Larys Strong, also called the Clubfoot, is one of the Seven Kingdom’s greatest enigmas. A cunning man of few words and even fewer friends, history remembers him for questionable motives and unclear loyalties. House of the Dragon has shown he was all of that and more. The series also revealed him to be a kinslayer. In season one, he murdered his own father and older brother at their family’s castle Harrenhal, making him its Lord. But season two’s sixth episode also revealed a whole new side of the Master of Whispers. He’s more than just sly words, double crosses, and secret fetishes. House of the Dragon humanized one of its greatest villains with a moving, personal revelation. Larys Strong shared the deep pain he carries with him, the very thing that led him to hate the world.
The New Prince Regent insulted his small council’s Master of Whispers during House of the Dragon‘s “Smallfolk.” Larys Strong thought Aemond was naming him Hand of the King. Instead the Protector of the Realm called Larys both a “toad” and (not so subtly) a disloyal kinslayer. Larys responded by visiting someone he had previously manipulated with lies and half-truths about attempted coups and quiet slander. With Aemond having no use for him, it was time for Lord Strong to renew his bond with King Aegon.
It was exactly the type of move viewers would expect from Larys, a forefather to a figure like Petry Baelish. The sly, overlooked, opportunistic Larys had climbed a ladder of chaos he helped create in King’s Landing for decades. He began sowing enmity among House Targaryen when Rhaenyra and Alicent were young girls. That breach among the royal family has only made him richer, more influential, and more powerful. With the far more capable, rigid Aemond disgusted by Larys, it only made sense for Larys to turn to Aegon. Larys can continue to bend the King to his will. With his injuries and the threat of Aemond, Aegon has never been more vulnerable to Larys’ wiles.
How Larys bonded with Aegon was a surprise. Lord Strong, a man who seemingly knows everyone else’s darkest secrets, rarely speaks honestly. He talks through the prism of hidden agendas and fake smiles. His charm and sincerity are put-ons delivered by a keen mind and a silver tongue. Most people are unable to ever detect his real reason for doing anything. (The few who do, like Queen Alicent, fear him for that very reason.) Yet that’s not how he spoke to Aegon in the recovering King’s bedchamber. Instead he shared something deeply personal with the Aegon, something that offers the first real insight into what drives Larys Strong.
Larys, in a stunning performance from Matthew Needham, spoke to Aegon with raw honesty. The Lord of Harrenhal told the burned King about his own birth, the way everyone treats him, and how he turns what others think is his biggest weakness into his greatest strength. And as he did, softly, sometimes speaking in a whisper and tripping over his own feelings, a tear ran down his face. Here’s what he said:
Oh, take heart, Your Grace, you’ve already written yourself into legend. You survived dragonfire. But I’m afraid you will never be whole. Orwyle has exhausted his abilities. He’s bound your leg, but you will never run again. Your mind… is all that remains to you.
I do not say that gladly. I came screaming into the world in the bowels of one of Harren’s great towers. My lungs were strong, but my foot so twisted that… my father named it sorcery. Accusing a member of our household of casting… maligned spells. Well…
People will pity you. Either behind your back… or in your presence. And they will stare… at you, at you… or turn away. And they will underestimate you. And this will be your advantage.
Ser Lyonel Strong was a good man. He never meant to hurt his child and never fully appreciated that he had. His eldest son Harwin “Break Bones” was known as the strongest man in the Realm. But his younger son was known as the Clubfoot, something Lyonel never fully accepted. He blamed Larys’ twisted foot on dark magic, as though neither the old gods or the new would create such a babe. That didn’t mean Lyonel didn’t love his son. He took him to the royal court, rather than hiding him away as other Lords might have.
But intentions don’t always matter, only actions. And Larys’ confession shows he spent his whole life feeling less than in his father’s eyes. That’s also what he thinks the world think of him. That pity/disgust is the very things he takes advantage of. Pepple only see what he is not, rather than what he is. (The same will be true of Tyrion Lannister one day. Only he’ll try to use his mind to make the world a better place, even when it doesn’t deserve it.)
In classic Larys Strong fashion even this fleeting moment of pure honesty served his own selfish purpose. Aegon responded by asking for help, because he now knows only Larys truly understands him now. The King has found a kindred spirit while Larys has found a ruler who respects and needs him. Aemond looks at Larys and sees a kinslaying toad and lickspittle. Aegon sees a wiser version of himself. Larys is so wise he knew exactly when his humanity would come in handy. He once again turned vulnerability into an advantage.
That doesn’t take away his humanity, which makes him an even more fascinating, more complex character than he already was. House of the Dragon has given Larys Strong a depth not found in Fire & Blood, where history only remembers him as enigma.
The Clubfoot’s humanity doesn’t excuse his monstrous sins, though. He burned his father alive—a wise, caring man whose only crime was all-too human as well. Lyonel was a loving dad looking for someone to blame when he realized his child came into a cruel, judgmental world that would never see him as whole. Lyonel never meant to hurt his son and didn’t deserve to pay with his life for doing son. Neither did Harwin, who never shied away from being seen with his brother. Break Bones died because of his brother’s jealousy and ambition. Many in the Realm will die for the same reason. Larys helped launch a war that will engulf Westeros in fire and blood.
Larys Strong is the best kind of villain. He’s not a monster because he lacks humanity. He’s a monster because he denies his own. The Clubfoot turns his very real, understandable pain into indefensible suffering for others. His actions are less about himself and more about punishing a world he hates. Now that the King of Westeros knows what it’s like to be Larys, the Master of Whispers is going to use that to his advantage. As he does he might never let anyone else know what motivates him, even historians. But House of the Dragon fans will always know. And Larys Strong is a better character because we do.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.