House of the Dragon's latest episode climax was far worse, more horrible in the book. Here's how
Fans of the book are pointing out how the second series of the HBO series took a different turn in the Blood and Cheese murder scene in its first episode.
House of the Dragon returned with a much-awaited second season, which premiered last Monday, with another shocking twist and murder at the end. After ending season 1 with the killing of Lucerys Velaryon, the first episode concluded with the murder of another son, which was Jaehaerys Targaryen, the grandson of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Aptly titled A Son for A Son, the episode has now found fans scratching their heads thinking why the show chose to deviate from George R.R. Martin’s books. (Also read: House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 review: A strong, albeit slow return with more insight and less action)
Spoiler alert! The first episode of the second season has fans talking about that murder.
What happened on the show
Daemon (Matt Smith) hires assassins Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart) to seek revenge. The two men sneak into the palace, but they cannot find Aemond. They capture Helaena and threaten to kill her if she does not point to her son who is sleeping in the same room. Among the two children, they are unable to tell which one is the son. They ultimately kill Jaehaerys, the 6-year-old firstborn son of current King Aegon II. She runs off with her daughter, Jaehaera to tell the news to Alicent Hightower.
What happened in the book
This differs from the book, where Blood and Cheese are not directly commissioned by Daemon Targaryen to kill Aemond. In the book, the assassins capture Heleana's two sons--eldon son Jaehaerys and younger son Maelor. They then tell her that she has to choose which son is to be killed. As Helaena resists and tell that they should kill her instead, they tell her that if she does not choose a son, they are going to rape her daughter, Jaehaera (still a child).
Helaena picks her youngest son, Maelor, to be killed. Cheese tells Maelor, "You hear that, little boy? Your momma wants you dead." But instead of killing him, they ultimately murder Jaehaerys in front of Helaena and Maelor. Now, Helaena has to live with the guilt of her elder son's murder and with the guilt that her surviving son now knows she chose to have him dead.
Fan reactions
Reacting to the key change in the show, a fan commented: “Blood & Cheese was so underwhelming.” A second fan wrote, “I am sorry but blood and cheese was adapted horribly and the scene only relied on Phia Saban's acting (and she DELIVERED) a shame that the writers thought an alicole sex scene was more important.” A comment also read, “Blood and Cheese was supposed to be THE moment but we instead got this anticlimactic mess.”
House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 is available to stream on Jio Cinema.
Santanu Das is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over 5 years of experience, writing on films, pop culture and film festivals. He has a keen interest in writing about South Asian independent films and has covered several film festivals, including Sundance and CPH: Docx. He also brings a sharp perspective to the monthly column called The Fault in Our Stars, where he writes about a recent film/series and what stops the ‘good’ from becoming ‘great’.
A gold medalist from Banaras Hindu University, Santanu completed his postgraduate studies in English from Jadavpur University. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-certified film critic. When not watching films or speaking to celebrities, Santanu can be found reading a book. Some of his favourite films are Aparajito, Ponyo and The Double Life of Veronique. His favourite books include The Corrections, The God of Small Things and A Room of One's Own.
Santanu continues to write passionately about films and celebrity culture. He brings a relatable, as well as critically informed, lens to entertainment and culture for a wide audience.
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