Where Every Black Character Should End Up in the House of the Dragon Finale

For a show about dragons and rich white people arguing over inheritance, House of the Dragon has somehow become one of the Blackest shows on television. A Black father is trying to hold his family together. Black men are dealing with the reality that they are the sons of their father’s Black mistress while he was going home to his white wife, and this season is full of enough side-eyes to power an entire season of The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

With the season finale airing this Sunday, I have one request for the writers: don’t fumble these characters. Some deserve happy endings. Some deserve revenge. And a few deserve one episode where nobody betrays them, burns them alive, or starts another unnecessary family argument. Here’s where I think every major Black character should end up when the dust settles.

Baela Targaryen: Let This Girl Live

She’s been giving “future queen” energy since she first appeared on screen; however, the writers keep treating her like she’s waiting for someone to call her into the game (of Thrones…get it?). Put her on Moondancer and let her cook…literally. She has the confidence and the common sense that half the adults on this show lack. Every finale doesn’t need a long speech. All you need is Baela showing up and reminding people that dragons solve 99.9% of problems.

Rhaena Targaryen: The Glow Up Continues

For the past few seasons, her entire storyline was basically, “Still no dragon.” Now that she has one, she’s instantly become one of the most interesting people on the show. (Even if she does look like she has had more than a passing relationship with what Caine was cooking up in Menace II Society.) I want the finale to lean all the way into that transformation. Nothing beats an underdog story, especially when that underdog’s story is intertwined with one of the biggest, most vicious dragons in Westeros.

Addam and Alyn of Hull: These Brothers Need a Win

Can somebody let these brothers enjoy something for five consecutive minutes? Every time life starts looking up, another battle breaks out, another family secret gets revealed, or someone with silver hair decides to make life more complicated than it already was. Real talk, Addam and Alyn are two of the most consistently competent people in the entire series. Full stop.

I’d love it if the showrunners decided to reward competence for a change. It’d be a refreshing plot twist.

Maester Orwyle: Somebody Has to Keep the Receipts

Every time he is on screen, this brother looks like he is the only person who realizes the kingdom is on the verge of bankruptcy. He just stands in the corner with a “I just work here” expression while kings, queens, and dragon riders make devastatingly bad decisions.

 I don’t need him to become a hero. I just need him to survive long enough to write down what actually happened. Because if the people running Westeros get to tell the story, everybody’s going to swear this mess was somebody else’s fault.

Corlys Velaryon: Let Unc Rest

This man spent three seasons carrying the entire Velaryon family on his back while everyone around him made one bad decision after another. The man lost his wife, kept the kingdom’s strongest navy afloat, and made things right with the kids he had with a side piece.

Let him retire to Driftmark, sit on a beach, and spend the rest of his days telling exaggerated stories about the time he sailed farther than anyone in Westeros. The Sea Snake has earned a pension.

Knowing House of the Dragon, I’ll probably get 75% of these wrong. Someone I want to live will die. Somebody else who deserves to die will somehow survive. And if history tells us anything, it will be Black folks who’ll have to clean up everybody else’s mess. Some things never change.