Jacaerys Velaryon Risks Repeating The Starks' Biggest Game Of Thrones Mistake

Warning! This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon.

Summary Jacaerys Velaryon was shown bargaining with the Freys to allow Cregan Stark's army to cross south, just as Robb does centuries later in Game of Thrones.

In Game of Thrones, Robb is betrayed by the Freys at the Red Wedding, effectively putting an end to the War of the Five Kings.

House of the Dragon's storyline with the Freys mirrors Game of Thrones, but the Freys never betray Jace or Cregan, allowing the latter to become an integral part of the Dance of Dragons.

House of the Dragon season 2 is given Jacaerys Velaryon a more active role in the story, though one that could see him repeat the biggest Stark mistake from Game of Thrones. For the most part, Jacaerys has been a present if underutilized member of Team Black since House of the Dragon season 1's second half. While House of the Dragon cast member Harry Collett has performed admirably as Jacaerys, or Jace, he has had little to do regarding the overall progression of the Dance of Dragons.

The most important aspect of Jace's story thus far came in the premiere, where the son of Rhaenyra succeeded in gaining the support of House of the Dragon's Cregan Stark. Since then, Jace has done little other than attempt to keep his mother's council together on Dragonstone. However, by House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5's ending, Jace was shown visiting other noble families of Westeros and formulating the plan to utilize dragonseeds as riders for the Blacks. Via the former storyline, Jace risks repeating the biggest mistake of the Starks from Game of Thrones.

Related Silverwing & Vermithor Explained: Who Rides Them In House Of The Dragon, History & How They Compare To Vhagar Silverwing and Vermithor are two of the biggest dragons in the Dance of the Dragons, and have an important role in House of the Dragon's story.

Jacaerys Velaryon Is Using The Freys For The Twins, Like Robb Stark Did

Jace Is Banking On The Twins To Be Useful For The Stark Army

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The risk Jacaerys Velaryon is taking in House of the Dragon is trusting House Frey. Just as they were in Game of Thrones, the Freys are in control of the Twins in House of the Dragon, a castle spanning the Green Fork of the Trident. The Trident is a collection of rivers that runs through Westeros, effectively cutting off the North from the Crownlands. While there are other ways to cross the rivers of the Trident, the Twins is the quickest and safest way to get from north to south with an army in tow.

As such, Jace traveled to the Twins to parlay with the Freys in order to allow Cregan Stark's army to reach King's Landing and support Rhaenyra. In Game of Thrones, this exact situation was the biggest mistake Robb Stark made. He trusted the Freys to let him and his army cross as he marched south to war against the Lannisters, with the lord of the Twins at the time, Walder Frey, betraying him in the Red Wedding. As evidenced by Robb's death, the Freys are rarely to be trusted.

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Will Jace's Frey Plan Backfire Like In Game Of Thrones?

Was Game Of Thrones A Case Of History Repeating Itself?

The following section contains spoilers for Fire and Blood, and thus, House of the Dragon's future seasons.

Naturally, with a heroic character choosing to trust the Freys for an army marching south, the comparisons between House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones become obvious. This begs the question of whether Jace's plan backfires, just as it does with Robb Stark in Game of Thrones season 3. As it turns out, Jace's plan works and the Freys hold true to their word and allow the Stark army to cross south.

This actually paves the way for House of the Dragon's best Stark story, in which Cregan becomes Hand of the King. After the deaths of Aegon II and Rhaenyra in the Dance of Dragons, Rhaenyra and Daemon's son, Aegon III, becomes king. Given his young age, Cregan Stark commits to aiding Aegon III as his way of honoring the deal he made with Jace. Cregan rules King's Landing for six days during a time dubbed "The Hour of the Wolf," all made possible thanks to Jacaerys Velaryon's dealings with the Freys in House of the Dragon season 2.