Top 10 Differences Between House of the Dragon and the Books

The women on “House of the Dragon” have it tough, especially when it comes to birthing children. So it’s understandable why the showrunners wanted to shake up this passing. After already witnessing Aemma’s senseless death at the hands of a botched c-section, we held our breath when the topic was broached during Laena’s own complications. Determined to die a dragonrider’s death, however, Laena makes her way down to Vhagar and has the firebreather put her out of her misery. In the book, Laena actually gives birth - at Driftmark, not Pentos - though the baby dies soon after. Laena sits bedridden for days, before attempting to reach Vhagar to fly once more. However, she expires beforehand, and Daemon carries her body back to bed.

The Queen Who Never Was, Rhaenys Targaryen develops into quite the compelling character over the season’s ten episodes, with her standout moment coming in Episode 9, “The Green Council.” Imprisoned in the Red Keep until she swears loyalty to Aegon II, Rhaenys is freed and decides to crash the new king’s coronation. She bursts up with her dragon Meleys, and lets the Greens know exactly how she feels about their usurping the throne. While many viewers probably wished Rhaenys had ended the Greens and the war before it could begin, they got a lot more than in the book, as Rhaenys isn’t even present at King’s Landing to make such a display. Seriously, though, she could’ve just taken them out.

As much as we love Daemon Targaryen, he is admittedly one of the most deplorable people in Westeros, willing to screw over those not close to him. Wanting to marry his niece Rhaenyra for political reasons - and some unsavory ones, too - Daemon travels to Runestone to take out his current wife, Lady Rhea Royce. In the show, Daemon gets Rhea’s horse to upend her before finishing her off with a large stone. However in the book, Daemon is far off fighting in the Stepstones at the time. Rhea falling off a horse and cracking her skull is completely accidental, and it actually takes her several days to die. We for one love this addition, as it accentuates Daemon’s agency, twisted though it is.

Ser Harrold Westerling is one of the most noble characters on the show, something we can’t say for his successor as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Criston Cole. But any and all character development for him is completely uncharted territory. Indeed, Harrold isn’t even mentioned in the book beyond his death, at which point Ser Criston takes his position. So the scene where Harrold resigns his post in the wake of King Aegon’s appointment is an entirely original development. The season finale doesn’t tell us where Harrold goes next, be it Dragonstone to back Rhaenyra or elsewhere, but wherever it is, it’ll see fresh storytelling for all viewers.

George R. R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” is presented as a historical text rather than a narrative one, with many of its sources having different perspectives and interpretations of events. The burning of Harrenhal and the Strongs is just one of these disputed facts. In the show, Larys Strong takes it upon himself to have his own father and brother burned to secure Otto Hightower’s reinstatement as Hand of the King for Alicent. In the book, sources vary on who they think did it. While Larys is suspected for want of Harrenhal, other suspects include Corlys, Daemon, Viserys, and even Harrenhal itself, the castle having a storied reputation for being “cursed.” Knowing whodunit on the show, though, makes us fear Larys that much more.

In the first half of the season, Rhaenyra and Criston Cole are presented as almost having a forbidden kind of love, even if it’s a little one-sided in favor of Criston. On the show, Rhaenyra seduces Criston after being riled up by Daemon, leading her to later drinking the moon tea. In the book, Rhaenyra and Criston don’t sleep together whatsoever, though accounts do vary. In one account, Criston simply refused Rhaenyra’s advances, despite her receiving lessons from Daemon on how to pull it off. Another account tells of Criston coming to Rhaenyra to persuade her to elope with him, only for her to refuse him. This second one actually occurs on the show, but only after they’ve been intimate.

They say never work with animals or kids, but thanks to CGI and character details, respectively, neither are much of a problem for “House of the Dragon.” On the show, Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship is fascinating, they having grown up together only to find themselves on opposite sides of a war. It also makes Viserys’s marriage to someone as old as his daughter way more controversial than it was in the books, as Alicent was actually eighteen at the time to Rhaenyra’s nine. By making the characters the same age and giving them a deeper backstory, the show has already made their relationship much more dynamic, something we can’t wait to see develop further in future seasons.

Now we wade into an unfortunate controversy. Hands down, when it comes to the physical depiction of characters, no change was more evident than that of giving the Velaryons a darker skin tone. Some fans haven’t taken to the change, preferring to keep Martin’s vision intact regardless, whereas others dislike it because… well, racism. Beyond Martin actually having creative say acting as an executive producer, we for one think it was a fantastic decision. Not only does it give Westeros a much-needed dash of diversity, but the actors are doing so amazingly that we can’t imagine anyone else in the roles. Additionally, the Velaryons looking so different from the Targaryens actually bolsters the subplot revolving around Rhaenyra’s children.

One would be forgiven for thinking “Game of Thrones” won’t have much to do with a show set approximately 200 years prior, but that’s where “The Song of Ice and Fire” comes in. The revelation that Aegon the Conqueror foresaw the long winter depicted on the previous show is a game-changer for “House of the Dragon’s” trajectory, as it’ll inform the decisions of characters like Rhaenyra going forward. Not only does Viserys never mention Aegon’s dream in the book, but he doesn’t mention his own, either, specifically the one where he sees his own son wearing the Conqueror’s crown. Seeing as both dragon dreams come to pass, it’ll be interesting to see if any others figure into the show as well. You know, besides Helaena’s.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

The Young Prince Gets His Right Eye Taken in the Book, Not His Left

The Two Velaryons Are Uncle & Nephew on the Page Rather Than Brothers

In the Book, the Crabfeeder Is Just Regular Crazy

Instead of Making a Power Play, Daemon Just Sulked on Dragonstone After Being Removed as Heir

Some Say He Was Thrown Out a Window, Whereas Others Say He Was Simply Arrested

Though he doesn’t get a whole lot to do in the first season, Laenor Velaryon is a captivating character who we can’t wait to see return. However book readers weren’t so lucky. Rather than having Rhaenyra and Daemon help fake his death as a courtesy, Laenor is in fact killed in the books, though the specifics are disputed. Rather than occurring at High Tide, Laenor and his lover Qarl’s duel occurs in the nearby Spicetown. It was asserted that Qarl killed him out of jealousy after Laenor’s gaze shifted. Another account claimed that Qarl was similarly acting on behalf of Daemon, though neither of these facts were confirmed. In any case, we love the choice to keep Laenor alive, wherever his character goes next.