Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Fire & Blood, and potential spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2.
New character photos from House of the Dragon season 2 indicate a departure from a George R.R. Martin story, resulting from a twist change in season 1. The Game of Thrones prequel series is based on the book Fire & Blood, which recounts the lineage of the Targaryen dynasty and is written as a fictional historical text. With that in mind, HBO’s House of the Dragon offers a commentary on how history is recorded. Events are shown as they might actually have occurred, demonstrating the biases that went into documenting them by Westerosi historians, resulting in several HOTD book changes.
One of season 1’s most significant changes was its handling of Laenor Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s first husband. While the legal father of her three sons, Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey, Laenor is evidently not the real father, and he strikes a deal with Daemon and Rhaenyra to remove himself from the equation. Laenor’s death is faked, allowing him to sail across the Narrow Sea with his lover, freeing himself from the cruel world of Westerosi politics. This is a notable change from Fire & Blood, which leaves his death vague and up to the reader to interpret.
New members of the House of the Dragon cast include Abubakar Salim and Clinton Liberty, who play Alyn of Hull and Addam of Hull. In Fire & Blood, both characters are declared as Laenor Velaryon’s sons, though this is widely disputed, and they’re clearly the bastards of Corlys Velaryon, Laenor’s father. However, image reveals of the characters show them to be of an age where it would be impossible for anyone to claim that they’re Laenor’s sons. This means House of the Dragon will have to drop the storyline of their fake parentage, jumping straight into them being Corlys’ sons.
In the House of the Dragon season 1 ending, Daemon declares that his and Rhaenyra’s side will have potential riders tame the unclaimed dragons left on Dragonstone. Bastards of Velaryon blood, called “dragonseeds,” such as Alyn and Addam, will be among the characters to step forward and tame dragons. This will be a critical story going forward, though the biggest changes will likely be for Corlys. Speaking to EW, actor Steve Toussaint said, “One of the things that Corlys is having to deal with is past indiscretions coming back to haunt him,” referring to the arrival of Corlys’s bastards.
Laenor Velaryon’s departure led to a number of House of the Dragon book change theories, including the possibility of him being Addam of Hull. Addam is the dragonseed who eventually claims Seasmoke, the dragon previously bonded to Laenor. While that theory is dismissed with Clinton Liberty’s casting, there are still opportunities for Laenor to return to the show. Laenor wasn’t interested in Westerosi politics, but he has a lot at stake in the Dance of the Dragons, with his parents and nieces actively engaged in the conflict.
Without Addam and Alyn being passed as Laenor’s sons, he loses much of the lasting impact he has on the narrative in the book. However, season 1 set up a vital characterization for his character in that he does have a feeling of responsibility and cares about Rhaenyra. He’s notably guilty about his inaction in protecting her, and House of the Dragon’s future seasons could offer him a chance at redemption. Proven by the War in the Stepstones, Laenor is a skilled warrior and dragonrider who could be immensely valuable to the Black faction if he were to return.
Alyn of Hull being cast as a fully grown adult complicates his storyline from the book: his marriage to Baela Targaryen. Baela is the daughter of Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon and is a minor character in season 1. Heading into season 2, she’s betrothed to Jacaerys Velaryon, but they’ve yet to wed, and Jacaerys won’t last long enough in the conflict to see it through. In the late stages of the war, Alyn and Baela get married against the wishes of the ruling faction in King’s Landing.
In Fire & Blood, the marriage between Alyn and Baela is by choice and one of the few in the story done out of romance. However, given Alyn’s older age in the TV show, it seems less likely that this narrative will remain consistent. While it’s toward the end of the war, it’s only about two years from the current time in House of the Dragon; Baela is still a teenage girl. However, her character might be changed also, involving her in season 2’s action as a dragonrider.
Sources: EW