House of the Dragon vs Fire And Blood: Book changes in Episode 2x02

The second episode of the second season of House of the Dragon deals with the aftermath of Prince Jaehaerys’ death. In the book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin, the source material for the show, we get three paragraphs about what happens immediately after Blood and Cheese commit the murder. Let’s go over Episode 2x02 and analyze its key moments in relation to the book.

Camp Green

Chaos reigns in at the Red Keep. The servants are taken and questioned — although, hadn’t Larys just seen to that, as he told Alicent in the first episode? If he had just replaced the servants, how come this does not look suspicious at all on his part? Just like there are no consequences for the fact that there were no guards — Kingsguards or castle guards — stationed outside the prince’s bedchamber, nor accompanying Queen Helaena. More on that later. 

In the book, we hear that it takes Larys 13 days of torture to get Blood to confess who sent him and why. On the show, the former Goldcloak sees the torture tools and gives Daemon up right away, without Larys even uttering a question. Aegon kills him, while in the book he is “at last allowed to die.”

We see Aegon go through all the emotions this episode. At the council, he is furious. In his chambers, he destroys the model of Valyria that his father King Viserys had spent years building; I bet Viserys was turning in his metaphorical grave in that moment. At the end, he cries in his room. At one point, Aegon runs into Helaena on the steps of Maegor’s holdfast and gives her no mind. It’s the only interaction they have this entire episode. Since they do not have another son in the show — in the book their younger son Maegor still lives — I hope Aegon doesn’t try to have another child with her now, especially given the state Helaena must be in. 

It’s amazing how Otto Hightower sees opportunity even in tragedy, and I commend him for his strategy. One writing error though: Otto calls Jaehaerys his grandson, when actually the prince was his great-grandson, with Aegon being Otto’s grandson.

Criston Cole’s hypocrisy reaches new levels this episode. After uttering the phrase “there is [no absolution] for what I’ve done,” he goes and blames somebody else for the consequences of his actions. His unfortunate victim is Ser Arryk Cargyll, whose twin brother Erryk Cargyll is on Dragonstone guarding Rhaenyra. Upon being accused, Ser Arryk asks all the right questions, but he hits too close to home, so Cole diverts the subject to Erryk and orders Arryk on a suicide mission. I truly think Cole sent Arryk to Dragonstone as much to get rid of him as to try and kill Rhaenyra. At any rate, this spur of the moment (failed) idea sounds better than patience and strategy to Aegon, who has grown tired of his grandfather's caution.

After Aegon orders all ratcatchers to be hanged from the walls outside the Red Keep, Otto calls out Aegon for the mistake and laments the late death of Aegon's father King Viserys; he was easier to manipulate, but also had dignity and forbearance. Otto is very aware that Viserys didn’t want Aegon to be king and says as much; it’s the last insult Aegon will take. He strips his grandfather of his role as Hand of the King, heeding the advice he got from Larys in the first episode, and makes Cole his Hand. In the book, this occurs in a much more public way, in the throne room:

"[Aegon] tore the chain of office from [Otto's] neck and tossed it to Ser Criston Cole. “My new Hand is a steel fist,” he boasted. “We are done with writing letters.” "

- George R.R. Martin, Fire And Blood

The viewer knows Otto is right, of course. We can see it in the cries of the smallfolk who do not understand why the ratcatchers have all been executed. Trivia fact: in the book, Otto introduces 300 cats into the Red Keep to get rid of the remaining rats.

As Otto and Alicent say goodbye, we finally get a mention of Daeron Targaryen, Alicent’s third son by Viserys, who’s been fostered at Oldtown. We also get Otto’s best performance as a father, when he expresses that he believes in Alicent, knowing that together they can lead the family to victory. That said, he does not wish to hear of the great sin that Alicent claims to have committed.

For the first time, we get a glimpse of Aemond with his defenses lowered. We see him seeking comfort at a pleasure house, recounting his troubles to an older woman, only wanting to be held and listened to. Mommy issues, much? This foreshadows another relationship Aemond will have in the future, with Alys Rivers.

Camp Black

On Dragonstone, we can assume that everything is different from how it went down in Fire & Blood, because by this point Daemon is already at Harrenhal. On the show, the Black council is shocked at the murder. Some lords suggest that Rhaenyra might have orchestrated it in secret, which horrifies her. Rhaenys shuts down the allegations towards Rhaenyra with a simple but eternally commanding “mind yourself.” I love that Rhaenys sees through Daemon’s silence first, but when Rhaenyra notices, she understands the full story immediately.

