Black Velaryons: Why This is A Good Idea

I'll admit, at first I wasn't really on board wih House Velaryon being black but after giving the show a shot, I can't imagine them being anything else and House Velaryon has quickly become my favourite House overall.

not only is it completely possible it makes so much literary sense to further the plot of this story, because clearly the three "Strong" boys do NOT look like their supposed biological grandfather, or biological father AT ALL which is what leads to this shit show we are about to see

I didn't like it at first because in the books Velaryon and Targeryen were pretty much the same thing but now i am happy with it because damn it would be impossible to remember who is who if not for that. They could have made their eyes purple thou

It actually makes sense considering Velaryons are seafarers for centuries and are much older than Targareyns in Old Valyria. During their lifetime they have travelled to different places across Narrow sea and Essos and encountered various cultures,ethnicities and people. Corlys had lived in Essos for a long time. So it makes sense that the Velaryons are Mixed Race and not just belonging to a certain ethnic group.

Oh boy here we go...

As always nowadays I get worried by the notion but I try to wait and see how it goes. To many times it feels like modern shows are using diversity to shield themselves against any and all criticism. I didn’t know about a lot of what you’ve shown me in this video but I still like house valaryon a lot. They keep getting better each episode and I can’t wait to see more.

Well said! Thank you for making this video! It was very much needed!

Maybe the Tartgarians used to be black but they inbreed which gave them lighter skin.

This video was a great analogy! i never really gave it much thought when i first saw the velaryons but now i cant imagine them any other way they are just perfect thanks for the video

I found it to be really good idea for the visual purposes aswell. It just makes the Velaryons stand out versus Targaryens so its easier to follow the story that has so many characters and actors who change later on.

Tbf, I didn't even notice that much that he was black just because of his character, I focused on THE CHARACTER. He could've been whatever, white, hispanic... if the actor had the capability to portray their character in such a good way that it makes me jump when something happens, it's a good fucking actor

I have a 3rd option, maybe. I think it's George Washington who has a generation of Black and White folks. Any man can produce 2 different ethnic lineages. 🤷🏿‍♀️

At 1st I didn't think I was gonna like it then I grew to enjoy them as characters !

If Valyria is meant to be an analog to the Roman Empire, then it makes perfect sense. Both empires sprawled over huge areas of their respective continents. One Emperor was born in Libya and married a Syrian Arab noblewoman. Their frescos indicated he was much darker skinned than the average Italic Emperor.

Some people must think that all mixed people come out looking the same and it's hilarious. You're rolling the dice on what your child will look like every time you have one, even with the same person. My cousin is Black and Korean and she just looks like any other "full blooded" black person. There's nothing in her appearance that would make you even suspect she might have a non black parent.

Why does this even matter? He is like literally the hottest guy in the show

Way better way to be inclusive than lotr or marvel

Great video, alternative take as well: black people don’t need a reason to exist.

Imagine how confusing it would be if the Valyrians were white skinned with white hair just like Targaryens

Great video. Made me think a lot. It also makes the lore more interesting on the whole. Corlys’ mother having been a Summer Islander is a very good twist I’d say. It also shows that the fantasy genre can have diversity and portrayal of people of color. I used to be the kind of guy who didn’t see a problem with the Eurocentric outlook of TLOTR franchise, or for that matter with most of ASOIAF, but my opinion has changed for the better.

The "race change" (if there even was a change, since skin colors are often not addressed in ASOIAF's more macroscopic lenses) seemed apt to me. For one, Valerya was almost indisputably the legacy of The Great Empire of the Dawn, which itself covered a wide, multicultural swathe of land. Then Valerya took on the mantel of a wide-reaching empire, and even if one wants to dispute Valerya's influence/control over the Summer Isles, it should go without saying that a culture of celebrated mariners could be integrated into an imperial society in ways not involving slavery.

But on the microscopic level, Velaryons themselves had all the incentive in the world for mixing with the Summer Islanders. Namely, Velaryons weren't dragon riders but took to the sea. And in the same fashion of 'civilized' noble houses joining with marriage for mutual benefit, Velaryons and certain 'Islanders perhaps saw economic and political benefit to marrying their houses together. I'm of the opinion that this dates back a long ways - perhaps it was the genesis of the Velaryon house.

Imagine being a fan of fantasy and racist then seeing black people on LOTR and GoT/HOTD lol

If they all looked like Targaryans it would be confusing as hell distinguishing them from each other. Black Velaryons actually make sense

I was one of those people who complained about the casting but then realized I was being stupid. It's literally a fantasy show with dragons and ice zombies.

Honestly they worked it really well into the story, it makes it way more obvious that Rhaenyra's children aren't Laenor's, and it makes it way more of an open secret than something like Joffrey and his siblings being bastards. It makes Viserys look like a blind old fool (when the reality is that he simply doesn't care) and it makes Vaemond's objections a lot more valid

my only problem as a book reader is that it doesnt make sense canon wise, targaryens are heavily interbred with velaryons. they really should have just cast the entire cast of valyrians as mixed race people displaying a range of skin tone but of course they arent brave enough for that.

either way corlys and laena have both done a great job so im not complaining. I will complain about rhaenys' hair not being black or none of the valyrians not having purple eyes or gold hair.

Valyrians were not meant to be white people. If they existed in the real world they would be a diferent race from the ones that exist in the world

I wasn't for it at first, it seemed immersion breaking to me, but I warmed to the idea, it makes the bastard children more obvious too lol

Black people as Nobility in this world of Dragons, Magic, Necromancy, And Skin changing green seers? Preposterous.

