How 6 deaths in 'House of the Dragon' are different from the 'Fire and Blood' book

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Kim RenfroOct 3, 2022, 22:01 IST
How 6 deaths in 'House of the Dragon' are different from the 'Fire and Blood' book

Laenor and Joffrey in "House of the Dragon" season one, episode five.HBO

  • Warning: Spoilers ahead for "House of the Dragon" through season one, episode seven.
  • HBO's new adaptation of "Fire and Blood" gives fans a birds' eye view of major deaths in Targaryen history.
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For those who don't know, "Fire and Blood" is a historical fiction book — a summary of the reign of House Targaryen without much detail or characterizations of people.

For those who don't know, "Fire and Blood" is a historical fiction book — a summary of the reign of House Targaryen without much detail or characterizations of people.
"House of the Dragon" is adapted from a few chapters in "Fire and Blood."HBO; Amazon

Unlike Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels, which are told from various people's point-of-view, "Fire and Blood" reads more like a SparkNotes version of a House Targaryen history textbook.

For many events, multiple accounts of what happened are offered by the fictional historians. This means the TV writers hired for HBO's adaptation had a lot more leeway with the story. Any accounts may have been uninformed or biased, but now "House of the Dragon" is able to create a consistent canon of events.

So let's take a closer look at some of the major deaths in "House of the Dragon" so far, and how they compare to the details found in "Fire and Blood."

Queen Aemma's final moments of life were made more brutal by Viserys' choice to have her get a C-section without telling her.

Queen Aemma's final moments of life were made more brutal by Viserys' choice to have her get a C-section without telling her.
Aemma Targaryen in the "House of the Dragon" pilot.HBO

In the show: Director Miguel Sapochnik says the scene of Aemma's death was designed to show how King Viserys "effectively murdered" his wife. When she goes into labor, her baby is facing the wrong direction and the maesters can't get it to turn. This means Aemma will certainly die, but there's a small chance they can save the baby by cutting it out of her. The maester offers the choice to Viserys, who picks the surgery without consulting Aemma or telling her what's about to happen. Instead, she's dragged down on the bed and restrained while the maester cuts her open. She bleeds to death quickly as the baby is "born."

In the book: "Fire and Blood" provides no details or context to Aemma's death, and doesn't mention Viserys being a part of the labor and delivery process at all:

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Rhea Royce's death in the book was regarded as a "hunting accident" instead of cold-blooded murder.

Rhea Royce's death in the book was regarded as a "hunting accident" instead of cold-blooded murder.
Daemon and Rhea in "House of the Dragon."HBO

In the show: Daemon sneaks up on Rhea during a hunting trip, and scares her horse so she's thrown from it. Paralyzed from the neck down and unable to fight back, Rhea threw insults at Daemon until he picked up a rock and used it to bash her skull in.

In the book: In "Fire and Blood," Martin's fictional historical account of the incident says Rhea's death was "a tragic mishap" and makes no mention of Daemon's possible involvement:

Joffrey was killed by Criston Cole in both the show and the book, but in "Fire and Blood" the death happens under the guise of a tourney instead of brutal murder.

Joffrey was killed by Criston Cole in both the show and the book, but in "Fire and Blood" the death happens under the guise of a tourney instead of brutal murder.
Joffrey and Criston in "House of the Dragon."HBO

In the show: Joffrey Lonmouth, Laenor's friend and lover, outs himself to Ser Criston Cole as the future king consort's boyfriend. Cole, infuriated by the exposure of his own secret tryst with Rhaenyra, lashes out and beats Joffrey to death in the middle of the wedding welcome feast.

In the book: "Fire and Blood" says Joffrey was killed during a tourney where Criston had been "fighting in a black fury" against all his opponents. Joffrey's relationship to Laenor isn't mentioned as a possible motivation behind the death:

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Harwin and Lyonel Strong die in a fire at Harrenhal in both the show and the book, but the reason behind the fire was only revealed in "House of the Dragon."

Harwin and Lyonel Strong die in a fire at Harrenhal in both the show and the book, but the reason behind the fire was only revealed in "House of the Dragon."
Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin "Breakbones" Strong in the sixth episode of "House of the Dragon."HBO

In the show: Larys Strong, a sneaky man who wants leverage on Queen Alicent, kills his older brother Harwin and father Lyonel in one of the show's most egregious acts of kinslaying yet. Larys finds some miscreants in the dark prison cells of King's Landing, and sends them to Harrenhal so they can start the fire and take out the Strong family leaders in one swoop.

In the book:

Like Aemma, the logistics around Laena Velaryon's death aren't detailed in the books beyond "childbirth." But the show had her take her death into her own hands with her dragon, Vhagar.

Like Aemma, the logistics around Laena Velaryon's death aren't detailed in the books beyond "childbirth." But the show had her take her death into her own hands with her dragon, Vhagar.
Nanna Blondell as Laena Velaryon.HBO

In the show: Just like Aemma, Laena finds herself in labor and unable to deliver her baby — putting her on a path towards certain death with a medieval C-section as a tiny shot at helping the baby survive. But Laena decides to die a dragonriders' death, and takes herself outside to her dragon Vhagar. Laena orders the she-dragon to burn her to death.

In the book: Laena succeeds in giving birth, but the baby died shortly afterwards and then she came down with something called "childbed fever":

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In the books, Qarl is said to have murdered Laenor for unclear motivations. The show changed it so that Laenor actually secretly faked his own death with Rhaenyra's blessing.

In the books, Qarl is said to have murdered Laenor for unclear motivations. The show changed it so that Laenor actually secretly faked his own death with Rhaenyra's blessing.
Laenor in season one, episode seven "Driftmark."HBO

In the show: Daemon kills a castle servant, and then Laenor and Qarl stage a sword fight in the main hall at High Tide castle. After another servant runs to get help, Daemon presumably helped Laenor dress the body of the dead servant in his own clothes and burn the face beyond recognition. Qarl and Laenor sneak away to Essos with Daemon's help, leaving the realm to gossip about the untimely attack.

In the book: Laenor's death happened out in public in the book, and rumors spread saying it was an act of passionate jealousy or maybe Daemon's murder plot, but no evidence was ever collected:

New episodes of "House of the Dragon" air Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.

For more, read our breakdown of the best details you might have missed in the latest episode.

Next Story15 details you may have missed on Sunday's 'The W...
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