Ranking Westeros Fathers: 'House of the Dragon'

Fans of “Game of Thrones” and its prequel, “House of the Dragon,” received a special treat this Father’s Day: the much-awaited second season of the show ‘House of the Dragon’ was released. Growing anticipation for the new episodes, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, and Fabien Frankel talked about the intricacies of the show’s characters, especially fathers.

The Cast Weighs in on Notorious Fathers

Olivia Cooke, the actress who plays Alicent Hightower, also weighed in on Rotten Tomatoes’ interview and gave her take on the show’s most infamous dads. On her list of the worst fathers on the show, Cooke spotted Daemon Targaryen and Aegon II Targaryen as the worst fathers. Especially Daemon demonstrated unruly temper and behavior, while Aegon was more hot-headed. But her co-stars were not of this opinion and gave a different perspective on the issue in contention.

Ser Criston Cole, as portrayed by Fabien Frankel, gave his input by stating that Otto Hightower, Alicent’s father, was worse. Frankel accused Otto of using his family members as mere tools to realize his perverted purposes, claiming that the man was uniquely unfit for parenthood.

To this, Matt Smith, who portrays Prince Daemon Targaryen in the show, fired back, saying Otto Hightower was worse because of his detachment. Smith claims that even though Daemon led a reckless life, he tried to remain a part of the children’s lives, unlike Otto.

The Ranking of Westeros’ Fathers

Terminating the discussion, it transformed into a rather heated quarrel about the merits of fatherhood in the characters. Based on the cast’s evaluation at the end of the game, the results came out quite surprisingly.

1. Lord Corlys Velaryon:

Leading these were Lord Conlys Velaryon, also popularly referred to as the Sea Snake. The viewers and the performers commended Corlys for his love and faithfulness to his children. He was devoted to the welfare of his family and supportive, thus receiving a lot of respect from Westeros parents, fathers in particular.

2. Harwin Strong:

Coming in second place was Harwin Strong, who was elected for his excellent genes of being a protective father figure. Despite all the difficulties in the story, his focus as a father for the children can be seen, and he did receive respect for that.

3. King Viserys I Targaryen:

Favorites of number three candidate, King Viserys, who has often been depicted as an indecisive character, also made it into the list. Despite the fact that he did not prove to be a very good king, his desire as a father for his children was considered noble.

These undertakings to support and take on the responsibilities of taking care of children while at the same time juggling his complicated leadership agenda were noble enough to ensure that he got a respectable status.

4. Prince Daemon Targaryen:

Prince Daemon, who showed disquieting personality traits, was placed fourth. His non-steady temper and whimsical actions were discussed together with his attempts to build a father-children relationship. Albeit not being an exemplary father, he was still able to obtain some measure of acknowledgement for his participation.

5. Otto Hightower:

Many characters who serve important capacities for the game failed the ranking test; the Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, is one of them. In these two aspects, he received a low reputation for leveraging family relations for self-serving purposes and general irresponsible fathering. Of course, he had some positive aspects of fatherhood, but Otto’s desire to manipulate people was evident. 

6. Aegon II Targaryen:

Tailing the list was Aegon II Targaryen, who was considered the worst father by all of the respondents. His cruelty and abuse of his own children proved his inability, or rather lack of suitability, to be a father, and thus, he was least preferred than any father in the entire Westeros.

Conclusion

The expectation for new episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2 was not only in terms of entertainment, but great discussions were cordial for the company this Father’s Day about the portrayal of father figures in the show.

Such particular features of the show’s characters as dark and gray morality allowed the cast members to discuss the fathers of Westeros and the corresponding difficulties of parenting in a fictional yet rather violent world.