Who is Lady Jeyne Arryn in House of the Dragon and who plays her?

The new character is set to play a major role in Dance of the Dragons.

By Morgan Cormack

Published: Wednesday, 19 June 2024 at 15:18 PM

With a brand new season of House of the Dragon now underway, there’s set to be a fair share of new characters as the episodes land each week. The premiere episode, while keeping us on our toes with one major moment, also paves the way for further battle lines to be drawn.

One of the most important ones for the Blacks (aka Queen Rhaenyra I Targaryen) is that of the allyship from Lady Jeyne Arryn.

Although it’s yet to be revealed exactly how her story will unfold in the second season of the hit HBO fantasy series, we do know that Lady Jeyne is an integral figure in George RR Martin’s Fire & Blood.

We’ve known for a while now that the character would be making an appearance in season 2, and with Lady Jeyne set to appear more throughout the season, all eyes will be on the new addition to see just how she’ll slot into the Greens vs Blacks drama.

But who exactly is Lady Jeyne Arryn and who plays her in House of the Dragon? Read on to find out.

Who is Lady Jeyne Arryn in House of the Dragon?

It’s safe to say that Lady Jeyne plays an important role in the impending civil war, better known as Dance of the Dragons. Of course, it’s all about the Blacks (who are led by Emma D’Arcy‘s Rhaenyra Targaryen) versus the Greens (supporters of Olivia Cooke’s Alicent Hightower and her son, Aegon) right now as the bloody war creeps up on us all.

With battle lines being well and truly drawn, each side is intent on winning powerful allies and one of Rhaenyra’s is Lady Jeyne, whose house of Arryn was alluded to in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale.

At the painted table, Rhaenyra says that her “lady mother was an Arryn”. Of course, Rhaenyra’s mother was Queen Aemma Arryn, who is played by Sian Brooke in the series, and died tragically during childbirth at the start of season 1.

Despite not being the biggest fan of Daemon‘s (Matt Smith), Lady Jeyne agrees to support the Blacks because Rhaenyra’s own mother belonged to House Arryn. In return for her loyalty and allyship, Lady Jeyne requests for the Blacks to give her a dragon who can guard The Vale and protect her from the Greens. This is a promise that is later upheld during the Dance of the Dragons.

While we don’t see Lady Jeyne in season 1, she is mentioned a couple of times but now, she’s set to play a pivotal role in the new season of House of the Dragon.

A few years older than Rhaenyra, Lady Jeyne became ruler of The Vale at a very young age and assumed total power when she came of age. Understandably, her and Rhaenyra are set to have quite a lot in common due to being some of the only ruling women in Westeros and similarly experiencing male family members trying to usurp their power.