Differences in adaptation/House of the Dragon: Season 1

The following is a list of differences between House of the Dragon: Season 1 and Fire & Blood, the book from which it is adapted.

Unlike Game of Thrones, this TV series is based on a series of prequel novellas (collected in Fire & Blood) which are written as in-universe history books, not fully narrativized: as such they are outlines, and the TV series will have to fill in many details that simply were not present in the source material. Such inventions may not explicitly contradict the source material, but they will be noted.

General differences[]

Jason and Tyland Lannister, while twins, are never explicitly described as identical twins.
Ser Harrold Westerling (alive as of 132 AC) lives much longer than his book counterpart (died 112 AC).
Ser Vaemond Velaryon is Corlys Velaryon's nephew in the book, not his younger brother. Vaemond and half a dozen other younger Velaryon cousins are involved in a subplot in the book, but they've apparently been condensed into one character as "Corlys's younger brother Vaemond".
The script for "The Heirs of the Dragon" states that Mysaria is from Yi Ti. In Fire & Blood, she is from Lys.

Characters' physical appearances[]

As with Game of Thrones, many of the younger cast members had to be aged-up for legal as well as pragmatic reasons: i.e. in the book, Aegon II marries when he is 13 years old, but it would be explicitly illegal for a TV series filmed in the United Kingdom to depict someone younger than 16 marrying.
King Viserys I Targaryen had a bushy, silver-gold mustache, and cropped his hair short, while TV-Viserys wears his hair long to his shoulders. In the books he was severely obese in his late reign and died from numerous health problems that arose as a result of this. In the TV series, his cause of death is a form of leprosy which he had for most of his reign.
Rhaenyra Targaryen was very beautiful in her youth, but six pregnancies ruined her figure, so that she was stout by the time she was an adult. In the TV series, adult Rhaenyra doesn't look stout. This same issue actually came up in Game of Thrones: in the books, Lysa Tully is said to be very stout after many pregnancies (all of which ended in miscarriages and stillbirths, except for one), but they didn't cast a stout actress for the live-action role.
Valyrians typically have eye colors ranging from purple to deep blue - as with Game of Thrones, this detail has been dropped.
Rhaenys Targaryen had her father Aemon's purple eyes, and her mother Jocelyn Baratheon's black hair. Her hair later gained white streaks as she aged. Prior to the publishing of Fire & Blood, her hair was simply stated to be silver, but this is now non-canon.
Although Corlys Velaryon's physical appearance is never described, the Velaryons are not known to have been black or otherwise of a dark skin tone. House Velaryon overall is described in A Feast for Crows as having typical Valyrian features such as silver hair, purple eyes, and pale skin. Aurane Waters, a bastard of House Velaryon, is considered by Cersei to resemble Rhaegar Targaryen, though he has grey-green eyes rather than purple. It is somewhat implied that lower-ranking Valyrian families weren't as strict about blood purity, but the Velaryons aren't described as one of them.
Mysaria had skin pale as milk. While she is said to be a slave from Lys, and slave populations are racially mixed, she is not described as being of YiTish (East Asian) descent.
Ser Criston Cole is not known to have been of Dornish descent, though House Cole are the stewards of Blackhaven, which is in the borderlands with Dorne. He is also not described as "lowborn" (the Coles are minor nobles who serve as hereditary stewards, but they are still considered nobles). He is described as having coal black hair and pale green eyes.
For most of his life, old age included, Jaehaerys I Targaryen kept his beard so long it reached his waist.

Heraldry[]

The coat-of-arms of House Strong is a tripartite pale, blue-red-green, on a white field. In the TV series it is more complex: three rivers (blue-red-green) flowing from a black escutcheon displaying a white hand, on a white field.

The coat-of-arms of House Darklyn is fusily gold and black, white escutcheons on a red tierce (the amount of escutcheons represents every Darklyn who has served in the Kingsguard). The Darklyn tourney knight's shield displays party per pale, seven white escutcheons on red and fusily gold and black.
- By the reign of Viserys I in the books, only three Darklyns have served in the Kingsguard. Thus there should be three escutcheons, if any.

