House of the Dragon boss explains why he changed the Battle of Rook’s Rest from Fire & Blood

House of the Dragon boss explains why he changed the Battle of Rook's Rest from Fire & Blood

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of immersion in the realm of fantasy and strategy, I found myself captivated by the recent turn of events unfolding between George R.R. Martin and the creators of House of the Dragon. The tension was palpable, much like the tension between characters within the world of Westeros itself.

Last week, the unthinkable happened as Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin openly criticized HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon on his blog, dinging it for not just changing too much of his book Fire & Blood, but changing things for the worse. We’d never seen that much open tension between Martin and the creators of the shows based on his work, so it was surprising. Martin sounded like he had a lot more to say, but he removed the blog post shortly thereafter, we imagine because HBO asked. I wouldn’t hold out hope to to hear more of his thoughts, as curious as I am.

But the damage, at least for now, had been done. HBO released a special episode of its House of the Dragon podcast focused on book changes. Showrunner Ryan Condal talks through what he and his team were thinking when adding, subtracting and changing material from Fire & Blood. That podcast has already yielded some interesting insights. Today, we’re going to focus on what most fans think is the the best episode of House of the Dragon season 2: “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” the one where Aegon, Aemond and Rhaenys mount their dragons and fight in the skies about the castle of Rook’s Rest. The discussion of Rook’s Rest starts around 24:30 below:

According to Condal’s admission, among all the major scenes in House of the Dragon’s second season, the Battle of Rook’s Rest seems to be most faithful to the original book (nudge, nudge, writers). In this battle, the Greens assault Castle Rook’s Rest, ruled by an ally of Rhaenyra Targaryen, Lord Staunton. To support Rhaenyra, Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon Meleys are sent, but Aemond Targaryen is prepared with his larger dragon Vhagar. Additionally, King Aegon Targaryen arrives on Sunfyre. Though Sunfyre falls, King Aegon manages to survive. Tragically, Rhaenys and Meleys are both killed in the fight. Only Aemond and Vhagar come out of this battle unscathed.

Essentially, “The Red Dragon and the Gold” portrays an exhilarating battle scene, where the action on the ground is equally captivating, with Ser Criston Cole merely struggling to survive amidst the dragon-wrecked battlefield. Notably, the HBO series “House of the Dragon” introduces a twist: Aemond deliberately breathes fire towards both Rhaenys and his brother Aegon, suggesting that he attempted to assassinate Aegon in order to seize the throne for himself. This plot development is not present in “Fire & Blood,” which is written as a historical account compiled by a historian long after the events occurred. One might wonder why this alteration was made in the series.

In essence, Condal points out on the podcast that it’s more engaging when complex events occur during intense battles, as seen in the show. This particular scene is a faithful representation of the book’s storyline, but the series offers additional depth. Historians might have missed these nuances since they weren’t present during the events. For instance, the character Aemond from our adaptation seems unimpressed with Aegon as king thus far and had been bullied by him in their childhood. Unlike the book version, this Aemond appears to consider himself superior, a hint that even historical records may not fully capture.

We know that three dragons went into that sky and two fell out, and one fell while fighting Meleys when Vhagar came and entered the chat, so to speak. So we just thought that instead of doing something that was cut and dry, one way or the other, it was interesting to throw in an element that was set up completely over the course of the 13 prior episodes of the show. And that would have a ripple effect from there forward. It doesn’t change anything about how the history unfolds. It just makes Aemond and then sort of by action and consequence, Aegon, more complicated characters.

Why the changes to the Battle of Rook’s Rest worked (and other changes didn’t)

Generally speaking, a large number of viewers concur that the adaptation of this book character in the second season of the series was incredibly successful. This success, in my opinion, is due to the portrayal of Aemond still being consistent with his character development as depicted in the books. As Ryan Condal suggests, Aemond does appear to look down on his elder brother in “Fire & Blood,” and this attitude is present in both the book and the show. Furthermore, in both versions, Aemond is shown to be highly ambitious and willing to resort to violence. Although the scene where he attempts to kill his brother isn’t explicitly mentioned in the book at this moment, it doesn’t seem far-fetched for fans to accept given Aemond’s character traits.

In contrast to certain debatable modifications, this production veers in a different direction from what was depicted in “Fire & Blood”. For instance, Daemon Targaryen effortlessly gathers an army in the Riverlands according to the book, but on screen he consistently encounters failures. Similarly, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower are portrayed as rivals in the novel, while they appear to be collaborating in the series. These alterations have not been well-received by viewers, and I believe it’s no accident that they contradict the original storyline. However, the adjustment concerning Aemond and Aegon at the Battle of Rook’s Rest aligns with the source material, adding a flavorful twist to the plot. Other modifications, on the other hand, feel out of place – like swapping soup for salad, they don’t seem to fit.

From Condal’s perspective, it seems he believes that as long as they portray the major events in “Fire & Blood” reasonably accurately, they have free reign with the characters, considering them flexible rather than fixed. However, I disagree. While the characters in “Fire & Blood” may not be as meticulously crafted as those in a full-fledged novel, they still possess fundamental motivations and personalities that need to be preserved in a screen adaptation. Adaptations inevitably involve alterations from the source material, but when you contradict the original, you’re failing at adaptation.

Looking forward to the upcoming third installment of “House of the Dragon” scheduled for release in 2026, let’s hope that the writers consider George R.R. Martin’s constructive feedback and align the storyline more closely with the original book in season 3 for an authentic experience.

2024-09-09 22:42