How Jaehaerys Targaryen Fits Into His Incestuous Family Tree

Fire and blood will rain down on both sides this summer as House of the Dragon season 2 has begun. When two Targaryen princes find their untimely ends, the war between the dragons is kicked off. So who is Jaehaerys Targaryen and how does he play into the story of the dance of dragons?

The Targaryen bloodline

My fellow House of the Dragon fans know how hard it is to keep up with the Targaryen family tree and their various incestuous marriages. The Targaryens’ fondness for naming their children after their family members doesn’t make things easier. You might say it’s all in the family. There are a few layers of Targaryen marriages and children to keep up with in House of the Dragon season 2.

In season one we saw Rhaenyra lose her mother and her baby brother early on. This led to Rhaenyra’s father Viserys Targaryen marrying Alicent Hightower. Alicent had three children by Viserys: Aegon II, Aemond, and Helaena, all of whom were now Rhaenyra’s half-siblings. In true Targaryen style, Aegon married his sister Helaena in season one. We saw those two have a pair of toddlers towards the end of the first season but the kids didn’t get much attention.

Jaehaerys in season two

In the premiere episode of House of the Dragon season two, we do get more time with Aegon and Helaena’s children, including their son Jaeharys, the boy half of the twins. Jaehaerys is spoken of as a boy who loves the library, attends his father’s small council, and annoys Tyland Lannister by being a child, to the delight of his father the king. His twin sister, Jaehaera, isn’t given as much screen time in the premiere, but that’s because she is less critical at this point in the story.

Spoilers ahead for season 2 episode 1 of House of the Dragon.

Now that you know who Jaehaerys is, you can connect a name with the lack of a head, since this poor kid got his sawed off at the very end of the first episode of the season. Apparently he had it even worse in the books, when the assassins named Blood and Cheese enter Queen Helaena’s bedchamber while they’re scouring the royal living quarters for Aemond Targaryen on their mission from Daemon. There are a few differences between book and TV Jaehaerys, but one common thread remains: his cruel and unexpected death fuels his father’s rage against Rhaenyra and Daemon and ignites an all-out war between the greens and the blacks. Despite his short life, Jaehaerys’ story is a critical thread in the tapestry of House of the Dragon.