Warning! Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1.
Summary
House of the Dragonseason 2 viewers react to episode 1’s Blood and Cheese storyline. Based onFire & Bloodby George R.R. Martin, the hitGame of Thronesspinoff returned for its sophomore outing this past weekend, continuing its exploration of the Targaryen civil war.House of the Dragonseason 2, episode 1, “A Son for a Son,” adapts the infamousBlood & Cheese storylinefrom Martin’s book, which features Daemon (Matt Smith), paying assassins Blood and Cheese to murder a key member of the royal family.
Viewers are now taking to social media to share their thoughts onHouse of the Dragon’s Blood and Cheese sequence. The response to the show’s version of events has, so far, been decidedly mixed. Check out select reactions below:
@visenyasdaughtrcalls the show’s version of Blood & Cheese “so underwhelming.”
@jjmileonotes howHouse of the Dragon’s Blood & Cheese moment was positioned to be even more traumatic thanGame of Thrones' infamous Red Wedding scene, but concludes that “it has been proven once again that nothing in cinematic history can top the [Red Wedding].”
“I will NEVER forgive them for completely changing [Blood & Cheese]!!” writesFanny. She also says of the moment inFire & Bloodthat Martin’s writing “peaked here.”
@bluixiwrites that the show’s version of Blood & Cheese was “insanely anticlimactic.”
“[Blood & Cheese] was a chop,” writestyler. “This is what they were comparing to the Red Wedding?”
@thechurchofmoewrites that the episode was “so fast paced” and that “[Blood and Cheese] did not have the emotional weight…they swore it would.”
“[Blood and Cheese] is much more tragic in the book,” writesKate, highlighting changes made to Helaena’s traumatic decision.
@guoaeicomplains thatHouse of the Dragon"fumbled so bad with [Blood and Cheese]," and adds that “it’s kinda ridiculous that they robbed [Alicent] of such a defining moment.”
How Blood & Cheese Is Different In Fire & Blood
House Of The Dragon Makes Some Key Changes
In the premiere episode of season 2, Daemon is looking for revenge after the death of Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) in theHouse of the Dragonseason 1 finale. Blood (Sam C. Wilson) and Cheese (Mark Stobbart), on Daemon’s orders, infiltrate King’s Landing with the task of finding and killing Prince Aemon. The two men ask Daemon what they should do if they can’t find Aemon, but the scene cuts away before revealing Daemon’s answer.
Blood is a former butcher, while Cheese serves as a ratcatcher in tunnels of the Red Keep.
The twoHouse of the Dragoncharactersthen stumble across Helaena (Phia Saban) and her two children. After making Helaena tell them which one is male, they murder the young Jaehaerys. Helaena flees with her surviving child to Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) room, walking in on her having sex with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). This moment plays out quite differently in the book, however, with Martin describing that Blood and Cheese made Helaena choose which of her children she wanted them to murder.
I Can’t Believe How House Of The Dragon Changed THAT Scene After 6 Years Of Hype
House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 has a very significant scene from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, but the show’s version is disappointing.
InFire & Blood, Helaena chooses between her two sons, Jaehaerys and Maelor. She chooses Maelor, seemingly in the hopes that he wouldn’t understand what was going on, but the assassins then choose to murder Jaehaerys instead, taunting the young Maelor that his mother wants him dead.House of the Dragon’s timeline changes meant that it wouldn’t really make sense for Maelor to have been born yet, explaining why certain changes were made. While the Blood and Cheese moment in theHouse of the Dragonpremiere was certainly disturbing, it’s clear that some viewers were hoping for something even more traumatic.
Source: Various (see above)
