Fans Like House of the Dragon Better Than Fire & Blood

House of the Dragon has made some alterations in the storyline from Fire & Blood. Surprisingly fans feel the current plot is better.

By Pratyush Singh
November 19,2022
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In a surprisingly unusual turn of events, we probably see for the first time ever that fans have liked a television adaptation of a book better than the original tale. House of the Dragon has changed many plots from the Fire & Blood book by George R. R. Martin, and fans believe the changes are for the better. Thanks to HOTD writer Ryan Condal for doing a great job in slightly altering the storyline just enough for it to make more sense. Redditors call this an ‘unpopular opinion,’ while the hardcore fans of House of the Dragon who has also read Fire & Blood beg to differ.

Keeping the uncomfortable time jumps aside, House of the Dragon’s showrunners have meticulously brainstormed on what aspects to change and what to keep as is. George R. R. Martin himself is closely involved in the production of the series, which is why we see his tale being told in the smoothest way possible, unlike the disappointing final season of Game of Thrones. Hence, it is better to stick to the book, while making intelligent alterations to suit the viewers better.

Such alterations change the storyline entirely and how viewers look at the characters. This is why many fans believe House of the Dragon to be better than the original book. Here are two of the major alterations that change how we look at House of the Dragon characters forever.

 

House of the Dragon Creates More Suspense Than Fire & Blood

House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood Posters
House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood Posters

House of the Dragon writer Ryan Condal took a more subtle approach while developing the story and character arcs. For example, in Martin’s Fire & Blood, Alicent Hightower wants Aegon II Targaryen to be king simply to gain more power and influence in the realm, which is exactly what her father Otto Hightower wants. However, in House of the Dragon, Alicent misunderstands the dying King Viserys’s words and makes believes that Viserys named Aegon II his heir, while he was actually talking about Aegon The Conqueror’s prophetic dream.

Also, in the season 1 finale of House of the Dragon, Aemond ‘One-Eye’ Targaryen chases Lucerys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s second-born bastard son on his dragon Vhagar. In the book, Aemond deliberately chases Luke to entice him to a dragon fight, knowing that he will obviously win because he rides Vhagar, the largest living dragon in Westeros. Aemond and Lucerys have a dragon fight in the air, in which Aemond orders Vhagar to kill Arrax and Lucerys. Unlike what we saw in House of the Dragon, in which Vhagar takes the decision of killing Arrax herself.

Fire & Blood readers dislike Alicent Hightower and Aemond Targaryen, however, House of the Dragon viewers are now on the edges of their seats until 2024 when season 2 comes out, as we fans don’t think of these characters are villains, truly.

 

House of the Dragon Fans React To This

Paddy Considine From House of the Dragon Reacts to Compliment from George R. R. Martin
Paddy Considine From House of the Dragon Reacts to Compliment from George R. R. Martin

Leaving the fans aside, George R. R. Martin himself complimented Paddy Considine and said that his Viserys was better than Martin’s original Viserys I Targaryen.

Fire And Blood, as per TV programme viewers who have also read Fire & blood, “is an unreliable history full of exaggerations and lies.” Others began reading the book after seeing the programme, and it turns out that the book is merely not as helpful for them as the series was. According to one Reddit user:

“I read F&B after watching HOTD and can’t finish it because Rhaenyra is just,.. ick in the books 🙁 I was so sad and disappointed in these characters that I’d taken over and loved from the show,” Redditor yee-veloso admitted.

Fans say Fire And Blood are implausible, especially for a fantasy novel, and that it “ends up reading like a novel where everything is rushed and the characters are really thin.” Others commented that every House of the Dragon character with the exception of the key ones, such as Daemon, Rhaenyra, Alicent and Otto appeared like “idiots,” whereas House of the Dragon was “a massive improvement,” according to fans on the internet.