Olivia Cooke in “House of the Dragon.” Credit: Theo Whitman / HBO
There’s panic on the streets of King’s Landing in House of the Dragon Season 2, episode 6.
The blockade of the Gullet by Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Corlys (Steve Toussaint) has rendered food scarce for the smallfolk, while the city’s nobles and rulers gorge themselves night after night. All it takes is a whisper campaign engineered by Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) and some small boats full of food sent from Dragonstone to whip the smallfolk into a riotous frenzy.
As the starving mobs chase down Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Helaena (Phia Saban), an overzealous Kingsguard knight lops off a man’s hand in an effort to defend his queens. Not only does this act mark a violent turning point for the riot, it could also be our introduction to a key character from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
Who is the man without a hand in House of the Dragon?
Much later on in the Dance of the Dragons, Martin introduces a character known simply as “the Shepherd.” Think of him as a precursor to Game of Thrones‘ High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Like the High Sparrow, the Shepherd is a devout follower of the Seven who draws a large following. He preaches against Rhaenyra and the Targaryens, declaring dragons to be “unnatural” and Valyria a “vile cesspit.”
Notably, the Shepherd is one-handed.
Fire & Blood suggests that the Shepherd lost his hand as a punishment for thievery. But what if House of the Dragon‘s version of the character — who is unlikely to be officially introduced until further down the line — lost it in the episode 6 riot? What if he was the victim of Kingsguard violence?
That potential change might add an interesting twist to the Shepherd’s character, whose backstory is left fairly ambiguous in Fire & Blood. Losing his hand in this riot would absolutely aggravate his hatred for the Targaryens, to the point of starting a movement against them. And while the anger during the riots was primarily directed at the currently ruling Targaryens, like Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), Rhaenyra’s involvement in the blockade certainly wouldn’t endear her to him. Plus, the Shepherd hates all Targaryens, no matter if they’re Team Green or Team Black.
Of course, there’s a high likelihood that this man in episode 6 is not going to go on to become House of the Dragon‘s Shepherd. The Kingsguard or City Watch probably cut off citizens’ hands every day. No wonder the smallfolk are so mad! However, the series still lingers on this man and his very specific punishment long enough to plant the idea of the Shepherd in the minds of Fire & Blood fans. The Shepherd is coming, and he’s going to be a big obstacle for Rhaenyra when he arrives.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max.
