House of the Dragon episode 10 was a great season finale for a great show. It followed Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon preparing the Blacks and gathering their allies in preparation for the Dance of the Dragons. This was after Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen informed them about the death of King Viserys. She also told them of the coronation of Aegon II Targaryen. To secure their allies, Princess Rhaenyra sent her sons Jacaerys and Lucerys Velaryon to recruit Houses who had previously sworn themselves to her. Lucerys Velaryon was sent to Storm’s End where he had to deliver a message to Borros Baratheon. Borros was the son of Boremund Baratheon. This is where he ran into Aemond and things escalated quick. However, House of the Dragon did things slightly different from the books. And we are here to tell you why that was a bad decision.
Death of Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon Arrax
When Lucerys travelled to Storm’s End on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, he met Aemond who was also present on behalf of his brother. Aemond clearly looking for trouble, started taunting him by referring to him as a Strong. Aemond eventually attacked Lucerys threatening to gouge out his eye. Borros Baratheon stopped this from happening within his hall and ordered the safe departure of Lucerys. However, that did not stop one-eyed Aemond who had now taken off his eye patch to reveal his Sapphire eye. Riding on Vhagar, Aemond pursued Lucerys who was also riding Arrax. After pursuing and dodging one another for some time, Arrax snapped first and breathed fire on Vhagar. Consequently, Aemond too lost control over Vhagar who then attacked Arrax and Lucerys. Vhagar quite literally snapped them into two as Aemond stared in horror. The scene showed that Aemond did not actually want to kill Lucerys and Arrax.
How is his death slightly different from the book
There were two things that were slightly different from the book, Fire and Blood. Firstly, the death of Lucerys and Arrax was no accident perpetrated solely by Vhagar. In fact, it was a cold and merciless plan to extract revenge. Aemond had set out on Vhagar for the sole purpose of killing Lucerys and Arrax. Another difference was that in Fire and Blood, one of Borros Baratheon’s daughters, Maris, had taunted Daemon and edged him on. This had made him even angrier and he was ready to draw blood. In fact, the account of the Mushroom claimed that Aemond had sought out the dead body of Lucerys in order to gouge out both of his eyes and gift them to Maris. None of this was shown in House of the Dragon which instead decided to portray it as an accident caused due to Vhagar’s aggression.
Why House of the Dragon should not have changed it
House of the Dragon has certainly changed quite a few things from Fire and Blood. One major such change was the fact that the Dance of the Dragons never started due to a misunderstanding. House of the Dragon shows that the Civil War started because Alicent misunderstood the final words of King Viserys. This change, while a little frustrating, was a good decision for Alicent’s character who is arguably one of the most complex and the best character in the show. However, Aemond unintentionally killing Lucerys does much more harm than good.
In the books, Aemond was described as a sadistic and vile human who showed no mercy or remorse to anyone. House of the Dragon has even given Aemond that evil sort of look. The death of Lucerys was the perfect chance for the show to uncover the true colors of Aemond Targaryen. It would have cemented Aemond as a big bad in House of the Dragon. We already have a complex but evil character in Prince Daemon. Portraying Aemond as a brilliant warrior with almost no redeeming qualities is exactly what the show needed. And this moment would have just been the beginning of Aemond’s glorious journey to hell.
