[Spoiler warning for Fire and Blood and House of the Dragon]

When considering the most influential television shows or film series of this century, it’s easy to spot that many were based on books. This could be because book adaptations are safe bets. The television and film industries invest large sums of money in their projects, so they need to achieve even more astronomical numbers to profit. Thus, it’s only natural that they would favour projects with guaranteed audiences.

Harry Potter (2001-2011), The Twilight Saga (2008-2012), The Hunger Games franchise (2012-present), Bridgerton (2020 - present)...These are just some of the most famous book adaptations - and some of the biggest culture phenomena - of the last decades. But the list could go on and on, revealing different ‘types’ of adaptations. Some are fairly true to their books, like Outlander (2014 - present), while others are criticised for straying too much from the source material, such as The Witcher (2019 - present).

Changes are inevitable when adapting a story to another medium. The narrative elements that work on a page may not do so well on a screen. Moreover, a different format offers different possibilities and demands adjustments. It presents new tools that could elevate the storytelling as well as challenges. Little Women (2019) employed a dual timeline and the power of visuals to instil more of an emotional charge to a certain character’s death while Shogun (2024 - present) had the difficult task of showing the events of 1152 pages in 10 episodes.

But some take this necessity as a liberty. For example, look at the 2010's trifecta of teen television: Gossip Girl (2007-2012), The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017), and Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017), along with their multiple spin offs and reboots. These three titles were loosely based on books but ended up becoming universes of their own. The lack of similarities between shows and books could give way to categorising the former as new pieces of fiction and the latter as the mood boards used as inspiration. However, they achieved global fame and left their mark on popular culture. Maybe their independence from the source material was the key to their success. It’s easier to thrive creating something new in a medium you’ve mastered, rather than trying to better a story foreign to you and your preferred medium.

As George R.R. Martin wrote for his blog in a now-deleted post, many believe in taking literary fiction and making it their own. But improving a story you are adapting is no easy feat, and if you don’t know it well enough, most changes result in taking away from its quality rather than adding to it. Yet, this does not mean that a story cannot be altered for the better. Tell Me Lies (2022-present) transforms the cause of the rift between the protagonist and her mother into a more traumatising reason to provide more depth to the character and make her more sympathetic to the audience. Additionally, this change is not incoherent to the story or its characters and therefore doesn’t affect them negatively.

The same cannot be said about the infamous route Game of Thrones’ eighth season took. However, despite Game of Thrones’ final season fiasco, HBO didn’t throw in the towel. The network set its sights on numerous other projects derived from George R.R. Martin’s works to appease the fans’ hunger. House of the Dragon has been the only one to air so far, a series adapting the chapter of Targaryen history known as ‘The Dance of Dragons’, related in Martin’s book, Fire and Blood. But it, too, eventually plummeted in public opinion, receiving a myriad of mixed reviews.

The show was soon met with some criticism regarding the Targaryens’ and Velaryons’ physical portrayals as well as those of their dragons. To understand them, let’s take a look at the source material. In George R.R. Martin’s books, both Houses hail from Old Valyria, where people displayed unique features such as violent eyes and silver-gold hair. However, on the screen, their eye colour is never a distinct trait of theirs, and it’s certainly not purple. As for their locks, they are platinum blonde in every show, even when they shouldn’t be. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Few Valyrian Houses survived the Doom; the more prominent ones in Westeros were the Targaryens and the Velaryons, who practiced incest and often joined their Houses in marriage to preserve their Valyrian blood and traditions, meaning not many others in this fictional universe look like them. The only ones to share a resemblance are the inhabitants of old Valyrian colonies in Essos and two Houses in Westeros, House Hightower due to their singular blonde hair and House Dayne, thanks to their lilac eyes. In fact, Daenery’s violet eyes are compared to Ashara Dayne’s in A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Also, in Fire and Blood, old King Jaehaerys used to mistake the future queen consort Alicent Hightower with one of his daughters, though this might not be because of her House’s similarities with House Targaryen since Alicent’s hair colour is never specified and she appears dark-haired in the novel’s illustrations. For all these reasons and more, it’s been speculated that these two families might come from the Great Empire of the Dawn, a possible place of origin for Valyrians as well.

