As an adaption of a collection of prequel novellas for Game of Thrones, the prequel House of the Dragon has the opportunity to fill in the details for the live-action show. House of the Dragon has already changed a few things from the books and is bound to change more as the season progresses. It's to be expected, as there's plenty of room to explore such a long-spanning history of the Targaryen dynasty.

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A lot is riding on House of the Dragon's direction, considering the entirely controversial last season of Game of Thrones, and ignoring the source material. House of the Dragon certainly makes some creative changes, but not without its reason.

8 Ser Harrold Westerling Lives

ser harrold westerling from house of the dragon

Ser Harold Westerling is the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He has many responsibilities and seems to have not aged a day in the time skips for House of the Dragon. Not only is he still alive and looking well, but he has abandoned the Kingsguard after the effort to put Aegon Targaryen on the throne in Viserys' death.

Some years before the death of the Strongs, Ser Harrold Westerling died of old age. This character was the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and was entirely faithful to King Viserys Targaryen, and his command alone. Since the character is still around in the HBO show, it's hard to predict what is next for him.

7 Daemon Did Not Murder Rhea

Lady Rhea Royce in house of the dragon

One of Daemon's most despicable acts is the killing of his first wife, Rhea. Daemon startled her horse, which caused the horse to crush Rhea's neck when it fell over. He then finished her off with a rock and became a single man in Westeros again. A vile murder of an innocent woman, and it shows how dangerous Daemon is.

In the book, not only did Rhea fall from her horse on her own accord, but it took nine days for her to die of her wounds. Daemon was not even involved in Rhea's death, as he was away fighting in the Stepstones. It's a big change that further shows Daemon's characterization.

6 Criston Cole’s Obsession

ser criston cole from house of the dragon

Ser Criston Cole is a pretty obsessive ex-boyfriend. In the show, Criston and Rhaenyra had a scandalous and intimate relationship, kept deeply secret due to the vows of the Kingsguard's celibacy, and the fact that Rhaenyra was a Princess yet to be wed.

In the book, it's mostly unclear as to what happened between Criston Cole and Rhaenrya. Most say that they did not have intercourse, that Criston confessed his love and was rejected, or Rhaenrya failed to seduce him. Either way, Criston Cole begged her to elope to Essoss with him, but she declined as she did not trust his allegiances as a husband due to breaking Kingsguard vows.

5 Laenor Velaryon Escapes With His Lover

Laenor Prior To His "Death" In Episode 7

Laenor has the burden of hiding his true self from the public and his family. Laenor is gay, but cannot reveal such a thing due to the period, and resentment from his family. Laenor is forced to marry Rhaenyra but finds love with a man named Qarl. They fake his death and elope together to start a life free from responsibility, perhaps the only character to receive a good ending in the series.

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Laenor in the books has a fight with Qarl in Spicetown with an audience, making it hard to fail to account for his death as there are plenty of witnesses. Laenor does die in the books, which does not leave room for his return, unlike House of the Dragon.

4 Laena Died After Child Birth

Laena Velaryon Dragon fire suicide death scene

Laena's pregnancy is entirely tragic in House of the Dragon. The baby is twisted, and cannot come out unless they perform an operation that would kill Laena. In great pain, and refusing to allow her husband to decide her fate, she begs her dragon to burn her to death, and free her from her burdens and duties as the wife to a Targaryen Prince.

The books tell a different story, which is still equally sad. Laena managed to birth her baby, but the baby died within the hour after being born malformed. Laena, from her wounds of child labor, died three days later, leaving Daemon widowed.

3 Lucerys’ Death Was An Accident

lucerys velaryon

As an act of teasing, Aemond chased Lucerys in the sky. Arrax was scared of the mighty Vhagar and burned her. The dragon responded on her own accord and ate Arrax, killing the dragon and Lucerys. This was an accident, and Aemond was horrified to see that this had happened, as it was not his intention.

In the books, Aemond One-Eye took his hatred of his nephew one step further when he and his dragon, Vhagar, chased and killed Arrax and Lucerys. Showing just how deranged he was, he cut out the deceased Lucerys' eyes and presented them to Maris Baratheon, who claimed that Lucerys took Aemond's manhood as well as his eye.

2 Viserys Against The Triarchy

Crabfeeder-house-of-the-dragon Cropped

One of the most stellar scenes of the HBO show has Daemon taking on the Triarchy. His years-long war left him still bitter about his brother, King Viserys, whom Daemon believes is inferior and unfit to be king at times. When Daemon receives word that Viserys is sending an army to help, he explodes in a rage, as he believes Viserys sees him as incompetent to finish a war he started.

It's quite the opposite in the books, as Viserys did not object to the idea of destroying the Triarchy, and instead provided Daemon with the necessary funds to plan his annihilation over them and their power, showing a certain bond between the brothers and Targaryen’s power.

1 Rhaenys And Meleys Never Interrupted The Coronation

Meleys screaming at Aegon during his coronation in House of the Dragon.

The coronation of Aegon Targaryen was powerful and treacherous to the Targaryen dynasty. Never has the house been so divided and split, with many seeing Aegon as the rightful King, and many seeing Rhaenyra as the rightful Queen. Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys interrupted the coronation and killed smallfolk to make a point of escaping King's Landing and rejecting the coronation.

In the books, this event never happened. Rhaenys was not even in King's Landing when Viserys died. The scene in the show is powerful, and already pretty iconic, but it never happened according to the books.

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