There have been terrible fathers throughout the Game of Thrones Cinematic Universe. Craster. Roose Bolton. Balon Greyjoy. Randyll Tarly. Stannis Baratheon—in my opinion, arguably the worst. In House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, terrible fathers also abound. Though outwardly it may appear otherwise, Lord Corlys Velaryon, is certainly among one of the worst.
Corlys Velaryon has long been in the running for the Worst Father of the Year Award, since season one of House of the Dragon, when he proposed that King Viserys, after the death of his wife Aemma, marry Corlys’ own 12-year-old daughter, Laena, in order to join and strengthen their houses. King Viserys declines. As the head of House Velaryon, Master of Driftmark, Corlys is renowned for his naval fleet, earning him the titles Lord of the Tides and Sea Snake. Lesser known is a fact that is revealed over the course of season two: Corlys is the father of two bastard sons, Alyn of Hull and Addam of Hull. It turns out that both sons actually labor for Corlys, working on his ships, though unacknowledged as his progeny.
Through a series of events, Alyn and Addam find their own comeuppance. In the case of Alyn, Corlys names him first mate, as the naval fleet prepares to go to war on behalf of Rhaenyra Targaryen. And in the highly anticipated season two finale, there is a profoundly moving scene between Corlys and Alyn.
In an attempt to impart some measure of fatherly advice, Corlys tells Alyn, “You cannot lead if you do not inspire.” He goes on to say, “You have been given a position to which all who serve here aspire.” Alyn responds, “Forgive me, my lord. I will endeavor to improve myself.” The scene takes a decided turn when Corlys whispers to Alyn, “I am trying to help you.” To which Alyn replies:
Do you know what it was like for us? To grow up fatherless? To be sneered upon as bastards, never sure of the bread to feed us? Do you know what hunger does to a boy? What grief does? Or shame?
Corlys literally dismisses Alyn, “You are dismissed.” Yet still Alyn not only stands firm, but also presses on saying:
I sold fish in the market from cold dawn until sunset, putting by coppers to stave off the winter, and I watched the man who sired me walk past with his son and heir with a fur around his shoulders choosing sweetmeats to eat after supper by the fire. And now that boy is dead. And his sister before him. And the heir that took his place. And now, now, now you remember I live. Now you wish to suddenly to scatter the crumbs of your favor. I am an honorable man, and I will serve you because I must. But if it is all the same, I will decline any offers of help. If I survive this war. . . . I will continue as I began . . . alone.
Corlys is among the worst fathers in because he fails to accept, refuses to acknowledge, and declines to own the pain, the hurt, and the harm caused by his actions, or lack thereof. Furthermore, in the present, Corlys truly seems to believe that he actually has been good (or, at least, good enough) to his sons—regardless of the mountain of factual evidence to the contrary.
There are sins of commission—what is done—and there are sins of omission—what is left undone. Given how Corlys has shown up in his other relationships, particularly as a husband, a brother, he seems to be a rather temperate, reasonable, and caring man. However, Corlys unquestionably failed his sons, Alyn and Addam. As I quoted in a previous essay about my own fatherhood experience, Dr. Jonice Webb, a psychologist and author of Running on Empty: Overcome Your Childhood Emotional Neglect, writes in an article for Psychology Today:
The members of an emotionally neglectful family do suffer. They suffer from what goes unsaid, unshared, undiscussed, unnoticed, and unvalidated.
For this reason, it is noteworthy that, while Alyn speaks of Corlys’ negligence in terms of his lack of provision and the hunger he experienced, he also gives name to the emotional impact of his father’s neglect—grief and shame. Alyn is the personification of the saying, “Still waters run deep.” So, it’s no wonder then that he rejects Corlys’ contemptible and condescending offer of help, and would rather continue to make his way as he has been—alone.
Lord Corlys Velaryon is a deadbeat father. But unlike the deadbeat fathers who stay gone, he is the kind of deadbeat father who shows up to his kid’s college graduation, unashamedly smiling ear-to-ear for pictures. While his sons Alyn and Addam were fighting for good times, “scratchin’ and surviving” in the Cabrini-Green housing projects of Hull, Corlys was taking care of family matters, living a life of “love and tradition of the grand design” in Castle Driftmark. If Corlys truly wants to help either of his sons, then he must lead the way with contrition, repentance, and two words: I’m sorry.
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