House of the Dragon flew high one last time with its season finale, “The Black Queen,” an episode as mesmerizing as it was mystifying for the Fire and Blood faithful. Readers of George R.R. Martin’s fictional history book, the basis of the prequel series’ plot, were waiting with bated dragon breath all season long for Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) to accept her father’s crown, only to lose something much more precious: her son, Luke (Elliot Grihault), the highest-profile casualty yet in a war known throughout Westeros history as “The Dance of the Dragons.”
And yet, those same readers were likely shocked, and perhaps even a bit baffled, by the way Luke’s death played out. It’s yet another instance of showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik (the latter of whom will not be returning for season two) taking Martin’s source material and using it as a launch point for its own fresh narrative. Fire and Blood itself is told from the perspective of highly unreliable narrators, so revisionist history is absolutely fair game. In the case of Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) kin-slaying his nephew, however, I expect some out there in the book-reading crowd are narrowing at least one eye.
Poor choice of words aside, here’s a rundown of some book-heavy highlights from the House of the Dragon season finale, and the differences between the HBO show and Martin’s originally written version of events.
Daughter of the Dragon
In both House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood, Rhaenyra’s early labor comes after hearing about her father’s death. Martin writes that “the tidings from King’s Landing had driven the princess into a black fury, and her rage seemed to bring on the birth, as if the babe inside her were angry too, and fighting to get out.” Specific lines from the book were brought into the show, such as Rhaenyra screaming “get out, get out, GET OUT!” The book tells us Rhaenyra’s daughter was named Visenya, after Aegon the Conqueror’s sister-wife. The child was “a stillborn girl, twisted and malformed, with a hole in her chest where her heart should have been, and a stubby, scaled tail,” a description that’s sadly reflected in the show.
Crown of the Queen
Following Visenya’s birth and death, the book’s version of Rhaenyra states, “She was my only daughter, and they killed her. They stole my crown and murdered my daughter, and they shall answer for it.” In the show, Rhaenyra’s fury is more contained, though its explosiveness is strongly hinted at toward the end of the hour. As for the crown itself, both book and show see Rhaenyra taking the crown of her father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), standing in contrast to King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) wearing the crown of his conquering namesake. In the show, Erryk Cargyll (Elliott Tittensor) comes to Rhaenyra with Viserys’s crown, which previously belonged to the Old King Jahaerys. In the book, Erryk was already on Dragonstone, with the duty falling to a knight named Steffon Darklyn; funny enough, the show flipped these roles, as Steffon was one of the Dragonstone knights Daemon forced into fealty.
The Queen’s Army
“Thirty knights, a hundred crossbowmen, and three hundred men-at-arms.” Daemon (Matt Smith) lays these numbers out for the folks gathered around Dragonstone’s Painted Table, numbers he pulls straight from the pages of Fire and Blood. Much of the scene plays out similarly between book and show, including the long name-drop list of dragons at Rhaenyra’s disposal. A very big difference, however: Rhaenyra’s the one who highlights how many dragons they have in the book, stating that their fire-breathing arsenal “is how we shall win this war.” Oddly, while the book’s Daemon agrees with Rhaenyra’s assessment of the dragons, he’s also the one who first offers diplomacy as a tactic: “We must fight this war with words before we go to battle.” Not only is there not a scene during this period of Fire and Blood where Daemon assaults Rhaenyra as he did in the finale, but the two of them are also very much like-minded in their approach to fighting the war.
The King’s Terms
In “The Black Queen,” Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) leads King Aegon’s crew toward Dragonstone to lay out terms of surrender for Rhaenyra. In the book, he’s not part of this party. Instead, the task is left to Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan), also present in the show’s take on the scene. The terms laid out are exactly the same between book and show. The aftermath is fairly similar as well, except in the show, the queen rips Otto’s Hand of the King pin from his chest, whereas in the book, she strips Orwyle of his chain of office, and does it with a greater show of physical force. Additionally, where the show’s Rhaenyra told Otto she would consider the terms, the book’s Rhaenyra not only flat-out rejects them, she sends Orwyle back to Aegon with the following warning: “Tell my half-brother that I will have my throne, or I will have his head.”
A Quick Aside
This next bit is not from Martin’s book, but, it’s from a book all the same! Remember back in the season premiere when Rhaenyra and Alicent were reading by the Weirwood tree, and Rhaenyra tore out a page about the warrior queen Nymeria? It looks like Alicent saved that page, as it’s the same piece of paper Otto hands Rhaenyra in the bridge scene, signifying the long-lost friendship between the two women. This is an invention of the show, but a great easter egg in its own right, calling back to House of the Dragon’s developing history as its own entity free of the source material.
The Strong Flight
Both book and show see Jacaerys (Henry Collett) and Lucerys volunteering to act as envoys on behalf of their mother, flying off to corners of the Seven Kingdoms to shore up support. In the book, their youngest brother Joffrey also volunteers to join the expedition, but at 11 years old, is forbidden from going. In the show, Joff is roughly six at this point, so, yeah, no chance, not on Rhaenyra’s watch, at least. The Velaryon boys have the same destinations between book and show, with Luke’s considerably shorter in a variety of tragic ways. For Jace, however, the journey continues into season two, as he’s tasked with visiting both the Vale and Winterfell, two exciting outcomes for Game of Thrones fans hoping to see some iconic locations come back to life. What’s more, in the book, Jace is also ordered to stop at White Harbor, the biggest city in the North, which has yet to be featured in live-action. With any luck, we’ll finally see it when Jace’s story continues in season two.
The Stormy Night
Speaking of places we have not seen in the Game of Thrones franchise before, there’s Storm’s End. We were here earlier in the season, when young Rhaenyra (then played by Millie Alcock) was on her tour of Westeros to find a suitable husband. But we had never seen the exterior of House Baratheon’s ancestral home before, until this week’s episode. It lived up to the hype of its dark-and-stormy reputation, no doubt. Back inside, the tragedy unfolds similarly between book and show. In both interpretations, Aemond makes it to Storm’s End ahead of his nephew Luke with time to spare. And in both interpretations, Aemond calls for his nephew’s eye, to make up for the one Luke put out so many years ago. The show also finally revealed Aemond’s over-the-top sapphire eye, something more befitting a Gotham City villain than a Game of Thrones character, but a relic from Martin’s book all the same.
Fall of the Dragon
While Aemond kills Luke in Fire and Blood, the exact circumstances are left somewhat unclear. There’s a lot of gossip about how Aemond dispatched his nephew, including one salacious tale where he carved out Luke’s eyes. “Some say Vhagar snatched Lucerys off his dragon’s back and swallowed him whole,” writes Martin, which is much closer to the show’s reality. But there’s a huge change between book and show: the accidental nature of Luke’s death. There are no moments in Fire and Blood indicating Aemond and Luke losing control over their dragons, with the beasts imbuing the fight with a life of their own. There’s absolutely nothing about Aemond trying to stop Vhagar from killing Luke and his dragon Arrax. But the show went down the route of a bitter fight between relatives spiraling wildly out of either child’s control. How will Luke’s accidental death, instead of Aemond unapologetically murdering his nephew, impact the show moving forward? We’ll have to wait until season two to find out.
A Son for a Son
Finally, let’s end not on an easter egg, but with a warning. Luke Velaryon’s death in the book paves the way for so much of what comes next, including a sequence so harrowing that if brought to the screen faithfully, it could easily top the list of the most disturbing Game of Thrones scenes of all time. It’s been hinted at throughout season one, and will be impossible to miss on a rewatch. You have until 2024 or so to prepare your stomach accordingly. Good luck!
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Josh Wigler
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