House of the Dragon Creator Explains Why Changing One…

Summary

Blood and Cheese scene in House of the Dragon is gruesome, but not as traumatic as the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones.
Showrunner Ryan Condal explains changes made to the storyline, including why Maelor was not included due to time constraints.
Focus on Halaena's innocence in the visceral experience of Blood and Cheese's arrival to kill her child.

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has finally broken his silence on changing one of the most important moments in the first episode of Season 2.

In the final few minutes of the Season 2 premiere, viewers get a chance to see the Blood and Cheese storyline portrayed on the screen. Even though the makers stayed true to the source material, there has been a lot of criticism about how they didn't make the Blood and Cheese storyline as gruesome as in the books. Several fans took to different social media platforms and complained about that particular scene. Now, Condal has finally answered the critics and revealed why it was important to change the Blood and Cheese storyline in House of the Dragon.

Helaena Targaryen and the Blood and Cheese Plot in House of the Dragon Season 2 teaser trailer.

Was Blood And Cheese In House Of The Dragon More Traumatic Than The Red Wedding?

Blood and Cheese was certainly a gruesome event that took place in HOTD Season 2, but all comparisons drawn to the Red Wedding seem to be overblown. While brilliantly horrifying, it doesn't even come close to the horrifying catastrophe that was Red Wedding in Game of Thrones Season 3.

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Speaking in an interview with TV Line, Condal described how some changes were made to the Blood and Cheese storyline and their dreadful interactions with Team Green. Meanwhile, the showrunner also noted why they decided to not introduce Aegon and Halaena Targaryen's youngest son, Maelor. During the conversation, Condal noted that they didn't include Maelor because of time constraints. He said, "I mean, just very simply, Maelor (was) not even born in the storyline. We did have to compress time in Season One to make it so that we didn’t have to recast every character on screen. We were just recasting the kids, so to speak, as we went along, and part of that meant that Aegon and Helaena’s children were younger, as are Daemon and Rhaenyra’s children younger at the very end of this because not as much time passed after their marriages to give time for all these kids to grow up." On the other hand, the showrunner made it clear that they wanted to focus on Halaena when Blood and Cheese arrived to kill her child.

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He added, "The other (element) was just wanting it to be this very visceral experience that happens to Helaena, who I think a lot of people would argue is the most innocent person on either side of this conflict and just sort of finds herself in the crossfire of this tit-for-tat kind of punch-and-counterpunch that’s going on between the sides. It felt like that was the core dramatic point that was important to be made."

In the scene, Prince Daemon reaches King's Landing and talks to one of the knights. The knight takes Daemon to a man who catches rats from the chambers of the castle. Subsequently, Daemon gives him the money and says that he, and the Knight, have to find and kill Prince Aemond. As they wander the castle, they come across King Aegon, who is drinking with his guards. Blood and Cheese manage to pass through them and try to find Aemond. However, after searching almost every corner of the castle, they couldn't find him. Lastly, they enter Halaena's chambers and threaten her with a knife. Blood and Cheese asks that she pick one of her children's deaths. As a result, she points her finger at Jaehaerys. Blood and Cheese kill the little boy as Halaena takes Jaehaera with her.

No point in guessing that this particular scene was way more brutal in the book Fire & Blood. Cheese gags and ties up Dowager Queen Alicent, while Blood strangles her bedmaid. They wait for Halaena to bring her children to Alicent, as she does every night. When Halaena arrives with Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor, Blood blocks the door and kills her guardsman, while Cheese grabs Maelor. Halaena pleads that they murder her instead, to which Blood replies that it has to be a boy. Blood and Cheese told her that she should choose who should die and threatened her that they would rape her daughter if she takes more time in telling them the victim's name. Shockingly, Halaena chooses her youngest son Maelor. However, Blood had some different plans and killed Jaehaerys instead. Also, in the books, Daemon and Rhaenyra never wanted Aemond to be the target. It always seemed like Blood and Cheese were meant to kill one of Aegon and Halaena's sons. Although the scene in the premiere of House of the Dragon Season 2 turned out to be very unsettling, the accurate depiction of the source would have made things even darker.