In HBO’s House of the Dragon TV show, significant departures from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood are evident in the first few episodes. When you adapt a source material such as that of George R.R. Martin’s, deviations are meant to be, since it has to be adaptable in a believable way.
Just like Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon has some key differences that change the story slightly so that it’s a different experience. Some of these changes are excellent and spice up the story to make it much more enjoyable, such as that of Viserys’s character, but sometimes the changes are less than welcome and can stir up book fans to revolt against the show, and season two has some of the biggest events that the show has adapted completely differently.
8Oscar Tully’s Character
An Amalgamation Of Two Characters That Managed To Steal The Show
House of the Dragon takes some liberties with some of its characters, such as that of Oscar Tully, who is exclusive to the show. He shows up in the first half of season two as a young and awkward boy who’s trembling in the presence of Daemon Targaryen but later is one of the few people to stare him down.
Oscar is based on Kermit Tully from the books, who becomes the Liege Lord of the Riverlands after his father’s death. Both characters are essentially the same person with different names, but there is also an Oscar Tully in the books who was more of a knight than a lord.
7Laenor Velaryon’s Death
The History Books Didn’t Record Laenor’s Survival
Laenor Velaryon was Rhaenyra’s husband, and their marriage was more of an understanding that they would each be independent of each other and simply hold up their image as a couple for the realm to see.
But in their later years, there was a lot of friction and disagreements, especially after Harwin Strong’s death. Rhaenyra and Daemon eventually come up with a plan to fake Laenor’s death and have him travel to Essos so that he and Rhaenyra can both be free to marry whomever they want. In the books, Laenor is killed and that’s that; it is speculated that the killing was ordered by Rhaenyra, but the show has omitted the death entirely.
6Blood And Cheese
Maybe We Were Saved From Seeing How Horrible It Could Get?
Blood and Cheese was the event following Lucerys’s death that everybody thought would be House of the Dragon’s red wedding. In the book, Blood and Cheese capture Helaena Targaryen and have her choose between which of her two sons should live, or they will kill and defile her daughter.
After Helaena chose, they killed the other one instead, and the entire experience drove Helaena mad. In the show, she simply points to Jaehaerys, and we don’t see the beheading of the child in detail, but the sounds are equally haunting; nevertheless, the book’s interpretation of this event is much more violent.
5Cristen Cole’s Character
From A Loyal Fighter To A Bitter An Honorless Knight
Criston Cole’s character in House of the Dragon is constantly hated for being the poster boy for not handling rejections well. In the books, he was an honorable knight who had rejected Rhaenyra’s advances and saw in her not a Queen, but a spoiled princess who wasn’t fit to rule, hence his siding with the Greens.
In the show, he is in fact seduced by Rhaenyra and wants to run away with her to preserve his own honor, but is bitter when she rejects the proposal. The bitterness and thirst for revenge are not as prominently featured in the source material.
4Rhaenyra And Mysaria
We All Know How Love Stories End In The Game Of Thrones Universe
Mysaria started as Daemon’s paramour till she became supposedly pregnant with his child and to make his brother angry, he stole a dragon egg for his son. In the books, Daemon yields and sends Mysaria away, and she loses the child, but in the show, it is always a lie to provoke his brother.
In season two, there are more differences to her character, like the fact that the rumors surrounding Daemon and Mysaria’s affair never happened and, instead of Daemon, Rhaenyra seems to be the one falling for Mysaria. After their kiss, their relationship reached new heights, but it’s exclusive to the show.
3Alicent And Rhaenyra Reuniting
A Last Ditch Effort Made By Rhaenyra To End The War Without Bloodshed
In the first half of the second season, something that fans really wanted was a reuniting scene between Alicent and Rhaenyra, and they got exactly that. This scene never happens in the books because of the intense hatred they both have for each other.
After the war escalates, Rhaenyra tries one last time to end it without bloodshed by secretly infiltrating Kingslanding and talking to Alicent face to face. Although the war keeps going, it is established that Alicent made Aegon king based on a misunderstanding.
2Hugh’s Mother Was Never Mentioned
Saera Targaryen Was Famously Defiant Of Her Father
With the start of the second season, Rhaenyra lost both Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys, because of which she now has nothing to challenge Vhagar. Prince Jacaerys suggests the idea of the dragonseeds and eventually, two of them claim Silverwing and Vermithor.
Hugh Hammer is the dragonseed that claims Vermithor, but his parentage was never properly explored in the books. In the TV show though, he mentions that his mother was a Targaryen princess, speculated to be Saera Targaryen, making Hugh a near pure-blooded Targaryen, and giving viewers some much-needed context as to why he could do what he did.
1Rhaena And Sheepstealer In Place Of Nettles
It’ll Be Interesting To See Rhaena Fill Nettle’s Shoes
In the House of the Dragon TV show, a character by the name of Nettles has been completely cut. Since she was such a beloved character, it’s one of those changes that fans don’t support. In her and Sheepstealer’s place, we now have Daemon’s daughter Rhaena Targaryen claiming Sheepstealer and effectively replacing Nettles.
Sheepstealer was a wild dragon and Nettles tamed him by feeding him sheep every day till he allowed her to ride him. In HBO’s adaptation, Rhaena claims Sheepstealer from the vale and becomes the rider of one of the bigger dragons in Westeros.
