'House of the Dragon': Admiral Sharako Lohar, Explained

The season finale of House of the Dragon was packed with climactic action and big resolutions, but it spent a lot of screen time on a new character: Admiral Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn). Lohar is the charismatic leader of the naval fleet of "The Triarchy" - the alliance of three city states in Essos - and is now sailing towards war in Westeros. Read on for a bit of background on Lohar and how his role on TV differs from his role in George R.R. Martin's book, Fire & Blood .

First things first, there are no details about Lohar's gender or sexuality in Martin's book, while the TV show heavily implies that Lohar is a transgender man. This is further complicated by the casting. Lohar is played by Thorn who is a trans woman - and a relatively famous one at that. Thorn is best known for her YouTube channel Philosophy Tube , where she was making content for several years before coming out as transgender and where she has since discussed her gender and sexuality in the hopes of educating others.

As for Lohar, his gender is quickly overshadowed by his eccentricities in this episode. The admiral does his best to unnerve Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who has come to Essos as an envoy for King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his current Prince Regent, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). He hopes the combined naval fleet of Myr, Lys and Tyrosh can break the Velaryon blockade on King's Landing and join the war on their side. After paying a steep price for this help, Tyland then needs to win the respect of Lohar.

None of this hijinks was described in Martin's book - the mud wrestling, Tyland's public embarrassment or Lohar's invitation to non-monogamous family planning. Instead, the book tells us that Lohar is a very capable commander for a fleet that is best known for piracy, not war. In the book, Lohar and his forces are actually massed on the Stepstones, not in Lys when they strike their deal with the Greens. They sail from there to join the war.

It's also important to remember how uncommon it is for the city states of Myr, Lys and Tyrosh to join forces. These cities are called the "Three Daughters of Valyria" because all three were originally founded as colonies of the dragon-riding civilization, but have since grown with their own unique cultures and interests. They fight wars against each other and the other city states of Essos more often than they get involved in the conflicts of Westeros, and that internal tension will underly Lohar's story going forward.

The Three Daughters formed the Triarchy shortly before the beginning of House of the Dragon Season 1, and they fought against Daemon and Corlys Velaryon (Steven Toussaint) during that time. They are seeking control of the Stepstones, a chain of islands between Westeros and Essos, hoping to control trade and impose taxes in the future. However, because of their history with Valyria, the Essosi are very wary of dragon-riders, so it will be interesting to see if they come into contact with the Targaryens in the coming seasons.

House of the Dragon is now streaming on Max, and Season 3 is in pre-production. You can get the full story in Fire & Blood , which is available now in print, digital and audiobook formats. The next Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight , is slated to premiere next year on HBO and Max.