Who Is The Bloodraven, AKA Brynden Rivers?

The words of House /Film are Fire, Blood, and Spoilers. Warning: This article discusses major events from the season 2 finale of “House of the Dragon.”

How many Targaryens does it take to convince Team Black’s biggest wildcard to simply support his wife? It’s no fault of Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) that she couldn’t do this on her own, given her husband Daemon’s (Matt Smith) obnoxious ambitions to grab power for himself, but luckily an unexpected ally in Harrenhal swooped in to get our favorite rogue prince back on track. The secretive Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) has been messing with Daemon’s head for practically the entirety of season 2 to this point and it’s been heavily implied she’s responsible for all the hallucinations and dreams that have plagued the Targaryen and given us several unexpected surprise cameos, such as young Rhaenyra played by Milly Alcock and even the return of Paddy Considine’s King Viserys in recent episodes. But both of those pale in comparison to one shocking appearance of another Targaryen during Daemon’s latest vision — and it’s not the one you’re thinking of.

The Daenerys Targaryen tease deserves a breakdown all to itself, but an even more unexpected surprise comes early on in the dream sequence. The first thing Daemon sees after touching the mystical weirwood tree is a hidden figure who almost appears to be growing out of another weirwood tree. This is followed by a three-eyed raven flying away, and those who’ve watched “Game of Thrones,” along with book readers who’ve done their homework on author George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels, will have a pretty good idea of who this is supposed to be: Bryden “Bloodraven” Rivers, who may have been the mysterious man calling himself the Three-Eyed Raven that we met in “Thrones.”

Big news for the most annoying person you know (“A Song of Ice and Fire” lore enthusiasts like myself): Brynden Rivers has finally been depicted on-screen and that’s a huge deal. In Westerosi history as laid down by George R.R. Martin in the companion book “The World of Ice & Fire,” this legitimized bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen (commonly known as “Aegon the Unworthy” because, well, he was pretty much the worst king to ever sit the Iron Throne) plays a huge role in world events — though, interestingly enough, he isn’t actually born until decades after the Dance of the Dragons as depicted in “House of the Dragon.” So, between him and Dany, Daemon sees visions of two future major Targaryen figures who don’t yet exist.

But Brynden, who is described by Martin as essentially an albino with a “winestain” birthmark on his face roughly in the shape and color of a bloodied raven (hence his nickname), looms large in the history books. He would eventually participate in his own Targaryen civil war down the line, known as the Blackfyre Rebellion, and dealt the decisive blow to end the conflict for good. He went on to serve as Hand of the King, but his prior actions would result in his exile to the freezing Wall in the far North and his joining the Night’s Watch. After ascending to the position of Lord Commander, however, Bloodraven disappeared beyond the Wall and was never seen again … until, the fan-theory goes, Bran Stark and his friends ran into a man calling himself the Three-Eyed Raven (played by Max Von Sydow in “Game of Thrones”) who, in the books, admits that his true name is Brynden.

The plot thickens!

If there’s one thing this Daemon subplot tells us, it’s that one should be careful when in the presence of weirwood trees and the enigmatic weirdos hanging around them. Daemon’s far from the first person in Westeros to learn this the hard way, as Bran the Broken (he has the most interesting story ever told, don’t you know!) would go on to become a greenseer who was capable of using this vast network of trees to travel through time and spy on the most significant historical events in all of the Seven Kingdoms. He only did so with the help of his mentor, the Three-Eyed Raven, and one of the biggest theories among “A Song of Ice and Fire” fans has always been that he and Bloodraven are, in fact, one and the same.

This cameo in “House of the Dragon” isn’t just a fun nugget to throw at book nerds, however. During the course of Brynden’s travels, he crosses paths with a certain knight by the name of Ser Duncan the Tall, who escorts him to exile on the Wall — the very same Duncan who is the main character of the upcoming spinoff series, “The Hedge Knight.” In the official canon, this is little more than the briefest of interactions … but wouldn’t this upcoming show be a perfect opportunity to expand beyond the pages and lay even more groundwork for the Bloodraven’s legendary exploits? The fan-favorite character could easily serve as the lead of his own show altogether, but perhaps some more connectivity between “House of the Dragon” and “The Hedge Knight” could be the next best thing.

All eight episodes of “House of the Dragon” season 2 are now streaming on Max.