Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3.
The big picture
- Rhaenyra sends her stepdaughter Rhaena to the Vale with four dragon eggs, hinting at her potential.
- Rhaena's journey and role in the series differ from the books, with possible changes to her character development.
- The dragon eggs Rhaena carries with her are connected to Daenerys Targaryen's from Game of Thrones, altering history.
The green and black are finally getting ready for war in this week's episode of House of the Dragon, “The Burning Mill.” Preparing for conflict and trying to safeguard the future of House Targaryen and her own family, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) decides to send his stepdaughter, Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell), in the Vale as guardian of his children, Princes Joffrey (Oscar Eskinazi), Aegon and Viserys. Rhaena, the only Targaryen without a dragon of her own at this point in history, is outraged by Rhaenyra's orders, but all is not lost for her, as she also saves four dragon eggs for the trip. Could one of them finally hatch for her?
Rhaena's journey to the valley is a little different from the books
It can't be easy being the only person without a dragon in a family known precisely for its dragons. This is Rhaena Targaryen's burden, compounded by being the daughter of Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), one of the fiercest dragon riders in history, and Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell), who rode the legendary Vhagar, the queen of all dragons. Not only that, but Rhaena's twin sister, Baela (Bethany Antonia), is shaping up to be just as skilled as his parents with his own dragon, Moondancer. So when Rhaenyra decides to send Rhaena to care for her children in the Valley, it seems like an insulta confirmation of its futility.
In fact, taking care of three boys does not seem like a big task; he seems to babysit, so Rhaena's feelings are valid. He may not understand it that way, being young and eager to fight, but he has been entrusted with the very future of House Targaryen. There are also four dragon eggs under his care, and which certainly seems like a hint that there is more in store for her. In Fire and Blood, Rhaena is also sent to the Vale to care for Prince Joffrey, while Aegon and Viserys are sent to Pentos with a completely different fate. Her life at the Eyrie is much better than it could ever be at Dragonstone at that time, becoming a politically capable and skilled young woman.
Rhaena is also far from the strife of war. The Eagle is known for being an impregnable fortress by land, with the Bloody Gate being the only way in or out. During the Dance of Dragons, the Vale of Arryn is also too far away for the Greens (or anyone) to pay attention, as most of the fight is centered in the Riverlands, so a dragon attack is off the table for them as well. There is no safer place to be in Westeros during a war.
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Can Rhaena finally get a dragon of her own?
Rhaena Targaryen will not only be in charge of her three half-siblings, but also four dragon eggs from Dragonstone. According to Rhaenyra, the idea is that if all goes wrong in the war, and it comes to actual ruin, the future of House Targaryen is protected – something the greens are not at all worried about. In Fire and Bloodone of the eggs she actually tends hatches, and Rhaena quickly bonds with the hatchling, a black and white dragon she names Morning.
Despite this, House of the Dragon has taken many liberties when adapting A Dance with Dragons to the screen, and Rhaena could be one of them. Dragonseeds are introduced in Season 2with the debuts of characters such as Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), Ulf the White (Tom Bennett), and Addam of Hull (Freedom from Clinton). Each of them has the blood of Old Valyria and is therefore fit to ride a dragon, but a dragon seed of Fire and Blood it has not been broadcast at all; the Nettles girl. She rides the Sheepstealer dragon in the book, and internet rumors have teased that Sheepstealer will play a role in Season 2.
Sheepstealer is one of the cutest dragons Fire and Blood. He has the funny habit of eating only beef, and Nettles manages to tame him by feeding him freshly slaughtered sheep every day until he gets used to her presence. He is so kind that he never killed shepherds tending sheep, for example, even though he has killed many potential dragon seeds that tried to ride him. It is also exclusively related to the Vale of Arryn in the booksso the rumors of Rhaena claiming Sheepstealer as her mount House of the Dragon may end up being right. Only one dragon deserves, either Morning or Sheepstealer.
The eggs Rhaena wears with her tie straight out of Game of Thrones
The biggest surprise of Rhaena's plot in “The Burning Mill” isn't her going out to the Valley with the kids, but the eggs she takes with them. There are four of them: a light blue, a scarlet, a jade, and a cream.. The last three are confirmed by the director Geeta Patel be of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) eggs of game of thrones. In just over a hundred years, they will eventually hatch and Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion will be born. They are instrumental in the fight against the White Walkers during the Long Night, meaning that Rhaenyra and Rhaena now have a direct influence on them – the “future” that Rhaenyra speaks of, fully aware of A Song of Ice and Fire.
This is a major change from the books. In Fire and Blooda character named Elissa Farman steals three eggs laid by Dreamfyre from the Dragonstone breeders and heads to Essos, where she sells them to the Sea Lord of Braavos. These eggs end up petrifying because they are away from the constant heat and are lost. When Daenerys receives her eggs from Magister Illyrio Mopatis (Roger Allam) as a wedding gift to Pentos, said to have come from Asshai, in the far east of Essos. A favorite fan theory claims that Dany's eggs are the ones stolen by Elissa Farman, and that Drogon, Rhaegal, and Viserion are children of Dreamfyre. Coincidentally, Farman did this after a rift grew between her and her best friend, a princess also named Rhaena Targaryen.
In House of the Dragonthe creator of the series has already confirmed it Ryan Condal this the eggs that Rhaena takes with her come from Syrax, not Dreamfyre. The light blue egg, then, is a nod to Dreamfyre, who has light blue scales and is unlikely to appear in the series after his brief appearance in the Dragonpit in Season 1. The other eggs are they will lose somehow eventually, and there are theories about that too. In Fire and Blood, Aegon and Viserys are sent to Pentos, not the Vale, and their ship sinks (though the children survive). It's a great tragedy, and it could be happening now to Rhaena and the children walking into the Vale instead. In this way, all these different plots are condensed into a single plot line.
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