The coat-of-arms of House Staunton is two black wings upon a white fess on chequy black and grey. In the TV series, the wings wear a gold crown, the checks are only in the chief, and there is no grey.
The coat-of-arms of House Celtigar does not have a red border, and the crabs are strewn rather than arranged into a 2-2-1 pattern.
The coat-of-arms of House Velaryon displays an actual, real-life seahorse, not a mythological one (spelled as sea-horse with a hyphen). The mythological half-horse/half-fish design is from real-life heraldry databases.

The coat-of-arms of House Stark displays a full direwolf, not just its head. This is a difference carried over from Game of Thrones.
The coat-of-arms of House Targaryen is slightly different. In the books, the dragon is breathing scarlet flames. Its legs are not described in detail, but by default it is assumed that it has two legs.
Jaehaerys I Targaryen is not known to have had his own royal standard.
Daemon Targaryen is not known to have used his own coat-of-arms.
The dragon on Aegon's royal standard is golden, in honor of his dragon Sunfyre, not green.
- This change does not appear to be carried over into the second season, which uses a slightly more (but not wholly) faithful design. See Differences in adaptation/House of the Dragon: Season 2 for elaboration.

Differences by episode[]

"The Heirs of the Dragon"[]

King Jaehaerys was not present for the Great Council, as he was growing weak of body and mind in his old age.
The two most popular contenders at the Great Council were Viserys Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon, not Viserys and Rhaenys Targaryen. Rhaenys's claim had already been rejected by the time of the final vote.
Ser Harrold Westerling was not the sworn shield of Rhaenyra Targaryen.
There is no mention of characters named Mickon, Marlow, Randyll Barret, and Elinor Stokeworth in Fire & Blood.
The Iron Throne is much larger in the books than in the Game of Thrones TV series, said to be a massive and ugly pile of melted swords nearly forty feet tall. The depiction of the throne in House of the Dragon is closer to its book description in that it is asymmetrical and is made up of thousands of swords, though it still retains the Game of Thrones design in the main chair part.
The Heir's Tournament in King's Landing is based on a different tourney from Fire & Blood, taking place at Maidenpool. It was not held in honor of Prince Baelon's birth, but as a celebration of Viserys's accession to the throne.
According to Fire & Blood, Viserys's son Baelon lived for one day after his mother's death, not a few hours.
The history of the Valyrian steel dagger used by the catspaw (and Arya Stark in Game of Thrones) was never detailed. There are only about 200 surviving Valyrian steel blades in Westeros so it's not implausible that it belonged to the Targaryens at some point.
Daemon nastily wrote about men from the Vale and sheep in a letter; he did not announce that in a meeting of the small council.
Otto Hightower did not speak against Daemon and compare him to Maegor Targaryen in a meeting of the small council; he wrote that to his brother, Lord Hightower.

"The Rogue Prince"[]

There is no indication in the book that Craghas Drahar suffered from greyscale.
Rhaenyra never proposed a military strike with dragonriders against Craghas Drahar in the book.
Daemon never illegally occupied and fortified Dragonstone with a private army, nor did Rhaenyra and Otto Hightower have to confront him to force him to vacate the castle; after Viserys spurned him as heir, he retreated to Dragonstone and remained sulking there in isolation.
Daemon never stole a dragon egg from the Dragonpit nor did he publicly announce his intentions to take Mysaria as a second wife; when Mysaria fell pregnant, Daemon wanted to gift her unborn child with a dragon egg, whereupon Viserys furiously put his foot down and ordered Daemon to return the egg, send Mysaria back to Lys and return to his wife in the Vale. Mysaria would apparently miscarry the child when the ship carrying her hit a storm, resulting in another brief rift between Viserys and Daemon.
In Fire & Blood, Viserys's intention to marry Alicent didn't raise much consternation with the small council or Rhaenyra, as at the time he was 25 and she was 18, while Rhaenyra was only 9 years old when her father remarried. The biggest opponents to Viserys's remarriage were Corlys and Daemon.
In Fire & Blood, there is no mention that Craghas Drahar sank any of Corlys's ships. The reason for fighting Drahar was that he and his partners were charging outrageous tolls for safe passage.
In Fire & Blood, there is no mention that Corlys demanded that the Crown would take action against Craghas, and that Viserys refused. It is only mentioned that Corlys and Daemon joined forces against Craghas.
Viserys did not object to the idea of opposing the Triarchy, on the contrary: he provided Daemon with funds for his preparations.
Grand Maester Runciter, not Mellos, was the one who supported the idea that the king should wed Laena.
Viserys injured his hand on a blade protruding from the throne, and it was necessary to amputate two of his fingers, but it happened much later in his reign. He was not treated with maggot therapy.

