House of the Dragon (HOTD) Season 2 started with a bang, as the Game of Thrones prequel is already filled with intense drama, romance and a brutal war is just around the corner. The new season picks up following the death of Rhaenyra’s son, who gets accidently killed by Aemond’s dragon, Vhagar. The new season introduces a twist as Daemon, played by Matt Smith, hires two assassins named, Blood and Cheese, to kill Aemond as revenge. But the assassins fail to find Aemond and instead target someone else. In a shocking turn, they end up in Queen Helaena’s chamber, where they behead one of her twins, Jaehaerys.
The plot twist has sparked disappointment among fans of the HOTD books, leading author George RR Martin to address the backlash. Taking to his blog, the author wrote, “The only part of the show that is drawing criticism is the conclusion of the Blood and Cheese storyline. Which ending was powerful, I thought, a gut punch, especially for viewers who had never read Fire & Blood. Well, there’s a lot to be said about that, the issues are too complicated. There’s a lot to say.”
In the same blog, while George RR Martin appreciated House of the Dragon’s plot, but he’s not thrilled with the addition of certain story arc and characters that weren’t in his original story. He does have a soft spot for one addition, which is the dog. He strongly disliked the character of Cheese, one of the assassins, particularly when he kicks the animal, before murdering the Helaena’s child.
He wrote, “I am not usually a fan of screenwriters adding characters to the source material when adapting a story. Especially not when the source material is mine. But that dog was brilliant. I was prepared to hate Cheese, but I hated him even more when he kicked that dog. Later, when the dog sat at his feet, gazing up, that damn near broke my heart. Such a little thing but his presence, the few short moments he was on screen, gave the ratcatcher so much humanity. The silent presence of that dog reminded us that even the worst of men, the vile and the venal, can love and be loved. I wish I’d thought of that dog. I didn’t, but someone else did.”
While Jaehaerys’s death in the series is disturbing, the book’s version is even more brutal. As per Fire & Blood, the two assassins initially kill Helaena’s maid. When Helaena arrives, the ratcatcher forces her to choose which of her three children should die. Helaena chooses her youngest, Maelor, whose character is missing from House of the Dragon series, but the assassins instead kill Jaehaerys. Before leaving with the child’s head, they make sure Maelor knows that his mother chose him to die.
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