An eye for an eye, and a son for a son
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After a heart attack ending[ como fue el de la primera temporada de La Casa del Dragón, la segunda no podía empezar de otra manera que no fuera como lo ha hecho, y es que su primer episodio, titulado Hijo por hijo, ya está con todos nosotros y no ha defraudado a los espectadores, especialmente a aquellos que leyeron la novela Fuego y Sangre de George R.R. Martin y que sabían lo que venía a continuación.
Conocido entre la comunidad como Sangre y Queso**, este evento ha adaptado casi con total fidelidad uno de los momentos más crueles y relevantes escritos por el también autor de Canción de hielo y fuego, una gesta que, como comenta el showrunner de la serie Ryan Condal a The Hollywood Reporter, no fue fácil de abordar.
The Blood and Cheese scene in the book
After the death of Lucerys Velaryon, son of Rhaenyra Targaryen, at the hands of Aemond Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, Rhaenyra’s husband, plans ruthless revenge. Thus, he resorts to two murderers, known as Sangre (a former City Guard) and cheese (a rat catcher in the Red Keep). His objective is to cause a similar pain that of Rhaenyra attacking Aegon II Targaryen’s family.
They infiltrate the Red Keep with the help of sympathizers within the castle and head to the chambers of Queen Alicent, mother of Aegon II. However, along the way They meet Helaena Targaryen, wife of Aegon II and mother of his children, along with her offspring Jaehaerys, Jaehaera and Maelor. Blood and Cheese subdue Helaena and her little ones, forcing her to choose which of them will be killed in retaliation for the death of Lucerys.
Helaena, in a state of extreme distress, choose Maelor, his youngest son, waiting for the murderers to kill him. However, in an act of cruelty, assassins kill Jaehaerys, the eldest sonin front of Helaena.
Watch ‘The House of the Dragon’ on Max
The differences in the series
As Condal explained, one of the key changes in the adaptation was the target of the assassins. In the book, both assassins are ordered to kill a young prince. In the series, the assassins’ mission is to kill Aemond, which makes more sense as direct revenge, given that Aemond was responsible for the death of Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) at the end of the first season. “Daemon was questioned by the assassins about what they should do if they didn’t find Aemond, and his response was not shown on camera, leaving some mystery about his secondary orders,” the showrunner commented.
Another adjustment in the series was the presentation of events from the perspective of the murderers, creating an atmosphere of suspense and tension. “We wanted Blood and Cheese was a visceral sequence on television. We decided to tell it from the killers’ point of view and make it feel like a robbery gone wrong,” Condal explained. This differs from the bookwhere the events are narrated from the Helaena and Alicent’s perspective. Furthermore, Helaena now has just the twins in the adaptation made by HBO, softeningif that is possible, the execution.
The series also introduced the gift of Helena, who feared “rats”, referring to the murderous rat catcher. This ability to prophecy adds an additional layer of horror and fatalism to the scene, suggesting that Helaena had a vague premonition of the disaster that was coming. Condal noted that Helaena is not magical, but she is attuned to a “frequency” that other characters do not perceive. “We’re playing with this idea from her various talks. As Viserys mentioned, there are dragon dreamers in every generation of the Targaryens, and Helaena, because she is seen in this world as strange, a lot of people don’t necessarily pay attention to what she says,” he said.
One of the most intriguing decisions was leave Daemon’s exact instructions in the air to the murderers. Condal commented: “We intentionally cut that scene because I love Matt Smith and the look he gives them just haunts me. He certainly gave them some kind of instruction, and to some extent, we heard the killers arguing about it in the room, which he said We needed to bring a head. A son for a son. You can imagine that Daemon maybe told them: ‘Don’t go away empty-handed.’ open to interpretation“.
Finally, Condal also discussed the introduction by Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor), a character highly anticipated by fans. Condal highlighted Cregan’s youth compared to the Starks we met in Game of Throneslike Ned Stark, describing him as “essentially the same age as Robb Stark and in charge of the entire North”.
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