In the book narrating the history of House Targaryen, there are accounts of marriages and offspring expanding through generations, so we have a clear image of the Targaryen lineage. The dynasty’s first king was the son of Lord Aerion Targaryen and Lady Valaena Velaryon, the famous Aegon the Conqueror, who had a son with his youngest sister, Queen Rhaenys. Their child Aenys married Alyssa Velaryon, with whom he had King Jaehaerys and Queen Alysanne —siblings married to each other—amongst other children. Nevertheless, Queen Alyssa Velaryon remarried Rogar Baratheon after King Aenys’ death. Two children were born to this marriage, Boremund and Jocelyn Baratheon.

Funnily enough, the Dowager Queen’s new husband probably shared blood with her first one, as he was the grandson of Orys Baratheon, the founder of his House and rumoured bastard of Lord Aerion Targaryen. Nevertheless, despite their Valryian ancestry. Orys, Rogar, Boremund, and Jocelyn all had the characteristic dark hair of House Baratheon.

So, when Jocelyn married Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s eldest son and heir, Aemon Targaryen, it was no surprise that their daughter, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, was born with purple eyes and black hair.

But she was not the only peculiar-looking Targaryen. Her own grandmother/aunt, Queen Alysanne, was also an oddity, as she had dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. And Alysanne’s daughter, Princess Alyssa Targaryen, was another. She had her mother’s hair and mismatched eyes, one green, one violet. But these peculiarities are easy to explain, partially at least, because even though Velaryons usually have silvergold hair and purple eyes, some have blue or grey-green eyes instead of violet. It was not the case with Queen Dowager Alyssa Velaryon, but it could have been in her and the Conquerors’ blood.

All of this care for detail in the novel was forgotten in the show, where Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, daughter of Jocelyn Baratheon, has platinum hair instead of black, as does Princess Alyssa Targaryen, who appears to her son Daemon in a dream in season two. Many defended the show, arguing that Daemon must not have remembered her, given that he was too young when she died. However, others were not so sure about that excuse, commenting on how he must have heard about her and her unusual looks for a Targaryen Princess.

Another woman portrayed this way in the series was Queen Aemma Arryn, wife to her cousin King Viserys Targaryen I and mother to our protagonist, Rhaenyra Targaryen. The choice to give Aemma, Rhaenys, and Alyssa silver hair in the show shines some light on the intention behind this pattern.

In Fire and Blood, Aemma is the daughter of Lord Rodrick Arryn and Princess Daella Targaryen, who was one of Jaehaerys and Alysanne’s daughters. Aemma’s mother is said to have had the characteristic Targaryen looks, but nothing is said about Rodrick’s hair and eye colour, nor is it specified about Aemma herself.

This makes it clear that the show’s creators wanted to give every Targaryen or Targaryen descendant the same look. Some fans thought the decision aimed to save the audience from confusion, as Game of Thrones portrayed all Targaryens with platinum hair. But this change poses some problems. The first would be that taking away Rhaenys’ black hair they negate the Game of Thrones argument about how Cersei’s children were bastards because they didn’t have the Baratheon’s black hair. ‘The seed is strong’, Ned claimed after revising the Baratheon family tree. The seed was strong indeed in Fire and Blood, but it seems it wasn’t so much in House of the Dragon.

Now, if we remember the golden rule, a change here and there to cater to the new format is to be expected. But an alteration that affects the story’s coherence breaks it because when you tell a story, you make a pact with the audience that you will present them with a set of ‘truths’ and they will accept them as long as they act as such. For instance, in real life, humans need to breathe air to live. That is a fact and cannot be changed, so, if something is stated in a story as an irrefutable certainty and is later backtracked, it no longer resembles reality, and therefore, the whole fictional world crumbles and the audience stops believing in the storyteller’s truths.

