7 deaths in 'House of the Dragon' that were completely changed from the book

Warning: Major spoilers through “House of the Dragon” season three, episode two. “House of the Dragon” has returned for its third season, continuing its tradition of expanding on the source material.

HBO’s flagship “Game of Thrones” spinoff is based on George R.

Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” a fictional history of House Targaryen.

The book is written as an overview of major events during the dynasty’s reign.

Unlike Martin’s main series (“A Song of Ice and Fire,” which inspired “Game of Thrones”), “Fire & Blood” is not told from the major characters’ points of view but is recounted in retrospect by maesters, members of the royal court, and other third-party observers.

Thus, “Fire & Blood” readers don’t get definitive causes or clear motivations for why characters take certain actions — and, in some cases, the book may be missing key in-universe information.

As the “Fire & Blood” narrator frequently notes, not even eyewitness accounts are entirely reliable.

His sources often disagree, each saddled with unique baggage, blind spots, and biases.

This means the TV writers hired for HBO’s adaptation had a lot more leeway with the story and an opportunity to create a consistent canon of events.

So let’s take a closer look at some of the pivotal “House of the Dragon” deaths so far, and how they compare to the details found in “Fire & Blood.”