“House of the Dragon” Season 3’s premiere will be much discussed for the massive Battle of the Gullet and yet another major character death – but fans of the books and Westerosi lore might have been excited for another blink and you miss it moment.
Part of the opening episode features dragonseeds Ulf the White, Hugh Hammer and Addam of Hull waiting in ambush to take on Aemond Targaryen and his massive dragon Vhagar. Fans of “Game of Thrones” lore might be quick to realize the trio is waiting on the Isle of Faces near Harrenhal – a place shrouded in mystery because few dare to visit the small island. Things get a bit weird for the group before they head off to aid in the Battle of the Gullet and some of what they see might have some “House of the Dragon” fans scratching their head.
Here is why the Isle of Faces is such an important place to Westeros history and myth and who exactly that antlered man watching the dragonseeds might have been.
What is the Isle of Faces?
Ulf, Hugh, and Addam are all ordered to sit in ambush on an island near Harrenhal and wait for Aemond and Vhagar to show up. Ulf and Hugh get antsy quickly, and much of it likely has to do with where they are ordered to wait. The island they’re on is known as the Isle of Faces and it’s one of the more mysterious places in Westeros.
The Isle of Faces is located at the center of the God’s Eye lake – a place of major importance later in the “House of the Dragon” story, so keep it in mind – but few have ever visited it. It’s considered sacred land and one of the few places in the region where weirwood trees still grow.
During the Dawn Age, many years before “House of the Dragon” an ancient conflict known as The War of the First Men and Children of the Forest was fought. The two groups spent centuries fighting and when it finally ended, the First Men and the Children signed their peace pact on the island and the many weirwoods had faces carved into them so the gods could witness the signing themselves. The Children continued to live on the island following the war.
Who was that antlered man?
In the Season 3 premiere, odd things start happening the longer Ulf, Hugh and Addam wait on the island. The tipping point is Ulf going off alone and running into a black goat – which is Alys Rivers, Daemon also saw the goat when he was wandering through Harrenhal. The moment that will excite longtime fans of Westerosi lore comes after with what Hugh and Addam see. They hear their dragons get disturbed by something and come around a corner to see a tall man with antlers and what seems like goat legs watching them before quickly turning and disappearing.
This is likely one of the Green Men. The Green Men were an order created to protect the deeper forests, the trees and the Children themselves following the war with the First Men.
Because the Isle of Faces was considered a sacred place for so long, whether the Green Men truly existed — or at least still existed — remained a matter of debate. As a result, their exact appearance has long been unclear. Some stories describe them as having dark green skin and antlers, while others suggest they wore green robes and antlered headdresses.
The brief run-in with one of the Green Men is in line with George R.R. Martin‘s book “Fire and Blood.” In one version of the telling, Addam landed on the Isle of Faces alone with Seasmoke and spoke with one of the Green Men.
How it connects to “Game of Thrones”
The Children of the Forest – who signed the pact with the First Men and resided with the Green Men on the Isle of Faces – appear in Seasons 4 and 6 of “Game of Thrones.” Bran meets them north of The Wall while searching for The Three-Eyed Raven.
The survival of the Children in “Thrones” seemed to confirm one long theory that the Green Men helped protect them from attacks from the Andals when they showed up in Westeros and got them off the Isle of Faces safely.