Another issue is that it would mean that the show’s writers underestimated their audience’s intelligence or their audience’s interest in the story. This is problematic because you might end up boring your audience if you think they are too dumb to take on more. Equally, if the show’s writers don’t know that most spectators will look up book information or come across it while the show is airing, they do not know who they are writing for.

The Game of Thrones fandom is one of the biggest in the world. It was a global hit that changed pop culture and media forever. But the fans were disappointed after the last season and Daenerys’ ending, which HBO knew. That’s why so many spin offs were crafted. That’s probably why House of the Dragon was chosen; because it revolves around Daenerys’ House. That’s why the show kicks off with the line ‘172 years before Daenerys Targaryen’. That’s why Daemon sees Dany in his vision of the future in the second season. That’s why they made it look like Syrax, Rhaenyra’s dragon, was the mother of Daenerys’ dragons, even though it is foreshadowed in Fire and Blood that Dreamfyre was.

They knew the fans were starved of Game of Thrones content and mad at their favourite character’s rushed descent into madness, so they offered a redemption cookie. And what did the bakers do? Misjudge the consumer’s hunger.

There are dozens and dozens of articles detailing the differences between show and book and hundreds of online debates about the same topic or about Fire and Blood.

Not to mention that before the show’s fans came the books’ fans, and then the show’s fans who ventured into the books. All in all, fantasy fans. Lovers of a genre known for complex world-building. Fans who pay close attention to what they read or watch and love every bit of rigorous detail crafted into their fiction.

Yet, they gave Rhaenys white-blonde hair, which not only deconstructs the worldbuilding but also the audience’s trust. If that had been the only isolated case of disregard toward book canon, perhaps the audience wouldn’t have retaliated against them as much. But instead, they proved the angry fans right. For example, in episode six of season two, Rhaenyra encourages Ser Steffon Darklyn to claim a dragon saying that one of his ancestors was ‘Princess Aeriana Targaryen’, or how the Internet liked to call her, Ariana Targaryen, in reference to Ariana Grande, because the public found it ridiculous given that there is no such character in Fire and Blood and no such name in Targaryen history. What’s more, at the time the show suggests the character lived, it’s likely that the Targaryens did not sit on the Iron Throne yet as there wasn’t even one.

Another outrage spurred when show-runner Ryan Condal said Aegon II inherited his Valyrian steel armour in season two from Aegon I, who in turn got it from his time in Old Valyria. Fans were convinced the showrunners didn’t know the story at their hands, since by the time Aegon I was born, Valyria was no more, the Doom had already happened generations ago.

On the other hand, some fans criticised making everyone with a drop of Targaryen blood platinum blonde and the Velaryons black due to the implications these things would have on Rhaenyra’s eldest sons’ parentage.

When Rhaenyra married Laenor Velaryon, Rhaenys’ son, she gave birth to three children, all with dark hair and eyes in the book, and dark hair in the show, which her opponents claim is because the kids are the fruit of Rhaenyra’s extramarital relationships with Ser Hawin Strong. Rhaenyra always denied it and the readers cannot know for sure since the novel is narrated as a series of accounts from various people who are often unreliable. All this means that we do not know Rhaenyra’s character well, because we cannot know what kind of decisions she made, and neither can the people at King’s Landing. All there is to know is that the presumed grandmother of the children had black hair despite being a Targaryen and having Valyrian blood from both her father and her mother, and also that their other grandmother was the daughter of a nonValyrian man, so their genes were mixed.

However, when you depict both grandmothers as platinum blondes and throw away Targaryen exceptions, there isn’t much room left to doubt. Even less so when you portray the Velaryons in the show as black and Rhaenyra’s children as white.