I like them black. However it is just a bit too comic when Rhaenerya has three children with a dark haired white man, while her Velaryon husband is bi-racial with silver hair. And she still keep the biological father around so everyone can see the resemblence. Like come on can't she at least pretend she is trying to hide the truth?

even the sentiment many complainers have that medieval europe was completely white is also wrong, not that it matters, it's a fantasy series! there have been people of colour in European port cities as early as the 13th century... there's mention in Antwerp, Southampton, Genua, Venice, Bruges, Bordeaux. in the 16th century a nobleman form antwerp proclaimed his loyal servant Jehan Maria (whom he had saved from slavers in the canary islands) to be a free man and made him a member of his family, he went on to marry a noble (white) woman and became a succesful merchant, not unlike the Velaryons in the tv series actually! it also show that in many ways, medieval people were far less racist than the 19th century and their pseudo-science about racial inferiority

Real confusion is why tf were Valaryians paler than north men to begin with. Did fire magic bleach their skin er some sheet? They started off as shepherds allegedly and formed a massive empire across the east; I know they were big into inbreeding but some essosian blood must have gotten into the mix at some point.

The person just needs to be right for the part and people will ignore the petty skin color shit because honestly no hyperintelligent person can honestly believe in judging somebody because of the amount of pigment in their skin

I like that it made the Strong bastard plot so much more obvious. It added more depth by transforming it from being an unspoken rumour to being an obvious and unavoidable truth that the king stubbornly refuses to see.

I think they made this family black to really show that Rheanyra’s kids aren’t Leanor’s, but I also remember there being black Velaryon fanart BEFORE HOTD casting. The people making a big deal out of this are so whack. I kinda hope they never “explain” it (there is a black maester too that people were upset about) and it’s just allowed to be normal but I would love for them to do a Summer Islander plot!

Valyria being so huge and including so many different peoples throughout Esos, the islands, and having outposts in Southeros makes sense to have diverse people. A Valyrian wealthy house that had sea power but we’re denied dragon air power being a different skin color would make sense. They were probably seen as better than the conquered slaves in the volcanic meat grinder but not so good to be part of the major powerhouse families. If GRR Martin thought it wasn’t faithful to his vision, then he would say so in interviews. His talk about having too many brown skinned people in the Kaleesi slave mother scenes while the show was filming in Morocco was handled so well. How do you match the diversity in the book practically when you’re asking for extras in Morocco in the real world?

Black Velaryons are fine but I don't know about arch eh peh LA go

Also didn't the Targs marry into other houses at a decent rate anyway? They married Dornish people before and that very well could've included black people.

I knew there was changes from the book with casting but when I saw them enter the hall they commanded my attention as the actors held their own and where fantastically convincing. The actors fitted the character.

Have stumbled on your channel through another video and at first was apprehensive to click play because I wasn't sure which corner of the fandom you come from. Needless to say, I am very happy to have found you, and bingeing your vids! Keep up the great work, loving your style, you have a new subscriber!

I think the best thing this casting does for the story is make the parentage of Rhaenyra and Laenors children more glaringly obvious.

I rather enjoyed Corlys on the show but couldn't say if the 'obviously not that guy's kids' aspect of the story was hurt or helped by the casting. Definitely made it less believable that the lie was allowed to persist for as long as it did. Especially hurt Rhaenyra's character, blithely staking her family's lives on so obviously false a pretense, which made it really really really hard to respect her judgment at any point thereafter. That actually says something about her and so affects the story we're told, and it's not racism to point that out just so you know. But yeah, it also heightened the intensity of the situation by making it clear that once that particular naked emperor was pointed out nobody would ever unsee him. Overall I'd say it was a weird choice and a gamble that paid off in some respects, but not all.

Really wish people would stop being such pussies about race and have actual discussions about it in movies and entertainment instead of whining and straw manning each other out of fear of being painted with a dumb label. Pretending multiracialism doesn't usually have some impacts and implications that might need to be taken into account in the drama of a story is idiotic, just like whinging about it in stories where it makes ample realistic and statistical sense for different races to be represented does. It's not rocket science.

I just wish they and the rest of the Valyrian blooded bitches had PURPLE EYES but whatever.

Steve Toussaint is a great actor and his portrayal of the Sea Snake is fantastic! I’m fusion of races as well 😊 Thank you David

Dude Steve Toussaint fuuucking killed it as the Sea Snake. Easily my favorite character of HotD

Making the Velaryons black serves a major plot point. It makes Rhaenyra's illegitimate children so obvious and undeniable. It's not tokenism, it's visual storytelling.

This it how it should be done, by making it a thing, an actual part of the world in the show or movie. (Not just by adding the 1 single black character with no thought to how the character fits into the story/world the story is set in. Cough Rings of Power) I don’t mind the diversity, I just mind it when it’s done sloppily and makes no sense.

I just finished reading the books for the second time and you were recommended to me with your empire of dawn videos and I subscribed, but as I was watching more of your videos I felt like I was looking at a mad Hatter like character but I couldn't look away so I watched your videos planning to eventually unsubscribe until I saw this video, and I thought well if your mad hat doesn't make you a bad person or close minded then I should watch your videos the same with an open mind and a spirit of fun. So you have my subscription and my time for all your game of thrones lore.

NOTE: any comments with even a *whiff* of racism or right-wing world-salad bullshit about ‘wokeness’ or virtue signaling will either be removed or ridiculed, per my prerogative. That sort of thing isn’t welcomed here. Thank you, carry on.
EDIT: "Your responsibility as a channel owner is to create a space where people can engage with the subject matter, have a good time, be themselves, and not have to dredge through racist comment pollution. That's how you actually create the conditions for speaking freely ie free speech." From a friend. This is the point exactly.