House of the Dragon: These are the biggest differences between the original book and episode 1

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“House of the Dragon” is based on the fictional Targaryen family chronicle, “Fire and Blood” by George RR Martin. Since Martin is one of the executive producers of the HBO series, the “Game of Thrones” author will certainly make a point of staying close to his work. But of course there are some differences.

It is almost impossible to translate a book exactly into another medium. The story of “Fire and Blood” was also adapted to work better in the “House of the Dragon” series. We’ll tell you the biggest changes in the first episode of the series adaptation.

Rhaenys Targaryen and the Grand Council

“House of the Dragon” starts with the Grand Council. Thousands of lords of the land gather to vote on King Jaehaerys’ heir after the deaths of Jaehaerys’ two sons.

In the books, the council meeting lasted 13 days and there were 14 potential heirs laying claim to the throne. Most were sorted out immediately because their demands were not high enough. Five remained: Archmaester Vaegon, Princess Rhaenys (Jaehaerys’ granddaughter), her daughter Laena Velaryon, Prince Viserys (Jaehaerys’ grandson and Rhaenys’ cousin), and Laenor Velaryon (Rhaenys’ son).

Vaegon was eliminated because he was Archmaester, Rhaenys and Laena were rejected because they were women. So the shortlist was Viserys and Laenor. Since Laenor was still a child at the time, Viserys was named heir to the throne.

In “House of the Dragon” this choice was cut straight away to save some time. Only Viserys and Rhaenys were on the shortlist. The series creators probably wanted to make it clear that women in the world of Westeros always have to take a backseat and are not considered as rulers.

The surprise is even greater when Rhaenyra is named the first female heir to the throne by her father King Viserys at the end of the first episode. Another, smaller difference in the Grand Council is that Jaehaerys is present at the vote, whereas in the books he remains in King’s Landing.

Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower are the same age

In the series, Alicent Hightower, the daughter of the Hand of the King, and Princess Rhaenyra are portrayed as being of the same age. In the book, Alicent is nine years older than Rhaenyra.

The reason for this is probably that they wanted to portray a closer friendship between the two girls in the series, and that would have been more difficult with such a big age difference. This close friendship makes Alicent’s later betrayal seem even stronger.

The introduction of Kriston Kraut

Kriston Kraut makes his first appearance in “Fire and Blood” at the tournament celebrating the coronation of King Viserys. There he defeats Daemon Targaryen and a feud begins between the two. Kraut later becomes commander of the Kingsguard.

In “House of the Dragon” we also meet Kraut in a tournament, but this time it is the tournament celebrating the birth of Viserys’ son. But Kraut can also defeat Daemon in battle in this tournament. Since Daemon has to leave King’s Landing at the end of the episode, his position as commander of the Kingsguard is now open again and Kraut can take it.

This later appearance makes Kriston Kraut closer to Alicent and Rhaenyra’s age than he was in the books. This makes a possible romantic relationship with Rhaenyra easier to present.

Aemma Arryn’s caesarean section

In the book it was only briefly mentioned that Aemma Arryn dies giving birth to her son Baelor and that he follows her in death one day later. “House of the Dragon” becomes more explicit and shows the incredible suffering that Aemma had to endure during birth, including the brutal cesarean section.

This scene shocks and leaves a lasting impression. Especially because Aemma previously had a conversation with Rhaenyra in which she explained to her that she couldn’t become a knight, but that it was her job to be the royal womb. Aemma suffered so many miscarriages in the past few years. The fact that she now dies in childbirth is particularly sad.

Aegon’s dream of ice and fire

The fact that Viserys tells Rhaenyra about a Song of Ice and Fire is an invention of the series. In “Fire and Blood” nothing is known about such a prophecy from Aegon the Conqueror. Aegon’s dream was about the Long Night and that only a Targaryen could protect the Westerosi from it.

Of course, this was intended to build a bridge to the parent series “Game of Thrones”. It is not yet known to what extent the prophecy will play a role in George RR Martin’s books.