In House of the Dragon, Ser Steffon Darklyn is connected to House Targaryen through his loyalty and service. Ser Steffon Darklyn was a member of the Kingsguard, a group of seven knights whose primary duty is to protect the king and his family.
Ser Steffon Darklyn served many members of House Targaryen, especially during the Dance of the Dragons. House Darklyn is a prominent family located in the Crownlands, and their stronghold, Duskendale, showed loyalty to the Targaryen reign. Thus, Ser Steffon Darklyn’s relationship with House Targaryen was established through his loyalty and service.
In this week’s new episode of House of the Dragon, titled “Smallfolk,” we saw a major shift for Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Team Black. After losing her most experienced dragonrider, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), Rhaenyra is left with a shortage of dragonriders but has many dragons sleeping in the caverns of Dragonstone. The previous episode, “Regent,” ended with Rhaenyra and her son Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) discovering that there might be records of Targaryens who married into other noble families, and their descendants could still have enough of the Old Valyrian blood to claim a dragon.
In Episode 206, we saw this plan unfold. Rhaenyra called on her loyal Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Steffon Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan), and revealed that he is a distant relative of House Targaryen. Ser Steffon gladly accepted the challenge of trying to tame a dragon, even though failure could mean almost certain death.
And fail he did. Everything appeared to be going smoothly until the dragon Seasmoke detected Ser Steffon’s hesitation and decided the knight didn’t meet his expectations. Steffon was incinerated by Seasmoke’s fiery breath in one of the episode’s early shocking moments.
If, like Seasmoke, you’re curious about Ser Steffon’s connection to House Targaryen, know that while the dragon may not be concerned with the details, we definitely are!
Is Ser Steffon Darklyn Targaryen’s Kin? Uncovering His Connection in the Books
When Rhaenyra summons Ser Steffon before her council, she reveals that his “great-grandmother, Arianna, was born a Targaryen princess.” Arianna married into House Darklyn, and over time, the Targaryen blood became more diluted as the Darklyn family expanded. This gives us a clear understanding of how Ser Steffon is related to the Targaryens in House of the Dragon: six generations back, a Targaryen princess married into the Darklyn family.
However, this connection is made up for HBO’s television series. The original books by George R.R. Martin never mention that Ser Steffon or House Darklyn is related to House Targaryen. In the books, Ser Steffon does try to ride the dragon Seasmoke, but he is one of many loyal knights who attempt to claim a dragon based on their dedication, not on any family ties to House Targaryen. While Targaryen relatives and bastards, known as “Dragonseeds,” are the main dragon riders, the books include others who try to ride dragons too.
The World of Ice and Fire book and the Targaryen family tree show no record of an “Arianna Targaryen” marrying into House Darklyn. If Arianna were real, she would have married into House Darklyn very early, even before Aegon’s Conquest, when the Targaryens were still based on Dragonstone. The family tree from that time is unclear because maesters started recording details only after Aegon and his sisters arrived in Westeros. Arianna could have been a close ancestor of Aegon I Targaryen, at least in the show.
Next week, we’ll see other characters trying to become dragonriders in an event called the Sowing of the Seeds. It promises to be an exciting episode, so don’t miss it next Sunday night on HBO and Max!