'House of the Dragon' Said Bye-Bye to Laenor Velaryon (For Now)
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Laenor Velaryon is dead. Sort of. In one of the largest changes to the source material yet, one of House of the Dragon's main actors had a chance to reverse his character's death from the books. Given the opportunity for a new life in the East by Princess Rhaenyra and her uncle, Daemon, in Episode Seven's shocking conclusion, Laenor is allowed to row away in a little boat with his companion, Ser Qarl. Meanwhile, everyone else back at Driftmark is left to believe that he is a charred, dead body. Killed off, so speak. But not entirely.
The moment, which allows for Rhaenyra to show a little more humanity, is a big departure from George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood. The princess and her uncle-husband are much more ruthless in the book, whereas in the TV show they are more sympathetic. An entire arc was even added to the series to portray Rhaenyra and Alicent as childhood friends, just to give the historical tome a little more heart. House of the Dragon couldn't have had Rhaenyra kill her husband, who is gay, right after telling him that she's a #Ally. Our main character—who is also sleeping with her uncle!—would have looked like a complete monster.
In Fire & Blood, Laenor's death is similar to what is depicted before he escapes in the boat. The court jester, named Mushroom, alleges that Daemon paid off Ser Qarl to kill Laenor with ample witnesses. Side note: Mushroom is the same source of information regarding rumors that Ser Harwin Strong was actually the father of Rhaenyra's children. (He is the ultimate untrustworthy narrator and I hope we see him eventually in this series). As the book reads, Ser Qarl slays Laenor during a fair in Spicetown. By the time Corlys comes to claim his son's body, Qarl is long gone and never seen again.
Changing the story so that Laenor lives by escaping with Qarl is a brilliant move. It not only makes Laenor part of the plan but allows for his eventual return as well. Since he clearly doesn't return in the books, a reappearance would mean a massive change to the source material. Even if it's just a nicer way to say farewell to the Velaryon prince, the showrunners at least left the option open for him to return. Imagine how absolutely rocked her alliance with House Velaryon would be should Laenor come back and spill the beans.
You Might Also Like
