House of the Dragon's showrunners have also sought to right some of Game of Thrones' original sins—namely, its lack of diversity and its shoddy treatment of female characters. House of the Dragon has reimagined the powerful Velaryon family as wealthy Black rulers marked by flowing silver dreadlocks. According to Condal, Martin toyed with this depiction of the Velaryons while writing the series, envisioning them as Black conquerors who came to Westeros from the far west. "It was very important for Miguel and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen," Condal said. "We wanted to find a way to put diversity in the show, but we didn't want to do it in a way that felt like it was an afterthought or, worse, tokenism."
For the first time ever, female characters are at the forefront of the show, and the story plans to confront gender inequities head-on. In the trailer, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen turns to her niece, Princess Rhaenyra, and says, "Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne." Eve Best, who plays Princess Rhaenys, said of the show, "Effectively, it's about the disillusionment of the patriarchy, of this system that has been going and going for hundreds and hundreds of years."
