Harwin Strong in House of the Dragon meets the same fate that most of the character in Game of Thrones have. Not to spoil things for you, but things don’t look very good for the knight.
Many significant characters in House Of the Dragon have already been revealed, but Harwin “breakbones” Strong, a supporting figure, will soon take center stage in the upcoming episodes.
The few episodes of House of the Dragon that has already been broadcast have resulted in viewers being attached to various characters. Even though Harwin hardly appears on screen for a minute or two, he seems to enchant people much more than Daemon or Criston do.
Fans have been incessantly posting desperate comments and tweets about that one scene where Ser Harwin Strong waded into the commotion to carry Rhaenyra to safety on social media, particularly Twitter. They have already seen a particular kind of chemistry beginning to build between him and Rhaenyra as they shared a dance at the pre-wedding party.
Warning: Spoilers for the current season of House of the Dragons and perhaps upcoming ones are ahead.
What Happens To Harwin Strong In House of the Dragon?
Ser Harwin Strong is the heir of Harrenhall, the residence of House Strong in Westeros, and a knight from the House of the Dragon.
He is also among the strongest people in the realm during the Dance of Dragons. Harwin’s father, Lyonel Strong, was a King’s Hand, and his family had close ties with the monarch.
Fans may recall that Ser Criston Cole mauled the king’s consort’s lover during the wedding scene between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Ser Laenor Velaryon.
While the princess was still in the midst of the gory conflict, this caused everyone watching to become agitated. Soon after, Ser Harwin Strong spotted the princess and carried her away from the overwhelming crowd while gliding through the sea of thronging people on his back.
With Harwin’s enthusiasm to encourage Rhaenyra’s proclivities that others are anxious to tear down, House of the Dragon has already started to sow the seeds for this to happen. Additionally, he has demonstrated his willingness to stand up for Rhaenyra as the City Watch is sworn to do.
Harwin Strong First Appearance In House of the Dragon
In the third episode, Ser Harwin was first seen at Prince Aegon’s celebration of his second name day. He went on the Royal Hunt with his father and King Viserys. Additionally, in the fifth episode, when he saves Princess Rhaenyra from the commotion at the wedding, we see his physical power in action.
The next episode of House of the Dragon revealed Harwin as a City Watch member. His persona has earned him the nickname Breakbones, and he is typically considered the most muscular man in the Seven Kingdoms.
In House of the Dragon, he hasn’t yet had a chance to demonstrate this, but he will soon have the chance. Up until that point, Harwin has shown that he adds value to House of the Dragon differently.
Harwin is one of several witnesses who sees Rhaenyra go through the camp covered in a boar’s blood in “Second of His Name” (season 1, episode 3). At the same time, Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall) stares at Rhaenyra with hate, and King Viserys, Alicent, and Otto Hightower, all varying, display contempt for her.
Among these cuts to various people, Harwin’s reaction stands out because he displays a delighted and proud look in response to Rhaenyra’s recent journey.
Harwin and House of the Dragon fans, who were proud of Rhaenyra’s self-assured stride into camp, become friends due to Harwin’s silent but emotional support for Rhaenyra at this moment.
In the subsequent House of the Dragon episode, “King of the Narrow Sea,” Harwin continued to make amends. Even though Harwin appears in the episode only briefly, he manages to give the audience yet more reason to like or trust him.
Harwin, a member of the City Watch, meets Rhaenyra as she goes on a covert midnight adventure with Daemon. He initially accepts Rhaenyra’s pretense of being a city boy, but when he realizes it’s the princess, he makes fun with her and lets her depart with Daemon.
Harwin’s apparent silence and possible reluctance to come forward to confirm or deny these claims, given the rate at which “King of the Narrow Sea” moves to explore what happened between Rhaenyra and Daemon that night, allow both viewers and Rhaenyra to consider Harwin as a likely candidate to place their trust in moving forward.
Is Harwin Strong The Father Of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Sons?
Many, including Queen Alicent believe thst Harwin Strong is the father of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s sons based on their hair color and other features.
Spoiler alert: even while it’s not yet known whether the TV show will take the same course, Rhaenyra and Harwin end up falling in love in the books.
The group that supports Princess Rhaenyra and her claim to the Iron Throne, known as “the blacks,” will increasingly attract Harwin’s attention more and more. When the situation in the Red Keep grows untenable, and Rhaenyra leaves the court to escape Alicent, claiming Dragonstone as her home, Harwin will follow—and tales have it that he will act as more than just an ally or as she pledged defender.
After giving birth to her third son, Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra struggles to get back on her feet in the brief episode 6 clip that is already making the rounds online. She had already given birth to Jacaerys and Lucerys before him. You might wonder what this has to do with Ser Harwin.
Given that both of their parents are of pure Valyrian ancestry, all three boys are said to resemble Ser Harwin in Fire & Blood and The World of Ice and Fire rather than having inherited the traditional characteristics of Old Valyria.
The absence of any silver-gold hair or purple pigment in the eyes of the princes Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey Velaryon suggests that their father, Ser Laenor, is not at all their father.
Although Fire & Blood presents itself as a “serious” historical chronicle that glosses over some more personal events, it never explicitly states that Harwin was Rhaenyra’s lover. However, House of the Dragon should be expected to reveal the full scope of the two people’s relationship.
After all, unlike the silver-blonde wigs that all other Valyrian figures wear, the kids who portray Princes Jacaerys and Lucerys are depicted with full heads of dark hair. Considering how awful those wigs have been thus far, it might be better for them.
Does Harwin Strong Die In House Of the Dragon?