I have an issue with the subsequent fight between Rhaenyra and Daemon, and specifically with Rhaenyra’s “I don’t know you” and “I can’t trust you.” After knowing him all her life and being married to him for a decade, Rhaenyra accepts Daemon for who he is, chaos and all. Daemon does not need to hide behind excuses and mistakes that he doesn’t claim responsibility for. Let him be Machiavellian — that’s the Daemon that Rhaenyra knows and fell in love with. Why is he half the Daemon he should be, and has only the wrong parts?

In a universe where Rhaenyra admits she does not know nor trust her own husband, she is automatically weakened as a ruler in the eyes of the audience; if she can’t control a man, how can she rule over the Seven Kingdoms? To make matters worse, they also fight about Viserys and why he chose Rhaenyra as his heir instead of Daemon. Despite superb acting from both Emma D’Arcy and Matt Smith, the dialogue felt like watching siblings fight over who’s the favorite child.

As he is wont to do on the show, Daemon ignores his daughter when Baela tries to speak with him, and she later claims she hates him sometimes. In the book, we know they have a wonderful relationship and that Baela looks up to him and takes after him. I beg the showrunners to show the complexity of Daemon Targaryen. The good thing is that Baela is loyal to Rhaenyra, and she has the queen’s full trust; in fact, Rhaenyra gives Baela the task that Jace wanted. Clearly she trusts Baela to obey her without giving in to her emotions. This does not happen in the book as Baela’s dragon Moondancer is still too small to be ridden by her.

The show thought fit to remind casual viewers that Rhaenyra has two more sons, so we see her playing with the little princes Aegon the Younger and Viserys. She passes a dragon toy to her little son and thinks; later she opens a Targaryen history book. Could she be coming up with the idea of recruiting dragonseeds to fly on the riderless dragons that currently nest on Dragonstone and at Driftmark? That’s Jace’s idea in the book.

The two scenes between Rhaenyra and Mysaria bode very well for what’s to come. I think they both see a foil in the other. Rhaenyra goes against her rationale and frees Mysaria who, in turn, instead of running towards her freedom, goes back to the castle when she sees Ser Arryk and realizes it must be a trap for the Queen. Although we do not see the scene, I wonder if Mysaria found Ser Erryk and alerted him, and whether that caused her to miss her ship. If so, will she stay with Rhaenyra now out of her own volition, or will the queen make Mysaria an offer she cannot refuse?

The duel between Erryk and Arryk was heartbreaking and very well executed, to the point where the audience — and Rhaenyra — has no idea of who is who. Brilliant.

In the (adorable) scene between Corlys and Rhaenys, he refers to Daemon as the King Consort. In the book, Daemon is Rhaenyra’s Prince Consort, but has taken one of her titles for himself, that of Lord Protector of the Realm, which Rhaenyra also holds on the show. It’s a small difference. Did Matt Smith simply not want to be a prince consort again after playing Prince Philip in The Crown?

More Dragonseeds 

Checking in on our new characters, we are finally introduced to Addam of Hull, a fan favorite. On the show, he is a shipwright, while he is a sailor in Fire & Blood, serving on his mother’s ship. “He owes us,” Addam says to his brother Alyn, making it sound like he has more information about Corlys Velaryon than the show cares to divulge at this time. There seems to be a role reversal from the book, where Alyn is younger, more ambitious and enthusiastic, while here it appears to be the opposite; Alyn doesn’t want to go with Corlys, he is more grounded and is afraid of what’s to come because he knows it’ll be war. Later, as Addam is on the beach, a dragon flies over him. It's probably Seasmoke, the same dragon Addam eventually mounts in Fire & Blood.

We also get a first glimpse at a new character, Ulf, as he looks at the dead ratcatches outside the red Keep. We also visit with Hugh, the smith who petitioned Aegon for coin in the season premiere. We learn he has a wife and a sick daughter they can’t feed, neither of which we hear about in the book. Also, in Fire & Blood, neither of these characeters live in King's Landing; they're on Dragonstone or possibly Driftmar. I’m curious to see how they make it to the other front later in the story.

We will find out soon. 

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