House of the Dragon’s first season successfully transformed two-dimensional historical figures from Fire & Blood into engaging characters, despite the challenges of adapting from a book with contradicting narrators. However, the series made unnecessary changes, such as shifting the conflict from ambition to a prophecy, which detracted from the early episodes and characterization. The insertion of the prophecy undermined Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship, weakening the overall story of ambition and turning it into a story about a misunderstood prophecy and a dead king’s will.
The series’ biggest change was making Alicent and Rhaenyra childhood friends, which led to a show-worst change. After Viserys’ death, Alicent misunderstood him, believing in his final moments, Viserys expressed a desire for their son Aegon to take the throne instead of Rhaenyra. This death-bed change of heart is why Alicent moved forward with the war, not the many grievances she had with Rhaenyra. This shifts the focus to the prophecy, as Rhaenyra is the only one who knows it in its entirety and therefore feels she needs to rule for the world’s safety. Fire & Blood portrays two ambitious women reaching for power, while House of the Dragon has both Rhaenyra and Alicent’s motivation rooted in something neither of them can control.
A Still From House of the Dragon (Photo: House of the Dragon)
The two women don’t need another excuse to desire the Iron Throne. Before their near reunion, Rhaenyra resented Alicent for trying to displace her and spreading rumors about her three oldest sons’ parentage. Rhaenyra also feels entitled to the throne because Viserys declared her the heir when he had no other children. Rhaenyra doesn’t need the prophecy to motivate her fight for the throne, nor does Alicent need one to fight for her son.
The hatred between Alicent and Rhaenyra is passed on to their children, resulting in an ugly confrontation after a fight with Rhaenyra’s sons costs Aemond an eye. Viserys disregards the pain of Alicent’s son to defend Rhaenyra, sowing even more resentment. To that point, Otto and several members of the King’s council planned to install Aegon as King before Viserys’ death, so why would Alicent need his final words as extra motivation?
This change hurt the show’s story, making Alicent beholden to her husband’s final words rather than her own desires. The prophecy also causes conflict between Rhaenyra and Daemon after he learns that Viserys never shared the prophecy with him. It is yet another unnecessary conflict to add to the story that weakens it. The show is determined to make the prophecy a larger part of the story, so time will tell if we get more mention of it in Season 2. However, one thing remains clear, the Dance of the Dragons should be about ambition, not about miscommunication or the will of a dead king.
House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres on June 16, and Season 1 is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
