House Lannister’s association with lions isn’t just limited to their family sigil, as their army has actual caged lions marching with them in House of the Dragon. The sigils of noble houses in Game of Thrones play an important role in their power, symbolism, and often the traits of their family, with the franchise putting the greatest emphasis on the shared bonds between House Targaryen and their dragons and House Stark and their direwolves. While Game of Thrones doesn’t feature any lions at Casterly Rock, House of the Dragon’s Lannisters are shockingly heading into battle with them.

Jason Lannister reaches the Golden Tooth in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6 with lions in tow, a detail that wasn’t included in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood book. The lions being in cages indicates they aren’t as easily tamed by or personally connected to the Lannisters as dragons are to Targaryens or direwolves are to Starks, but they do add another terrifying layer to House of the Dragon’s already catastrophic, dragon-heavy war. Though the Lannisters’ lions had never been seen in the TV franchise before this episode, their inclusion has some basis in book lore.

There Really Were Caged Lions At Casterly Rock

Game Of Thrones’ Books Include References To Lions Historically Being At Casterly Rock

The Lannisters possessing lions isn’t farfetched in House of the Dragon, as Martin’s books have alluded to the species inhabiting the Westerlands in the past. The novel A Dance with Dragons reveals that lions roamed the hills of the Westerlands prior to the arrival of the Andals, and would supposedly even make dens in Casterly Rock. The franchise’s histories claim that Lannister kings owned lions, but sadly they’re all believed to have been killed before Game of Thrones. Thus, there are likely very few lions held at Casterly Rock or roaming wild in the Westerlands during House of the Dragon’s timeline.

Martin’s A Dance with Dragons book also includes a segment where Cersei recalls caged lions being kept at Casterly Rock when she and Jaime were children. While wild lions were supposedly still around when their grandfather Tytos Lannister was the Lord of Casterly Rock, the caged ones from their childhood appear to be some of the last lions from that era. Oddly, when Cersei became Queen of Westeros in the HBO show, she mentioned wanting elephants for battle in Game of Thrones, but made no mention of lions.

House Of The Dragon Season 2’s Remaining Episodes

Episode #

Release Date

7
July 28

8
August 4

A Lion Could Be Very Useful In Battle

Direwolves Similarly Proved Useful During Combat In Game Of Thrones

While nothing compared to a dragon in battle, a lion being unleashed to attack enemies in combat can be a great asset for House Lannister and Team Green. However, since there’s no indication that Lannisters ever had deeper magical connections to lions like the Starks and Targaryens to the animals of their sigils, they’ll find it much harder to control the lions in battle should they be uncaged. Still, like Jon Snow’s direwolf Ghost being incredibly useful while traveling beyond the Wall, the lions in House of the Dragon could devastatingly terrorize enemy forces in the Dance of the Dragons.