Meet Lady Sabitha Frey, the ‘House of the Dragon’ Character Set To Steal Season 3
‘House of the Dragon‘ fans got a brief but memorable introduction to a Riverlands power player back in season two, and now it looks like she is not going anywhere anytime soon. Lady Sabitha Frey only appeared for a few scenes, but her story in George R.R. Martin’s source material is dense enough that showrunners may finally be ready to give her room to breathe.
With filming for season three underway, Sabitha Frey is confirmed to return, and the character is head of House Frey alongside her husband Forrest, played by Kenneth Collard. For a show packed with dragons and dynastic warfare, her rise from background player to genuine wildcard is worth a closer look.
Who Plays Sabitha Frey in ‘House of the Dragon’
Sabitha Frey is portrayed by actress Sarah Woodward in the television adaptation of ‘House of the Dragon’. Interestingly, the character was not always known by this name on screen. She was initially introduced as Serena Frey before the name was changed back to Sabitha, aligning the show more closely with the books.
Her on screen introduction came through a political meeting rather than a battlefield moment. Sabitha and her husband Forrest treat with Prince Jacaerys Velaryon at the Twins, where she swears allegiance to Rhaenyra in exchange for the promise of being granted Harrenhal after the war. It was a small scene, but it set up a character with far more ambition than screen time initially suggested.
Fans who have read ‘Fire & Blood’ already know there is a lot more to her than a single negotiation scene. Sabitha always seemed more in control of House Frey than her husband, and that becomes even more true later in the story.
House Frey’s Loyalty to Rhaenyra Targaryen
The decision to back Rhaenyra was not a minor plot point, it reshaped the entire northern war effort. Sabitha and Forrest agreed to throw their lot in with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen and open the gates of the Twins, the ancestral seat of House Frey, to an army of Northerners on their way south. That moment, shown crossing the Twins in the season two finale, gave the Blacks a critical path through the Riverlands.
In the books, this loyalty comes at a steep personal cost. Her husband, Lord Forrest Frey, dies in the Battle by the Lakeshore, and Sabitha takes control of Harrenhal after the Greens abandon it.
That control does not last without a fight. Sabitha survives when Prince Aemond attacks the castle with Vhagar, hiding in a privy to escape the dragonfire before returning to the Twins. It is a harrowing sequence that would make for one of the more tense set pieces if the show chooses to adapt it.
Lady Sabitha Frey’s Book Origins and Family History
Long before she was tied to House Frey, Sabitha came from a different bloodline entirely. Sabitha Frey, née Vypren, was a noblewoman of House Vypren and the wife of Lord Forrest Frey, the head of House Frey and the Lord of the Crossing during the reigns of kings Viserys I and Aegon II Targaryen. Her reputation in the source material is anything but soft.
According to the text, Sabitha was considered merciless and grasping, and is said to have preferred women over men, with rumors linking her to Lady Alysanne Blackwood. That relationship becomes a recurring thread throughout the war. She was also the rumored lover of Lady Alysanne Blackwood, and the two women reportedly grew close during the fighting.
Their bond is documented in more detail elsewhere in the text. Sabitha and Alysanne Blackwood shared tents during the campaign, and the women joined the Lads in marching on King’s Landing, where they were welcomed by the populace of the capital. It is the kind of intimate, character driven detail that book readers have been hoping makes the jump to television.
What Comes Next for Sabitha Frey in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3?
Sabitha’s arc does not end when the fighting stops, and that is part of why her return has generated buzz. Sabitha and her kin from House Vypren joined Ser Addam Velaryon for the Second Battle of Tumbleton, and she participated in the Battle of the Kingsroad. Both are major confrontations in the back half of the civil war.
Her postwar fate is a little more understated but still notable. When a council of regents was selected to help rule during the minority of King Aegon III Targaryen, Sabitha was one of the notable omissions from the council, though Septon Eustace writes that Sabitha was not slighted by this exclusion. Instead of chasing a seat of power, she returned home to the Twins to try to reestablish some semblance of order in the northern riverlands.
Whether the show follows all of this remains to be seen. The series has already changed a lot from the book and will likely not last as long as originally planned, so nothing is guaranteed. Still, the fact that Woodward is confirmed to be back suggests the writers see real value in her story.
Given everything Sabitha Frey survives, from dragonfire at Harrenhal to the loss of her husband on the battlefield, do you think ‘House of the Dragon’ season three will finally give this Frey matriarch the spotlight she deserves in the books?
