House of the Dragon: Who Is Abigail Thorn’s Admiral Sharako Lohar?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 8, “The Queen Who Ever Was.”

The House of the Dragon Season 2 finale, “The Queen Who Ever Ways,” introduces a colorful new character: Abigail Thorn’s Admiral Sharako Lohar. So, who exactly is Admiral Lohar in House of the Dragon?

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House of the Dragon Season 2’s Admiral Lohar, Explained

House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 8 sees Ser Tyland Lannister meeting with the Triarchy council to form an alliance between them and the Green Targaryen camp. Tyland eventually locks down a deal, but there’s a catch. First, he’ll have to impress the Triarchy armada’s commander, Admiral Lohar, who alone commands the men’s loyalty.

Given the Triarchy higher-ups refer to Lohar as “he,” Tyland’s expecting to meet with a dude. Instead, he’s greeted by a woman who uses he/him pronouns and apparently has several wives! To his credit, Tyland quickly adapts to the situation, winning Lohar around after giving his all in mud wrestling and drinking songs. By Episode 8’s closing montage, the Triarchy fleet is headed for the Black Targaryens’ blockade at the Gullet.

Does any of this happen in House of the Dragon‘s source text, Fire & Blood? Not really. But then, Lohar is barely in the book. We get a bit of info about what the admiral does at the Gullet and what happens immediately after. We’re also told that he’s a man (or someone referred to as he/him, at least). So, Lohar’s antics with Tyland and the gender-fluid aspect of the character? These are the invention of showrunner Ryan Condal, screenwriter Sara Hess, and director Geeta Vasant Patel.

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House of the Dragon Showrunner Addresses Admiral Lohar’s Gender

Why did Condal and co. depict Admiral Lohar as transgender in House of the Dragon? They didn’t – or at least, it’s not that simple. Condal discussed Lohar’s gender in the latest episode of the official House of the Dragon podcast, describing the way the admiral presents herself as a survival mechanism more than anything (Thorn herself is openly transgender, however).

“Really, the idea is it comes down to this is a woman in a man’s role as a fleet commander and this is a highly patriarchal society,” he said. “And [Lohar] has kind of played the David Bowie role her whole life, as sort of – it’s a bit of androgyny and sort of tends one way or the other.”

“I think what we were really trying to say is in this time, all these salty sea dogs she’s surrounded with, all these men, their brains cannot process the idea that they’re saluting a woman who’s leading this massive […] fleet of ships at the end,” Condal continued. “So, she presents herself as a masculine character in the classic sense and then they sort of just accept it. And that’s why they all follow her.”

House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently streaming on HBO and Max.