This is a decision about Rhaenyra’s character. When they changed Alicent’s character and the conflict between her and Rhaenyra it made sense to exploit the rumour about Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey in the source material. It is a conscious decision to show how much Rhaenyra was spoiled when she was younger and how that alongside her brashness blindsided her into making what would be fatal decisions for her cause.

Fans—in particular Team Black fans—failed to see this as a storytelling ploy, believing instead that the goal was to attack Team Black with the show’s writing and position the viewers with Team Green. But nothing could be further from the truth. The show attempts to garner sympathy for both teams while also making Rhaenyra look like the good choice, which sometimes ends up being bad writing, but we’ll get there in time.

Moreover, it may not be confirmed in Fire and Blood that the three boys are bastards, but it is implied, just like it is implied that Dreamfyre’s lost eggs are Dany’s dragons. Everyone accepted that theory, but fans tend not to be so objective when it comes to choosing sides in fantasy.

In Fire and Blood, it is said that Harwin Strong was at Rhaenyra’s bedside for Lucerys’ birth; an odd place for the captain of the City Watch to be. Additionally, if we read the description of Rhaenyra and Daemon’s two sons in Fire and Blood, we encounter a common portrayal: small babies. However, when Rhaenyra’s three oldest sons are born, they are described as large, big, and strapping. But let’s not overlook their eye colour. Blue and green had been exceptions in Targaryen looks until the point of their birth, but not brown. It could be the Arryn genes, some may refute. However, we cannot assert that since there is no physical description of Rhaenyra’s Arryn ancestors. The only plausible explanation is that they got their brown eyes from Rhaenys’ mother, Lady Jocelyn Baratheon, whose eyes were described as large and dark. Nevertheless, the odds of all her three children with Laenor not looking Valyrian at all were not so high. We see that with Daemon’s and Laena’s daughters. If the person responsible for the physical traits of Rhaenyra’s children with Laenor is his ancestor Jocelyn, why didn’t those genes affect either of Laena’s children? And if it was actually the Arryn family giving the boys brown hair and eyes, why did those genes skip Rhaenyra and Daemon’s sons and grandchildren? In conclusion, we cannot be sure that Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffrey are bastards, but it can be theorised.

So, this hypothesis does not go against the book canon or the story’s congruency, thus its confirmation in the show should not be bashed. An adaptation into television means a reinterpretation of the source material and in a book like Fire and Blood, where narrations are not to be trusted, taking these kinds of stances is a must. One that the writers of the show had reasons for. As stated before, this decision would add to Rhaenyra’s personality as it would mean she was more careless than she should have been due to her privileged upbringing. A fact that is true in Fire and Blood, where she plans a feast while King’s Landing is starving. But there is other proof of her privileged nature: her taste for luxury and her care for Syrax.

It would have been wise to portray these lifestyles in the show as well, but the only attestation to this we see is Rhaenyra’s habit of wearing rings and touching them when stressed. A good use of the visual aspect of television, unlike Alicent’s dresses and hairstyles surpassing Rhaenyra’s in complexity for most of the first season.

The other problem some people see in casting black actors for the Velaryon characters in the show is that Velaryons usually married Targaryens, as mentioned before. Hence, if all Velaryons are black, Alyssa Velaryon’s descendants should have been portrayed similarly to Daemon’s daughters. Nevertheless, we see Boremund Baratheon, Alyssa Velaryon’s son with Rogar Baratheon, in season one, episodes one and four, portrayed by a white actor. We also see Rhaenys, Alyssa’s granddaughter, played by a non-black person. The same happens with Alyssa Targaryen, Alyssa Velaryon’s other granddaughter, and Viserys and Daemon’s mother. She is not played by a black actress either. Nor are her sons, which is strange because with the prevalence of incest in House Targaryen, Alyssa Velaryon’s greatgrandchildren wouldn’t stand a chance of looking different. And finally, there’s King Jaehaerys, Alyssa Velaryon’s son with King Aenys Targaryen. The show’s first scene was The Great Council, where we see old Jaehaerys also played by a non-black actor. We are introduced to the series through this scene. His face is one of the first we see and it’s almost as white as his hair.

