Fans are used to novel adaptions changing many things, most of the time for good reason. However, Episode 7 of House of the Dragon caught many fans off guard when they saw Laenor Velaryon alive and well sailing off with Ser Qarl, calling it a departure from the book. In my viewing of this episode, I saw the writers taking an opportunity to play with the intentionally vague and contradictory history book that is Fire & Blood.
Laenor’s death is not a certainty in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood and is dubious at best. The novel describes his death as “a mystery to this day.” There are many reasons for this distinction of the related events to Laenor and others in the same category. Let’s take a look at why this is the case.
Fire & Blood is an imaginary history book. Unlike A Song of Ice and Fire, where we follow the characters through the story, hear their inner thoughts, and live through the events in real-time, Fire & Blood is a history book by Archmaester Gyldayn retelling the history of the Targaryens.
Gyldayn is said to have lived into the reign of King Robert Baratheon, so the chances of him witnessing any of the events during the Dance of the Dragons is slim to none. Because of this, descriptions of events can be partisan.
In an interview with Random House, George R.R. Martin talks about the perspective of Fire & Blood. He described Gyldayn as “a very distinguished scholar but also a somewhat idiosyncratic and crotchety old man who has strong opinions on the historical figures he’s writing about, so some of his views may creep into the text. I don’t vouch for its authenticity.” Gyldayn, although intelligent and respected, can not be trusted as accurate, and his sources of events differ wildly.
Gyldayn cites three accounts of Laenor’s death, which come from Grand Maester Mellos, Septon Eustace, and Mushroom; all three are hearsay and play on each other like high school rumors. Mellos gives the first and most straightforward account of “that Ser Laenor was killed by one of his own household knights after a quarrel.”
Eustace expands on it by giving a name and motive, “Laenor Velaryon had grown weary of Ser Qarl’s companionship and had grown enamored of a new favorite, a handsome young squire of six-and-ten.” Finally, Mushroom adds the dark spice by accounting “that Prince Daemon paid Qarl Correy to dispose of Princess Rhaenyra’s husband, arranged for a ship to carry him away, then cut his throat and fed him to the sea.“
House of the Dragon attempts to give us the actual events as they take place. None of the historical accounts were corroborated. If there is one thing we know about Westeros is that rumor, lies, and conjecture become truth.
It’s also important to remember that House of the Dragon takes place in real-time and that the series is not an adaptation of Fire & Blood in the purest sense. Instead, it shows us events as they happened from the character’s perspectives rather than retelling events from third parties.
This allows us to see the historical discrepancies and display how events occurred. Considering the confusion, mystery, and oddly public display of Leanor’s death, a conspiracy for him to be alive is a plausible and compelling argument. And conspiracy makes for compelling entertainment.
Imagining Laenor, who was undoubtedly unhappy with his life as Queen Consort, faking his death and running away with Ser Qarl is both romantic and plausible. The fact that Daemon is the one who orchestrated it adds so much character depth to Daemon and is one of the reasons that makes him one of my favorite characters.
The show takes the historical events provided in the book and gave context surrounding it; context that does not change the narrative and plot but instead gives us some added flavor and “ah-ha” moments to digest and discuss.
That is why the Laenor twist is not a departure from the book but rather added spice that enhances the stuffy historical retelling by Gyldayn. Events in Westeros continue on as history records, but what is wrong with the notion of Laenor and Qarl living in bliss off the coast of Pentos? I think it’s beautiful amid a story of such heartache and monstrous people.
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