A few aspects of House of the Dragon have already diverged from the books, and additional changes are unavoidable as the show goes on.
Here are 5 crucial moments that we found different (for better or worse).
1. Rhaenyra And Alicent’s Ages
The series shows us a strong bond between two little beautiful girls that grew up together. But one day everything changes.
Alicent marries Rhaenyra’s father, The King Viserys, which puts an end to the friendship between the girls, as Rhaenyra finds herself betrayed by both her father and a friend.
What stays disgusting for the viewers it is the fact that in the show Alicent and Rhaenyra are portrayed the same age.
But in the books Alicent is two times older (18), which makes her marriage with Viserys not as gross as in the show.
However, the decision of the showrunners to make girls peers, makes their little war more intriguing and dynamic.
2. Daemon Never Killed Rhea
Moreover, it took the poor girl nine days till she finally died from the wounds that her horse caused. In the book, Rhea wasn’t pushed off the horse, she fell by accident, while Daemon was away in the Stepstones.
The cruelty that was imputed into Daemon’s made-up actions was never a necessity, was it?
3. Laena Died After Child Birth
Another Daemon’s wife that, unfortunately, had to die both in the book and a TV show.
But the story of her death differs from what we saw on the screen, yet the reason stays the same. In the book, Laena managed to give birth to their child, but the baby died within an hour after seeing the light.
The mother was too wounded after the harsh labor and in three days she followed her late child. House of the Dragon, however, went for a much more dramatic sendoff for Laena…
4. Interrupted Coronation
While show fans were punching the air in disbelief of Rhaenys Targaryen’s actions on the coronation of Aegon Targaryen, specifically, they didn’t understand why she didn’t use her dragon, Meleys, to end all the Greens.
The scene ended up being… something, but it never existed in the books.
5. Rhaenyra And Criston’s Tryst
In the books, the obsessive ex-boyfriend didn’t even seem to be as obsessive as the show made him look.
House of the Dragon paid a lot of attention to Rhaenyra and Criston’s little affair, but George R.R. Martin left pretty much everything about their relationship very vague in the books.