly ignore you, as Helaena tells Baela, unless he wants, well, something from you when he's drunk. Encouraging!

Helaena definitely has more to her than meets the eye, though. That stuff she's mumbling? It's actually kind of important! From knowing that her younger brother would have an eye-related incident before gaining a dragon to correctly predicting a "beast beneath the boards" (Rhaenys' entrance into Aegon's coronation), Helaena's mutterings should definitely get audiences perked up and paying attention as the series goes on.

At first, Aemond Targaryen (Leo Ashton, Ewan Mitchell) really doesn't seem so bad, especially compared to his brute of a brother. As a young boy, Aemond is insecure about not having a dragon, worried that he'll never be a true rider... but just before the show's six-year time jump, he remedies that by stealing Vhagar, who belonged to the late Laena Velaryon. As retribution on behalf of Baela and Rhaena, Aemond's nephew Luke ends up taking Aemond's eye. Aemond, who really wanted a dragon, seems totally at peace with this trade, despite Alicent calling for Luke's eyes in return.

Ultimately, Aemond, adorned with an eyepatch, grows up to be nearly as insufferable as his brother, and to that end, more powerful — as he points out, he's more learned and has more combat training than Aegon, and would happily take the crown if it was offered to him. He still has moments of insecurity, however; when confronted with a roasted pig, bringing to mind the "Pink Dread" — the moment where his nephews and brother gave him a pig instead of a dragon as a prank — he snaps, bringing up Jace and Luke's real parentage and starting a second brawl amongst the children of the family. Aemond is definitely a bit formidable, especially when compared to his lacking brother, so it definitely seems as if he'll play an increasingly larger role as the series continues.