This presents a threat to the story’s consistency, which gives racists the perfect excuse to criticise the casting of black actors. But there is another perspective. It could be that Velaryons were not always black. It would make perfect sense if Corlys’ father had been white, but his mother had been a black woman from the Summer Islands and they had met in one of his travels; a theory that fans had to come up with on their own to defend the actors involved and the story’s coherence. Because if we can theorise about The Daynes, the Hightowers, and the Valyrians coming from the Great Empire of the Dawn, we can theorise about a mixedraced situation. However, it should have been more than a theory, it should have been a fact in the show.

It is no secret that the fantasy genre has traditionally been set in European-like medieval times with white characters. But it is time we add more diversity to it, and greater protect the people we open doors to. Otherwise, we are just luring them into the wolves’ den.

In conclusion, the only change in physical appearance that poses an actual issue is Rhaenys’ blonde hair because it nullifies the argument for Cersei’s children's bastardy. As for Rhaenyra’s children’s own illegitimacy, its confirmation through these changes is a more than valid move. And regarding the Velaryons’ skin colour, Alyssa Velaryon’s descendants should have been made black as well or it should have been mentioned that Corlys’ only black parent was his mother. Though it should have been handled with greater care, as Corlys’ father’s appearance is not discussed in the show, it is not a problem.

Another aspect of the show that was criticised were the dragons’ dimensions. Syrax never seems to grow consistently despite what Alicent stated in the first episode. On the other hand, Stormcloud cannot carry Aegon the Younger, which the dragon will need to do very soon in the show —too soon for it to grow. In Fire and Blood, Stormcloud is barely big enough for such a task, but it is physically possible. In House of the Dragon, not even with difficulty could Stormcloud achieve it.

Finally moving on, let’s revise a previously mentioned modification that added depth to both plot and character: the new portrayal of Alicent Hightower and her relationship with Rhaenyra Targaryen. The show’s decision to make these characters closer emotionally and in age fleshes out Alicent’s character, who in the book is more of an evil stepmother archetype. This choice renders a more interesting story and a more conflicting dynamic between these female characters. Moreover, by making Alicent more than a power-hungry woman, the audience can empathise with both sides and be as torn as the characters. Not to speak about how the mutation in Alicent’s motivations and age subverts sexist stereotypes.

Nonetheless, the writers lost sight of Rhaenyra’s character in season two, where she contradicts herself for the sake of reunions and character beatification. That is where they went wrong with their feminist approach.

They excelled at depicting Alicent’s realisation of how sexism catches up with you even if you do everything by the book. Moreover, it was a great choice to make her and Criston Cole lovers. It makes sense with her character arc and allows her to sympathise with Rhaenyra. Maybe it happened too soon and covered too much screen time. But other than that, Alicent’s character in the show is excellently done. However, Rhaenyra’s isn’t.

Many fans argued that season two was too slow. Others said that it felt like preparation for season three. And others believed it was lacking something, though they couldn’t pinpoint exactly what. All in all, many were disappointed. Season one had faced some controversy over the already-discussed physical portrayals, but beyond that, most viewers seemed satisfied and excited about the next season. However, after the arrival of the second season, that excitement left. And the reason was not that ‘nothing happened’. A lot of things happened. They just didn’t have the impact in the story they should have had. Still, that was not the only cause for the audience’s dissatisfaction.

The protagonist is the character through which the audience will experience the story because it is theirs. Every writer knows that choosing the right protagonist is crucial, and that the quality of their writing is equally important. The missing piece in season two of House of the Dragon is Rhaenyra. She becomes a passive protagonist due to the writers’ effort to make her more likeable. That’s why the audience somehow feels like the pacing was too slow because the vehicle through which they discovered the story was barely moving.

