Summary

House of the Dragon
‘s season premiere diverges from the source material, sparking polarizing reactions from fans of George R.R. Martin’s work.
Changes from the book in Episode 1 may impact major events going forward, particularly with the absence of Maelor Targaryen in the show.
The unpredictability brought by these departures promises an exciting and fresh journey ahead for
House of the Dragon
viewers.

Spoiler Alert: Possible spoilers for future episodes of House of the Dragon followAt long last, House of the Dragon has returned. As is typical of both series set in Westeros, Sunday’s season premiere kicked things off with a bang. The long-brewing Targaryen civil war, known as the “Dance of the Dragons,” slowly built momentum over the course of the show’s debut year and finally saw the spark needed to ignite the flame. Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, who promised vengeance after the death of her son, Lucerys Velaryon, in the first season finale, delivered on her promise with help from Prince Daemon.

Yet Daemon’s actions, well known by fans of George R.R. Martin’s Targaryen-centric novel Fire and Blood, unfolded differently than most expected. Already, reception to the changes has proved polarizing, with purists decrying how the climax of the season premiere arguably sanitized the novel’s brutality, while others believe the show kept true to the spirit of Martin’s work.

What Happens in the House of the Dragon Season 2 Premiere?

After losing her son Lucerys at the hands of Aemond Targaryen, Rhaenyra is determined to strike back. The ever-reckless Prince Daemon plans an attack against Aemond and his men, but Rhaenyra, wanting to err with caution, explicitly denies him from acting without her orders. Undeterred, Daemon gets help from his former lover, Mysaria, and they secretly bribe a rat-catcher and City Watch guard to assassinate Prince Aemond.

These assassins, known as Blood and Cheese, are infamous in George R.R. Martin’s fanbase, as their shocking actions in the book Fire and Blood prove horrifying enough to rival the Red Wedding in their brutality. In the novel, they hold Queen Alicent’s daughter Helaena hostage and force her to choose between one of her three children for them to kill. Believing her youngest son, Maelor, is too young to understand what’s happening, Helaena reluctantly chooses him, but Blood and Cheese instead kill her eldest son, Jaehaerys.

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In the novel, this proves a turning point for the war, showcasing the ways in which the cycle of violence only manifests further destruction. Helaena, faced with survivor’s guilt, commits suicide shortly after, and Aegon’s loyalists smuggle Maelor out of King’s Landing when it falls under siege. This leads to another famous incident in the war, in which a member of the Kingsguard brings Maelor to an inn in Bitterbridge for safety, but a mob viciously murders them after they arrive. In return, Aegon’s younger brother Daeron leads an attack on the village, brutally slaughtering its inhabitants.

While House of the Dragon’s season premiere only covers Jaehery’s murder, things unfold differently enough that it’s safe to expect even further divergences from the source material going forward. Crucially, Maelor is entirely absent, and thus Helaena isn’t forced to choose one of her children to sacrifice. Instead, Blood and Cheese force Helaena to tell which of her twins is a boy, and when she names Jaehaerys, they murder him, leaving Aegon without an heir and fulfilling Prince Daemon’s threat of “a son for a son.”

Do the Changes in House of the Dragon Work?

Already, the changes are proving controversial. Book purists have taken to Twitter/X to decry the scene’s diminished brutality, feeling that robbing Helaena of the impossible choice to sacrifice one of her children detracts from the resulting tragedy. Additionally, others have argued that the version of events seen in the show robs Helaena of any agency in the scene, as she only makes a quick barter to Blood and Cheese before reluctantly identifying which twin is her son. Admittedly, there was not as much of a desperate attempt to save her child as there maybe should have been. In comparison, Game of Thrones’ recreation of the infamous Red Wedding faithfully showcased Catelyn Stark’s frenzied last-ditch attempt to save Robb’s life.

On the other hand, House of the Dragon has thus far gone out of its way to avoid the ways Game of Thrones sometimes indulged in its brutality, especially towards its female characters. In Fire and Blood, the scene depicts Blood and Cheese hogtying Queen Alicent and forcing her to watch the murder of one of her grandchildren while also threatening sexual violence on Jaehaerys’ twin sister, Jaehaera.

Considering how House of the Dragon has largely been more successful than its parent show in centering its female characters and exploring their interiority, adding needless humiliation and endangerment to Alicent and Jaehaera could’ve risked feeling exploitative.

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But what does this departure mean for the rest of the season? It’s hard to say definitively, but it could impact major events going forward. Obviously, Daemon’s threat of retribution is still paid out, and the novel’s theme of how violence only begets further bloodshed is faithfully recreated. So, the bigger picture for the story is unlikely to change that much. It’s possible that Helaena could still commit suicide, but considering she wasn’t forced to choose between one of her children to sacrifice, at least not in the same way as the book, the lack of any true guilt on her end means it might not hit as hard.

However, Maelor Targaryen’s absence from the show could prove most impactful on the road ahead. In the books, he proves crucial to one of the war’s most devastating incidents, as his death at the hands of a mob instigates Prince Daeron’s decision to ransack the small town of Bitterbrige and massacre its residents. Without Maelor, it’s hard to imagine this event unfolding the same way, assuming it even unfolds at all.

House of the Dragon Just Became More Unpredictable

Regardless of whether the changes this week worked, they promise a more unpredictable journey ahead. It showcases a willingness to depart from the source material more liberally than Game of Thrones ever did (at least before they surpassed the books), and frankly, that’s an exciting prospect.

Literature and television are different mediums, and we should welcome unexpected detours as long as they’re executed well and don’t betray the spirit of the story, the way Game of Thrones’ final season did. Whatever happens, the journey ahead is harder to read, and we welcome it. House of the Dragon Season 2 is streaming on Max, with new episodes premiering every Sunday night.