It wouldn’t be the GOT universe without a few witchy, mysterious, and superstitious references dotted about the season. And in series two of House of the Dragon, episode three sees one of the biggest superstitions the series has known – the curse of Harrenhal.
In the most recent episode, after having royally messed up with the death of young Jaehaerys, Daemon (Matt Smith) exiled himself from Dragonstone and travelled to Harrenhal in the hope of securing the fortress as base for his growing army and to have Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) bend the knee to Queen Rhaenyra.
While he achieves both these things, things are still not quite what they seem at Harrenhal as Daemon starts to have some mysterious visions and there’s mentions of a curse throughout the episode.
So what exactly is this curse? Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Harrenhal curse?
Ok, so let’s do a quick lil background recap. Harrenhal is the fortress for the Strong family which included Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) and Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) aka the true father of Rhaenyra’s children Jacerys, Lucerys and Joffrey.
However, as you may recall towards the end of season one both Lyonel and Harwin died in a mysterious castle fire at Harrenhal, leaving the family to be ruled by Larys Strong, who coincidentally didn’t seem all that sad at his brother and father’s passing. This fire just adds to the theory that the castle is cursed.
Speaking of, Harrenhal is the largest castle in all the seven kingdoms and is centrally located in Westeros and sits north of the massive lake the God’s Eye. It was created over 130 years ago, by Harren Hoare and actually built over the course of 40 years by many slaves.
The castle was just finishing off construction when Aegon the Conquerer and his sisters (and wives) Visenya and Rhaenys invaded Westeros with their dragons. Refusing to bend the knee to Aegon, as he believed his newly finished castle was impenetrable, Harren learnt the hard way that dragons are actually pretty powerful. Harren and his heirs were all burnt to a crisp and much of the castle walls were destroyed by Aegon and his dragon Balerion.
Since that ghastly event, a tragedy has befallen every single individual and family that has taken residence at Harrenhal. It is said Harren mixed human blood into the mortar of the stonework, and the castle is now too big and expensive to maintain. You’d think they’d all find a new castle by now.
House of the Dragon is streaming on NOW
Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from , to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating , covering exciting new releases and sharing the latest must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of . After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into journalism, writing for the , before working as Features Editor at , where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on .
