There are many differences between House of the Dragon and its Fire and Blood source material. The series deviates from the book several times. While some differences are purely due to time constraints, others are creative choices made by the showrunners. After all, House of the Dragon will cover 28 years in Season 1 itself. It is therefore not possible to stick to the events of the book all the time. But we’re here to give you a list of all the important differences between House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood.
1. Mysaria was actually pregnant with Daemon’s child
In House of the Dragon episode 2, when Daemon claims Mysaria is pregnant with his child, it was actually just a ruse to irritate Viserys and steal a dragon egg. However, in Fire and Blood, Mysaria is actually pregnant. Viserys however orders her to return to Lys and Daemon returns the dragon egg. Mysaria loses her child in a miscarriage on her journey to the Lys. Also, Rhaenyra never negotiates with Daemon for the egg. But it’s understandable that the series went this route to flesh out Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship.
2. Rhaenyra and Alicent were never best friends
This may surprise those who haven’t read the books. Before Alicent married Viserys, she was never really friends with Rhaenyra. In fact, Alicent is actually 9 years older than Rhaenyra. However, the decision to befriend them definitely added a lot of emotional weight to the story.
3. Daemon didn’t kill Rhea Royce
In the books, Rhea’s death was really an accident where she fell off her horse and hit her head against a rock. She then died a few days later. This all happened when Daemon was in Dragonstone. But once again, we stand by the decision to force Daemon to kill his wife. It shows how ruthless Daemon is and how he can do anything to get what he wants.
4. The tournament celebrating Laenor and Rhaenyra’s wedding never took place in House of the Dragon
With Rhaenyra and Laenor’s marriage confirmed, a tournament was held to celebrate. This tournament was mentioned in House of the Dragon but did not take place due to the incident of Criston Cole killing Joffrey Lonmouth. In the books, Cole actually killed Ser Joffrey during the tournament itself. Ser Harwin Strong, who graced Rhaenyra in the tournament, also came face to face with Cole and ended up with a broken elbow and a broken collarbone.
5. Laenor dies with fire and blood
The House of the Dragon has chosen to keep Laenor Velaryon alive and instead sent him to Essos to live a happy life with Ser Qarl Correy. In the books however, Qarl kills Laenor in Spicetown, and there is no story involving Laenor faking her death.
6. Laena’s death was different in House of the Dragon
In Fire and Blood, Laena gave birth to a child who died an hour later. Her health rapidly deteriorating, she wanted to ride Vhagar one last time but fainted on the way and died. House of the Dragon’s decision to have Laena commit suicide by ordering Vhagar to breathe dragon fire was actually a big deviation from the book. The scene was extremely powerful with raw emotion from Laena and Vhagar. Vhagar’s hesitation and Laena’s desperation in her voice made this my favorite scene in the series.
7. Queen Aemma’s gruesome death was created for House of the Dragon
Technically, Aemma’s death wasn’t an entirely new concept. The way her death was shown in House of the Dragon was inspired by the death of her grandmother, Queen Alyssa Velaryon, who also died in childbirth.
8. Rhaena and Baela were not involved in the fight with Aemond
When Aemond lost his eye, Rhaenyra and Daemon’s 4 children were present. However, in the books, the fight only took place between Aemond and the three sons of Rhaenyra. House of the Dragon likely deviates from the book to clearly divide greens and blacks while creating a bond between girls and boys.