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| Without the source material’s Sophie’s Choice torment, it’s just another scene of violence in a show full of scenes of violence. Photo |
Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season two premiere, "A Son for a Son," and references to George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood and The World of Ice & Fire.
Today, I must admit something unexpected: the child-murder scene in House of the Dragon's season two premiere, "A Son for a Son," should have been more raw and savage. Simply showing the aftermath of a child's death offscreen isn't sufficient. Let me elaborate.
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Despite House of the Dragon's willingness to depict explicit content—such as crabs and crows feeding on corpses, fully nude scenes, and unsettling themes like incest and decayed bodies—the show has restrained itself when it comes to violence against children. We didn't witness the graphic aftermath of Prince Lucerys torn apart by Aemond and Vhagar, nor did we delve deeply into the lives of the young fighters in Flea Bottom, unlike in George R.R. Martin's descriptions. There's a cautious approach in leaving Martin's most disturbing details, like those involving child prostitutes, on the page rather than on screen. However, the alterations House of the Dragon made to Blood and Cheese's attack on the royal family from the source material feel anticlimactic—not because they omitted showing the brutality inflicted on Jaehaerys's body or the rape threats made towards his twin sister, but because the scene lacks the emotional anguish and sheer cruelty depicted in Martin's Fire & Blood and The World of Ice & Fire.
As the conflict between the Black and Green factions intensifies, House of the Dragon deviates from Martin's narrative by suggesting that significant events in the conflict were accidental. Alicent misinterprets Viserys's last wishes, assuming he favored their eldest son's claim over Rhaenyra's. Aemond dismisses Vhagar's killing of Lucerys as unintentional. Now, Daemon instructs Blood and Cheese to assassinate Aemond in retaliation, yet the show cuts away before revealing Daemon's decision regarding the possible killing of other members of the royal family if Aemond can't be found. This narrative choice prevents characters from becoming outright villains, creating internal family tension as members of the same faction disagree on their choices. It positions these characters more as morally gray antiheroes, aligning with House of the Dragon's marketing theme of "all must choose." However, it also portrays these characters as somewhat incompetent, particularly undermining Daemon's character by downplaying the gravity of his commissioning of Blood and Cheese. This is the man who callously murdered his first wife, yet now his decision to employ Blood and Cheese is framed as a mere mistake?
In Martin's Fire & Blood, Daemon initially shows no interest in pursuing Aemond at this point, nor does he venture to King's Landing himself. Daemon believes the more devastating blow is to eliminate one of Aegon's heirs in retaliation for Aemond's killing of Rhaenyra's son. From Harrenhal, Daemon sends a message to the Black Council on Dragonstone ("An eye for an eye, a son for a son. Lucerys shall be avenged.") and enlists Mysaria, who remains in the capital, to recruit two suitable mercenaries. Martin describes these men: "One had been a sergeant in the City Watch, large and brutal, dismissed for fatally beating a prostitute in a drunken rage. The other was a ratcatcher in the Red Keep. Their true names are lost to history. They are remembered (if they could be forgotten!) as Blood and Cheese." In "A Son for a Son," the narrative shifts into horror film territory as Daemon covertly enters the city to enlist them. Director Alan Taylor's camera follows alongside them and their dog companion through the Red Keep's cramped sewers and dimly lit staircases. However, once Blood and Cheese reach Helaena's chambers, the scene abruptly loses momentum.
In Martin's writing, Helaena and Aegon have three children: 6-year-old twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, and 2-year-old Maelor. The core of the Blood and Cheese scene—the element that makes it so gut-wrenching and resonant beyond the mere death of a child (already too common in this narrative)—is Helaena's harrowing choice of which son to save and which to sacrifice. This brief exchange is loaded with horrifying details that leave a lasting impression: "On her knees, weeping, Helaena names her youngest, Maelor. Perhaps she thought the boy too young to comprehend, or perhaps it was because the older boy, Jaehaerys, was King Aegon's firstborn and heir, next in line to the Iron Throne. 'Did you hear that, little boy?' Cheese whispers to Maelor. 'Your mommy wants you dead.' Then he grins at Blood, and the hulking swordsman slays Prince Jaehaerys, beheading the boy with a single stroke. The queen begins to scream."
Helaena's anguish and disbelief at the death of her eldest son, Maelor's awareness that his mother chose him to die, Jaehaera's comprehension of the entire ordeal, and the lasting torment for Helaena—these elements create a macabre tableau that emphasizes the devastating toll of this war. Intentional decisions within the Black and Green factions will rip families apart and haunt them for generations. House of the Dragon's adaptation, while effective in its use of limited perspective (we only hear the gruesome sounds as Blood and Cheese kill Jaehaerys, a nightmarish squelching), fails to deliver the same emotional impact as Martin's narrative. "I personally would have preferred a bit more graphic violence," remarked Tom Glynn-Carney, who portrays Aegon II, to Vulture. "I wanted it to be like, 'Oh, I can't look at that!' The sadist in me needed that."
In the series, Aegon and Helaena have only the aged-down twins, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera. Phia Saban's portrayal of Helaena as somewhat clairvoyant (as seen in her delivery of lines like "I'm afraid... not the dragons, the rats") has been eerie and effective. Yet, when faced with Blood and Cheese, her dialogue is minimal and stiff. She offers her necklace as a bribe before quickly identifying Jaehaerys. Neither her reaction nor attempt to save her son feels as intense as this scene demands, and there's no visible effort on her part to protect Jaehaerys, despite him being the kingdom's sole male heir.
This isn't to argue that traumatic situations must always provoke exaggerated emotions. However, since her marriage to Aegon, House of the Dragon has primarily portrayed Helaena through the lens of motherhood. Including the impossible choice from Martin's text would have intensified her conflicted feelings—duty, pressure, and perhaps even resentment toward motherhood and her children. Without this pivotal moment to define her character further and without Helaena's proactive involvement in the episode, the scene passes without the acute impact it should have. There should have been weight and urgency, mirroring the aftermath in the novels where Helaena essentially loses her sanity from guilt, and Alicent assumes the role of raising Maelor. This scene isn't just about what Jaehaerys's death means for Aegon (who earlier in the episode had a necessary "I love my son" moment), but also for Helaena, whose role so far in this war—and in the series—has felt somewhat peripheral.
It's peculiar, then, that "A Son for a Son" opts to conclude not with Helaena's grief or a more personal sense of loss ("They killed the boy" feels oddly detached, almost accepting, doesn't it?), but with Alicent's bewildered expression, caught in a compromising position with Kingsguard Lord Commander Criston Cole—a relationship misstep that may have contributed to his neglect of security duties, allowing Blood and Cheese to infiltrate. Alicent and Cole's breach of oaths serves as another error interwoven into House of the Dragon's tapestry of unintended escalations. However, the show's mistake lies in minimizing the details that underscore Blood and Cheese's brutality and the calculated decisions of their employer. Without these elements, what should have been one of House of the Dragon's most notorious scenes diminishes the guilt and grief of everyone involved.
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