Daemon’s tale at Harrenhal includes a mention of the “Hour of the Wolf,” which is an exciting nod to House Stark’s most important story in House of the Dragon’s future. Largely isolated with only Alys Rivers, Willem Blackwood, and Simon Strong as company, Daemon’s story in season 2 has become increasingly concerning, with many of his scenes including terrifying confrontations at night. In addition to Daemon’s visions at Harrenhal, which have become a form of psychological torture, he’s also awoken at a late hour by the Riverlords he had the Blackwood forces torture and raid.
Following a disturbing vision Daemon has about his mother, Alyssa Targaryen, his sleep later that night is disrupted by Simon Strong waking him up to confront the angry Riverlords. When Daemon is stirred from sleep in House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5, he asks Simon what “ungodly hour” it is that the lords seek his presence. Simon responds by stating that it’s the hour of “the wolf,” which comes to take on a dual meaning in House of the Dragon’s story.
What Time The Hour Of The Wolf Is In House Of The Dragon
The Hour Of The Wolf Is When The Night Is Darkest
Historically, the “Hour of the Wolf” refers to the time between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m., which is said to be when the most deaths and births happen. This means that it’s approximately 3 a.m. when Daemon is woken, at which time he is fittingly made to answer for the deaths and sexual assaults in the Riverlands he ordered the Blackwoods to carry out. The Hour of the Wolf, known in Westeros as the darkest part of the night, is also associated with restlessness, evil, and a higher potency of nightmares, which describes Daemon’s experience at Harrenhal thus far.
George R.R. Martin’s The World of Ice and Fire book also gives some further details on the history of the Hour of the Wolf in the franchise. For instance, it was the Hour of the Wolf when King Maegor “the Cruel” Targaryen was left alone and soon found dead on the Iron Throne. There are seven named hours in Game of Thrones’ world: the hours of the bat, eel, ghosts, owl, wolf, and nightingale. These hours are also associated with different omens and deeper meanings, with the Hour of the Wolf often seeing change, action, and dark events.
“The Hour Of The Wolf” Is The Name For Cregan Stark’s Rule In King’s Landing
Cregan Stark Becomes Hand To King Aegon III Targaryen For A Brief Time
Daemon and Simon Strong mentioning the Hour of the Wolf also works as a subtle tease for Lord Cregan Stark’s biggest story in House of the Dragon. After the deaths of Queen Rhaenyra and King Aegon II Targaryen, Cregan arrives at King’s Landing and names himself Hand of the King to young King Aegon III Targaryen, the eldest surviving son of Rhaenyra, for about six days. Also referred to in Fire & Blood as the “Judgment of the Wolf,” Cregan’s brief time as the ruling Hand in King’s Landing is better known as the “Hour of the Wolf.”
The Hour of the Wolf refers to both Cregan Stark and his direwolf sigil, as well as the dark time of uncertainty, grief, and change that comes to Westeros. The Hour of the Wolf is truly what ends the Dance of the Dragons, with Cregan exacting his justice on traitors to both Rhaenyra and Aegon in the war, leading to numerous executions with little mercy. Cregan’s time as Hand is late in House of the Dragon’s story, and this dark hour is indeed followed by a time of tragedy, beauty, and searching for peace, befitting of the symbolic Hour of the Nightingale.