She has one desire, yes—to avoid war. But what does she do in pursuit of that? She refuses to engage in action. The only exceptions are when she meets Alicent in King’s Landing and when she lets the dragonseeds claim dragons for her side. But that’s the thing, even in these exceptions there is a lack of action on her part or in the case of her reunion with Alicent, lack of character.

If the writers wanted to create a sapphic tragic narrative so badly, they didn’t need to destroy their protagonist. They could have just read the book. In Fire and Blood, Rhaenyra and Laena are so close that it is even speculated that they have a polyamorous relationship with Daemon. In fact, Rhaenyra was present during Laena’s last labour to help her and ended up being there for her death. Nevertheless, in House of the Dragon, they barely share scenes, and none indicate that they care for each other on a deep level.

Coming back to the ‘events didn’t have a consequential impact’ point; how can Rhaenyra ask for Aemond’s head in the first episode of the season and spend it in misery only to forget and forgive everything by episode three? Why did she give us that threatening look in the season one finale? Where did all that rage go?

Women can be angry, violent, aggressive, unforgiving... Women can hate. We can act upon it. We can act upon our emotions through action, through more than just crying. If that doesn’t have a place in a show that is trying to be feminist because they think the audience will not sympathise with the character, then the series failed at being feminist and the writers failed to understand their audience yet again.

By the end of season one, social media was flooded with users stating that after Luke’s death, they would support Rhaenyra no matter what. And most of them knew about Blood and Cheese. Some even said they would support any war crime she committed. The audience was ready. Team Black was ferocious.

Besides, if you know anything about literary or television audiences nowadays, you know that they love morally grey characters and antiheroes. Daenerys had so many fans not just because she was concerned about slaves and children, but because she burned those who she held responsible for other people’s suffering. She was morally complex. She was violent at times. And people loved her for it.

They failed to realise this, and when they had the chance to do something feminist and book canon such as showing Jeyne Arryn’s undisputed loyalty to Rhaenyra, they preferred not to. The character who stated ‘In this world of men, we women must band together’ in Fire and Blood was a cold hostess who couldn’t wait for Rhaenyra’s children and Rhaena to leave her home in House of the Dragon.

Indeed, we should not support women’s atrocious acts just because they are women. However, this is a fictional world known for the characters’ absence of moral compasses and the bleakness that brings. A Song of Ice and Fire stories centre around power and its misuse. There is not supposed to be a perfect hero. We are not supposed to root for an ‘Aragorn’. We are presented with flawed characters, and we must observe how their mistakes destroy them, others, and their world’s only hope against the Long Night. That is the essence of the story.

Nevertheless, it is only natural that people would still choose sides, especially when the show’s promotion revolves around it. And it is common sense that people will have different moral standards for fiction and real life.

Concerning Jayne Arryn, it is true that she asked Jacaerys for dragonriders to protect the Eyrie. But she made her allegiance clear when she spoke to him about her support for Rhaenyra despite her hatred towards Daemon: ‘Your Prince Daemon used his first wife most cruelly, it is true... but notwithstanding your mother’s poor taste in consorts, she remains our rightful queen, and mine own blood besides, an Arryn on her mother’s side.’

It just did not make sense to pit women against each other in a show that denounces exactly that. In the same way, Rhaenyra’s insistence on peace was not logical. She knew Aemond was not merciful because she was aware that he killed her son. Who in their right mind would think that one can suggest peace to someone like that? He has the largest dragon. He would not just park Vhagar in the Dragonpit alongside Syrax. And even if he agreed to sign peace, his terms would be too brutal to accept.

Not only was Rhaenyra acting out of character during her first reunion with Alicent; she was also being stupid. And I don’t know which is worse when you are trying to make a character more appealing to the audience, to make them frustratingly inconsistent to the point of disappointment, or to make them fools.

Nonetheless, Rhaenyra is not the only character the show’s writers wanted to make more lovable. They also aim to make Team Green characters morally complex by showing the viewers how the abused becomes the abuser. But when they already have that kind of character, as they do in Daemon Targaryen, they are determined to destroy him.

