Time jumps are critical to how House of the Dragon tells its story about a tumultuous moment in Targaryen history. None of those time jumps are as important as the 10-year leap that episode 6, “The Princess and the Queen,” takes. But episode 8 takes an almost-as-huge six year jump into the future. While there aren’t quite as many new characters this time around, plenty of the young actors have been recast so the children of Alicent, Rhaenyra, and Daemon, may look a little different than you remember — plus there are a few new ones.
To help you keep track of all the children that appeared in this episode, here’s a breakdown of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s respective families:
Rhaenyra’s children
Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett)
Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO
Jace is the oldest son of Rhaenyra and Laenor — or maybe of Rhaenyra and Ser Harwin Strong, depending on who you ask. Jace is currently the heir to the Iron Throne after his mother, and a strong kid despite only being somewhere around 7 years old. In episode 6 we see him almost beat Aegon Targaryen in a bout with wooden swords, despite Aegon’s advantages in size and age.
By episode 8 Jace is well into his teenage years and while it’s clear he’s still ready for a fight, he doesn’t have much to do outside of attend feasts just yet.
Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault)
Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO
Also known as Luke, Lucerys is Rhaenyra’s second child, and is mostly unremarkable in episode 6. He does happen to bear a striking resemblance to Ser Harwin Strong, his mother’s closest friend and notably not her husband. Unfortunately for all involved, this “coincidence” is noticed by literally everyone in King’s Landing, drawing Luke’s legitimacy into question.
By episode 8 it’s clear that Luke is still pretty sensitive about his resemblance to Harwin, even if he doubles down on his claim to Driftmark in episode 8 and therefore his legitimacy as a trueborn Targaryen. Just as importantly, Luke also gets engaged this episode, thanks to his mother’s promise to marry him to Baela Targaryen.
Joffrey Velaryon (some toddler)
Born at the start of episode 6, Joffrey is Rhaenyra’s youngest child, for now, and only a baby — and therefore pretty unremarkable on his own terms. He is also likely a bastard fathered by Ser Harwin Strong. Joffrey is named in honor of Laenor’s late lover, Joffrey Lonmouth, who was beaten to death at their wedding by Rhaenyra’s former lover, so there’s a lot going on there.
In episode 8, Joffrey is a toddler and plays on the floor near a fire. That’s it.
Viserys Targaryen (baby)
Viserys is the second-born child of Rhaenyra and Viserys. Viserys is presented to his grandfather/uncle, the man he is named for, King Viserys Targaryen.
Aegon Targaryen (Aegon the Younger) (baby)
Aegon is the first-born child of Rhaenyra and Daemon. Aegon is kind of in the background while Viserys is introduced to the man he’s named after.
Alicent’s children
Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney)
Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO
Aegon is one of the children who was not new to this episode, as we had seen a little of him before the time skip. He is the oldest son of Viserys Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. Anyone who knows even a little about Targaryen history knows that Aegon is a bold name to give a child. The name of the Westerosi dynasty’s first king, Aegon always carries with it a certain implication of earned (or conquered) kingship. Unfortunately, unlike the conqueror, the version of Aegon we see in this episode is mostly just a weird, spoiled brat.
In episode 8, Aegon graduates from spoiled brat to genuine monster in a way that’s fairly recognizable from the worst of the royals and nobles in Westeros. At the moment, it seems that Aegon is more concerned with using his privilege to do whatever he likes and abuse whoever he chooses instead of pursuing something more ambitious like power or fighting skill.
Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell)
Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO
Aegon’s younger brother, Aemond, is Alicent’s second son. Think of him as the Prince Daemon of this family, except without any of ambition, rashness, or martial prowess that make Daemon who he is — at least not yet. As we see in this episode, Aemond does not have a dragon, a fact that he spends much of his young life very self-conscious about.
Aemond’s Daemon connection got a lot stronger in episode 8 as we see just how hot-headed he’s become, and how dangerous with a sword. He’s already better than Ser Criston Cole and he seems formidable enough to take on almost anyone in the Seven Kingdoms. Most dangerously though, it’s clear that despite losing an eye and gaining a dragon, Aemond doesn’t quite think the score is settled between himself and Rhaenyra’s “Strong boys.”
Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban)
The second oldest of Alicent’s children, Helaena is a strange girl who, in this episode, we see playing with a large bug and counting its legs.
Helaena is barely in episode 8. But she is older now.
Daemon’s children
Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell)
Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO
Rhaena doesn’t play a huge role in episode 8.
Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia)
Photo: Ollie Upton / HBO
Baela gets betrothed this episode when her mother agrees to marry her to Luke Velaryon, meaning that one day the two will be rule Driftmark together.