Cregan Stark Explained: House Of The Dragon's Lord Of Winterfell Story & Connection To GOT's Ned (2024)

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for the book Fire & Blood, on which House of the Dragon is based.

Cregan Stark appears in House of the Dragon season 2, and the character will be even more important later in the Dance of the Dragons. House Stark was mostly absent from season 1, but the North is about to become a more prominent player. House of the Dragon season 1’s ending saw Jacaerys Velaryon flying off to the Vale, to treat with Jeyne Arryn, and then to Winterfell, to strike a deal with Cregan.

With House of the Dragon season 2’s timeline being just a few days later, it picks up in the North with Cregan and Jace. According to Fire & Blood, Cregan is stern and a formidable warrior (one of the best swordsmen alive, according to some in Westeros). However, the show itself doesn’t give viewers too much information about the Lord of Winterfell.

Who Plays Cregan Stark In House Of The Dragon

The New Lord Of Winterfell Actor Isn't Widely Known

Tom Taylor is a new addition to House of the Dragon’s cast, taking on the role of Lord Cregan Stark. Like most of the show’s younger actors, Taylor isn’t yet a high-profile name, but does have several credits under his belt already. These include the BBC show Doctor Foster, and the 2017 movie The Dark Tower.

Cregan Stark & Jacaerys Targaryen's Deal In The Dance Of The Dragons

The Pact Of Ice & Fire Explained

House of the Dragon does make it clear that Cregan and Jace come to an agreement, which sees him pledge 2,000 men to fight in the civil war for Rhaenyra’s Team Black. However, it doesn’t include the full details of that from the book, which was said to be called the Pact of Ice and Fire.

It is said that, when Jace visited Winterfell, he and Cregan spent quite a bit of time together. However, accounts vary on what really happens:

• One states that the two got on famously, spending their time training, hunting, and drinking, and swore “an oath of brotherhood.”
• Another, more dubious claim is that Jace spent most of his time trying to convert Cregan from the Old Gods to the Faith of the Seven.
• A third, the ever-salacious Testimony of Mushroom, says that Jace bedded and wedded Cregan’s bastard half-sister, Sara Snow.

The first certainly seems the most likely, but whatever happened, the result was the same. Cregan agrees to send Northmen into battle for Rhaenyra; in return, Jace agrees that his firstborn daughter will be sent to Winterfell as a ward, until she is old enough to marry Cregan’s son and heir.

Cregan Stark In Fire & Blood & His Dance Of The Dragons Role

Cregan's Biggest Role Will Come Much Later On

Cregan Stark only has a small role in the House of the Dragon season 2 premiere, even compared to the book’s relatively limited information on what happens. However, he and the North will have a part to play in the wars to come, which can be broken down into two main strands.

The Winter Wolves Fight In Several Battles

Cregan tells Jacaerys that he will send older Northerners, “greybeards,” to fight in the war for Rhaenyra. In the book, these are called the Winter Wolves, a grizzled bunch of fighters who go to war knowing they’ll probably not come back, easing the burden on those who remain in the North in terms of food rations for the Winter.

The Wolves, led by Lord Roderick Dustin, fight in several battles across the Dance of the Dragons, moving through the Riverlands and into the Reach, though are unlikely to be seen until House of the Dragon season 3. These conflicts include the Battle of the Lakeshore, against houses such as Crakehall and Lannister; the Butcher’s Ball, against Green forces led by Ser Criston Cole (who dies in the battle); and the First Battle of Tumbleton.

Cregan Stark Briefly Serves As Hand Of The King To Aegon III Targaryen

Cregan himself doesn’t fight with the Winter Wolves, but does march South later on in the Dance of the Dragons, with his most notable role coming towards the very end of the civil war. After Rhaenyra is forced to flee King’s Landing (only a few months after taking the city), and King Aegon II himself has been poisoned by his own men, aware of how badly things are going, Cregan arrives in King’s Landing.

Known as the Hour of the Wolf, Cregan plays a part in installing Aegon III on the Iron Throne (briefly serving as Hand), sending several Green supporters and those who had berated their own King to the Wall (and beheading Larys Strong for his part in things), and generally cleaning up the entire mess he’d found in the city. His stay is impactful and important, but brief, as he chooses to head back to Winterfell once justice has been served.

What Happens To Cregan Stark After House Of The Dragon

Cregan's Life Is Mostly Quieter After The Targaryen Civil War

Cregan went back home with Alysanne Blackwood, a woman he met in King’s Landing, who became his new wife and bore him four children. However, Cregan and the North were seen embattled with a deadly fever, which spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros but ravaged the North in particular. Later, Wildlings sought to take advantage of this weakened state, leading to Cregan and his forces having to do battle with them.

Cregan’s later life isn’t detailed quite as much: he re-married after Alysanne’s death, and at one point fought with Prince Aemon the Dragonknight (thought to be one of the greatest, noblest knights to have ever lived). Aemon, apparently, declared Cregan the finest swordsman he’d ever gone up against. The Lord of Winterfell eventually became known as the Old Man in the North, such was the length of his reign, though that’s decades after House of the Dragon’s story has ended.

House of the Dragon season 2 episodes release Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO and Max.

House of the Dragon

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Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alco*ck and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.

Cast

Jefferson Hall , Paddy Considine , Fabien Frankel , Ryan Corr , Eve Best , Gavin Spokes , Graham McTavish , Steve Toussaint , Olivia Cooke , Sonoya Mizuno , Bill Paterson , Matthew Needham , Emma D'Arcy , Matt Smith , Rhys Ifans , David Horovitch

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Seasons

2

Network

HBO Max

Streaming Service(s)

HBO Max

Franchise(s)

Game of Thrones

Showrunner

Ryan Condal