Warning: Contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 6, and the book Fire & Blood.
Summary
AsHouse of the Dragonseason 2 progresses, I’m increasingly concerned that Nettles, a character from the bookFire & Blood, has been cut from the show completely. The show has made several changes big and small to George R.R. Martin’s text, which is simply the by-product of any adaptation, nevermind one where the book itself is written as an in-universe history with varying accounts and not too much in terms of in-depth character detail.
Still,House of the Dragonis doing the part of the story that concerns Nettles: the dragonseeds. Rhaenyra Targaryen and Jacaerys Velaryon’s plan to find non-Targaryens to ride dragons didn’t exactly go to plan with Ser Steffon Darklyn, butSeasmoke does have a new riderin the form of Addam of Hull. It’s reasonable to expect that, like in the book,Silverwing and Vermithorwill be claimed by Ulf the White and Hugh the Hammer.Nettles is the fourth of the dragonseeds inFire & Blood, but nowhere to be seen in the show.
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Who Nettles Is In Fire & Blood
The Character Is A Dragonseed & Part Of Daemon’s Story
InFire & Blood, Nettles is a 16-year-old bastard girlfrom the island of Dragonstone, described as"black-haired, brown-eyed, brown-skinned, skinny, foul-mouthed, [and] fearless.“She first comes into the story when Rhaenyra and Jace are looking for dragonseeds, and actually ends up claiming the wild dragon known as Sheepstealer. Nettles' bond with the dragon is a more unusual one, as she bonds with it by feeding it sheep each morning, with the dragon eventually accepting her.
Nettles becomes a member of Rhaenyra’s Team Black, and an important one at that, given Sheepstealer is a large, powerful dragon.
Nettles becomes a member ofRhaenyra’s Team Black, and an important one at that, given Sheepstealer is a large, powerful dragon. She fights in the Battle of the Gullet - which currently looks like it will happen inHouse of the Dragonseason 3- and, later, forms a bond with Daemon Targaryen. Some ofFire & Blood’s sources say they were like father and daughter, others that they became lovers, but that they became very close isn’t in doubt.
Why House Of The Dragon May Have Cut Nettles
The Show May Have Merged The Character With Rhaena Targaryen
There have long been concerns that Nettles would be cut from the show, simply because there was no word of her appearing. The other dragonseed actors were all confirmed as part ofHouse of the Dragon’s castbefore season 2 had aired, but no such news arrived for Nettles. Condal was asked about the character in an interview withVarietyback in June 2024, but wouldn’t be drawn on whether she’d appear or not, saying:
“With that character, I’m not ready to comment yet on anything that hasn’t been established in the show just yet.”
That was certainly vague, but didn’t exactly ease concerns about her being cut. What really makes me worried, though, is the presence of awild dragon in the Vale of Arryn inHouse of the Dragonseason 2, episode 6.Since the dragon is eating livestock, then it really seems like this is indeed going to be Sheepstealer, the dragon Nettles bonds with from the book. And if Sheepstealer is appearing but Nettles isn’t yet, then there may well be a deviation.
There have been rumors that Rhaena Targaryen will bond with Sheepstealer in the show, rather than Nettles.
There have been rumors that Rhaena Targaryen will bond with Sheepstealer in the show, rather than Nettles. With Rhaena learning of the dragon’s existence in season 2, episode 6, and being a character who has always wanted - but never had - a dragon, then this seems a lot more plausible now.Rhaena does eventually get her own dragon in the book, called Morning(who hatches from one of the eggs she took with her to the Vale), but the show could change that, since this does feel like a clear setup.
It could be that they’re just laying the groundwork for Nettles to turn up and claim Sheepstealer in season 3…
It should be noted that nothing is confirmed about Nettles, so I am clinging to some hope the character will appear. It could be that they’re just laying the groundwork for Nettles to turn up and claim Sheepstealer in season 3, with the Rhaena storyline as either a fakeout or her trying to bond with the dragon and failing, thus making the payoff of her own egg hatching more meaningful.
That said, since the dragonseeds story is happening now and all the others have been established, it’s an odd approach to take for Nettles' character if that is the case. It’s absolutely not impossible, since it could have the dragonseeds story run into season 3, or even introduce Nettles in the season 2 finale (and for whatever reason no casting was revealed), but it just doesn’t fully add up.
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Why Cutting Nettles Would Be A Mistake
Nettles Is Important, And Brings A Different Perspective
Nettles is obviously important because she claims Sheepstealer, and that itself is different to the other dragonseeds. Whereas the other claimed dragons had previous bonds,Nettles is the only person inFire & Bloodto claim a wild dragon, and it shows a completely different way to bond with a dragon that we’ve never seen with the Targaryens nor the dragonseeds.
[Nettles] exists, in part, as a means to posit the question of whether Valyrian blood really is needed to ride or dragon or not.
There is also a question of whether Nettles has any Valyrian blood at all, which is not confirmed either way. She exists, in part, as a means to posit the question of whether Valyrian blood really is needed to ride or dragon or not. Since House Targaryen’s history in Westeros is built on them being dragonlords, which makes them closer to gods than men, it’s a potential challenge to the idea of their exceptionalism.
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Nettles is also different to the other dragonseeds, even if they are also bastards. They may be that, but they are also all men - and, in the book, all of them are white and Valyrian looking, though the show changed this by making the members of House Velaryon (which includesAddam of Hull) Black. That’s a good change for representation, butNettles being a young, lowborn girlanda person of color adds another layer to what she could bring to dragonriders, who are otherwise all either men or nobles (and often both).
The character is also very important to the plot, especially Daemon and Rhaenyra’s story. She goes with Daemon when he is searching for Aemond Targaryen in the Riverlands, but Rhaenyra, in King’s Landing, becomes increasingly paranoid about their relationship. As Rhaenyra becomes a darker, more embittered character in the book, her view of Nettles helps to portray this, and offers a different side of Daemon too.
Episode 8
August 4
Rhaena cannot fulfill these roles. She’s a good book character, and Phoebe Campbell is very good inHouse of the Dragon, but Rhaena has her own story that doesn’t neatly fit with Nettles: she doesn’t fit into the Daemon/Rhaenyra story, given Rhaenyra knows her and sheisDaemon’s daughter, so there’s no love affair question, nor does she bring the same lowborn element to the dragonriders. There should be room for both of them in the show, rather than adding one person of color to just replace another.
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason 2 release Sundays at 9pm ET on HBO and Max.
House of the Dragon
Cast
House of the Dragon is a 2022 fantasy drama set in the world of Westeros, chronicling the Targaryen dynasty at its height. The story revolves around King Viserys’s controversial decision to name his daughter Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne, sparking tensions and divisions within the realm.
