House of the Dragon vs Fire & Blood: Book changes in Episode 207, "The Red Sowing"

The penultimate episode in the second season of House of the Dragon is one that I might consider good, had the show not been an adaptation.  With the existence of Fire And Blood by George R.R. Martin as the primary inspiration behind the show, every week I wonder why the show’s producers decide to constantly diverge from the book to make unconvincing scenes take place.

Not all changes from the book are inherently bad – some have, historically, even been great – but this season has felt like an amalgamation of bad choices. Let’s take a look at this episode more in depth, and how the differences from Fire & Blood impact the story.

The Sowing of the Seeds

Last week, we saw the dragon Seasmoke claim Addam of Hull as his new rider, instead of the other way around. This was a welcome change: in the book, Addam is one of the many dragonseeds claiming a dragon during the Red Sowing; the TV version was refreshing and managed to set Addam apart. His conversation with Rhaenyra at the start of this new episode is obviously original to the show, as is his conversation with his father Corlys Velaryon. I wonder how long they’ll keep us waiting when it comes to the Hull brothers and their parentage. In the book, their mother Marilda – who seems to be dead or out of the picture on the show – reveals that their father was Ser Laenor Velaryon. “It was Laenor’s own father, Lord Corlys himself, who brought the boys to Prince Jacaerys for the Sowing. Having outlived all of his children and suffered the betrayal of his nephews and cousins, the Sea Snake seemed more than eager to accept these newfound grandsons. And when Addam of Hull mounted Ser Laenor’s dragon, Seasmoke, it seemed to prove the truth of his mother’s claims.”

The book suggests that Addam and Alyn are Corlys’s own bastards, not Laenor’s, and the show is going with that interpretation; the possibility of them having been fathered by Laenor hasn't been mentioned. This will make it slightly harder for Corlys to explain how Addam was able to claim a dragon, since the show has made no mention of Corlys’ part-Targaryen ancestry. At any rate, what remains to be seen is when Corlys will acknowledge Addam and Alyn. In the book, as soon as Addam claims Seasmoke, Corlys petitions Rhaenyra to legitimize him and Alyn as true Velaryons. The Queen agrees when Prince Jace speaks in favor of the request, and Addam becomes the heir of Driftmark.

This is a main point of divergence. In Fire & Blood, it’s Jace’s own idea that they should look for dragonriders among Targaryen bastards and their descendants. The show made this Rhaenyra’s plan, encouraged by Mysaria. The Lady Misery uses the very words spoken by the fool Mushroom in the book: “Under the sheets and in the woodpiles, wherever you Targaryens spilled your silver seed.”

This creates a meta-conundrum when Jace’s resentment on the show stems from a plan he himself spun in the book. It’s understandable that he may feel his legitimacy jeopardized, but not that he loses trust in his mother and wavers in his support. After their argument on the show, Jace’s absence at the Queen’s side is noticeable. It’s Baela who stands by her, flanked by Addam, as Rhaenyra addresses the dragonseeds. The show is once again trying to create tension here, to isolate Rhaenyra and make her loved ones drift away from her, like they’ve done with Daemon for nearly the entire season at this point. That Baela stays loyal to Rhaenyra and doesn’t join Jace’s pity party might be a point of tension between the betrothed couple, if the show bothered to give them more scenes. Episodes can only be so long, and precious minutes are expended every week on scenes of no consequence, like Alicent’s cathartic trip to the kingswood. Her crisis is understandable but hard to reconcile with her book counterpart. Is she going to declare for Rhaenyra next? I hope the writers have thought this plot through.

This season is full of inconsistencies, and there is a another mistake this episode. That the show changed everyone’s ages from the book is known, but it seems the writers have a hard time staying consistent within their own timeline. This episode, Rhaenyra says that “for 20 years” the lords of Westeros have spat insults at her children… but how can that be, when her sons are not yet 20 years old? Jace is 15 at this point in the book, Luke was certainly nowhere near that age when he died, and Joffrey has been aged down severely on the show, being closer to his half-siblings than his brothers. It doesn’t change anything, but it suggests how little attention to detail is paid on this show.

The dragonkeepers refusing to participate in the Red Sowing is an invention of the show as well. It could have worked, but them speaking angrily at Rhaenyra in front of a crowd of her subject was another moment of pointless tension. Yes, almost nobody there understood High Valyrian, but the tone and action were clear. We can add the dragonkeepers to the list of people who have undermined Rhaeneyra this season, along with her husband, son, and council. The fact that Rhaenyra is able to proceed without them, and successfully summons Vermithor alone is a testament to her determination.