Spoiler Alert! The Breakbones inexplicably passes away in the castle Harrenhall with his father, according to the novel Fire & Blood. Speaking of Harrenhall, the second season of Game of Thrones introduced us to this eerie location when Arya was kidnapped and ran across Tywin Lannister.
The birth of three princes indirectly brings on Ser Harwin’s demise. Prince Aemond Targaryen, the third-born child of King Viserys and Queen Alicent, mockingly refers to them as “Strongs,” which sparks a brawl.
The four lads, who had been fighting with wooden swords up until that point, now switch to more dangerous implements, and Lucerys pulls out his knife to cut Aemond’s face. In doing so, he also removes Aemond’s right eye, giving him the moniker “Aemond One-Eye.”
King Viserys orders Ser Harwin’s dismissal from Princess Rhaenyra’s household following that altercation. He then returns to Harrenhal, where his tale comes to a fiery conclusion. That same year, a fire ravaged the town, killing Ser Harwin and Lord Lyonel.
Officially, the accident was blamed on Harrenhal’s curse, but if you know what this means, it’s more like a Lady Rhea Royce scenario. However, given that Daemon had a dragon at his disposal, it wouldn’t be a stretch to believe he could quickly fly up to the Vale to get rid of a wife he had grown tired of. In Fire & Blood, Lady Rhea’s demise is depicted as a fateful, sad accident.
Harwin’s demise is suspected of having been carried out by Daemon Targaryen once more to eliminate competition for Rhaenyra’s love by Lord Corlys Velaryon as a form of retaliation for the defamation Ser Harwin inflicted on his son’s honor by King Viserys himself to put an end to the rumors that were circulating about Rhaenyra and by Harwin’s brother Larys.
Rise Of House Strong
Up until this point, House Strong has remained a little house on House of the Dragon, but now that Lyonel has been appointed Hand of the King and his descendants are getting to know the queen consort and princess on a much more personal level, the family is undoubtedly on the rise.
House Strong joined House Tully in revolting against Harren Hoare, King of the Isles and the Rivers, during Aegon’s Conquest and supported House Targaryen instead.
When King Aegon I Targaryen was in power, Ser Osmund Strong was appointed Hand of the King and oversaw the wall building around King’s Landing.
The Strongs have prospered in King’s Landing for the past ten years. Lyonel is a skillful Hand of the King who precisely suits Viserys’ requirements. Larys serves as the Lord Confessor, the royal torturer, while Harwin now serves as the Commander of the City Watch, the Gold Cloaks.
Harwin Strong Relation With Lyonel
House of the Dragon has already started to make the case that Harwin comes from a line of sensible judgment as the oldest son of Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes). As King Viserys’ Master of Laws, Lyonel has established himself as a reliable ally.
Throughout House of the Dragon, Lyonel has tried to convince Viserys to act in the best way for his House and the realm, but Viserys hasn’t always been wise enough to heed his counsel. It’s also important to note that Lyonel has refrained from taking advantage of his relationship with Viserys for his benefit.
At the very least, for the sake of the money, Lyonel urged Viserys to mend his friendship with Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint). He suggested Viserys marry Laena, Corlys’ daughter, to accomplish this. Lyonel again proposed it between Rhaenyra and Corlys’ son Laenor after Viserys rejected it the first time.
Lord Lyonel initially went to Oldtown to train as a maester before becoming the Lord of Harrenhal. He attended the Westerosi version of the university for several years, earning an astounding six links on his chain, indicating that he had attained at least the level of “acolyte” and could have eventually attained the title of maester if he had desired it.
He eventually realized he didn’t want that existence after having a change of heart (and perhaps growing tired of celibacy).
Lord Lyonel is quiet and humble in appearance, like his ancestor Osmund, who was the first Strong to service a Targaryen as Hand of the King, but he is cunningly knowledgeable regarding political strategy. One of Viserys’ few genuinely clever choices was to select Lyonel as his second Hand.
Larys Strong & Harwin Strong are Related as Brothers
Larys, the valiant Ser Harwin’s younger brother who has never been knighted or publicly recognized, is the last member of the Strong family to be watched. This is because Larys already had a nickname of his own: “Larys the Clubfoot,” a cruel joke that made fun of his infirmity, which left him with clubfoot from birth and other disabilities.
Larys can be seen momentarily choosing to socialize with the women in the pavilion during the big hunt in the third episode of House of the Dragon as opposed to bragging with the males outdoors.
His confrontation with Alicent, as we saw in the fifth episode, demonstrates his cunning and extraordinary talent for gleaning information from others. Perhaps during these listening sessions, he learned the Grand Maester had prepared Princess Rhaenyra’s morning-after pill, moon tea, for her.
He then used that information by informing Queen Alicent about the princess’ nightly activities, which were becoming increasingly cut off from the outside world.
House of the Dragon has already hinted at the connections between Queen Alicent and the Clubfoot. He will then support the Greens in the civil war, which includes Alicent and Prince Aegon. He will attend the tiny council meetings and assist Aegon II’s succession with his cunning and sharp intellect.
Like Varys from Game of Thrones, Larys becomes a powerful Master of Whispers in Fire & Blood.
Some FAQs
Who is the actor who plays Harwin Strong in the House of the Dragon?
Ryan Corr plays the character of Harwin Strong in House of the dragons.
Who is Harwin Strong?
As the heir to Harrenhal, Ser Harwin Strong, also referred to as Breakbones, was a knight from House Strong.
How does Harwin Strong die?
At Harrenhal, a fire claimed the lives of both Lord Lyonel Strong, his father, and Harwin.