In season 2, episode 3 of House of the Dragon, titled The Burning Mill, the streets of King’s Landing are seen erupting with people. The recently released installment is the calm before the storm – the Dance of the Dragons, the ultimate Targaryen civil war.
This House of the Dragon episode sets off the impending danger, which starts with the Blackwoods vs Brackens. Fans see the first battle, leading to the first castle’s fall. The episode includes interesting revelations as viewers witness four dragon eggs and link them to Daenerys’ dragon eggs in Game of Thrones.
1. Rhaenyra and Alicent’s meeting
The scene featuring Rhaenyra and Alicent’s meeting in the Temple of the Seven differs greatly from the book.
While the show sees these two characters conversing and clearing out the confusion on the night of King Viserys’s death, this doesn’t happen in the books.
In the show House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra clarifies how Viserys talked about the song of Ice and Fire during his final moments and states that he mentioned Aegon the Conqueror and not Alicent’s son. Alicent goes into denial and says that nothing can be stopped now.
However, in the books, none of this happened, as it was a failed attempt suggested by Grand Maester Oryle during a council meeting with the king.
2. The dragon eggs
In the show, Rhaenyra gives Rhaena four dragon eggs before sending her to Pentos with her children, Aegon and Viserys.
In the book, Rhaenyra gave Rhaena three eggs that later became Daenarys’ dragons in Game of Thrones. Here, fans can draw a direct connection between the four eggs in the show and the three eggs in the book, fostering a sense of involvement and connection with the story.
The show is now setting up a spoiler alert for the other dragon egg to become Rhaena’s dragon Morning, a surprising twist that happens in the books as well but under vastly different circumstances, keeping the audience engaged and eager to see how it unfolds on screen.
3. The character of Helena
Yes, we still feel bad for her. Helaena Targaryen, Alicent’s daughter in House of the Dragon, is portrayed as a multi-dimensional yet tragic character, which is also very different from how she was written in the books post the Blood and Cheese tragedy.
In the books, she loses her mind and becomes isolated. In contrast, the writers in the show give her character a deeper story, where it’s almost like she’s explained as a stilted product of a royal upbringing, denied a normal life. Yet they give her an inner world of prophecies.
4. Ulf The White
Well, well well! The Mystery Man is here. In the series, according to Ulf, he claims to be the bastard son of Baelon the Great, the father of Daemon and Viserys Targaryen, which would make him their bastard half-brother.
However, in the book Fire and Blood, the lineage of Ulf is never truly defined. According to the book, Baelon, from his childhood, was close to his sister Alyssa, and would make her the mother of his legitimate children.
He never wavered in his loyalty to her, even after she died. Viserra, Baelon’s other sister, would make attempts to seduce him but would receive no response from him. Although it’s possible that he sired a bastard at a young age.
5. The Battle of the Burning Mill
Bracken Vs. Blackwood – The Battle of the Burning Mill takes place before Daemon takes Harrenhall in the series, but in the book, it happens sometime after Daemon reaches and takes Harrenhall.
Ser Arryn Bracken is introduced as a new character in the House of the Dragon, while Ser Amos Bracken was originally there in the books. Although the character of Ser Amos Bracken has already been cast in season two, the showrunners may have a different plan for him.
Originally in the books, Ser Amos Bracken slayed Lord Blackwood in single combat during the war of the burning mill and then perished to a Weirwood arrow through the skull.
6. Alys Rivers, The Witch of Harrenhall
Alys Rivers is introduced in House of the Dragon when Daemon Targaryen storms the castle of Harrenhall with Caraxes.
In the Fire and Blood book, Alys Rivers is described by historians of the Seven Kingdoms in various ways. Munkun describes her as a wench experimenting with potions, while Eustace calls her a wood witch.
7. About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
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