"Second of His Name"[]

Jason and Tyland Lannister are only described as twins, not identical twins.
There is no mention in the book that Vaemond Velaryon, Laenor Velaryon, and Seasmoke participated in the War for the Stepstones.
There is no mention in the book about hostilities between the North and the Targaryens, which led to the marriage of Viserys and Aemma Arryn.
Viserys supported the idea of fighting against the Triarchy from the beginning, and gave his brother the funds for rallying troops. Daemon did not reject Viserys's assistance.
In Fire & Blood, Daemon nearly beat a messenger to death for bringing him word of Viserys's and Alicent's marriage, and the incident took place at Runestone.
There is no mention that anyone complained Corlys and Daemon dragged the Crown into war.
The encounter between Daemon and Craghas Drahar takes place two years after the war for the Stepstones began, not three years.
In Fire & Blood, Craghas did not gain the upper hand during the first two years of the conflict, on the contrary: Daemon won many victories during that period, before he encountered and killed Craghas.
In Fire & Blood, Daemon kills Craghas by beheading him, rather than cutting him in half. This is the only detail given in the book about the battle.
The hunt scenes do not occur in Fire & Blood.
There is no mention that Rhaenyra ever encountered a boar or a white stag/hart.
There is no mention of a white stag/hart in Fire & Blood.
Jason Lannister proposed to Rhaenyra during a feast held in Casterly Rock, not during a hunting trip.
There is no mention that Jason Lannister ever intended to build a dragon pit.
Viserys did not try to persuade Rhaenyra gently, by reasoning with her, to get married; he threatened her that if she refused to, he would replace her with Aegon as his heir, and she complied.
Alicent, not Otto Hightower, suggested to wed Rhaenyra to Aegon, and she did so when Aegon was six, not two. Viserys refused the suggestion because, in addition to the age gap, he knew Rhaenyra and Aegon despised each other and that Alicent had only proposed the match to get Aegon on the Iron Throne.
Lyonel Strong did not suggest Laenor Velaryon as a husband to Rhaenyra. The king and the small council decided it was the best choice.
There is no island called Dwarfstone in the Stepstones.
There is no mention of any dream Viserys had.

"King of the Narrow Sea"[]

In Fire & Blood and the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, there are no characters named Jerrel Bracken and Willem Blackwood; the only character named Beric Dondarrion is the leader of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
The phrases "The Song of Ice and Fire" and "the Prince That Was Promised" are mentioned only in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, not in Fire & Blood. There is also no mention that Aegon the Conqueror ever used these phrases or had them carved on any object.
Otto Hightower was dismissed from his office as the King's Hand not for spying after Rhaenyra (which he never did), but because he pestered the king too much about the inheritance issue.
Baelon Targaryen served as the King's Hand for one year till his death, not five days.
Corlys indeed betrothed his daughter Laena to a son of a Sealord of Braavos, but that was many years before the time point of the episode, one year before Viserys married Alicent. No one was worried about that.
There is no mention that Rhaenyra ever used Moon tea.
Mysaria has not become yet a spy at this point.
Rhaenyra and Criston Cole never had sex. According to rumors, Rhaenyra tried to seduce Criston, but he spurned her; another source claims that Criston slipped into Rhaenyra's bedroom, confessed his love to her and begged her to elope with him, but she refused.
Viserys threatened (and realized the threat) to pull out the tongues (not eyes) of whoever mocked his grandsons that they were offspring of Harwin Strong - not in respect of any gossip about Rhaenyra.
There is no mention that Rhaenyra ever used or was informed about any secret passage in the Red Keep.
Viserys did not learn about Rhaenyra's deeds from spies. According to the source that claims she slept with Daemon, Ser Arryk Cargyll found them in bed and brought them before the king; according to the source that claims she unsuccessfully attempted to seduce Ser Criston, rumors spread and reached Viserys, and he did not believe that until Daemon confirmed the tale.

