The fourth episode of House of the Dragon, titled “King of the Narrow Sea,” may just be the most critically acclaimed yet. Curiously, it’s also the one with the most discrepancies from the source material, but those two things are in no way connected. The writers prove once again that they can take what George R.R. Martin wrote in his book Fire & Blood, spin it around, and leave us all speechless.
Alicent and Rhaenyra: Best Frenemies
When we begin the episode, Alicent and Rhaenyra are still on amicable enough terms; they actually appear more friendly in this episode than in the previous one. This is different from Martin’s book, where at this point they’re in a sort of Cold War, and each already has factions at court. In the book, Alicent herself advocates for her son Aegon to marry Rhaenyra (so he can get to the throne), while in the show, her father Otto Hightower suggests that course of action to the king.
At this point in the show, Alicent still clings to the love she bore Rhaenyra when they were allowed to be kids together. Alicent still wants to defend her friend and protect her reputation from being tarnished, even by her own father. This is very different from the books, where by this point Otto and Alicent are very much in lockstep.
The return of Daemon Targaryen
When Daemon comes back from the Stepstones in the book, he does it with even more style than on TV. In Fire & Blood, he returns in 111 AC, just in time for a tourney being held to celebrate the five-year anniversary of Viserys and Alicent’s marriage; Daemon takes this as an opportunity to dramatically sweep in on Caraxes, circle the grounds three times, and then descend and present his Narrow Sea crown to his brother the king.
Honestly, considering Matt Smith’s intensity and the beautiful photography, I think the show was able to spark the same feeling as if Daemon had arrived on dragonback. That “add it to the chair” was the cherry on top.
After that, events are sped up. In the book, Daemon stays in King’s Landing for half a year and again takes up his seat on the Small Council, all the while slowly getting closer to Rhaenyra. On the show, their affair plays out over the course of an evening. But because Smith and Milly Alcock have done such a spectacular job at setting up the chemistry between their characters, we don’t need a sequence suggesting the passing of time. Their night together was plenty believable.
As it often does, Fire And Blood presents us with a couple of conflicting accounts of just what happened between Daemon and Rhaenyra. The show’s version of events most closely resembles the tale of the court jester Mushroom, who said that Daemon offered to teach Rhaenyra about sex so she could seduce the actual object of her affections: Ser Criston Cole of the Kingsguard. However, according to Mushroom, when Rhaenyra approaches Ser Criston Cole, he spurns her, horrified that she would try and seduce him despite his vows.
On the show, things are more mutual, and Rhaenyra isn’t aiming to seduce Criston specifically. Criston hesitates only for a moment over his vows before going in.
The White Worm rises
There is a clever addition for the show: Otto finds out about Rhaenyra and Daemon’s night in the city from a spymaster known as the White Worm, who is none other than Mysaria. In the books, while Mysaria does eventually become an information broker, there’s no indication that she ever worked with Otto Hightower. I appreciated this change because it shows Mysaria exercising her agency. She didn’t sit around for years waiting for Daemon to come back; she re-invented herself and found a way to be truly free, making a name for herself to the point where the Hand of the King relies on her information.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: all these changes make sense for the show the producers are building. I’m excited to be surprised by their new takes on these characters and this story.
What did you think of these changes and did you spot any others?
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