House of the Dragon showrunner explains why Blood and Cheese is so different from the book

EntertainmentTVFantasy ShowsHouse of the DragonHouse of the Dragon showrunner explains why Blood and Cheese is so different from the bookWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. EntertainmentTVFantasy ShowsHouse of the DragonHouse of the Dragon showrunner explains why Blood and Cheese is so different from the bookWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: HBO) House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1has brought probably the most horrifying thing you’ll see all summer to the screen –Blood and Cheese. But, HBO’s adaptation of the awful event is pretty different to how it plays out in George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, and showrunner Ryan Condal has explained why some of those big changes were made. The following will get intomajor spoilers for the episode, so turn back now if you’re not up to date! But, in the book, Alicent is directly involved in the harrowing scene and is forced to watch as Blood and Cheese torment Helaena. They force Helaena to choose which child she wants murdered. Helaena has a third child named Maelor in the book – and ultimately, Helaena chooses Maelor for death as he’s so young she reasons he probably won’t understand what’s going on. Blood and Cheese, though, kill Jaehaerys instead, after taunting Maelor with the knowledge that his mother wants him dead. “The first season, in the book, like that story would take place over more than 30 years. And it’s just if we tried to do that, we would have to recast every character in the story and it would have been even more difficult to produce and dramatize than what we had,” Condal toldDeciderof the change. “So it just means that, you know, Helaena and Aegon’s kids and Rhaenyra and Daemon’s kids are just younger in this than they would have been in the original story.” He added: “So it just means that Maelor didn’t exist in this time.” House of the Dragon continues weekly on Sky and NOW in the UK and HBO in the US. 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