No products in the cart.
House of the Dragon Season 2: Is Rhaena Nettles Now?
The time has come to address one of the more controversial and intriguing developments of the second season of House of the Dragon (“HOTD”), namely the possible elimination of ‘Nettles’, a character from the book ‘Fire and Blood’ by George R.R. Martin.
WARNING: book and potential show spoilers discussed below!
House of the Dragon: Where is Nettles?
In response to being asked whether we will see Nettles in the show, Ryan Condal (HOTD showrunner) has stated, “I’m not ready to comment on any characters we haven’t met on screen yet, so I would just say stay tuned”. This cryptic comment opens the possibility of her appearance. Still, if she were cut, it might mean Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) is claiming Nettles’ dragon, Sheepstealer. This seems increasingly likely given the last episode’s reference to a nameless ‘wild’ dragon in the Vale, in whom Rhaena looks interested.
In the book, Nettles is a young, dark-haired, dark-skinned woman who defies all expectations by claiming the wild dragon Sheepstealer despite not looking at all like a Valyrian. Indeed, Rhaenyra accuses Nettles of using witchcraft to tame a dragon, as, and I quote, ‘you need only look at her to know she has no drop of dragon’s blood in her’. By introducing some much-needed diversity in making House Velaryon Black, the writers have made Nettles’ appearance less significant and, in turn, her character less vital than they are in the book.
HOTD: Giving Rhaena a Dragon
Meanwhile, ‘the book’ Rhaena is given three eggs, one of which eventually hatches into the dragon Morning. Of the four eggs Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) entrusts with Rhaena in the show, three are now confirmed to be those of Daenerys in Game of Thrones; the remaining egg could be Morning’s, but it is too early to say for sure.
Whilst I, for one, would be sad to see this fan-favourite character cut from the show, if I were to combine their two characters, I would have Rhaena claim Sheepstealer and get herself involved in Daemon’s (Matt Smith) war effort in the Riverlands. This would give Rhaena’s character the agency she so ardently desires and allow for an exciting development regarding Daemon’s strained relationship with his daughters, a plot point set up in the first season. Furthermore, Phoebe Campbell has done a phenomenal job of conveying her character’s forlorn and desperate nature up to this point, and I, for one, would welcome this exciting development for her character.