Daemon was the perfect example of moral greyness, which viewers adored. He is George R. R. Martin’s favourite Targaryen whom the author describes as ‘equal parts light and dark’. Yet, for some reason, the writers forgot his values and gave us only the dark parts.

Daemon’s motivations are fuelled by his selflove. But in a context such as his, it’s much more complicated than that. Daemon loves the fact that his blood is Valyrian because it sets him apart and grants him power. Therefore, he will strive to protect what is left of old Valyria, which is his family and the Valyrian traditions they carried to Westeros.

He wields Dark Sister, Visenya’s Valyrian steel sword. The material of the weapon is Valyrian and superior to any other, which again nurtures his narcissism. But it is also a family heirloom and not just any other one. Visenya was a warrior, married incestuously to a man and a woman in the fashion of old Valyria, where polyamorous relationships were not frowned upon. And she dwelled in blood magic, just like their ancestors. Moreover, she urged Aenys I to burn the Starry Sept in Oldtown to protect the Targaryen family from the Faith of the Seven extremists. She represented everything Daemon admired.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that he sees Rhaenyra as his perfect match. If we pay attention, it’s easy to see that he has a type. All the women we know that he has been romantically involved with have Valyrian traits. First, we have Mysaria who is Lysene in the book and therefore theorised to look Valyrian. It is said in The World of Ice and Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones that the Lysene are known to be of Valyrian descent and usually have the physical appearance of their ancestors. It’s a shame that the writers didn’t keep her Valyrian ancestry in the show by throwing a wig over Sonoya Mizuno’s head.

Then there’s Lady Laena Velaryon, whose mother is a Targaryen. She is Valyrian through both her parents and looked it.

And finally, there is Rhaenyra. She is a Valyrian-looking Targaryen, part of his family, and his personality twin, at least in the book. Moreover, we know that she also idealises Visenya since she styles her hair like her and even names her stillborn daughter after her.

But what makes Rhaenyra even more special in Daemon’s eyes is that she is more Targaryen than her half-siblings. They are only Targaryen through their father’s side, but not Nyra; while it is true that her mother was an Arryn, her grandmother was a Targaryen, a sister of Daemon’s parents. However, who is the mother of her halfsiblings? A Hightower. And who holds the city that constitutes the centre of the Faith of the Seven? Who represents a religion which wants to impose itself over the Valyrian one? Who represents the religion which rose against the Targaryens? Who represents the religion Visenya wanted to burn? Yeah, the Hightowers.

But where is his love for his family when he leaves Rhaenyra alone while she miscarries their daughter? Where is it when it comes to Baela and Rhaena? Because it seems that he doesn’t care about them in the show one bit.

So, by changing Daemon’s care for his children and Rhaenyra, Rhaenyra’s personality, and Mysaria’s hair, they create a plot hole in Daemon’s character. Besides, his only redeeming quality is his love for his family, but the show’s writers erased it, so, he is no longer a morally grey character, he is just an incoherent one. It was an incoherence that cost the second season all his screen time.

If the writers hadn’t messed up his character, they wouldn’t have needed a whole season to align his motivations with the plot point they wanted him at. But then again, all he does in Fire and Blood from the start of the war until the narrative point we are at in the show is gather armies, so maybe the writers just wanted to give him more relevance. It is understandable to give a character an internal conflict if the character doesn’t have an external one. Perhaps, however, they didn’t choose the correct one.

As we have seen in this analysis of the changes carried out in the show with regard to the source material, there have been many right choices deserving of praise. Furthermore, a multitude of the show’s aspects can and should be applauded, starting with the actors’ performances. Nevertheless, after exploring all the critics and weighing down the metamorphosis the story has gone through, it is clear that the show’s biggest issues are consistency and coherence; topics that cannot be overlooked in storytelling.