In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the Game of Thrones universe returns to the past not to talk about dragons, but about men. It is a story less epic and more human, less about prophecies and more about choices. And perhaps that is why some characters have conquered the audience with unexpected force.

Just as Daniel Ings’ empathy turned Ser Lyonel Baratheon — grandfather of Robert, Stannis, and Renly — into one of the fans’ favorites, the arrival of Bertie Carvel as Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen already stands out as one of the series’ greatest strengths.

Baelor is not the kind of Targaryen the audience has learned to recognize. He does not have silver hair or the almost supernatural aura of dragons. His face is darker, his features recall Dorne, and his posture is more political than grandiose. But it is precisely this difference that makes him one of the most fascinating characters in the saga.

Who is Bertie Carvel

Bertie Carvel is one of the most respected actors in contemporary British theatre, although less well-known to the general public. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he built his career mainly on the London stage, where he stood out for intense and complex performances.

He won the Tony Award for his role in Ink (2019), in which he played Rupert Murdoch, and also received the Olivier Award, the most prestigious prize in British theatre. In film and television, Carvel has appeared in productions such as The Crown (as Tony Blair), Doctor Foster (as the awful husband), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Les Misérables (BBC), and Sherwood.

His acting style is marked by emotional restraint, intellectual dept,h and characters driven more by internal conflict than by dramatic explosions. It is precisely this kind of presence that transforms Baelor into something rare in the Targaryen universe: a prince who does not need to shout to be powerful.

Baelor Breakspear: the prince who wanted to unite Westeros

Baelor Targaryen is the son of King Daeron II and the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne. He earns the nickname “Breakspear” after defeating the leader of a rebellion in battle, but his true strength never lay in war.

Baelor is the result of a decisive political alliance: his father married Mylessa Martell of Dorne. Because of this, Baelor inherits Dornish traits and becomes the living symbol of Dorne’s integration into the realm.

While many Targaryens ruled through fear or spectacle, Baelor believes in diplomacy, stability, and justice. He is respected by knights, admired by the people,ple and seen as a future king capable of maintaining peace in Westeros.

In the series, his presence is discreet yet magnetic. Baelor observes more than he speaks. He understands the weight of honor, but also its contradictions. Alongside Dunk and Egg, he represents a kind of nobility that is less romantic and more real.

The death of Baelor: the accident that changes history (SPOILER)

Baelor’s fate is one of the most tragic in the saga and will close the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. During the Tourney of Ashford, he intervenes to prevent his brother, Maekar, from killing Ser Duncan the Tall. In the confrontation, Maekar strikes Baelor in the head with a war mace.

The blow does not kill him instantly, but causes fatal injuries. Baelor dies shortly afterward.

The irony is devastating: the prince who symbolized conciliation dies trying to stop violence between brothers. His death is not the result of treason or conspiracy, but of an act of honor.

With his death, Westeros loses not only an heirbut a vision of the future.

Valarr: the heir who barely existed

As we have seen in the second episode, Valarr Targaryen is Baelor’s eldest son and the natural heir after his father’s death. Unlike other princes in the saga, Valarr never had time to become the protagonist of his own story.

He assumes the title of Prince of Dragonstone, but his time as heir is brief. Soon after, Westeros is struck by the Great Spring Sickness, an epidemic that devastates King’s Landing and kills thousands.

Valarr dies as a victim of the plague, along with his younger brother Matarys.

It is a death without glory, without dragons, and without battles. But precisely because of that, it is deeply symbolic: the lineage that could have transformed Westeros is interrupted not by war, but by human fragility.

Why Baelor and Valarr matter so much

Baelor and Valarr are Targaryens who do not look like Targaryens.
They do not represent the excemadnessdnes,s or grandeur of the dynasty, but its most rational and political possibility.

If Rhaenyra and Daemon symbolize fire, Baelor symbolizes balance. If other dragons rule through fear, Baelor would have ruled through consensus.

And perhaps that is why he has to die.

In A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Baelor and Valarr are not merely secondary characters. They are a historical hypothesis. A question that Westeros never had time to answer: what if the best Targaryen had been precisely the one who least resembled a dragon?