House of the Dragon (HOTD) episode 5, saw the deaths of two major characters – Lady Rhea Royce and Ser Joffrey Lonmouth. However, the way these deaths were handled in George RR Martin’s book “Fire and Blood” (on which HOTD is based) is a bit different. Even the nature of these deaths and the characters’ motivations behind them are different. So let’s try to understand these differences.
The death of Lady Rhea in HOTD
Lady Rhea Royce
At the start of the episode, Deamon Targaryen travels to Vale and meets his wife – Lady Rhea Royce, the lady of Runestone and his first wife. This is the first time Lady Rhea Royce has appeared on the show. Before that, she was just mentioned in the dialogues of various characters. However, the audience realizes the bitter relationship Deamon had with Lady Rhea. He even once called her his “dark slut”. It was clear that the man had little or no affection for his wife. So when Daemon shows up before Lady Rhea, things had to go south.
As soon as Lady Rhea saw her husband directly in his eyes, she sensed malevolent intent. Her hand, in defense, went to her small arsenal, which she carried on the horse’s back. Before she could draw her gun, Daemon pulled her horse and she fell. She fell on her back and lay on the ground in a miserable state. Lady Rhea then shouts at Daemon – ‘I knew you couldn’t finish. Cowardly!’. Hearing this, Daemon stops midway and picks up a large sharp rock. He then heads to the Fallen Rhea. Although the screen cuts out at this point, it is implied that Daemon crushes Rhea’s head and kills her. The news soon reaches King Viserys, who learns that Lady Rhea has died after falling from her horse and hitting her head against a rock.
Lady Rhea’s death in the book
Demon about to kill Lady Rhea
According to the book “Fire and Blood”, Lady Rhea Royce fell from her horse and her head hit a stone directly. She suffered for nine days before finally succumbing to her injuries. At that time, Daemon was in Bloodstone, battling the Triarchy. When he heard the news of his wife’s death, he immediately went to Vale to participate in her last rites. The timeline of these events has clearly been changed in the series. Daemon then goes to Lady Jeyne Arryn to ask for his inheritance (Runestone) after Lady Rhea’s death, as he had no children with Lady Rhea. However, Lady Arryn asks Daemon never to visit Vale again, and the inheritance is passed on to Lady Rhea’s niece.
The death of Ser Joffrey Lonmouth in HOTD
Ser Joffrey Lonmouth and Laenor Valeryon
We are also introduced to Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, who is Laenor Velaryon’s gay lover. The relationship between Laenor and Joffrey was well known throughout the kingdom, but no one talked about it. However, in the episode he attempts to mock Ser Criston Cole about his relationship with Rhaenyra (who was now married to Laenor). Ser Criston was already filled with guilt for having slept with Rhaenyra. Ser Criston did it out of love for Rhaenyra (he even broke his oath of chastity as a knight), but Rhaenyra said she only did it for fun. So when Joffrey taunts him, he smacks and smashes Lonmouth’s face in front of the entire gathering and kills him in the process.
The death of Ser Joffrey Lonmoth in a book
Ser Joffrey Lonmouth and Ser Criston Cole
According to “Fire and Blood”, Criston Cole never slept with Rhaenyra. This eventually led the princess to hate him. This is why she refused him a favor during the tournament, and he turned to Alicent Hightower, who granted him one. The Lord Commander’s (Ser Criston) wrath fell on the tournament’s other competitors, and Lonmouth was one of his victims. He used a weapon called Morningstar to critically injure Joffrey Lonmouth, who was alive for seven days before finally succumbing to his wounds. Lonmouth never instigated Criston Cole and met him face to face at the tournament which took place during the royal wedding, as HOTD shows.
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