Season 2 of House of the Dragon has just ended. Praised for its obvious artistic qualities, the season has nevertheless divided opinion due to its slow-burn rhythm (typical of the first seasons of Game of Thrones) and its false finale, which has the air of a teaser for season 3. In any case, this is the opportunity for us to look back at 10 major differences between season 2 of House of the Dragon and the novel Fire & Blood.
< p style="text-align: center;">Obviously, this article will include many spoilers fromHouse of the Dragon Season 2and the book Fire & Blood.
#1 The Absence of Sara Snow
Season 2 opens with the alliance between Prince Jacaerys Velaryon and Lord Cregan Stark, the lord of Winterfell. An event known as the “Pact of Ice and Fire”. However, we find the two young lords on top of the wall, at Castle Black, and not at Winterfell. This choice by Ryan Condall results in the absence of Sara Snow, Cregan Stark's illegitimate half-sister. In Fire & Blood, according to the story of the madman Mushroom, Jacaerys and Sara would have fallen in love and slept together.
However, Champignon's story is considered fanciful by the other chroniclers of the Dance of the Dragons. It is unknown if Sara Snow will appear in future seasons of House of the Dragon. Even if we don't hear about her in Fire & Blood, the addition of this character could satisfy many fans who appreciate the Stark family. We can imagine that Rickon Stark's bastard daughter accompanies her brother on campaign.
#2 The death of Jaehaeris Targaryen
Episode 1 of House of the Dragon opens with a terrible scene: the murder by Blood and Cheese of Prince Jaehaeris Targaryen, eldest son of Aegon II Targaryen and his sister-wife Helaena. But the scene is much less traumatic than in Fire & Blood. Indeed, in the novel, Blood and Cheese ask Helaena to choose which of her three children they will kill. While they threaten to rape her daughter Jaehaera, the queen chooses her youngest son Maelor. However, the two men decapitate Jaehaeris, the royal couple's eldest son and heir to Aegon II. Note that in Fire & Blood, Alicent Hightower is also present.
However, we can understand the reasons for these changes. First of all, there are probably limits to what can be shown on television, especially when it comes to child abuse. Then, starting season 2 with such a strong scene could have been detrimental to the following episodes. Finally, the absence of Alicent, who is having a sexual relationship with Ser Criston Cole, allows the creation of guilt in the Dowager Queen.
#3 The romantic relationship between Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole
In the first season of House of the Dragon, Alicent Hightower's character behaved like a paragon of virtue. We all remember that confrontation between Alicent and Rhaenyra in episode 7 of season 1, following the altercation between Aemond and the Velaryon sons. However, The first episode of season 2 deeply affected the audience. this image of Otto Hightower's daughter, since as soon as she is widowed, Alicent acts like a fool. two backs with his liege knight, Criston Cole.
An event which may have surprised the readers ofFeu & Blood, taking into account the fact that In the historical chronicle of the Targaryen family, the Dowager Queen remains a paragon of virtue to the end. However, it must be remembered that the chroniclers were not objective and were unaware of what was happening in the Queen's bedchamber. Furthermore, this change allows Alicent Hightower to be made a much more nuanced and interesting character.
#4 Helaena Targaryen's mental health
Season 1 of House of the Dragonhad already made several changes to Helaena Targaryen's character, making her a Dreamer (a Targaryen with the gift of clairvoyance). A true Cassandra, she had predicted that Aemond Targaryen would lose his eye and the coming of Blood and Cheese. In Fire & Blood, shocked by the death of her eldest son as much as by the choice she made to sacrifice her last son, Helaena Targaryenn goes mad and locks herself in her room.
In season 2 of House of the Dragon, if Helaena Targaryen withdraws and hardly leaves her apartments, she remains nonetheless lucid. Her clairvoyance gifts allowed her to understand that Aemond tried to kill Aegon and that he will die during the Battle of the God's Eye. Note that in the wake of episode 2, George R.R. Martin confided that he preferred the character of Helaena Targaryen in the series to her paper version.
#5 Daemon Targaryen's Visions
Following his argument with Rhaenyra in Season 2, Episode 2, Daemon Targaryen travels to Harrenhal to raise an army. The scenes at Harrenhal sparked very mixed reactions from fans, who did not appreciate the character's many visions, which were very much inspired by Stephen King's The Shining. In Fire & Blood, Daemon Targaryen goes to Harrenhal earlier, and many houses of the Riverlands answer his call to arms. It should be noted that it is at Harrenhal that Daemon learns of the murder of Lucaerys Velaryon.
However, the choice of the series is not uninteresting: first of all, it allows to characterize the houses of Conflans, which the spectators of Game of Thrones ultimately only knew through the rare members of House Tully. Then, Daemon's various visions allow him to confront his old demons (including the consuming guilt he has towards his brother Viserys), and to confirm the fact that he is no longer the Prince Vaurien he was at the beginning of the series. Finally, the visions he has in the season 2 finale of the White Walkers and Daenerys Targaryen and her three dragons allow us to bring back to the forefront the Dream of Aegon Targaryen and the Song of Ice and Fire, mentioned in the first episode of season 1 of House of the Dragon.
