TV & Movies
Larys Strong’s Fate In House Of The Dragon May Be Full Of Twists
Fire & Blood describes him as a man who “changed allegiances as other men changed cloaks.”
Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon Episode 9 and the Fire & Blood book. A few episodes ago on House of the Dragon, Larys Strong told Alicent that she would “reward” him, one day, for his strategic act of killing his dad and brother. By Episode 9, that prediction has definitely come true. Now that Viserys is out of the picture, Larys uses his spy connections to feed Alicent intel — which is more important than ever, as she tries to prop Aegon up as king. But as Fire & Blood reveals, Larys’ motives are never quite clear.
In George R.R. Martin’s book, we don’t see Larys and Alicent’s disturbing sexual dynamic, but they are still close collaborators in the Dance of the Dragons. One example of their partnership happens after Daemon orders the assassination of one of Aegon’s sons, Jaehaerys (“a son for a son,” as Aemond killed Lucerys). Alicent makes Larys torture one of the killers, Blood, for information. Specifically, Martin writes, it’s rumored that Alicent wanted to know Blood’s real name, “so that she might bathe in the blood of his wife and children.”
Larys also serves as Aegon’s Master of Whisperers and is tasked with finding out who supported Rhaenyra’s coronation (yes, she held her own!) so they could be dealt with. However, as we’ve seen before, like when Larys had his father and brother killed, the man doesn’t take his personal relationships too seriously.
Ultimately, Aegon kills Rhaenyra — ostensibly ending the Dance of the Dragons. But, unfortunately, the king wanted to keep the war going, something his advisers did not agree with. This is when it’s implied that Larys took matters into his own hands and had Aegon poisoned, putting his short reign to an end once and for all. While Martin writes in Fire & Blood that the actual person who carried out Aegon’s murder is a mystery, it’s confirmed that the assassination was done “at the behest of Larys Strong.”
It wasn’t the only time Larys seemed to switch teams. Before having Aegon killed, he helped Baela get to safety during the king’s final battle maneuvers, apparently showing compassion for the opposing side. As Martin puts it, “Larys Strong had always been a man who went his own way ... and changed allegiances as other men changed cloaks.” While Larys never officially admitted to killing Aegon, he also never denied it — and was killed for treason.
