House of the Dragon season 2 begins by inverting George R.R.
Martins preferred storytelling rig of maximum shock and horror, changing what this show is about.
This article includesspoilers for the House of the Dragonseason 2 premiere.
An important character in theHouse of the Dragonseason 2 premierejust died.
Unto itself this shouldnt feel like a surprise.
The world ofGeorge R.R.
Martins fictional universe is much like our real oneits filled with injustice and bitterly unhappy endings.
And with good reason.
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Yet that is not howHouse of the Dragondepicted the death of young Jaehaerys.
We wanted it to feel more like a heist gone wrong.
There is indeed a sense of hapless confusion to the scene inHouse of the Dragon.
But by design thats a departure from the book.
We only want t square things, Cheese purrs to the queen.
Wont hurt the rest o you fine folks, not one lil hair.
Which one you want tlose, Your Grace?
Perhaps she did this because she hoped he was too young to know whats going on.
Or mayhaps she simply wished to protect the heir to the throne, the elder son Jaehaerys.
Either way, to really twist the knife, Cheese whispers, You hear that, little boy?
Your momma wants you dead.
The scene is relentlessly twisted.
And apparently on Daemons orders, at that.
The Meaning of the Change
Obviously the scene plays out quite a bit differently on the screen.
As Condal told us, its somewhat like a heist.
On the first level this shift seems intentionally designed to be the anti-Red Wedding.
However, the change was not only intended to avoid the comparisons.
It was also a chance to reframe what is emerging as the overarching thesis ofHouse of the Dragon.
UnlikeGame of Thrones,House of the Dragonis not based on an exact canon.
The author Archmaester Gyldayn has no more authority than the reader at parsing out what truly happened.
Rather Aemond thought he was picking on a cousin he hated and things… got out of hand.
And to earn that prize, theyll even settle with murdering a child.
It also is a byproduct of Westerosi societys (ergo Western societys) eternal undervaluing of women.
Queen Helaena points to Jaehaerys on the show because perhaps she wants her daughter to live.
Unlike her mother Alicent, Helaena actually values the life of her daughter.