"We Light the Way"[]

Orwyle was not a household maester at the Red Keep at the same time as Mellos's term as Grand Maester. Instead, he was an archmaester who was elected as Grand Maester by the Conclave after Mellos's death and then sent to the Red Keep.
Rhea fell from her horse while hawking, not hunting deer.
Rhea did not immediately die, but after nine days.
Daemon had nothing to do with Rhea's death (he was away fighting in the Stepstones at the time). There is no mention that anyone claimed it was a murder rather than an accident, and blamed Daemon.
In Fire & Blood, Joffrey Lonmouth died of injuries he sustained fighting Criston Cole during a melee at the tournament to celebrate Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding, not during a brawl at the wedding hall. Criston did that because he was angry that Rhaenyra bestowed her garter on Ser Harwin instead of him, and took it out on the other competitors, mainly Joffrey.
In Fire & Blood, there is no indication that Criston Cole felt remorse for killing Joffrey Lonmouth; there is also no mention he ever attempted to commit suicide for any reason.
In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra spurned Criston's offer they elope to Essos and get married there because she outright didn't trust him to honor marriage vows if he was so willing to break his vows as a Kingsguard. Moreover, that conversation took place before Rhaenyra traveled to Driftmark to meet her future husband, not afterwards.
Laenor's sexual preference was not a secret, but common knowledge.
Criston Cole never called Laenor "a good and decent man". Instead, he frequently made derogatory and homophobic remarks about Laenor.
Corlys did not have any reservation about the marriage of his son and Rhaenyra, either regarding the family name of their descendants or otherwise. The small council had one reservation: Laenor's homosexuality, but Mellos dismissed this concern out of hand, stating "I am not fond of fish, but when fish is served, I eat it." Thus was the match decided.
In Fire & Blood, there is no character called Ser Gerold Royce.
In Fire & Blood, after Rhea Royce's death, Runestone and its lands and incomes automatically passed to her nephew. When Daemon traveled to the Eyrie to protest, Lady Jeyne Arryn not only upheld the succession but also banished Daemon from the Vale of Arryn.

"The Princess and the Queen"[]

The Triarchy resumed the fighting at the Stepstones two years after Daemon defeated Craghas, not ten years, while Daemon was still there.
In Fire & Blood, it is unknown who was responsible for the fire that killed Lyonel and Harwin Strong. Larys Strong is one of the suspects (alongside Corlys, Daemon, Larys, and even Viserys). The book gives his possible motive as becoming Lord of Harrenhal, not to have Otto Hightower reinstated as the Hand of the King.
The name of the Prince of Pentos who hosted Daemon and Laena is not mentioned in the book.
Baela and Rhaena are twins in the book, while in the show, Baela is slightly older.
There is no mention in the book that Criston taunted Harwin that he was the true father of Rhaenyra's children, and that Harwin beat him up for that insult.
There is no mention in the book that Qarl Correy fought at the Stepstones.
Laena was in Driftmark, not Pentos, during the third labor.
Laena gave birth, but the baby was twisted and malformed, and died with the hour. Laena died three days later.
Laena was not burned by Vhagar. When she was near death, she attempted to reach Vhagar that she might fly one last time, but collapsed and died before she could reach her.
There is no mention in the book that Laenor was ever involved in the War for the Stepstones, at any of its stages.
There is no mention in the book that Rhaenyra and Alicent ever argued about the War for the Stepstones.
There is no mention in the book that Larys had mute servants, or that he had servants whose tongues were ripped at his command.