While we already knew of Ulf’s alleged paternity – Prince Baelon Targaryen cheated on his beloved Alyssa, if you can believe it – Hugh reveals to his wife that he is a bastard son of a Princess Saera Targaryen. In Fire And Blood, Saera angered her father King Jaehaerys for being too sexually open. She escaped her confinement and fled to Lys and became a prostitute. After a few years, she moved to Volantis to open her own brothel. We know she had multiple children, because three of her sons show up as the Great Council of Harrenhal in 101 to press their claims. In the book, it’s very hard to imagine that Hugh could be Saera’s son, because he was a blacksmith on Dragonstone, so the show is either implying that Saera was a prostitute in Westeros, or that Hugh left Essos to find work in King’s Landing. Regardless, the idea that Saera’s bastard would claim and ride Vermithor, Jaehaerys’ own dragon, is pure karma, and I do not mind it at all. Hugh seems to deserve it: he claims Vermithor by facing and challenging him, even after the dragon has eaten or burned anyone around him. In comparison, Ulf’s bonding with Silverwing is the complete opposite. Ever after he steps on a cove of dragon eggs (my heart broke there and then), it’s sweet-natured Silverwing who claims him, not the other way around.

The Sowing of the Seeds was certainly the epic scene it was made out to be by the showrunner, but I don’t know if it warrants the episode becoming the second best of the season just because we get some action. Where are the stakes? Even for those not knowing what happens from the book, it’s clear to imagine that the two men we’ve followed all season will claim the dragons. Nevertheless, dragonkeepers aside, it was a great scene.

Checking in on the others

The Targaryens leave the Eyrie, ready to depart for Pentos. The moment Lady Jeyne Arryn vanishes behind her gate, Rhaena abandons her party to track the dragon Sheepstealer. This leads to the assumption that Rhaena will take a similar role to the character Nettles in the book. If that turns out to be true, I will be very sad that we’re missing Nettles, but if it means that Rhaena gets a worthy storyline, I’ll live with it. Will she find Sheepstealer and will he let her claim him? Or will she return to her charge? Only one episode to find out.

In Harrenhal, for the last time, we hope, we once again watch Daemon be insulted and ridiculed by everyone in the Riverlands and I keep wondering how nobody seems to be remotely afraid of his reputation or Caraxes. Daemon presents the new Lord of Riverrun, young Oscar Tully, to his bannermen… and for some reason, after hearing about how honorable and fond of oaths these people are, we have to sit through minutes of unnecessary tension to see whether the Riverlords will renew their oath of fealty and allegiance, as if he wasn’t the direct and designated heir of their previous beloved lord. As if all those people would leave their keeps, traverse war-torn lands with their retinues, and face a dragon to not swear fealty to their liege lord? Couldn’t they just stay at home?

A highlight was young Oscar Tully pulling a Daenerys and saying, “I’m young, having so little experience to guide me…” before proceeding to show how he’s entirely qualified for the job.

The entire Riverlands arc has been made up for the show. In Fire And Blood, Daemon claims Harrenhal and almost all the Riverlords – save for the Brackens – declare for Rhaenyra, with no hesitation. Later, Aemond burns villages and kills innocents in the Riverlands, no Daemon.

In King’s Landing, there is no place for dissent, so Aemond rids himself of Aegon’s friends by blaming them for the riot, stripping them of their White Cloaks and sending them to the Wall. His Small Council grows thinner by the day. It’s during a council session that he finds out about Silverwing flying about King’s Landing. In a pretty badass move, he jumps onto the nearest horse and rides outside the city gates where Vhagar rests. Atop Vhagar, he follows Silverwing and Ulf to Dragonstone, where he finds Rhaenyra, Syrax, and Vermithor waiting. One against three, but really five counting Vermax and Moondancer, Aemond and Vhagar have no choice but to turn back and flee.

Viewers will now be wondering why Rhaenyra did not attack Aemond when she had the chance and the advantage. This would have been the perfect moment: no armies, no villages below them, just sea. Only one needed to die. Remember Rhaenyra’s only line from episode 1 of this season? “I want Aemond Targaryen.” So why doesn’t she go for it? Why doesn’t she get her revenge and possibly win the war? There is no logical reason, just like there is no reason for this scene to exist. The show writers just love these moments, this was the equivalent of episode 9 of season 1, when Rhaenys and Meleys could have killed all the greens in the Sept and put an end to the war but didn’t. Dare I say it again? Unnecessary tension.

So much filler content for a season with only eight episodes.

I cannot wait for this season to be over, and I truly hope the finale overshadows all other episodes.

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