Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the season two finale of “House of the Dragon,” and “Fire and Blood.”
“House of the Dragon” threw one new fascinating character in its season two finale that will have great importance down the line — Triarchy Admiral Lohar.
As Rhaenyra gathers her dragon riders for an attack on the Green strongholds in Lannisport and Oldtown, her opponent is up to their own schemes. Tyland Lannister, Aegon’s (and Aemond’s) Master of Ships, is over in Essos, convincing the Triarchy to lend their naval support to tear down the Velaryon blockade that’s slowly starving out King’s Landing. Tyland’s not really in his element, but he manages to get the job done and secure an alliance.
But to do so, he has to win the respect of Admiral Lohar, the commander of the Triarchy fleet. Here’s what you need to know about the new character and their importance later on.
Lohar is Tyland’s unlikely partner in crime on ‘House of the Dragon’
In the show, Tyland has to win over Lohar in order to secure Triarchy support, even as the admiral continually mispronounces Tyland’s name. That doesn’t just mean making a suitable technical deal — it means literally going up against Lohar in physical combat.
In the show, Lohar has a playful yet threatening personality — and he’s played by actor Abigail Thorn, who is a woman.
While Triarchy representatives refer to Lohar using he/him pronouns in the show, Thorn has referred to the character using she/her pronouns. The character’s gender ambiguity seems deliberate, making for an interesting dynamic as Tyland is forced to prove his mettle in a foreign land and navigate this new allegiance.
Lohar goads Tyland into facing him in a mud wrestling match, where the two brutalize each other, much to Lohar’s delight. After, he invites Tyland to a feast, asking if he has ever dined on the flesh of his enemies, much to Tyland’s horror. Lohar quickly reveals that it was just a joke.
Later, Lohar and Tyland dine together after Tyland sings an acceptable sailing song for the gathered Triarchy members. Afterward, Lohar proclaims that he and the Triarchy fleet will sail with Tyland.
Before Tyland retires for the night, Lohar praises the Master of Ship’s virility and says that he wishes to have children by Tyland. Tyland seems to assume that Lohar is propositioning him — but the Admiral clarifies that he wants Tyland to have sex with his multiple wives.
Toward the end of the episode, Lohar and Tyland sail together with the Triarchy fleet, presumably bound for the Velaryon blockade.
Lohar is a Lysene admiral who plays a crucial role in the Battle of the Gullet
In “Fire and Blood”, we first meet Lohar — referred to in the historical record using he/him pronouns, though without a physical description — shortly before the Battle of the Gullet, a bloody sea battle over the Velaryon blockade that we haven’t yet seen depicted on “House of the Dragon.” In the book, Rhaenyra’s younger sons Aegon the Younger and Viserys are en route to safety in Pentos when they run into a fleet of Triarchy ships.
While Aegon manages to escape on his young dragon Stormcloud, Viserys pretends to be a ship’s boy. Eventually, a captain from Tyrosh captures him — but it’s Fleet Admiral Sharako Lohar who claims him as a prisoner.
Lohar, who hails from Lys, leads the attack on the Velaryon blockade in the Gullet with a force of 90 Lyseni, Tyroshi, and Myrish ships. In addition to attacking the Velaryon fleet, the Triarchy forces also made land on Driftmark, attacking a town called Spicetown. During the battle, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon and newly minted dragon riders Hugh, Ulf, Addam of Hull, and Nettles (who has yet to appear in “House of the Dragon”) attack on their dragons Vermax, Vermithor, Silverwing, Seasmoke, and Sheepstealer.
The battle resulted in heavy losses, including Jacaerys and Vermax. Only 28 Triarchy ships, all but three of them Lyseni, survived the battle. As a result, Lohar — himself of Lysene descent — faced criticism from Myr and Tyrosh, who claimed that he had sacrificed their fleets above his own.
Lohar later dies during a war between the Triarchy
According to “Fire and Blood,” Lohar brought the young Prince Viserys back to Lys after his capture. Following his defeat in the Battle of the Gullet, Lohar sold Viserys to a Lysene magister named Bambarro Bazanne. Bazanne held Viserys captive through the war, though he treated him well.
In the aftermath of the Targaryen civil war, the cities of Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh fall into war during King Aegon II’s reign. Martin writes in “Fire and Blood” that Lohar was murdered, sparking the war. While Lohar’s murder is now “commonly accepted” as being due to a personal matter — someone who was also pursuing a courtesan called the Black Swan — at the time, it was considered a political killing by Myr.
During the subsequent war, Bazanne the magister died, putting Viserys in the hands of the nobleman Lysandro Rogare. Viserys was married to Rogare’s daughter, Larra, and eventually returned to Westeros.
“House of the Dragon” season two, including the finale, is now streaming on Max.
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