House of the Dragon’s Most Disappointing Book Change Might Not Happen After All
Who will be the one to ride Sheepstealer into battle?
As House of the Dragon’s second season comes to a close, fans have a few reasons to be disappointed. The Dance of Dragons that everyone expected to see in the finale was pushed back in favor of a cliffhanger, which saves the massive battle between Targaryen factions for Season 3. After eight episodes of stops and starts, it’s hard to be patient for the action we were promised. But for fans of Fire & Blood, the prequel book that inspired House of the Dragon, the absence of a key character is the bigger disappointment.
In Season 2, House of the Dragon introduced the concept of dragonseeds: Targaryen bastards born with the power to claim a dragon. Their presence has made the conflict between Team Black and Team Green all the more interesting, but many have been holding out for a particular dragonseed to appear. Nettles was a fan favorite in Fire & Blood; notably the only canon Black heroine in George R. R. Martin’s text. If there was a time to bring her into the story, Season 2 seemed like the most opportune. Unfortunately, Nettles has yet to pop up in House of the Dragon, while the dragon she claims in the book, Sheepstealer, finally made an appearance in the finale.
If Season 3 follows this trajectory, then Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) may be the one to claim Sheepstealer, thus removing Nettles from the adaptation entirely. To call this choice disappointing would be an understatement — but there is a chance that House of the Dragon could go a different way, leaving the door open for Nettles to appear in Season 3.
Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood!
Will Rhaena replace Nettles?
Rhaena succeeded in finding a wild dragon in the Season 2 finale — but she still has to lay claim to it.
Throughout House of the Dragon, Rhaena is the only Targaryen heir without a dragon of her own. Sheepstealer is positioned as the one dragon that might actually accept her, and given her journey to find the creature, some might say she’s earned the right to claim him. But the House of the Dragon finale notably ends before Rhaena makes her latest attempt to forge a bond with a dragon. For showrunner Ryan Condal, this was a conscious choice — and it may not actually play out the way we think.
“We’ve really done a lot of legwork to set [Rhaena] up from the beginning as somebody in this Targaryen household who does not have a dragon,” the writer recently told Collider. Rhaena’s journey at the end of Season 2 shows us “how desperate [she] is for that sort of self-identification as a dragon rider, and is willing to go to fairly dangerous lengths to try to see that realized.”
But, notably, Condal remains tight-lipped about whether Rhaena will actually succeed and take Nettles’ place in the narrative. Joining her with Sheepstealer feels like a natural conclusion, but there is still one more path Rhaena’s story could take, aligning her with a different character from the books.
Alyn of Hull tried to claim Sheepstealer in Fire & Blood
Nettles isn’t the only dragonseed to attempt a bond with Sheepstealer in Fire & Blood. In the book, Alyn of Hull also tries to bond with the dragon. But Sheepstealer attacks him, and Alyn barely escapes with his life. He doesn’t try to claim a dragon after that encounter, as it leaves him with severe burns. Alyn realizes he is “salt and sea,” not “fire and blood” — a decision mirrored in the House of the Dragon finale. He later becomes heir to Driftmark, recognized as Corlys Velaryon’s son, and even marries a Targaryen.
The Alyn we meet in House of the Dragon (played by Abubakar Salim) is totally disinterested in claiming a dragon. Though his brother Addam (Clinton Liberty) succeeds in bonding with Seasmoke — and Corlys (Steve Toussaint) even suggests that he could do the same — Alyn doesn’t even try. That actually leaves a key part of his arc on the cutting room floor. House of the Dragon obviously doesn’t have to adapt every part of Fire & Blood, but it would be interesting to see the series repurpose this part of Alyn’s story, giving it instead to Rhaena.
It doesn’t feel great to root against Rhaena, especially since she’s tried so hard to claim her own dragon. It’s worth noting that she does eventually claim one in Fire & Blood, a recent hatchling she names Morning — so if she fails with Sheepstealer, it won’t be a total loss. It’d also leave the door open for Nettles to join House of the Dragon, which many fans are still hoping for. Whatever happens, it’s part of a multi-season plan from Condal: “I would just say, you know, buckle up and take the ride with us. And hopefully, you like the destination it’s going to.”
