Jacaerys Velaryon

In the books

Jacaerys was born in 114 AC (years after Aegon's conquest) to then-Crown Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen. Rhaenyra's husband Laenor Velaryon, who is also her second cousin and thought by many to be more fond of men than women, wanted to name the child "Joffrey" after his late friend and secret lover Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, but his father Lord Corlys Velaryon overrules him and the child is instead given a "traditional Velaryon name". By royal decree, Jacaerys and his younger brothers Lucerys and Joffrey are presented with dragon eggs, with Jacaerys naming his hatchling Vermax. Unlike most memebers of Targaryen and Velaryon families (who have silver or golden hair and purple eyes, so-called "Valyrian" traits), Jacaerys and his full-brothers had dark hair and dark eyes. While the young princes might have inherited their features after non-Valyrian ancestors (found in both Rhaenyra's and Laenor's family trees), their unusual look led to rumors that their true father was not Laenor, but Ser Harwin Strong, the heir to Harrenhal and a sworn shield of Princess Rhaenyra. Jacaerys grew into a "handsome teenager" who is further described as "bold", "responsible", and "politically savvy" despite his relative young age.

When Jacaerys is four years old, Rhaenyra betroths him to his second cousin Baela Targaryen, the daughter of his great-uncle Daemon Targaryen with his aunt Laena Velaryon (Laenor's sister), the latter of whom died during an obstructed labor two years later. After Laenor's death, the newly widowed Rhaenyra marries the also-widowed Daemon, and they have two more sons Aegon (the Younger) and Viserys, who as pure-blooded Targaryens have the Valyrian white hair and purple eyes, unlike their Velaryon half-brothers. Since a very young age, the three Velaryon brothers became bitter rivals with their half-uncles Aegon (the Elder), Aemond and Daeron Targaryen who were born to Queen Alicent Hightower, the second wife of King Viserys (Jacaerys' grandfather), and thus can potentially challenge Rhaenyra's claim to the Iron Throne. Alicent's parental family, House Hightower of Old Town, are also a wealthy and ambitious clan who want to seize control of royal politics, so Alicent's children also resent the Velaryon boys (whom they have mocked as "Strong boys") for obstructing their claim to the Iron Throne. Aware of this threat, Jacaerys has served as a squire in order to become more skilled in combat, presumably under his stepfather Daemon. Harwin has also trained the Velaryon brothers before he and his father died in a suspicious fire at Harrenhal, leading to his pro-Hightower younger brother Larys to inherit the Strong lordship.

When Jacaerys is fourteen, his grandfather King Viserys dies and House Hightower, in collaboration with Ser Criston Cole of the Kingsguard and other conspirators, exploit the opportunity to install Aegon the Elder (who is initially unwilling) to the throne as King Aegon II, thus usurping Rhaenyra's legal birthright as Viserys' chosen successor. This leads to Rhaenyra, who is away from the capital King's Landing due to pregnancy, and gives birth prematurely to a stillborn daughter upon hearing the news. Compounding anger with the grief of losing a child, Rhaenyra crowns herself as the rightful Queen of Westeros, and a war of succession breaks out between her supporters, also known as "the Blacks" after the sigil color favored by the Targaryens; and those supporting Aegon and House Hightower, known as "the Greens" after the sigil color of the Hightowers. Because both factions have dragonriders, this Targaryen civil war is also known as the "Dance of the Dragons". At her coronation, Rhaenyra formally names Jacaerys as the Prince of Dragonstone and her heir to the Iron Throne.

Television adaptation

Casting and development

Because the show covers such an extensive amount of time, producers had to cast multiple actors for some of the same roles, with the child characters aging up following a time jump midway through the first season. On March 30, 2022, HBO announced that Harry Collett was cast as Jacaerys, who Leo Hart portraying a younger version of the character. Hart appears as Jace in two episodes of the show's first season, with Collett assuming the role from the eighth episode "The Lord of the Tides" onwards. Collett first auditioned for the show in 2020 when he was seventeen but was not originally made aware that the show was due to HBO changing the names of the characters and locations. Due to his age, Collett had not seen Game of Thrones, but was aware of the show. Of his audition, Collett explained, "it was a scene with Rhaenyra and Lucerys, but they [replaced Rhaenyra with Lucerys’ brother, Collett’s character Jacaerys] and they were called Jack and Luke. We were in a living room and I was telling Luke how he shouldn’t feel upset about something". He described feeling as though his audition went well, but that he was unlikely to get the part after seeing how physically different a lot of the other actors in the waiting room were from him.

