Who Is The Crabfeeder At The End Of House Of The Dragon Episode 2?

Contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" Episode 2

Chock full of the politics and drama that made "Game of Thrones" popular, "House of the Dragon" fills in the gaps of Westerosi history during the waning period of Targaryen rule. Of course, by the time "Game of Thrones" rolls around, the Targaryens are all but extinct, but in the prequel, they and various aristocratic families of Old Valyria still maintain tenuous control over what would eventually be known as the Seven Kingdoms. However, there's definitely a conflict brewing on the horizon.

"Game of Thrones" has its fair share of heroes and villains. Of course, the latter has even more characters that happily straddle the line between — often multiple times before the story is over. While "House of the Dragon" is still at the very beginning of its arc, it's already quite clear that the show follows the general vibe of the original. As such, there's reason to believe that several backstabbing, double-crossing "Game of Thrones" archetypes will eventually emerge, as well as a visually captivating villain to unite at least some of them against. 

Indeed, Episode 2 appears to deliver on both fronts. First, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) grows weary of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and the Small Council's apathy toward the growing threat at Stepstones. When the king is reluctant to send forces, believing that doing so would cause open warfare, Corlys aligns himself with the exiled Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). The episode also give us a glimpse at the threat the Master of Boats is so concerned about: A monstrous, masked figure called Crabfeeder, and the crab-themed torture that appears to give him his name. But who is this character? Why are they important, and could they potentially provide a Night King-style threat to Westeros? Let's find out!

It's important to note that "House of the Dragon" is based on George R.R. Martin's prequel book, "Fire and Blood." As such, even dedicated fans have much less written story to draw from than they had in "Game of Thrones." Even so, the masked purveyor of crab-themed brutality we see in the closing moments of Episode 2 is almost certainly none other than Craghas Drahar, played by Daniel Scott-Smith in the show. If the masked, burned Drahar is anything like the rather more ordinary-looking version in the source material, he's about to become a pretty major player in the series because he has the leadership of Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh — collectively known as the Triarchy. Now that he has the Stepstones, he's a force to be reckoned with at sea, as well — and one that Lord Corys would clearly prefer to avoid dealing with in any capacity that doesn't involve open warfare. 

Much like his book counterpart, the show's Craghas is known as Crabfeeder due to his peculiar tendency to leave his helpless enemies tied to debris on low tide, turning their drowned flesh into a crab banquet when the high tide rolls in ... provided that the crabs can wait, that is. Considering the location of the Stepstones and the apprehensive views of Lord Corlys, the area this ominous figure is now holding is an important shipping lane. The Crabfeeder's presence in the Stepstones will no doubt cause some serious disruptions to Corlys' business, which is why he's attempting to lure Daemon into this conflict. Needless to say, Drahar will certainly be an important player in the upcoming episodes of "House of the Dragon." However, it remains to be seen whether he has the might to stand against dragons.