"Driftmark"[]

The entire funeral scene does not occur in Fire & Blood. Moreover, the funeral customs of House Velaryon are not mentioned in any A Song of Ice and Fire material.
There is no mention of Baela and Rhaena being involved in the fight with Aemond after he claims Vhagar.
Additionally, Joffrey Velaryon, who is three at this point in the book but still an infant in the show, was the first person to notice that Aemond was trying to claim Vhagar in the book, not Baela.
It is unknown when Aegon and Helaena were betrothed in the book.
Alicent demanded that Lucerys's eye would be put out as a punishment for Aemond's maiming, but did not command Ser Criston to do that, nor did she attack Lucerys.
Aemond lost his right eye in the brawl, not the left.
There is no mention in the book of Rhaenys wanting Driftmark to pass to Baela instead of Lucerys.
In the book, Laenor and Qarl fought in Spicetown, not the Hall of Nine, and Laenor actually died.
Daemon is suspected only by Mushroom to have paid off Qarl to kill Laenor in the book.
In the book, Baela and Rhaena were betrothed to Jacaerys and Lucerys respectively when Daemon brought them to court for the first time. As of the show, this has not happened yet.
In the episode, Rhaenys complains that the maesters of Driftmark could have saved Laena, had she been at home rather than in Pentos; in the book, Laena was at home during her labor, and the maester of Driftmark could not save her.

"The Lord of the Tides"[]

In Fire & Blood, Vaemond Velaryon was killed at Driftmark, not King's Landing for disparaging Rhaenyra and her sons. In addition, after Daemon beheaded Vaemond at Rhaenyra's command, she had his corpse fed to Syrax.
In Fire & Blood, it was not Vaemond but his extended family who traveled to King's Landing to petition King Viserys, and not solely to contest the inheritance of Driftmark but to also protest Rhaenyra's impromptu execution of Vaemond. Unfortunately, any weight their words might have carried was lost when they made the mistake of calling Lucerys a bastard in Viserys's presence, who angrily ordered their tongues cut out for the insult.
In Fire & Blood, after Viserys ordered to remove the tongues of Vaemond's relatives, he injured himself on the Iron Throne, so severely that Maester Gerardys had to amputate two of his fingers.
In Fire & Blood, when Jacaerys Velaryon asked Helaena Targaryen to dance with him, Aegon took offense, causing an argument between the two that could have turned violent had the Kingsguard not intervened. Instead, Aemond starts the fight with his "three Strong boys" toast.
Corlys was not injured by anyone. He was stricken by a sudden fever.
In Fire & Blood, Viserys has grown very fat at his last years.
During the feast, Rhaenyra wears black and red, and Alicent wears green; according to Fire & Blood, each of them wore the other's color in a show of amity.
Alicent was not with Viserys when he died. A servant discovered his body and informed Alicent.
According to Mushroom, Alicent poisoned Viserys (it is a questionable statement since Mushroom was not in King's Landing but in Dragonstone when Viserys died).

"The Green Council"[]

No member of the council suggested to kill Rhaenyra, although Alicent, her father, and Ser Criston spoke ill of her, Daemon and their children. Alicent hoped that Rhaenyra (who was pregnant then) would die during the birth.
Lyman Beesbury's fate is disputed in Fire & Blood: Grand Maester Orwyle claims that he was arrested and taken to the black cells where he died of a chill; Septon Eustace claims that Ser Criston Cole slit his throat; Mushroom suggests that Criston threw him out of a window onto the spikes of Maegor's Holdfast. However, despite these claims, neither Mushroom nor Eustace were present in the council.
Larys suggested that all the council members would swear a blood oath, by cutting their palms and swearing brotherhood, which they did (except Alicent).
Lord Beesbury was 80 years old at his demise, not 76.
In the book, Allun Caswell, Lord Merryweather, and Lady Fell were initially imprisoned, and later beheaded. In the show, Lord Caswell was hanged; it is unknown what has become of Lord Merryweather and Lady Fell.
The conversation between Alicent and Rhaenys does not occur in the book. Rhaenys was not even in King's Landing when Viserys died.
In the show, Aegon is convinced to become King because Alicent says his father wanted him to despite Aegon's disbelief. In the books, Aegon was motivated because Alicent told him that Rhaenyra would kill him, his siblings, and his children to secure her claim.
In the show, the Green Council took a week to make the preparations to crown Aegon, and were not made in advance without Alicent's knowledge. It was likely shortened for pacing purposes.
In the show, Aegon the Conqueror's crown is black iron with one ruby, though it appears to have slots for rubies. In the books, it is Valyrian steel with seven large rubies which were never lost.
Rhaenys and her dragon did not interrupt the coronation.
Harrold Westerling did not resign from his office as the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He died in 112 AC, then Criston Cole succeeded him, many years before Viserys's death.
Aemond did not participate in the search for Aegon.
Aegon was not kidnapped. According to Munkun, he was "at his revels"; Mushroom claims that Criston found him in a Flea Bottom rat pit, where two guttersnipes fought, whilst a young girl pleasured him; septon Eustace claims he was with his lover, a daughter of a wealthy trader.
Mysaria's role became active only after the Dance of the Dragons broke out.
There is no mention that Mysaria ever conversed with Otto Hightower, nor that she ever expressed concern about the poor residents of Flea Bottom.
There is no mention that Larys Strong had a fetish for feet, nor that Alicent tried to seduce him in any manner.
There is no mention that Aegon ever took Aemond to the Street of Silk.