Jace is described as "a handsome and good-natured young man" who is fiercely loyal to his mother and her cause who is willing to do whatever it takes to defend his family and secure their claim for the Iron Throne, with the goal of becoming a "successful, respected ruler" upon his coronation. His Targaryen blood is important to him due to insecurities around the true identity of his father and he wants to "continue his mother's family legacy" by taking her surname when he becomes king. Of his character, Collett stated, "Jace is so dynamic, and he's such a good leader", and that he enjoyed all the scenes with Emma D'Arcy, who plays his mother Rhaenyra because their close dynamic was a unique contrast to some of the other characters in the show who have more fractured relationships with their parents.

Discussing Jace's political acumen, showrunner Ryan Condal highlighted the scenes with Cregan Stark in "A Son for a Son" as critical to establishing him as a capable diplomat, a role he continues to play for Rhaenyra as the season continues.

Speaking on Jace's decision to defy Rhaenyra in season three, Collett stated, "she has been fighting so hard to keep me at home and keep me safe because she knows that I'm the heir. Now, he's playing the 'I don't want to listen to mum. I'm gonna be my own man now,' which is completely fair enough because 16 in the Game of Thrones world is probably 30-odd." Collett was aware of Jace's fate when he initially signed onto the show in season one, and described it as "the perfect death", noting that there was "no way Jace couldn't have died" once he'd made up his mind to ride into battle despite his inexperience. Collett stated that Jace felt "young and vulnerable" once he was separated from Vermax and the first arrow hit him, and that he believes that Jace's final thoughts would be him regretting his decision to go and wishing his mother Rhaenyra was with him.

Season 1

Following her marriage to Laenor Velaryon, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen gives birth to Jacaerys, her first child. With his birth, Jace becomes second-in-line to inherit the Iron Throne after his mother and, per an agreement made between his maternal grandfather King Viserys Targaryen and paternal grandfather Corlys Velaryon, he is expected to take the former's surname upon his ascension. Although Jace, and later his two younger brothers Lucerys ("Luke") and Joffrey, are presented as legitimate children of Laenor, they are actually bastards fathered by Ser Harwin Strong, Rhaenyra's lover. Viserys' wife Alicent Hightower is suspicious of the true parentage of Rhaenyra's children and, in order to ease tensions, Rhaenyra proposes that Jace be betrothed to Alicent's daughter Helaena, though Alicent refuses. As rumours continue to spread, Viserys sends Strong away and, following an emotional goodbye to Rhaenyra and her children, Jace asks his mother whether Strong is his real father. Rhaenyra does not definitively answer, telling him that the only thing that matters is that he is a Targaryen. During childhood, Jace bonds with the green dragon Vermax, becoming his rider.

Six years later, when Corlys is severely wounded in battle with pirates, his brother Vaemond petitions the crown to be named as Corlys' heir, alleging that Luke, the current heir to Driftmark, is not legitimate. In attempt to gain the support of Corlys' wife Rhaenys in defending Luke's claim, Rhaenyra proposes that Jace be betrothed to Rhaenys' granddaughter Baela. Following Viserys' death, Aegon, his son with Alicent, usurps the throne from Rhaenyra, igniting a war of succession between the Blacks (Rhaenyra's supporters) and the Greens (Alicent's faction supporting Aegon). Jace and the rest of his family base themselves at Dragonstone. Needing to secure the loyalty of the other Houses of Westeros, Rhaenyra sends Jace and Luke out on dragonback as her envoys to recruit allies.

Season 2

Jace travels to the Vale of Arryn and secures the support of House Arryn before flying north to the Wall, where he speaks with Lord Cregan Stark and successfully persuades him to pledge his men to Rhaenyra's cause, though their meeting is interrupted when a raven arrives informing Jace that Luke was killed by Aemond Targaryen and his dragon Vhagar. Jace rushes home and attempts to give a report to Rhaenyra before the two break down in each other's arms, and subsequently attend Luke's funeral. When consoling Baela over her troubles with her father Daemon, Jace speaks positively about being raised by Laenor and his mixed feelings on Harwin.

As the war intensifies, Ser Criston Cole and his forces plan to assault Rook's Rest, a Black stronghold, and claim it for the Greens. Jace proposes that he be sent on Vermax to protect the town, hoping to secure his and his mother's claim to the throne, but Rhaenyra refuses due to his lack of experience and instead shares with him "the Song of Ice and Fire" which is passed down through the monarchs of Westeros. Expressing his frustrations to Baela and wanting to be useful, Jace goes to the Twins to meet with House Frey and obtains their loyalty without Rhaenyra's knowledge. Initially enraged by his disobedience, Rhaenyra praises his success and requests his counsel on how they can deal with Vhagar. Jace proposes that potential dragonriders may be found in other noble families due to earlier Targaryens marrying into them, and suggests that they should look for them and see if any of them can successfully bond with the large dragons living below Dragonstone. When Jace's idea proves fruitful, Mysaria proposes that Rhaenyra widen her search for dragonriders to include lowborn people from King's Landing, which enrages Jace. He confronts his mother, telling her that he is afraid this will undermine his legitimacy as her heir due to the lowborn having traditional Targaryen features such as white hair while he resembles Harwin Strong. Rhaenyra tries to explain herself, but he angrily replies that he is not a fool, everyone now knows that he is a bastard, yet he can face this and succeed him because, as proof of his Targaryen blood, he has a dragon, and he accuses his mother of wanting to deprive him of that too, noting that his claim is diluted if any commoner can have a dragon. He later clashes with the successful dragonriders Hugh and Ulf. Baela comforts him and advises him to prove himself by standing at his mother's side rather than allowing his insecurities to overpower him.

Season 3

When Rhaenyra returns from a clandestine meeting with Alicent and informs her Council that she has struck a deal that will allow the Blacks to claim King's Landing with minimal bloodshed, Jace is suspicious and warns her that Alicent cannot be trusted and plans to lure them into a trap. Despite his concerns being echoed by her other advisors, Rhaenyra affirms her faith in Alicent and instructs her men to prepare to take the city in two days.

Baela alerts the Black Council that there is war in the Gullet, and Rhaenyra announces her plan to personally assist Corly's ships on her dragon Syrax. Fearing his mother's safety and wanting to prove himself after feeling frustrated that she has placed her trust in Alicent over him, Jace orders Rhaenyra's guard Ser Lorent to lock her in her room and convinces Baela to go with him to the Battle of the Gullet. Jace and Baela provide support to the Velayron fleet on their dragons Vermax and Moondancer, significantly aiding them in the battle. Sharako Lohar briefly ensnares Vermax by firing a harpoon tethered to a heavy weight, but Moondancer helps it break free. Flying back to Dragonstone on the wild dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena sees the battle from afar and decides to help, but she is unable to control the untrained dragon, who begins burning ships indiscriminately. Sheepstealer then begins attacking Moondancer, causing Jace and Vermax to pursue. Realizing that Rhaena is riding, Jace is forced to abort an attack on Sheepstealer, and Vermax ends up flying so low that it is hit by a second harpoon and dragged down. Jace frees himself as Vermax drowns and swims to the surface, only to be shot three times and killed by Triarchy archers while clinging to a piece of driftwood. His body is later recovered by Baela as other dragonriders arrive in reinforcement, and presented back to the deeply distraught Rhaenyra. The news of Jace's death is also relayed to Daemon, prompting him to break from his Riverlands campaign and return to personally aid Rhaenyra capturing King's Landing, with Rhaenyra carrying Jace's sword. Unable to process her grief once she has taken the throne, Rhaenyra begins to hallucinate Jace in the halls of the Red Keep and avoids spending time with Joffrey, her eldest surviving son and heir.

Reception

Harry Collett's performance as Jacaerys Velaryon has been praised by critics. Reviewers praised the scenes of grief between Rhaenyra and Jace in "A Son for a Son", where they emotionally reunite following the death of Lucerys, with Katie Doll of CBR writing, "both D'Arcy and Collett are monumental examples of actors who impress in their breakout roles." James Hunt of Screen Rant referred to him as the "emotional core" of the season two episode "The Red Sowing", and lauded his scenes with Emma D'Arcy, writing, "a lot of praise must also go to Harry Collett, who gives his best performance yet as Jace: the scene where he talks about being Harwin Strong's son is powerful and devastating." Daniel Roman of Winter is Coming called the scenes in "Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood" where Jace convinces Ser Lorent to lock up Rhaenyra and his later conversation with Baela as "Harry Collett's two best scenes of the entire series".

Following the airing of their season two scene together, fans began shipping Jace and Cregan Stark's bromance in memes, edits and fanfiction. Tom Taylor, who plays Cregan, joked, "'Brokeback Winterfell.' I've seen that one going around, I think it's brilliant. Fans, they're going crazy with stuff. I think it's so cool that people are so passionate and want to get involved. I saw a video the other day where they stuck my head and Harry's head on these guys dancing, some AI dancing and stuff. It was ridiculous, but it was so funny." Collett later also commented on the phenomenon at the season three premiere stating, "I get shipped with Cregan Stark a lot which I find quite funny, and me and Tom laugh about that. I think the thing is called 'Brokeback Winterfell' or something."