An old Riverlands feud looms large on House of the Dragon.
But what is House Bracken and House Blackwood and why do they hate each other so?
ThisHouse of the Dragonarticle contains spoilers for season 2 episode 3.
War is ready to break out onHouse of the Dragon.
The Burning Mill kicks off with the titularBattle of The Burning Millfrom Westerosi history.
Some young members of House Blackwood and House Bracken accost one another about a territorial dispute in the Riverlands.
Next thing you know, hundreds of young men are dead, their bodies bloating in the Red Fork.
Here is what you oughta know about who the houses are and why they hate each other.
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What Are House Bracken and House Blackwood?
House Bracken and House Blackwood are two ancient families from Westeross middle Riverlands region.
And when we say ancient, we meanancient.
House Blackwood is in Raventree Hall, located north of the Red Fork.
Brackens and Blackwoods have been at one anothers throats for centuries if not millennia.
Why Are House Bracken and House Blackwood Feuding?
Heres the fun part of the whole thing: nobody really even knows!
The Blackwoods swear the exact same thing.
However unremarkable the beginnings of the feud were, its intensity and longevity is notorious across the realm.
The key word here is petty.
Both houses were united under the banner of Aegon I Targaryen during his conquest.
Are There Real Life Examples of Feuding Noble Families?
Kevin Costner actually starred in aHatfields & McCoysminiseries for the History channel in 2012.
That heated multi-century rivalryculminated in a massacremore bloody than any Bracken-Blackwood squabble.
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonpremiere Sundays at 9 p.m.
ET on HBO and HBO Max in the U.S. and Sky Atlantic in the U.K.
