The Central Conflict: One King, Two Heirs
Everything boils down to this: King Viserys I Targaryen, a decent man who was maybe too nice for the job, broke with tradition. After his first wife died in childbirth without giving him a male heir, he named his only daughter, Princess Rhaenyra, as his successor.
He made all the lords of the realm swear an oath to uphold her claim. Simple, right? Wrong. Viserys then remarried Alicent Hightower and had sons, including a firstborn, Aegon. This created a second potential claimant, and the entire court began to quietly (and then not-so-quietly) choose sides.
Team Black: For the Queen!
This is Rhaenyra’s faction. She’s the designated heir and believes the Iron Throne is hers by right and by her father’s decree. She spent most of the season trying to secure her position while navigating courtly intrigue. After a politically motivated (and unconsummated) marriage to Laenor Velaryon, she secretly had three sons with Ser Harwin Strong. When both Laenor and Harwin were out of the picture, she married her chaotic-but-powerful uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen. By the end of Season 1, her key allies are Daemon, her sons Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey, and the immensely wealthy Lord Corlys Velaryon (the Sea Snake). Their sigil is Rhaenyra’s red, three-headed dragon.
Team Green: For the King!
This is the faction loyal to Queen Alicent Hightower and her son, Aegon II. Alicent, once Rhaenyra’s best friend, grew pious and resentful, convinced Rhaenyra’s moral failings made her unfit to rule. She was goaded on by her father, Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King, who had been plotting to get his own blood on the throne for years. The Greens include Alicent, Otto, her brooding second son Aemond “One-Eye” Targaryen (more on that later), and the brutish but effective Ser Criston Cole, Rhaenyra’s jilted ex-lover and former Kingsguard. They moved swiftly after Viserys's death to crown Aegon before Rhaenyra even knew her father was dead.
The Death That Ignited the War
A sick and dying King Viserys, hopped up on milk of the poppy, mistook his wife Alicent for his daughter Rhaenyra. He mumbled parts of Aegon the Conqueror’s prophecy about “The Prince That Was Promised.” Alicent, hearing only the name “Aegon” and the mention of a prince, interpreted this as Viserys’s dying wish for their son to be king. This misunderstanding gave her the moral justification she needed. She told her father, the Greens locked down the Red Keep, and they crowned Aegon II Targaryen as the new king, effectively usurping the throne.
First Blood: The Point of No Return
After Aegon’s coronation, Rhaenyra sent her sons out on dragonback to rally support from other lords. Young Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon flew to Storm’s End to secure the loyalty of House Baratheon. Unfortunately, Aemond Targaryen was already there. Aemond, who lost an eye to Luke in a childhood fight years ago, decided it was time for revenge. What started as a terrifying chase on dragonback ended in tragedy. Aemond’s massive, ancient dragon, Vhagar, disobeyed his command and chomped Luke and his smaller dragon, Arrax, out of the sky. The murder of a son and an envoy is an act of war you can’t walk back. The season ends with Rhaenyra learning of her son's death, her face shifting from grief to pure, unadulterated rage.