"The Black Queen"[]

It was Steffon Darklyn who stole Jaehaerys's golden crown and delivered it to Rhaenyra, not Erryk Cargyll.
Orwyle, not Otto, delivered the peace terms to Rhaenyra. Additionally, the terms were sent at Aegon's behest, not Alicent's.
Rhaenyra did not delay her answer for a day, but rejected Aegon's terms immediately, saying "Tell my half-brother that I will have my throne, or I will have his head."
Orwyle, not Otto Hightower, was stripped by Rhaenyra of his emblem of office.
In Fire & Blood, at the Black Council, Daemon dismissed House Tyrell as a potential ally, predicting they would side with the Greens, and advised the Blacks recruit House Greyjoy to their cause. In the show, neither the Tyrells nor Greyjoys are mentioned.
Joffrey Velaryon wanted to deliver a message like his brothers, but Rhaenyra forbade him to because he was too young.
Aemond insulted Luke from the moment he entered Storm's End, calling him "Luke Strong, the bastard" and his mother "the whore of Dragonstone."
Aemond chased and murdered Lucerys after one of Lord Borros's daughters, Maris Baratheon, provoked him by claiming that Luke had also taken his manhood. According to Mushroom, he cut out Lucerys's eyes after killing him and presented them to Maris. However, in the show Vhagar kills Arrax and Luke on her own accord.
Neither Daemon nor anyone else claimed that Alicent murdered Viserys.
Erryk Cargyll, not Steffon Darklyn, was one of the two Kingsguard (alongside Lorent Marbrand) whom Daemon demanded to renew their oath to Rhaenyra.
Lord Grover Tully was not fickle but stubborn. He always favored the rights of male claimants, and did not change his mind.
At the Black Council, Corlys did not mention the Triarchy or the Stepstones.
No dragons appeared during the confrontation at Dragonstone.
Daemon was not eager to go to war, on the contrary: he agreed with Rhaenyra that they should first rally supporters.
Lord Celtigar, not Rhaenyra, uses the phrase "ash and bone".
Rhaenys, not Daemon, counted the dragons they and the greens had at disposal, the unclaimed three, and the wild three. She also mentioned Stormcloud.
Rhaenyra gave birth to a stillborn girl, twisted and malformed, with a hole in her chest, and a tail. In the show, the girl is malformed with dragonlike scales and a head shape vaguely reminiscent of a dragon, but she does not have a hole in her chest nor does she have a tail. She also blamed her daughter's death on Aegon, Alicent and their supporters and angrily swore vengeance on them for it.
When Jace volunteers himself and Luke as envoys in the book, he famously states "Only Targaryens ride dragons." Corlys corrects him: "You're Velaryons." In the show, Jace simply states that dragons are more convincing than ravens and leaves it at that.
Daemon was not present when word of Lucerys's death reached Dragonstone. He was instead at Harrenhal, having taken Caraxes to capture the castle so the Black loyalists in the Riverlands could use it as a staging ground. Instead, he sent a raven to Rhaenyra, promising to exact revenge for Lucerys.

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