Who is Ser Steffon Darklyn in House of the Dragon and who plays him?
Everything you need to know about the knight.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 2 episode 6.
In House of the Dragon season 2, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) has seen a way to win the war against the Greens, but the path there isn't easy - finding riders for the riderless dragons in Dragonstone.
The latest episode of the series sees a brutal scene in which Ser Steffon Darklyn, one of Rhaenyra's Queensguard, attempts to claim Seasmoke, who was the dragon of her former husband Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan), who fled in season 1 and is believed dead by most.
While the plan looks to have worked at first, things go badly wrong.
So, who is Ser Steffon Darklyn and why did Rhaenyra choose him to claim Seasmoke? Here's everything you need to know.
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Who is Ser Steffon Darklyn in House of the Dragon?
Steffon Darklyn was the Lord Commander of Rhaenyra's Queensguard and a loyal knight of House Darklyn (a house which ruled in Duskendale).
He was previously a member of King Viserys's (Paddy Considine) Kingsguard, and when the Dance of Dragons began, he escaped King's Landing to join Rhaenyra in Dragonstone.
When Rhaenyra needed riders for the dragons in Dragonstone, Ser Steffon was the first to step up - but, despite believing he'd claimed Seasmoke, he was quickly proven wrong when the dragon killed him with fire in a brutal scene.
Why did Rhaenyra choose Ser Steffon Darklyn to claim Seasmoke?
Rhaenyra hoped for a highborn rider for Seasmoke, reasoning that Ser Steffon had the best claim.
Of course, he was also loyal to her, so she didn't need to fear a dragon rider turning against her.
As we saw during episode 6, however, there are others with a better claim to the dragons - including Addam of Hull and his brother Alyn, the bastard sons of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint).
The end of the episode suggests that Addam has claimed Seasmoke, the dragon previously ridden by his half-brother, Laenor.
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Who plays Ser Steffon Darklyn in House of the Dragon?
Ser Steffon Darklyn is played by Anthony Flanagan, who's perhaps most widely known for his role as Tony in the Channel 4 comedy Shameless.
However, he's had many roles across TV and film, with his first credit being for Holby City in 2002.
Other notable roles have included Pete Bond in Life on Mars in 2006 and playing Kenny Archer in Cracker the same year, Craig Fletcher in Spooks, Fergus in Being Human and Ewan Ross in Shetland.
More recently, Flanagan has appeared in Around the World in 80 Days as Thomas Kneedling, and in Gentleman Jack as Ben and Sam Snowden.
He's also appeared in House of the Dragon since season 1 episode 2 - with season 2 episode 6 being his most prominent episode of the series.
House of the Dragon season two will air on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK from 17th June – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
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