House of the Dragon Season 2 Premiere: Shocking Changes in the Blood and Cheese Scene Explained by Showrunner

The showrunner of House of the Dragon has shared why Blood and Cheese differs significantly from the book. In its season 2 premiere, House of the Dragon presents one of the most horrifying scenes of the summer – Blood and Cheese.

However, HBO's portrayal of this gruesome moment deviates from George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood. Showrunner Ryan Condal has detailed the reasons for these major changes. The following contains significant episode spoilers, so read on only if you're up-to-date!

In this episode, Daemon recruits a guard named Blood and a rat catcher named Cheese to avenge Lucerys's death by targeting Aemond, who was responsible for the murder alongside Vhagar in the season 1 finale. It's implied that Daemon instructed them to murder any son they found if Aemond was unavailable, leading Blood and Cheese to target young Jaehaerys, the heir to the throne. During the grisly act, Helaena escapes with another child to her mother, Alicent's bedroom, and informs her of Jaehaerys's death.

The book provides a different depiction, with Alicent directly involved in the traumatic scene and being forced to watch as Blood and Cheese torment Helaena. Helaena is coerced into choosing which child should die. She has a third child named Maelor in the book and chooses him, thinking his young age means he won't comprehend the situation. Despite her choice, Blood and Cheese murder Jaehaerys after tormenting Maelor with the knowledge that his mother chose him to die.

Condal explained to Decider that the first season of the book spans over 30 years, and adapting it for the screen would require recasting every character, making production and dramatization exceedingly difficult. As a result, the show's characters, including Helaena, Aegon's, and Rhaenyra's and Daemon's children, are younger than in the source material. Maelor, therefore, doesn't exist in the show's timeline.

House of the Dragon continues to air weekly on Sky and NOW in the UK and on HBO in the US. For further details on the show, explore additional articles: