Dan Fogler in House of the Dragon Season 3: Who Torrhen Manderly Is Explained

Warning: This article contains SPOILERS. House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 3 adds to the show’s already expansive cast with another notable addition, Dan Fogler. The third installment is largely contained to King’s Landing, focusing on Rhaenyra Targaryen’s attempts at ruling now that she has finally taken the Iron Throne. That means dealing with many different requests and trying to please various different people, including meeting with the nobles of the city.

However, rather than bow down to them, Rhaenyra is opposed to their actions during the blockade, during which they stored food in their houses, leaving little but things like rats for the poor while also driving up prices. The new queen serves the nobles a feast of these rats, which is where Fogler’s character comes into it. He plays Torrhen Manderly, who is one of the guests in attendance and one of the nobles from whom foodstuffs will be taken and given to the poor. He has an interesting, sharp exchange with Rhaenyra about her making such a bold move, and that it might even be enough to make the smallfolk forget it was her blockade that caused the problems, and here’s what to know about him.

Dan Fogler’s Torrhen Manderly Will Have An Important Future In House Of The Dragon

Manderly comes from the pages of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, though arrives in different circumstances. In the book, when Jacaerys Velaryon visits Cregan Stark of Winterfell, he also flies to White Harbour to treat with Lord Desmond Manderly. Desmond sent his two sons, Torrhen and Medrick, south to aid Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons. It’s unclear if that actually happened in the show and we simply didn’t see it, but what is clear is that Torrhen – named after Torrhen Stark, the last King in the North, who knelt to Aegon the Conqueror – is here to advise the queen, and likely become a bigger part of her story.

Given the casting of Fogler, who is recognizable and established enough to stand out in the episode thanks to his roles in the likes of the Fantastic Beasts franchise (as Jacob Kowalski) and The Walking Dead (as Luke Abrams), it’s apparent that we will be seeing more of Manderly after Episode 3, which would also be sticking with the books as well.

In the source material, Torrhen is someone who does have the ear of Rhaenyra, as does his brother, Medrick (who has yet to appear, and be simply be combined with Torrhen). The end of this episode sets up the First Battle of Tumbleton and, without getting too deep into spoilers, the Manderlys offer some questionable advice to the queen in the wake of what happens there that will have some ramifications on members of Team Black.

Torrhen becomes an even bigger part of things in King’s Landing after the civil war, as he serves as one of the regents to King Aegon III Targaryen until he comes of age, though he returns to White Harbour after the deaths of his father and brother to assume his position as its new Lord. However, a few years later, he does return to the capital, becoming Aegon III’s Hand of the King for a time.

It is quite possible that Torrhen will be given an expanded role in the TV series as we move forward in Season 3. We see that Rhaenyra does not have much of a Small Council to speak of, so him getting a role there would not be a surprise, so fans can expect to see more of Fogler in the coming weeks.

New episodes of House of the Dragon Season 3 release on Sundays at 9 pm ET on HBO and HBO Max.

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