There have certainly been ups and downs throughout House of the Dragon so far, but generally speaking, the Game of Thrones prequel series has been very well-received. It won a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series in its first season, and though the second season was critiqued a bit more, the show has still been a huge success for HBO. George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood is a very difficult book to adapt considering how it’s written, so creative liberties are to be expected with a story like this. But that doesn’t mean fans have been happy with all of the changes.
One change in particular that still disappoints fans is the decision to remove the character Nettles altogether. As one of the dragonseeds, Nettles has a rumored intimate relationship with Daemon Targaryen in Fire & Blood, and she’s the one who rides the wild dragon Sheepstealer. It’s a very juicy storyline in the book, but House of the Dragon decided to more or less give it to Daemon’s daughter Rhaena Targaryen.
At this point we’ve all basically accepted Nettles just isn’t part of this story. Considering this, we feel like the writers are totally trolling us in the most recent episode, in which the beloved book character is mentioned…sort of.
House of the Dragon writers knew what they were doing with this mention
In House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7, the penultimate episode of this installment, Daemon pays Jeyne Arryn a visit in the Vale, demanding to know where Rhaena is. At one point in their conversation, Jeyne informs Daemon that people have been gossiping about a wild girl living in the mountains alongside sheep and “nettles.” My ears immediately perked up at this statement, questioning if I heard the piece of dialogue right.
Jeyne isn’t talking about the book character Nettles, but rather a wild plant, when explaining that people have grown suspicious of Rhaena living there. But it seems absolutely intentional that this word was written into the script, especially when Nettles would fit the description of a “wild girl,” and that in the show, they’re talking about the character who has more or less taken on her storyline.
It’s a very small nod to the character who was removed from the show, but one we’re sure Fire & Blood fans will pick up on. In an alternate House of the Dragon universe, perhaps Nettles is living amongst sheep and living her life far away from the Targaryens. It’s fun to think about, at least.
Why Nettles was cut from House of the Dragon
Earlier in the season, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal explained the decision to remove Nettles from his story, wanting it to be more focused on the Targaryen family.
“It just felt to us that because again, this story is told in point of view, that it felt more apt as this is a family story to where we had the opportunity to involve one of the family members in the storyline,” Condal told IGN. “And because Rhaena has been set up since season 1 as the member of this family who doesn't have a dragon and basically her sole identity is the Targaryen kid who doesn't have a dragon, it felt like that was a character that we had already set this long runway for that it could be very satisfying for the TV audience that didn't have an experience with the book at all to see that character claim a dragon and then in a very, I think, Game of Thrones and Westerosian kind of way, to reap the consequences of having her wish come true.”
In a later interview with IGN, Condal also discussed Daemon’s big lie to Rhaenyra this season, keeping the identity of Sheepstealer’s rider a secret to protect Rhaena. When explaining this plot point, he also acknowledged that the writers didn’t want Daemon’s betrayal to come from an affair, like what may have happened with Nettles in Fire & Blood.
“It did not feel like, to us, an infidelity story [between Daemon and Nettles] was someplace that we wanted to go with Daemon and Rhaenyra given everything they had been through to this point,” Condal shared. “I think the audience really wants to see this couple work out, but they both have inextricable natures to them that they can only get so far away from. And we see that playing out with Daemon over the course of the season.”
Having to cut characters adapting a book like Fire & Blood is inevitable, but not having Nettles in the show still stings just a bit. Though I’ve generally really enjoyed season 3 so far, the book character is still on my mind — and on the mind of the writers, apparently!
Watch the House of the Dragon season 3 finale next Sunday, August 8, on HBO and HBO Max.
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