This post contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon season three, episode two. If you want to avoid them for now you can instead check out our coverage of the season premiere.
Alicent’s offer to Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon‘s season two finale guaranteed the Fall of King’s Landing would be different from its source material. In Fire & Blood, historians say the whole city and those who ruled there were caught off guard by the Queen’s arrival. On the HBO series, Alicent made sure it happened. But just how different was the show’s version compared to George R.R. Martin’s? They took different paths to arrive at the same place. But they both ended with Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne and Otto Hightower’s head separated from his body.
Rhaenyra’s Comings and Aemond’s Goings
Fire & Blood says that “anger” and hatred” over the death of her son Jace at the Battle of the Gullet, as well as a lost battle not yet seen on House of the Dragon, drove Rhaenyra to make an assault on King’s Landing. Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen also decided to attack his uncle Daemon at Harrenhal with a multi-pronged attack. It was not a decision the entire Green council supported, but Aemond was determined to claim the castle, kill his uncle, and destroy the army of riverlords Daemon had amassed.
Unlike on House of the Dragon, book Aemond did not head to Harrenhal alone. He left King’s Landing with an army led by Ser Criston Cole. On HBO, Cole had long ago left the capital city, but he was waiting for Aemond and Vhagar to go to Harrenhal. Cole is now leading his army there on House of the Dragon.
In both versions of the story, Rhaenyra was able to easily take King’s Landing because Aemond and Vhagar were not there to protect it since Queen Helaena refused to fight with her dragon Dreamfyre. The major difference was that on House of the Dragon, Alicent convinced her reluctant son to leave King’s Landing. In Fire & Blood—which never indicated Aemond intentionally tried to kill his brother Aegon—the Queen Dowager is said to have urged caution. Alicent wanted Aemond to wait for Aegon, still recovering in the Red Keep, and Sunfyre to heal.
Daemon Flees and Ser Simon Strong Dies
On House of the Dragon, Daemon left his forces in the Riverlands because Rhaenyra summoned him to Dragonstone. The Queen wasn’t abandoning the infamous castle entirely, though. She’d ordered Addam, Ulf, and Hugh to stay at Harrenhal to await Aemond’s impending arrival, which Alicent had guaranteed. The three dragonriders abandoned their post citing both a possible “misunderstanding” and the urging of possible “witch” Alys Rivers.
In Fire & Blood, Daemon happily left Harrenhal after a too-long stay because he got word of his nephew’s plan. The Rogue Prince still had friends in King’s Landing and those unknown allies alerted him to Aemond’s imminent arrival. It would not be the last time friendly faces in King’s Landing would come to his aide.
Aemond killed Ser Simon Strong in both versions of the story, but in Fire & Blood, the Prince Regent did it in a far crueler way the show only hinted at. History says Aemond, after already taken the castle and having it under his control, forced the elder knight to pick up a sword for a formal duel. Aemond accused Simon of too easily giving Harrenhal to Daemon previously. On House of the Dragon, Aemond told Ser Simon to pick up a sword during his attack. The Prince Regent then stabbed the armless man when Simon tried to calmly tell Aemond he’d already won.
It was an unjust death in both tales, but HBO’s version made Ser Simon’s murder feel more impetuous and emotional rather than the cold, calculated, monstrous charade of a “duel” history remembers.
A Very Different Role for Ser Gwayne Hightower
The Greens of Fire & Blood knew the City Watch of King’s Landing had deep ties going back decades to their former Lord Commander, Daemon Targaryen. As Game of Thrones fans know, the Gold Cloaks are powerful enough to help decide who rules. Baelish paid the City Watch to betray Ned Stark, ensuring Joffrey would become king.
In Martin’s history, the Greens, well aware of the City Watch as formidable armed force within King’s Landing, long ago decided to keep a close eye on the current leader of the Gold Cloaks, Ser Luthor Largent. (Book Luthor was 7-feet tall.) To make sure the City Watch stayed in line, the Greens installed Alicent’s brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower, as the Gold Cloak’s second in command.
Since his introduction on HBO’s prequel, Gwayne Hightower has marched alongside Ser Criston Cole. The two have led the Green forces as they’ve attacked Rhaenyra supporters in the Crownlands. While Gwayne is not exactly having a good time fighting the war, he has already survived longer than his book counterpart. Book Gwayne fell in the Fall of King’s Landing.
Rhaenyra’s Dragons Arrive in King’s Landing
Only Rhaenyra (atop Syrax) and her husband (flying Caraxes) flew to King’s Landing in Fire & Blood.
