House of the Dragon's Diversity Casting Betrays the Diversity of Martin's Universe

HBO's House of the Dragon, the prequel to the hit show Game of Thrones, made headlines for its diversity casting, with Black actors being given major roles in the show. The headlines weren't all positive; the casting somewhat flew in the face of the plot, which revolves around the race-purity obsessed Targaryen family. It was jarring to many, including myself, to suddenly see Black actors portraying characters with Valyrian ancestry married into the Targaryen family fold, like Steve Toussaint, who portrays Lord Coryls Velaryon. But others extolled the decision, casting...