Updated
: Aug 11, 2026 7:46pm UTC
House of the Dragon co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal has revealed who he thinks the best candidate is to rule Westeros after the Dance of the Dragons, but his pick doesn’t necessarily mean that’s who will win the war in the show’s fourth and final season or spoil who prevails in the source material, George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Appearing on Empire’s Pilot TV podcast, Condal named Alicent Hightower, the Dowager Queen portrayed by Olivia Cooke, as the character “that has the proper experience and training to make the right choices” as ruler.
“There’s not a character in the show that has seen more of a differential between power, to lack of power. She’s seen it all. She doesn’t ride a dragon, which I think is probably important for a sane and stable leader,” Condal said.
The showrunner added, “Even though Alicent could be vindictive about things – and we’ll see where it goes from here based on what happens in the [Season 3] finale – we have seen her let go of vindictiveness, in a way that other people seem to double down on it as things get darker. … And that’s where I think you get to see the real true nature of a character.”
Condal’s second choice to lead would be Lord Corlys Velaryon, portrayed by Steve Toussaint. “I think Sea Snake would be a great king too, in terms of experience,” Condal said, joking that he was trying to pick a ruler “that wasn’t blonde.”
Condal recently spoke at length about the ending of Season 3, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s descent into tyranny and her rival Aegon II’s journey of self-discovery.
“We had always looked at Rhaenyra being torn between Viserys' philosophy, which is somewhat embodied by Mysaria. It's somewhat embodied by Alicent in her conversations with them. And then Daemon, which is the fire and blood, rule by dragons, uncompromising,” Condal said.
“Rhaenyra is torn between those two avenues, asking herself, ‘Can I rule as a woman during a time of war and still be true to the reasons that Viserys chose me to rule? Or do I simply just have to become Daemon in order to win and to hold this whole thing together?’ I think from Rhaenyra's perspective, [it] wouldn't be to be an authoritarian. It would just simply be to keep control, to hold the center. And she has to make all these compromises as she goes along.”
He added, “The irony of the season is that Aegon now, not in the proximity of the throne, goes on this incredible character evolution where he becomes a much more dimensionalized man who is more sympathetic and possibly more suited to rule. And then Rhaenyra in the proximity of the throne is turned and altered and somewhat corrupted by being in its orbit.”
Speaking of those who were corrupted by the Iron Throne, discover the 9 things we learned about Westeros in the new stage play Game of Thrones: The Mad King.
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