The House of the Dragon Season 2 finale teased the most coveted mystery in George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire – “The Green Men.” This mysterious plot device was left out of Game of Thrones altogether, so to see it hinted at on screen here has fans very excited. Here’s a breakdown of why it’s so significant, but fair warning: there are spoilers ahead!
House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 8 brought Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) time at Harrenhal to an exciting conclusion with another vision at the Weirwood tree. As he followed Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) out to the Godswood, Daemon spotted a figure near the tree with antlers on its head. It scurried away as he and Alys approached, and since the witch did not comment on it, neither did the Rogue Prince. This was a pretty clear allusion to the Green Men, a legendary race of humanoids on Westeros that have not been seen by anyone for thousands of years – perhaps as long as the white walkers themselves.
The Green Men are referenced often in Martin’s books and occasionally on the TV shows as well. Like the white walkers, the giants and the Children of the Forest, most characters assume that the Green Men are either extinct or mythical, but the audience obviously learns that most of those creatures are still alive. We never see Green Men on screen or on the page ourselves, though we are told that they live only on the Isle of Faces. It just so happens that Daemon is not far from there, as the Isle of Faces is in the center of the God’s Eye Lake, right beside Harrenhal.
Because of Martin’s penchant for unreliable narrators, we don’t know much about the Green Men besides their significance to the plot. History and lore give us several possible explanations for this small tribe of people, and each one is further colored by the worldview of the character who describes it in the story. Old Nan tells Bran Stark that the Green Men have dark green skin, but they are much taller than the Children of the Forest, and they have antlers on their heads. The maesters suggest that maybe they are simply humans who wear green skin and fanciful headwear, but very few characters have been able to visit the Isle of Faces to find out for themselves.
We hear that anyone who aproaches the Isle of Faces is driven off by mysterious currents, bad weather or even flocks of ravens – perhaps controlled by Greenseers. However, in the main story we know that Howland Reed visited the Isle of Faces. Bran hears the story from Howland’s children, Meera and Jojen Reed, but we don’t get many details about the visit itself. Meanwhile, Fire & Blood tells us that one character may visit the isle before this war is over, though because of the historical nature of that book, we don’t know for sure if it’s true or not.
Despite the uncertainty, the Isle of Faces and the Green Men feature prominently in some of the best fan theories for A Song of Ice and Fire, and how the ending will differ from the ending of Game of Thrones. Those theories got a supercharge earlier this year when the new officially sanctioned A Song of Ice and Fire calendar featured a painting of Jon Snow’s parents, Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, standing under a green tree with a face carved into it. Fans took this as a sign that the Weirwood trees are somehow corrupted by magic, and that originally they were green and lush rather than white with red leaves. They figure that the only place trees like this could still exist in the current story is on the Isle of Faces, protected by the Green Men.
Either way, it’s clear that the Green Men are one of the last keys to Weirwood magic that needs to be unlocked in Martin’s story. The fact that House of the Dragon just showed us a Green Man on screen for the first time has fans excited, and hopeful that the TV shows may make more revelations while we wait for the books. House of the Dragon is streaming now on Max, with Season 3 in pre-production. The next spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, premieres sometime in 2025. Martin’s books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats. There’s no word yet on when The Winds of Winter might arrive.