House of the Dragon is back for its second outing and it’s beginning in a brutal fashion. After the death of Queen Rhaenyra’s son, Lucerys, at the hands of his Uncle Aemond, his stepfather/great-uncle, Daemon, proposes revenge. He sends two assassins, known only as Blood and Cheese, to go after his murderous nephew. Of course, his niece/wife knows nothing of this as she is busy searching for the remains of her dead child and his dragon.
The assassins sneak into the castle and when they cannot find Aemond, they spot Helaena’s chambers. They demand while holding the young-disputed Queen Consort at knifepoint, which of her twin children is the boy.
Helaena, having no choice, points out her son. While not seen on screen, we get the sound effects of Blood and Cheese beheading Prince Jaehaerys.
Queen Helaena then flees with her daughter, Jaehaera, to find her mother, who is currently shagging Criston Cole. While House of the Dragon, does the storyline tastefully, there’s more to it that wasn’t included.
Fire And Blood’s Version Of Blood And Cheese
In the book, Fire and Blood, the Blood and Cheese storyline had a lot more to it. Firstly, Helaena and Aegon had three children. They had twins and a young son, Maelor.
Also, Alicent and Maelor are present in the book version of the scene. Helaena is ordered, by Blood and Cheese, to choose which son is to be killed.
She chooses Maelor. However, Blood and Cheese pull a fast one on her and kill Jaehaerys as they do in the show. Alicent witnesses the whole thing in the book. In the show, she is absent.
An aspect of the book that isn’t clear is who Daemon orders Blood and Cheese to kill. In the show, their target is clear; Aemond, in retaliation for killing Luke.
Another individual that is present in the book storyline, but not the show is Mysteria, Daemon’s former paramour. In House of the Dragon, she plays no part in this particular storyline.
Helaena, in the book, having to choose between her sons messes her around terribly. She cannot bring herself to look at Maelor, knowing she chose him to die in place of his brother. She later commits suicide.
In the show, she doesn’t have to make the choice, so we suspect this will play out differently, but with the same outcome.
Alicent is also seen to be traumatised by seeing her grandson die in front of her.
The Suspected Aftermath
We suspect the aftermath of Jaehaerys’ death in the show will have a massive impact on Alicent and Criston Cole.
Criston’s morals and loyalties will likely be questioned as he was not at his post when Blood and Cheese killed the prince. Also, Alicent will feel great remorse that she was not there to do more.
