Last night’s House of the Dragon Season 3 premiere introduced fans of the HBO hit to a handful of new power players duking it out for ultimate supremacy in Westeros. One such character, however, might have made an even bigger impression than the rest.
**Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 1 “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood,” now streaming on HBO Max**
Early in House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 1 “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood,” Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is celebrating the success of Queen Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) Riverlands forces when a new group of soldiers arrives. These stern-faced men arrive carrying the Stark family’s iconic direwolf banners of Winterfell. One of them, played by Tommy Flanagan, tosses the severed head of none other than Lord Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall) at Daemon’s feet.
“We have come to die for the dragon queen!” Roddy the Ruin (Tommy Flanagan’s character) proclaims.
Daemon examines the head, drops it, and says, “Very good, we have more lions to hunt.”
The Northern troops howl in excitement. These are the “Greybeards” that Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) promised Prince Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon (Harry Collett) he would send south to fight for Rhaenyra in the House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere. The young Lord Stark has stayed in the north, opting to send the formidable Lord Roderick Dustin of Barrowtown to lead his troops in battle. And it seems that decision is paying off well. Together, Daemon’s Riverlands forces — led by young Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) — and Roddy the Ruin’s Greybeards have decimated House Lannister’s forces.
(Yes, it should not be lost on Game of Thrones fans that Rhaenyra and Daemon have House Stark and House Tully gleefully destroying House Lannister together in this era!)
But who is Roddy the Ruin? Who is Tommy Flanagan playing in House of the Dragon? (And what happens to him in George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood?)
Here’s everything you need to know about Tommy Flanagan in House of the Dragon Season 3…
Who is Tommy Flanagan in House of the Dragon: Meet Roddy the Ruin, aka Lord Roderick Dustin of Barrowtown
Veteran Scottish actor Tommy Flanagan is playing the iconic “Roddy the Ruin,” aka Lord Roderick Dustin of Barrowtown in House of the Dragon Season 3.
In Fire & Blood, we’re told that Roddy the Ruin led two thousand northern soldiers known as the “Winter Wolves” south to fight for Queen Rhaenyra. According to Martin’s book, these older Northern men would prefer to leave home during the harsh cold winter to die nobly in battle, while their wives and children made use of the scant food and supplies stored. Hence, the cold stone badass line: “We have come to die for the dragon queen.” (In the books, Roddy the Ruin actually says this to Lady Sabitha Frey when he arrives to cross the bridge at the Twins, but it’s too good of a line not to include in the show!)
House Dustin of Barrowtown has an interesting history in George R.R. Martin’s books. The widow Lady Barbrey Dustin is head of the house during the events of Game of Thrones. In A Dance With Dragons, she’s one of many Northern nobles stuck at Winterfell while it’s under occupation by the villainous Boltons. Theon Greyjoy learns a lot of fascinating lore about the Starks from her, because in her youth, Barbrey was madly in love with Ned Stark’s older brother Brandon. She wanted to marry him and never forgave House Stark for betrothing him to Catelyn Tully. (Ned married Cat after Brandon was killed by the Mad King Aerys.)
Sadly, Barbrey is one of the many cool side characters in George R.R. Martin’s works to not make it to the TV adaptation.
Roddy the Ruin, however, did make it to the screen!
In Fire & Blood, Roddy the Ruin leads the Winter Wolves successfully against the Lannister forces in the Battle of the Lakeshore, close to the God’s Eye (aka Harrenhal). That seems to have already happened in House of the Dragon. Lord Roderick’s next big battles are the Butcher’s Ball, which is a major event for Ser Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) character, and then the first Battle of Tumbleton, which involves another new character, Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton).
Tommy Flanagan is a 60-year-old Scottish actor whom you might recognize from Braveheart, Gladiator, or Peaky Blinders.
House of the Dragon will return next Sunday, June 28 at 9 PM ET on HBO and HBO Max.