'House of the Dragon' Season 3: How does Rhaenyra's conquest of King's Landing compare to the book?
After 20 episodes, several bloody battles, and the death of two sons, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) has finally done it. She's taken the Iron Throne of Westeros.
The victory comes at the end of House of the Dragon Season 3, episode 2, which sees Rhaenyra and Daemon (Matt Smith) crash King's Landing on dragonback and take the Red Keep by storm. It's a massive development in both the show and its source material, George R.R. Martin's Targaryen history Fire and Blood. However, just like with episode 1's gargantuan Battle of the Gullet, House of the Dragon makes several changes when translating Rhaenyra's triumph to the screen.
From Alicent Hightower's (Olivia Cooke) new involvement to her father Otto's (Rhys Ifans) demise, here are all the biggest differences between House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood's takes on the Fall of King's Landing.
Alicent is behind the Fall of King's Landing in House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon's biggest change to the Fall of King's Landing has been in the works since the Season 2 finale, when Alicent came to Dragonstone to strike a deal with Rhaenyra. She told Rhaenyra that once Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) flew to Harrenhal, she would be free to take King's Landing, along with Aegon II's (Tom Glynn-Carney) head. Alicent would even tell the soldiers to stand down, and in return Rhaenyra would let her, Helaena (Phia Saban), and Jaehaera go free. This deal is all completely new to the show, and the same goes for the deal's execution in Season 3, episode 2, as Alicent keeps her word.
In the book, the end result is the same: Alicent surrenders the city. However, she does so under duress. Rhaenyra offers her the choice between giving up her life and giving up King's Landing, and obviously, Alicent chooses to stay alive.
Gwayne straight up dies in Fire and Blood.
Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) might not like slumming it in the Riverlands with Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), but he should be thankful he's not around for the Fall of King's Landing. If he were, he'd likely meet his Fire and Blood fate: death at the hands of City Watch commander Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen).
In the book, Gwayne is second in command of the gold cloaks, and he wants to sound the alarm on Rhaenyra's arrival. Luthor, still loyal to Daemon for creating the City Watch, puts an end to it by stabbing him. However, show Gwayne gets to live another day.
Otto Hightower's execution looks different in House of the Dragon.
While Gwayne escapes his Fire and Blood death, his father Otto is not so lucky. Like in Fire and Blood, he is the first person to be beheaded during Rhaenyra's reign.
House of the Dragon does alter some elements of Otto Hightower's execution, though. For starters, it comes right after his release from the prison cells below King's Landing, which is where Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) has apparently been keeping him since halfway through Season 2. Otto avoids any prison time in Fire and Blood.
House of the Dragon also fleshes out Otto's death by having Daemon encourage Rhaenyra to take his head herself. (The book does not describe his execution in any detail.) It's a brutal moment that sees a still-grieving Rhaenyra continue the cycle of violence that has plagued Westeros since the start of the Dance of the Dragons. It also bodes very ill for her relationship with Alicent, who's escorted back to the Red Keep just in time to see her former friend standing over her dead father's body. Not quite how you imagined the day would end, right, Alicent?
Aegon II flees during Rhaenyra's invasion in Fire and Blood.
Part of Alicent and Rhaenyra's deal was that Rhaenyra would get to take Aegon's life. In the show, he's already far from King's Landing, but in Fire and Blood, he makes his escape during the Fall of King's Landing itself. He doesn't go alone: He takes his children Jaehaera and Maelor (who does not exist in the show), along with Kingsguard members Willis Fell and Rickard Thorne.
Rhaenyra doesn't get sliced by the Iron Throne in House of the Dragon.
While Rhaenyra winds up on the Iron Throne in both House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood, the show leaves out a pretty major detail about her first time on Westeros' most famous chair. In Fire and Blood, the Iron Throne cuts her legs and palm, suggesting that it has "spurned" her and that she won't sit atop it for long. House of the Dragon leaves this out entirely, perhaps choosing not to play into the legend of the Iron Throne rejecting unworthy rulers. (Or choosing to emphasize that Rhaenyra is truly worthy.) However, the show has set a precedent for the Iron Throne cutting people in the past, with Viserys' (Paddy Considine) many festering wounds throughout Season 1.
But just because House of the Dragon's Iron Throne didn't cut Rhaenyra doesn't mean she's in for a smooth reign. Based on the trailer for the rest of Season 3, she's going to face the challenge of winning the realm back to her side, as well as contend with the forces of Ormund Hightower (James Norton). She may officially be Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but there's still plenty of Season 3 left for things to go wrong.
Topics HBO Streaming House of the Dragon
Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.
