“House of the Dragon” Season 3 kicks off with fire, blood, and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance from a mysterious horned creature. As the show continues to follow the book, “Fire & Blood,” it seems like Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) is about to meet the Green Men as the civil war for Westeros rages on.
One of the best shows on HBO Max has returned, and the Season 3 premiere has already set up an intriguing mystery. Midway through the episode, the three dragonseeds: Addam, Ulf the White (Tom White), and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), are all waiting by Harrenhal on the orders of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) in the hopes of ambushing Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his dragon, Vhagar. But while they lie in wait for the hulking dragon, Ulf starts to become very aware that they’re not alone in the wilderness.
This is because the dragonseeds are unknowingly camped out on the Isle of Faces, the home of the Green Men. Moments later, Hugh and Addam look up to the top of a hill to see a large, faun-like person staring at them. They have antlers, and they’re standing upright on two hooves. They’re one of the Green Men, a fantastical race that aren’t as well known as other creatures in Westeros, like the White Walkers. All of this is setting up a storyline in which Addam goes in search of the cryptic folk.
The Children of the Forest started the Green Men
So why are the Green Men important to the mystical side of Westeros and the lead-up to the battle with the White Walkers? The legends of the realm suggest that when the First Men waged war against the Children of the Forest, they made a treaty between the two factions on the Isle of Faces.
The Green Men is an order of people started by the Children of the Forest to protect the Weirwood trees when the First Men agreed not to chop any down. They’re mentioned a handful of times throughout George R.R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” and the third book in the series, “A Storm of Swords.” The lore surrounding them is also part of the world-building historical book “The World of Ice & Fire.”
It’s not entirely clear if the Green Men have magical abilities, but given their relation to the Children of the Forest, it would make sense that they do. There’s also speculation that the Green Men are more akin to priests with green robes and antler headdresses — but the person who appears in the “House of the Dragon” Season 3 premiere appears to be a creature rather than a costume.
Addam of Hull seeks out the Green Men
In “Fire & Blood,” Addam gets caught in the crossfire when Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White betray Rhaenyra Targaryen and change their alleigance to the Greens at the First Battle of Tumbleton. This is a massive blow to the Blacks, and to cut a long story short, Rhaenyra questions if Addam is secretly a traitor.
In a bid to prove his innocence, he goes on a quest to raise additional soldiers to bolster Rhaenyra’s army, and his first stop is the Isle of Faces, where he meets with the Green Men. Because “Fire & Blood” is written as a historical document, it’s not clear specifically what happens or whom Addam meets, because it is reported on rumors. Regardless of how the meeting plays out, Addam still manages to recruit over 4,000 soldiers for the cause from throughout the land. Perhaps the Green Men simply give him the knowledge and strength to do so before the Second Battle of Tumbleton.
But the ambiguity of it all works in the writers’ favor because there’s plenty of room to expand the lore of the Green Men and figure out how they play into the war for the Iron Throne and beyond. Whether the show puts the Green Men in the spotlight during the rest of Season 3 remains to be seen, because Addam seeks them out after the First Battle of Tumbleton. It’s entirely possible that it might not take place until the end of the season, in which case it might be some time before the Green Men reappear in Addam’s quest.
Daemon Targaryen saw the Green Men in the Season 2 finale
The Green Men first appeared in the “House of the Dragon” Season 2 finale when Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) was grappling with haunting visions as a result of being at Harrenhal and also dealing with Alys Rivers. When he’s at the Weirwood, he spots one of the men with antlers walking away from him, but he just believes that it’s part of the visions that the witch has been giving him. It is during these moments that Daemon is told that he’s destined to die at the Battle Above the God’s Eye, and in the books, he’s killed in a battle with Aemond. In the source material, it’s said that his body is lost in the fiery destruction that goes hand in hand with dueling dragons.
But one theory on Reddit suggests that Daemon could survive the chaos and end up on the Isle of Faces — the same one where the Green Men live. It’s not clear how Daemon’s survival would affect things going forward, but the visions he’s had so far suggest that he’s a piece of the puzzle involving the Song of Ice and Fire.
Given how the Green Men are now getting more involved with the Targaryen civil war, it’s not impossible that they’re trying to influence world events in Westeros in order to prevent something more terrible happening — like the arrival of the White Walkers. Regardless, it’s impressive that Season 3 is trying to weave even the smallest lore details into its ongoing saga.
