Fire & Blood vs House of the Dragon, Episode 9: The Green Council

House of the Dragon gives us a divisive ninth episode in “The Green Council.” There are a lot of changes to George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood here. Episode 9 feels rather slow, covering events happening over the course of a night and a day. Most scenes have been written specifically for the episode, with no counterpart in Fire & Blood, save for a few.

The first difference happens right away and might feel small, but it isn’t: the book writes that “[King Viserys’s] body was discovered by a serving man at the hour of the bat…The servant ran to inform Queen Alicent.” On the show, a servant boy runs to tell Alicent’s haidmaiden Talya, who is also one of Mysaria’s spies. Before the Red Keep goes into lockdown, Talya signals what has happened to her mistress by lighting a candle. Presumably, Mysaria then informs Aegon, who desperately doesn’t want to be king, and helps him hide. Later, Mysaria sells information on Aegon’s whereabouts to Otto.

Just like I said in my Episode 2 post, I love that Mysaria gets more depth in the show. After creating a network of spies, she uses her influence to try and tamp down on the depravity in certain parts of King’s Landing, particularly cruelty against children. Mysaria seems to thrive in chaos, but I believe she actually seeks order and stability, which calls to mind Varys from Game of Thrones.

The life and times of Alicent Hightower

A major difference from Fire & Blood is how Alicent is not complicit in the initial plan to seat Aegon on the throne rather than Rhaenyra. Her motivations have oscillated episode by episode. Since Episode 6, we’ve seen her supporting and encouraging Aegon to usurp Rhaenyra, and yet in this episode the only reason she wants to do it seems to be her misinterpretation of Viserys’ dying wish. This presents us with a character that seems quite different from the one in the book, but maybe this is just a more complex version. If Fire & Blood paints Alicent as a cartoonish evil stepmother hoping Rhaenyra will die in childbirth, on the show we know that there has been love between the two, and so Alicent is now torn apart on the inside. While she relays what she incorrectly understood to be her husband’s last words regarding their son Aegon succeeding him on the Iron Throne, she also points out that Viserys would not wish for his daughter to die.

In this episode, Alicent finally becomes self-aware and realizes, through circumstances and with the help of Princess Rhaenys, the way her whole life has been lived in service of men rather than for herself. Following her father’s wishes might have made her queen, but did she ever want to be? Because it becomes clear in this episode that, even as queen, she is still subject to her father’s orders, and if she dares disagree, he will try to undermine her. And so they start a game of hide and seek over who can find Aegon first, so that whoever holds him can influence him as to what should be done with Rhaenyra. In the book, we have no evidence that Alicent and Otto were ever at odds over Rhaenyra.

Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen

It is consistent with the book that Aegon at first refuses the crown and has no interest in becoming king. In the book, he says, “What sort of brother steals his sister’s birthright?” On the show, he has gone to great lengths to hide from his family and is ready to sail away to never be found again rather than become king, while in the book he is found with a woman not his wife; sources differ as to whether it was in a pleasure house or the home of a wealthy nobleman who’s daughter he was bedding. In the book, it’s Criston Cole who convinces Aegon to want to become king, after telling him that Rhaenyra will have no choice but to kill him should she be crowned. On the show, Aegon hates the prospect up until his very coronation, when he sees thousands cheer for him.

It’s here that another change occurs: in House of the Dragon, Princess Rhaenys has been kept captive at King’s Landing, and is aided by Ser Erryk Cargyll of the Kingsguard in escaping. Intead of fleeing swiftly, she goes to the Dragonpit to get her dragon Meleys the Red Queen, bursting through the floor during Aegon’s coronation. She has the opportunity to kill him and the entire green faction but opts to fly away.

Moves on the Kingsguard

In the book, Harrold Westerling is long since dead by the time King Viserys dies. By then, Cristin Cole is already the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. On the show, Harrold remains Lord Commander and loyal to Rhaenyra; he renounces his cloak rather than lead an attack on Dragonstone. This changes little except for spotlighting Ser Harrold’s love for Rhaenyra, but I wonder if it will have more repercussions. What do you think?

Did you like the change with Alicent, or would you have preferred to see her as a more straightforward, villainous character?

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