In the show, Ulf and Hugh accompanied her with their dragons. They offered support book Rhaenyra instead got from Lord Corlys. He sailed his fleet into Blackwater Bay in a coordinated attack. That was not possible on House of the Dragon. In the source material, the Queen’s arrival in the capital happened well after the Battle of the Gullet. That legendary conflict was not yet over at the start of season three’s second episode.
In the book, the denizens of King’s Landing panicked. Some tried to hide, some began looting, while others tried to flee King’s Landing. The City Watch eventually got the mob under control. House of the Dragon showed much less of the commonfolk’s reaction to the invading dragons, but we did see some panic in the streets.
Alicent – Queenmaker Versus Desperate Queen Dowager
Olivia Cooke’s Alicent convinced her son to abandon King’s Landing in season three’s premiere. In the second episode, she wouldn’t let her sworn Kingsguard protector, Ser Rickard, stay with her. She was working to make the Green army to stand down before Rhaenyra arrived. Alicent wanted to make the Queen’s ascension as peaceful and bloodless as possible. She also wanted to make sure she got to escape.
Alicent tried, and failed, to sneak out amid the throngs of people who took to the streets. She and Helaena were caught and taken before the Iron Throne. There Alicent saw her father’s head no longer attached to its body.
Book Alicent’s story during the Gall of King’s Landing was totally different.
In Fire & Blood, she did everything she could to save her family. She sent riders to bring Aemond and Cole’s army back to King’s Landing. She also ordered Grand Maester Orwyle to send ravens calling for help. The Gold Cloaks made sure neither happened. The City Watch under Ser Luthor Largent remained loyal to Daemon. They killed the Green loyalists who operated the seven city gates, so Alicent’s riders never made it out of King’s Landing. Gold Cloaks also beat and imprisoned Orwyle before he could send any ravens. And when Gwayne Hightower tried to sound an alarm he too was taken. Luthor then split open Gwayne’s stomach. (See? Show Gwayne might be miserable but he still has it much better.)
The City Watch then opened up the gates to Lord Corlys men. Once captured, Alicent made a wild, desperate offer to Rhaenyra. Instead of a bloody war to determine succession, she said they should summon the kind of great council that had once chosen her father as heir. An angry Rhaenyra shot down the offer saying she knew the lord of the Realm would always chose a man. Out of options, Alicent turned over the keys to King’s Landing and ordered the Green forces to surrender. (On House of the Dragon, many Greens immediately laid down their swords on their own they saw Rhaenyra’s dragons.) Alicent then promised Rhaenyra would not rule long, promising Aemond would soon return “with dire and blood.”
Rhaenyra Meets Little Resistance on House of the Dragon
HBO’s prequel didn’t show the full scope of the City Watch’s role in the Fall of King’s Landing, but it did prove pivotal to Rhaenyra claiming the Iron Throne.
Rhaenyra and Dameon encountered very little resistance as they made their way through the Red Keep. Daemon easily slew the few Green soldiers who attacked. It wasn’t until they came before the Iron Throne the Queen’s life was in obvious danger.
Lord Rickard and Green soldiers tried to stop Rhaenyra when she entered the throne room with only Daemon by her side. The only thing that saved the couple was the arrival of Ser Luthor and his Gold Cloaks. On the show, it did not appear Daemon was fully expecting their aide, making him and Rhaenyra’s entrance into the throne room needlessly reckless. House of the Dragon‘s Ser Rickard was then taken prisoner.
In both tales, Rhaenyra’s men then went looking for Aegon. He was long gone on the show, having fled his brother’s wrath in season two.
Aegon’s book counterpart only left King’s Landing when Rhaenyra arrived. Larys Strong, with Ser Rickard’s help, smuggled Aegon out through secret passages the City Watch didn’t know about. Aegon’s two surviving children also went with him. He only has one on the show, Jaehaera, who we saw Helaena carrying as she tried to escape with her mother. Book Helaena was easily taken from her bedchamber during the hunt for Aegon. In each version, not even Alicent knew where her son had gone.
Rhaenyra Executes the Greens But Spares Her Fellow Queens
Both Lord Jasper Wylde and Ser Otto Hightower, two members of the Green small council that conspired to seat Aegon on the Iron Throne, lost their heads after Rhaenyra claimed King’s Landing. (It happened much, much sooner on House of the Dragon.)
There’s nothing written in Fire & Blood to indicate Rhaenyra herself wielded the sword to execute Otto Hightower. He was present when Alicent surrendered the city on behalf of the Green council. Book Otto was also never a secret prisoner of Larys Strong like on House of the Dragon.
Tyland Lannister was also taken prisoner after the Fall of King’s Landing. In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra did not execute him, though. His fate currently mains unknown on House of the Dragon after Admiral Lohar threw him and his heavy armor overboard during the Battle of the Gullet. Drowing would be a blessing compared to what awaited his book counterpart….
Queen Rhaenyra Finally Sits on the Iron Throne
House of the Dragon delayed Rhaenyra’s big moment until after she killed Otto Hightower. In the source material, his execution didn’t happen until well after the Queen was secure on the Iron Throne. That was a minor change in time, but a major change in tone. Rhaenyra’s ascension was not a triumphant moment on the show. In front of the entire royal court, she sobbed throughout the execution of a hated enemy her book counterpart relished see die.
The show did give its answer to an always dubious tale written by a Septon partial to Aegon. It’s a the story about what happened when Rhaenyra sat on the Conqueror’s chair. This is what that biases historian says happened when she rose in the early dawn following her first night on the Iron Throne where she had listened to people swear fealty and beg forgiveness. From Fire & Blood:
“….cuts were seen upon Her Grace’s legs and the palm of her left hand. Drops of blood fell to to the floor as she went past, and wise men looked at one another, though none dared speak the truth aloud: the Iron Throne had spurned her….”
Rhaenyra’s father King Viserys famously cut his hand on the Iron Throne. It was an ill-omen. On House of the Dragon Viserys’ cut never healed (to say the least). Even in the book it cost him two fingers. But this story about the Conqueror’s seat rejecting Rhaenyra has always felt like propaganda meant to undermine her rule after the fact. It was also meant to connect her to the worst Targaryen ruler from the family’s first century in Westeros.
This story is a reference (and not the only one) to Maegor the Cruel, whose memory helped lead to the Dance of the Dragons. Many lords, like Otto Hightower, feared Daemon would be a “second Maegor” if he ever claimed the Iron Throne. Daemon’s actions combined with the memory of Maegor—who caused the first issue of Targaryen royal succession—contributed to Viserys naming Rhaenyra his heir. Daemon had been first in line before Viserys broke that tradition, which set in motion the Dance of the Dragons.
Maegor’s bloody, violent reign ended when he was found dead on the Iron Throne with his arms “slashed open from wrist to elbow” and blade sticking up through his neck. Some said Maegor ended his own life, others say it was regicide. But there were those who believed the Iron Throne itself killed the cruel King.
A chair of steel cannot intentionally cut anyone, not even the unworthy. The Iron Throne itself does not pass judgement, and it didn’t on House of the Dragon, at least not the first time Rhaenyra sat in it as Queen. It did not reject her by making her bleed. But that story was never about the truth. It was about trying to paint Rhaenyra as a monster who was never meant to rule. A nickname she will soon earn will do the same….
Why Rhaenyra Made Her Move on the Iron Throne
In both versions the Queen, dressed in black scale armor, was determined to either take the city or die trying. The big change was “why.” Rhaenyra only agreed to take King’s Landing on House of the Dragon because Daemon reminded her of Aegon the Conqueror’s White Walker prophecy. It was not out of rage over Jace’s death like in Fire & Blood.
Only, that might not really be a change. The already unreliable history of the Dance of the Dragons didn’t know about Aegon’s dream. No source material before House of the Dragon ever cited the Song of Ice and Fire as the reason the Conqueror wanted to unite Westeros, but it seems likely (certain?) that revelation came from George R.R. Martin. directly.
There was never a good explanation for why House Targaryen suddenly turned its attention to the Realm after one hundred relatively quiet years on Dragonstone. A fan theory long ago, that the author spoke about, did posit that Aegon’s interest in the Seven Kingdoms was tied to the impending return of the White Walkers. But while it wasn’t an outrageous revelation when we learned that’s exactly what happened, it did change everything we ever thought we knew about House Targaryen’s rule, including Rhaenrya’s fight for the Iron Throne.
No matter the “real” motivation behind Rhaenyra’s attempts, though, the source material makes clear it had nothing to do with a secret offer from Alicent. And while it might seem possible to argue historians could not possibly have known about such a treasonous pact, what followed Rhaenyra’s arrival in King’s Landing in the book make any possible collusion with Alicent impossible.
The result in both tales ends the same way, though. Queen Rhaenyra finally sits on the Iron Throne. Now she must try and keep it.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. He’s not upset the traitor Ser Otto is dead, but he will miss Rhys Ifans. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.