House of the Dragon will change what happens with Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son

The second season of House of the Dragon is on the way! The new episodes will adapt a particularly turbulent stretch from George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood. Aemond Targaryen has killed his nephew Lucerys Velaryon, setting off a bloody war between his older brother King Aegon and his half-sister Queen Rhaenyra. Heads — human and dragon alike — will roll.

The first season stuck more or less close to the source material, although changes were made. So it will be in season 2. Redanian Intelligence has some information on a change the show will make to the book.

Beware minor SPOILERS ahead!

How will House of the Dragon change what happens to Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son?

It’s wartime, and everyone will have a job to do, especially those who can ride dragons. Both Aegon and Rhaenyra will try to marshall the dragonriders in their ranks. Air superiority is crucial.

But not everyone can ride a dragon, like Daemon Targaryen’s daughter by his second wife Laena Velaryon: Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell). Her sister Baela has a dragon whom we haven’t met onscreen named Moondancer, but you’ll recall from the first season that Rhaena fussed over her dragon egg only for it never to hatch.

She still has that egg at this point in the story. For her safety, Rhaena is sent to stay with Lady Jeyne Arryn in the Vale. We’ve seen what we think is the cast and crew filming her arrival.

In the book, Rhaena doesn’t go to the Vale alone: she travels with Joffrey Velaryon, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s youngest son by her first husband Laenor Velaryon (actually her youngest son by her lover Harwin Strong). On the show, she’ll have one additional companion: the eldest of Rhaenyra’s two sons by her current husband (and uncle) Daemon Targaryen: Aegon III.

We met Aegon III only briefly in the first season of House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra introduced him and his little brother Viserys II to their grandfather King Viserys (names repeat a lot in this story, I know). At this point, both brothers are very young, even younger than they are in the books:

In the book, Aegon III does not accompany Rhaena to the Vale, but has a rather different story. Beware more major SPOILERS below.

Why will House of the Dragon change what happens to Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son?

So in the books, after the war starts, Rhaenyra and Daemon send the various children in their care off to various corners of the world so the greens can’t kill them all in one big attack. Both Aegon III and little Viserys II are put on a ship and sent to Pentos where they were intended to wait out the war. But things don’t go according to plan. The ship is attacked by agents of the Triarchy, a group in league with Otto Hightower. Aegon III manages to escape on the back of his young dragon Stormcloud, but Viserys II is taken.

Aegon III and Stormcloud make it back to Dragonstone, but only barely. Stormcloud dies, which has a deep effect on the young Aegon III.

Instead, House of the Dragon will send Aegon III to the Vale along with Rhaena, reportedly in Episode 7. Perhaps they’re doing it this way because Aegon III is younger on the show than he is in the book, and it would be hard to believe him riding a dragon on his own. I’m betting that he’ll still suffer the loss of Stormcloud sooner or later. And they wouldn’t have to change what happens to Viserys II at all.

Overall, it’s a fairly minor change I’m sure they can write around. It’s also interesting to me that Rhaena, Aegon III, and possibly Joffrey make the trip to the Vale in Episode 7. Considering that season 2 will only have eight episodes, that seems a bit late in the game. But we can learn all the details when House of the Dragon season 2 premieres on HBO and Max sometime in 2024.

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