#6 The Siege of Rook's Rest
The finale of episode 4 was undoubtedly the most spectacular of this season 2 of House of the Dragon. The Siege of Rook's Rest, where Rhaenys, Aegon and Aemond confront each other, marks the launch of the Dance of the Dragons.À both spectacular and moving, this battle nevertheless differs from the novelFire & Blood. Indeed, in the book by George R.R. Martin, the presence of Aegon Targaryen is part of the plan hatched by the Greens, while in the series his presence is inappropriate.  ;
However, the series finally opts for “more realism”. Because sending the king to the front from the first battle to fight a dragon who has a lot of battle experience (Meleys) ultimately seems quite suicidal. Ryan Condal finally opted for plausibility to the detriment of the surprise effect. An interesting choice!
#7 Jacaerys Velaryon's doubts
The character of Jacaerys Velaryon is perhaps one of our main disappointments regarding this season 2 of House of the Dragon. Indeed, in Fire & Blood, following the tragic death of his little brother Lucaerys Velaryon, the eldest son and heir of Rhaenyra Targaryen takes a prominent place among the Blacks. It is he who decides to send his brother Joffrey and his half-brothers Aegon and Viserys to the Vale of Arryn, accompanied by Rhaena, and promises knighthoods and lands to the Dragon Seeds who manage to become dragon riders.
In the series, if he is the first to put the idea of the Red Seed on the table, the matter escapes him when Rhaenyra decides to offer this opportunity to bastards. If his dialogue with Rhaenyra is very interesting – and all in all quite logical, given the suspicions concerning the bastardy of Jacaerys -, the character is dispossessed in the series of his supporting role, which finally falls to Lady Mysaria, who becomes Rhaenyra's main advisor in this season 2.
#8 Oscar Tully's rapid rally
At Harrenhal, Daemon Targaryen wants to raise an army. But he is forced to wait for the death of Lord Grover Tully. In episode 7, following the death of his grandfather, Oscar Tully becomes the overlord of the Riverlands and joins Rhaenyra Targaryen's party. However, in Fire & Blood, events are a little different… Indeed, Ryan Condal has merged two members of the Tully family into one character: Elmo, Lord Grover's grandson, and Oscar, his great-grandson.
In Fire & Blood, it is therefore Elmo who succeeds Lord Grover as overlord of the Riverlands. The fact of merging the two characters was a judicious choice: Lord Elmo meets a ridiculous death (he drinks undrinkable water), while his son Oscar will distinguish himself during the Battle of the Kings Road. Let us also note that Elmo's rallying comes later in the story: he refuses for a time to join a camp, and the arrival of Addam Velaryon on Seasmoke who will convince him to join Rhaenyra's camp. The Tullys participate in the Second Battle of Tumbleburg. And it is upon hearing the news that Lord Grover Tully dies.
#9 The two meetings of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower
In episodes 3 and 8 of season 2 of House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower meet in hiding. Of course, these encounters are absent from Fire & Blood. However, let's note two elements: as we said above, the writers of House of the Dragon have been playing on the gray areas of the chronicles of the Dance of the Dragons since the beginning of the series. Fire & Bloodis written in the style of medieval chronicles, and some events may have escaped the chroniclers' attention. It should also be noted that in the novel, Rhaenyra and Alicent were never friends; such meetings would therefore seem completely inappropriate.
The second meeting between Alicent and Rhaenyra at Dragonstone is not uninteresting, since it allows us to prepare certain events of season 3, starting with the Fall of King's Landing. Above all, the outcome of the Battle of the Gullet in episode 1 of season 3 could influence certain decisions and promises could not be kept.It remains to be seen what the real consequences of this event will be.
#10 Red Sowing and the absence of Nettles
The penultimate episode of season 2 of House of the Dragon was praised by fans, particularly for the spectacular adaptation of Red Sowing. However, the event does not play out exactly the same way in Fire & Blood. First of all, In the book, the Red Seeding is not exclusively open to the Dragon Seeds; men with no connection to the Targaryens show up. However, the series' choice is quite judicious; by eliminating a large number of Targaryen Bastards, it prepares a particularly important event in season 4, known as the Moon of the Three Kings.
The fact that the series chose to focus the Red Seed on the Dragon Seeds – at the cost of making some characters Bastards – results in the absence of Nettles, a young brown-skinned woman with no connection to the Targaryens who takes possession of Sheep Thief. In episode 8, it seems that Nettles is replaced by Rhaena, the daughter of Daemon Targaryen. This choice will undoubtedly make some fans of the character scream, but let's agree that it is understandable: in the novel, Nettles creates discord in the couple formed between Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen by becoming her lover. However, the problems of the royal couple took up a lot of space in season 2, especially since the presence of Lady Mysaria in their entourage is already a factor of trouble and disorder in the novel.
Finally, let us note that during the Red Seeding, Alyn of Carne – the bastard son of Corlys Velaryon (or Laenor, testimonies diverge on this subject) – is also a pretender to the title of dragon rider. He tries to tame Sheep-Thief, but nearly burns himself alive. He is saved by his brother Addam Velaryon and Sea-Smoke. From this incident, he emerges with numerous burns that he will keep for the rest of his life. We imagine that in the series, Alyn de Caréne will obtain these famous burns during the Battle of the Gosier, the elements of which were set up in the finale of season 2 and which will be adapted from episode 1 of season 3.
To discover this bad news that showrunner Ryan Condal announced concerning the sequel to House of the Dragon, it's here.