The fight for the Iron Throne will continue in season three of House of the Dragon—just don’t ask George R.R. Martin for his thoughts about it—and the HBO series is adding another key cast member to reflect that. So far we’ve learned about new knights joining various sides of the war, including fan-favorite Northman “Roddy the Ruin.” And now we’ve got a new woman entering the male-dominated fray to throw her support behind Rhaenyra Targaryen: Alysanne Blackwood, to be played by Annie Shapero.
A Song of Ice and Fire fans will recognize that last name as one of the key houses in the Riverlands. We met Ser Willem Blackwood in season two of House of the Dragon—Daemon Targaryen encourages his terror offensive against the Blackwood’s longstanding regional allies, the Brackens—but Alysanne has yet to join the story. In Martin’s source-material book Fire & Blood, she’s a fierce, tough-talking master archer who becomes a major player in some key battles during the Dance of Dragons. Her nickname is “Black Aly,” which speaks to her ruthlessness as well as her loyalty to Team Black.
Later in the story, she allies with Lord Cregan Stark—who popped up at the beginning of House of the Dragon season two to meet Rhaenyra’s son Jacaerys at the Wall—and steers him toward some important moral choices (no spoilers, but it involves some of Rhaenyra’s younger sons and where they end up in all this) during the event known as the “Hour of the Wolf.”
As Deadline puts it, she’s “Lord Benjicot Blackwood’s aunt and fights for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) in the Dance of the Dragons before marrying Lord Cregan Stark, who is played by Tom Taylor. She becomes a legendary figure in House Stark lore and her storyline looks likely to be told in House of the Dragon season three.”
The trade further notes that Shapero, whose credits include Prime Video’s Jacob Elordi-starring World War II miniseries The Narrow Road to the Deep North, will appear in five of House of the Dragon season three’s eight episodes, so Black Aly is clearly going to be playing a major part in what’s next. The next installment should hit HBO next year.
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