Now that season one of the soapy and dragon-y Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon is over, you find yourself in a dark, lonely place without your little, terrible, and hot blonde people to look at every Sunday night on HBO, although there is always The White Lotus. In the tortuous, lengthy downtime between seasons, you might as well become an expert on Westerosi history, including The Sea Snake.
The Sea Snake turned out to be one of the most valuable players in House of the Dragon. But who is he? He is many things, and you’re about to find out because you either forgot (there are a lot of characters to keep track of, and many of them have the same names), or you were looking at your phone while you were allegedly watching the show and thusly have no idea who anyone is at the moment.
The Sea Snake is also known by some by his real name, Corlys Velaryon. On House of the Dragon, he is played by Steve Toussaint. Corlys Verlaryon is the Lord of Driftmak, which is the largest castle on Blackwater Bay in the Crownlands. It is a short distance southwest of the Targaryen home of Dragonstone, and northeast of the Westerosi capital of King’s Landing. House Velaryon is of Valyrian descent, which connects them to the Targayrens, who also call the destroyed city their ancestral home.
Driftmark is known for its massive navy, which the Sea Snake leads. According to the ever so reliable A Wiki of Ice and Fire, Corlys Velaryon gained the nickname the Sea Snake due to his many voyages beyond Westeros and across the known world. Corlys also served as master of ships on King Viserys’ council.
Corlys is married the Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, also known as the Queen Who Never Was. Although she was considered by many as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, a council voted that as a man, King Viserys I should be the heir instead. This has not stopped Corlys from fighting for more power in Westeros, and possibly for the Iron Throne himself. Throughout the first season, Corlys tried to gain the favor of Daemon Targaryen when King Viserys cast him out, leading to a conflict in the Stepstones that resulted in Corlys’ near-death. By the end of the first season, the Sea Snake shows support for Rhaenyra Targaryen in what is about to be the Dance of the Dragons. With his entire fleet on her side, Rhaenyra actually stands a chance against her enemies.