This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon.
Adaptation is a delicate balance. In the premiere episode of House of the Dragon Season 2, "A Son for a Son," the Game of Thrones prequel once again shows that it's taking a different and far more thoughtful path than the often exploitative series that birthed it. Season 2 begins right where it left off in Season 1, in the wake of shocking events that saw Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) heartbroken and vengeful after the murders of her sweet son, Lucerys, and his dragon at the hand of Alicent's (Olivia Cooke) vicious son, Aemond II (Ewan Mitchell). But while Rhaenyra is trying to win the ensuing war, her uncle/husband, Daemon (Matt Smith), is plotting something far more nefarious. He sends two assassins to the Red Keep, allegedly on a mission to kill King Aegon to make up for the loss of Lucerys, spreading more chaos among the warring clans.
These two sadistic killers are infamous for their brutal, cruel, and deeply deranged tactics during their brief appearance in George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, the (faux) historical document that House of the Dragon is based on. Their highly-anticipated appearance plays a key part of the premiere — and sets up a major conflict for the rest of the season — while once again showcasing how House of the Dragon is actively doing the work to avoid the often misogynistic and violent failings of the original Game of Thrones. And it begins by erasing a completely random and unnecessary killing of a young woman as well as more humiliation for Alicent, the Dowager Queen.
One of the best things about House of the Dragon is the way that it's built out Alicent from a bitter, two-dimensional homewrecking usurper from the book to a complex, empathetic, and deeply engaging character brought to life brilliantly by Olivia Cooke. The emotional and often heartwrenching relationship between her and Rhaenyra is at the heart of what makes the show work so well. That's why it makes sense that the show would refuse to hogtie Alicent and humiliate her, not even putting her in the room where the violence happens. This way she doesn't have to watch her own grandchild's murder as she deals with the fallout of Aemond's childish explosion of anger that has set her on a deadly path against the person to which she was once closest. Instead, it focuses solely on Helaena and her choice, trading threats of sexual violence from the book for grim suspense.
"A Son for a Son" sees Helaena (Phia Saban) predict that she and her children are in danger thanks to "rats." Of course, no one understands or even listens to her premonition as usual, ignoring it as the ramblings of a mad woman. As the rat-catcher and his co-conspirator enter her bedchamber, she's proven right. Her Cassandra-like curse is one of the most intriguing expansions being explored in House of the Dragon, but here it's not enough to save them.
Just like in Fire & Blood, Helaena is soon forced to choose between her twins, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, at the threat of the assassins killing them all if she doesn't. But the threat of sexual violence against her infant daughter is stricken from the scene, the horror of choosing which child to kill enough of a nightmare without the added pedophilic overtones. This hits the right notes for an on-screen adaption, as the addition of a dead chambermaid, a hogtied queen, or a threat of rape wouldn’t ultimately add much to the moment? We already know these men are willing to murder a child, the overkill doesn’t elevate anything here.
The horrifying scene plays into the worst fears of any parent, as Helaena must decide whether to give up the heir, Jaehaerys, or pretend her daughter is actually her son in order to save him. With a blade to her throat and the threat of the killing of all three of them hanging over her, in the end she gives up the true heir, allowing her daughter to survive. It's a change from the book where she chooses a third child we've yet to meet on the series, but the outcome is the same: Jaehaerys is beheaded and the war between the Hightowers and Targaryens is cemented.
In another smart choice, rather than showing the decapitation of a small child — or its bloody outcome — we instead hear it, the gruesome sounds echoing as Helaena stares on in terror. We never see Jaehaerys head or body. Instead, we see the grief of a mother and her attempts to find help in the winding halls of Kings Landing. That's where she finds her mother in bed with Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), the head of the King's Guard, who should have been protecting Helaena and her children rather than once again breaking his oath and sleeping with Alicent.
Since its creation, the House of the Dragon's creative team has been clear about wanting to avoid the overt sexual violence of Game of Thrones as well as bringing in more women behind the scenes and centering female characters. The subtle changes made to Blood and Cheese are a great example of just how well that mission is serving the series. "A Son for a Son" doesn't skimp on the fright and trepidation that Blood and Cheese inspire, instead adapting the short yet beloved text into something that centers the woman at its heart while refusing to exploit one of the show's best characters in Alicent just for shock value. Playing more like a suspenseful horror than the historical torture porn it could have been, this a searing and painful watch that should go down along with the most shocking and impactful episodes of the series.
Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything from anime to comic books to kaiju to kids movies to horror flicks. She has over half a decade of experience in entertainment journalism with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon, and more.
