House Of The Dragon Broke One Of George R.R. Martin's Game Of Thrones Universe Rules

Author George R. R. Martin has never been shy about sharing his feelings on the television adaptations of his "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels, "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon." In fact, in July 2024, it seemed like he tried to shame "House of the Dragon" a bit ahead of time. Not long before the season 2 finale of the HBO series debuted, Martin posted a little primer on the dragons of his world on his personal blog, only for the finale to completely contradict one of Martin's newly-posted rules about the fire-breathing flying lizards. Showrunner Ryan Condal isn't afraid to take the series in a slightly different direction from its source material (nor is he afraid of butting heads with Martin), so it's not too surprising that this particular dragon detail doesn't quite match up.

In his blog post, Martin elaborated on some of the dragon lore from his novels and included a complaint about the Targaryen family sigils on "House of the Dragon," seeing as they depict four-legged dragons and not Martin's two-legged beasts. (They're wyverns, George, I don't care what you say!) He also noted the eating and travel habits of his dragons, which didn't seem to matter much until the finale, when a dragon basically did the opposite of what he said. Did he know ahead of time and was trying to get ahead of it to appease hardcore fans of the novels? Maybe! It could have been pure coincidence, but either way, "House of the Dragon" broke a major George R. R. Martin universe rule.

In the blog post, Martin explained that Westerosi dragons tend to hang around Dragonstone, the Targaryen island keep meant to house the heir to the throne:

"The dragons of Westeros seldom wander far from Dragonstone [...] The three wild dragons mentioned in 'Fire & Blood' have lairs on Dragonstone. The rest can be found in the Dragonpit of King's Landing, or in deep caverns under the Dragonmont. Luke flies Arrax to Storm's End and Jace to Winterfell, yes, but the dragons would not have flown there on their own, save under very special circumstances. You won't find dragons hunting the riverlands or the Reach or the Vale, or roaming the northlands or the mountains of Dorne."

The note about dragons not hunting in the Vale seems pointed. After all, in the season 2 finale of "House of the Dragon," Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) escapes her escort near the Vale and discovers the wild dragon Sheepstealer having himself a nice little snack. Sheepstealer isn't the biggest or most powerful dragon in Westeros, but he is an important one, and his appearance at the Vale has major implications for the series beyond Martin's nitpicks about how far north a dragon will fly for food.

While it might not seem like a big deal that Sheepstealer appeared in the Vale to fans who haven't read the book "Fire and Blood," which "House of the Dragon" was based on, it's unfortunately a hint that we won't get to see one of the book's best characters: Nettles. Nettles is a low-born dragon rider who has no discernible connection to the blood of Old Valyria through the Targaryen line, yet she is able to bond with the wild dragon Sheepstealer and ride him. She eventually takes him into the Vale, where they disappear and are never heard from again, but his appearance in the Vale and discovery by Rhaena seems to imply that she will become his rider. While Rhaena is a pretty great character in her own right, it's frustrating that the show is getting rid of Nettles and all that she represents. She's proof that being a dragon rider has nothing to do with birthright but with the person themself, which is an important sentiment in a world that regularly prizes heritage over humanity.

"House of the Dragon" is great because it gives us a whole lot more dragon-y goodness than the three that hatched in "Game of Thrones," and while it's taken some liberties with Martin's work, it's hard to be too upset because these dragons are so freaking cool. How can you be mad at a show that has Vhagar?