House of the Dragon‘s season two finale brought Tyland Lannister across the Narrow Sea to meet with the Triarchy. Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen needs an armada to break House Velaryon’s blockade of the Gullet. The green council’s Master of Ships secured the alliance at great cost, both in terms of money and personal injury. He only sealed the deal after also proving his own worth as a man to a memorable new character. “The Queen Who Ever Was” introduced Admiral Sharako Lohar, a fascinating, eccentric character based on two pirates from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
Admiral Lohar in House of the Dragon‘s Season Two Finale
Tyland Lannister thought he had successfully negotiated terms with the Triarchy’s representatives only to learn there was one last thing he needed to do. The pirates said the fleet would not fight unless the Triarchy’s commander Admiral Lohar would lead them. “The sailors are fiercely loyal to him,” the three pirates explained. To win Lohar’s services Tyland would need to get dirty. Literally.
The Lyseni Admiral was not the person Tyland expected to meet when the commander entered the tent. The other pirates had referred to Lohar—played by trans actress and popular YouTuber Abigail Thorn (The Acolyte)—as “he/him.” The commander also wore men’s clothes and later spoke of their many wives they hoped Tyland would impregnate. Only, Lohar presented as a woman enough that when the Admiral told Tyland of his wish “to have children with” him the Lannister lord thought Lohar wanted to sleep with him.
That gender ambiguity was intentional, both on screen and off. Thorn herself called Lohar “she” when announcing her casting on the show. Is Lohar a transman? Gender fluid? Those terms do not seem to exist in the world of House of the Dragon, but no matter what term might be most appropriate the bigger point is that the pirate commander was trying to keep Tyland on his toes throughout their time together. Lohar also asked him what kind of man he is and whether he had ever eaten the flesh of his enemies. (A jest!) And of course the Admiral made Tyland wrestle in the mud to prove his worth as an ally. Lohar agrees to go for Team Green and the band of pirates sets sail along with Tyland at the end of the finale. So, we will see Admiral Lohar in House of the Dragon season three.
Admiral Sharako Lohar Isn’t a Major Character in Fire & Blood, So House of the Dragon Uses Rycallio Ryndoon’s Story
Fire & Blood barely talks about the Lyseni Admiral Sharako Lohar, who is called “he” in one of the few sentences that even refers to the pirate. The version of Lohar on House of the Dragon takes obvious inspiration from a different, far more memorable pirate who features prominently in Martin’s in-world history, the Tyroshi captain-general Rycallio Ryndoon.
The 6’6″ tall Ryndoon, revered in songs and poems throughout the Free Cities of Esos, dyed his hair and beard orange and purple. The flamboyant sailor fought against Daemon Targaryen in the Stepstones long before the Dance of the Dragons. At one point in life he even named himself King of the Narrow Sea. The pirate also liked to dress like a woman and work as a prostitute. The great swordsman was also as equally generous with coin as he was with spewing vulgarities. He also liked to make potential allies fight in the mud and sometimes asked the most worthy men impregnate his many wives.
House of the Dragon‘s Lohar has far more in common with Rycallio Ryndoon than their Fire & Blood counterpart. And the show is better for it. Westeros is a stuffy place of norms and expectations during the best of times. During a deadly war of fire and blood, a gender-fluid pirate who loves mud wrestling and making wealthy lords uncomfortable is exactly what everyone needs.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and eccentric pirate enthusiast. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
