House of the Dragon season 3 was an entertaining season of television, but I wouldn't call it the most faithful adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood. There were several key events that House of the Dragon skipped right over in its penultimate season that could have made a great season even better.
It's understandable that significant changes need to happen when adapting something like Fire & Blood. It's basically the historical record of what happened from Aegon's Conquest through the events of the Dance of the Dragons. It's incredibly dense, but it also leaves out a ton of information about the characters and their stories.
Showrunner Ryan Condal and the creative team have an incredibly challenging job to do with finite resources. That means big decisions have to be made about what needs to be included, what stories need to change, and what needs to be left out entirely.
With that said, I don't agree with every choice the creative team makes. I'd like to take a closer look at a few events and characters they cut from House of the Dragon in season 3, starting with the Battle by the Lakeshore.
The Battle by the Lakeshore (and other key battles)
The Battle by the Lakeshore, also known as the Fishfeed, is described in Fire & Blood as the "bloodiest" land battle in the whole civil war. It happened around the same time as the Battle of the Gullet, and the creative team decided to include that massive naval battle instead of the Battle by the Lakeshore.
In the battle, Rhaenyra's forces in the Riverlands team up with Roddy the Ruin and the Winter Wolves to drive the Lannister forces, who are loyal to the Greens, into the Gods Eye, the lake near Harrenhal. It's an absolute slaughter.
This is the battle that basically takes the Lannister army off the board, which clears the way for Rhaenyra to take King's Landing without enough of a presence nearby to stop them. The impact of this battle is largely seen in House of the Dragon, though. Criston Cole gets caught in the Riverlands, where he meets his end at the Butcher's Ball.
We kind of see a bit of the aftermath. In season 3 episode 2, Daemon (Matt Smith) learns that Prince Jacaerys (Harry Collett) died in the Battle of the Gullet during a celebration with the men of the Riverlands and the Winter Wolves. Still, it would have been so awesome to see this battle. I'm a big fan of the battle sequences, and this is a huge victory for Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) that was basically just glossed over.
The Battle by the Lakeshore isn't the only big battle that was skipped in season 3. We also miss out on the Battle of the Honeywine, which has a lot of significance for Daeron Targaryen.
For some reason, House of the Dragon is way more confusing than Game of Thrones when it comes to the big battles. Game of Thrones was excellent at giving a lot of context clues about where things were happening and why the conflicts were happening. We see a lot of maps with pieces on the board. We hear military strategy being discussed quite often in Game of Thrones.
That doesn't happen as well in House of the Dragon. There are far more conflicts happening around the country than what we actually see in the show. That makes it quite confusing, I think, for fans to understand the scope and scale of this conflict.
Nettles and Daemon's story
Nettles is a very important character in Fire & Blood, but House of the Dragon cut the entire character from the series altogether. Â
In the book, Nettles is the most interesting of the dragonseeds. She is a lowborn teenager who bonds with Sheepstealer. She’s part of the Battle of the Gullet, along with the rest of the dragonseeds.Â
Then, Nettles forms quite a close bond with Daemon. The pair are actually dispatched to find Aemond and Vhagar and grow even closer in their quest. I don’t want to spoil what happens just in case House of the Dragon finds a way to tell Nettles’ story in the fourth season.Â
The creative team basically gave part of Nettles’ story to Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) in season 3. She bonds with Sheepstealer and shows up at the Gullet, and later, Daemon finds out and lies to Rhaenyra about Sheepstealer’s rider. It’s definitely not the same as Nettles.Â
Ultimately, I think Nettles is the most disappointing omission from this part of the story. Nettles is such a good character, and it would have been a lot better if they would have found a way to work Nettles into the story.
Maelor Targaryen's death
Maelor Targaryen is another character who probably should have been included in House of the Dragon season 3. Maelor’s inclusion would have added another heartbreaking and sickening moment to the story already full of heartbreaking, awful moments.Â
For those who don’t know, Maelor is the youngest song of Aegon and Helaena. In the story, Maelor and Jaehaera leave with Aegon and Larys before the Fall of King’s Landing. When Rhaenyra arrives, she has a bounty placed on their heads, including the children.Â
Ser Rickard Thorne splits off from the group and takes Maelor to Bitterbridge, but their identity is discovered. In the chaos, Thorne is killed, and then what happens next is disputed. Maelor dies, but some claim the crowd, trying to grab him to get the reward, ripped Maelor apart.Â
It’s quite gruesome, so I understand why it was cut. Maelor is so key to this story, though.Â
Basically, Maelor dies. Helaena, who has never been the same since Jaehaerys was killed by Blood and Cheese, is overcome with grief, which is one of the reasons that she jumps from the window. Then, Helaena's death sparks widespread outrage, which results in the storming of the dragonpits and a bunch of other things that force Rhaenyra to ultimately leave King's Landing.
There are other ramifications, too, but Maelor's death is a major, major plot point. Now, could all of that still happen in season 4? I think it will because Helaena (Phia Saban) is still dead and there's still major unrest in the city and around the Seven Kingdoms, but I don't know if it's as tightly wound as it all is in Fire & Blood.
Hugh Hammer also betrays Rhaenyra and the Blacks in the First Battle of Tumbleton
In the House of the Dragon season 3 finale, Ulf White (Tom Bennett) goes scorched earth, literally. He turns his back on Daemon, Rhaenyra, and the Blacks in the First Battle of Tumbleton, which turns the battle around for Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and the Greens.
In the story, it's not just Ulf who is a traitor. Hugh Hammer and Vermithor are right alongside Ulf and Silverwing. There are some other key differences with the First Battle of Tumbleton, but the main point is that Hugh and Ulf switch sides and cause the Blacks to take a major loss at Tumbleton. It's a loss that, while there is some amount of redemption to come, is a major turning point in the Dance of the Dragons.
The motivations for why Hugh and Ulf ultimately flip sides are still debated. House of the Dragon does a good job of showing how Rhaenyra and Daemon specifically don't hold up their end of the bargain and treat those below them with much respect. Ulf is a simple man, and he takes a beating from Daemon, and that's after Rhaenyra cut him off from what he likes most, drinking with his mates.
Hugh's betrayal in House of the Dragon would have felt a little more unnatural if he had just turned Vermithor with his wife, Kat (Ellora Torchia), in the city. Hugh (Kieran Bew) will likely be labeled a traitor by Rhaenyra because he left his post and basically did nothing of substance. He and Vermithor could have challenged Ulf and Silverwing, potentially, if he wasn't in the city looking for his wife.
Regardless, this was a massive omission from this part of the story. There are very clearly and famously Two Betrayers in Fire & Blood, but now, there's only one.
So, those are the four big moments from Fire & Blood that House of the Dragon season 3 skipped altogether.
As mentioned, Nettles is the one that makes the least sense to me, but I also have to throw Hugh Hammer's lack of a betrayal at Tumbleton in the mix, too. I don't think the series did a good job of setting Hugh up for that big moment that really should have happened.
It's going to be interesting to see what happens in House of the Dragon season 4 and if any of these omisions cause bigger problems for the story down the line.
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