House of the Dragon Season 3 is going to premiere on HBO and HBO Max tonight, and the season will start off with the Battle of Gullet. While most of the show’s story is similar to that of Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin, there is one character change the show made that is yet to be proven to be a success.
House of the Dragon has swapped a fan-favorite dragonrider, Nettles, for Rhaena Targaryen. While in the book, Nettles was one of the lowborns who tamed a dragon and fought for Rhaenyra, House of the Dragon Season 3 seems to be replacing her with Rhaena.
Why House of the Dragon Season 3’s Rhaena twist has divided book readers
In Fire & Blood, other than Ulf White, Hugh Hammer, and Addam of Hull, Nettles was a non-noble who tamed a dragon, became a dragonrider, and fought for Rhaenyra in the Dance of the Dragons. In the book, Nettles was the one who tamed the wild dragon Sheepstealer.
However House of the Dragon Season 2 ended with Rhaena being the one who tracked down Sheepstealer in the Vale. The show did not introduce Nettles and has essentially replaced her with Rhaena by showing that the Targaryen princess is the one who claims Sheepstealer. This change stands in contrast with the nature of GRRM’s dragons, who are territorial and wouldn’t be randomly found in a place like the vale. As GRRM pointed out in a 2024 blog,
“My dragons are creatures of the sky. They fly, and can cross mountains and plains, cover hundreds of miles… but they don’t, unless their riders take them there. They are not nomadic.”
While we know that low-born folk with Valyrian blood can be dragonriders, Nettles is the first dragonrider whose origins remain uncertain. Rather than claiming Sheepstealer through royal blood or nobility, Nettles earned the dragon’s trust by bringing it sheep every day until it gradually accepted her.
Nettles thus challenged the long-standing belief that only those with Valyrian ancestry can bond with dragons. Her success raised questions about whether dragon-riding is truly reserved for a select bloodline or whether determination and patience can break those barriers.
Since House of the Dragon does cast Black actors as Velaryons, Rhaena might look like Nettles. However, many fans feel insulted that these two Black characters are just being merged together when they both had distinct storylines in the book. Moreover, Rhaena’s royal bloodline immediately separates her from being like Nettles or having a journey like her.
If Rhaena is given Nettles’ storyline, it will also clash heavily with her own storyline in the book. In Fire & Blood, after claiming Sheepstealer, Nettles developed a close relationship with Daemon Targaryen during the war, who also helped her have a stronger bond with Sheepstealer. Later, Rhaenyra became suspicious of Nettles and ordered her death, forcing Nettles to flee. Daemon ultimately helped Nettles escape, and she spent her remaining days in hiding with Sheepstealer.
In Fire & Blood, Rhaena never claimed Sheepstealer. Instead, she remained dragonless for most of the Dance and later bonded with a hatchling named Morning. Her arc is largely separate from Daemon’s military campaign and Nettles’ story.
If Rhaena is given Nettles’ storyline in House of the Dragon Season 3, she will become an active participant in the war much sooner and probably never claim Morning. While she can still have a good storyline with her father, Daemon, helping her bond with Sheepstealer, the Nettles-Rhaenyra conflict would either be rewritten or removed.
This change would also remove the book’s theme that an ordinary, lowborn girl could tame a dragon and challenge Targaryen exceptionalism. At the same time, the change could also benefit Rhaena as a character.
Throughout the first two seasons of House of the Dragon, Rhaena has often remained on the sidelines while the other members of her family handled most of the politics. Characters such as Daemon, Rhaenyra, Aemond, and Baela have received major storylines, while Rhaena has largely struggled to find her place.
Making Rhaena the dragonrider of Sheepstealer would provide her with a dragon of her own, a more active role in the Dance of the Dragons, and significantly greater importance to the overall narrative. For television audiences unfamiliar with the book, expanding an established character may also be easier than introducing another major character this late in the story.
The apparent removal of Nettles has already sparked debate among readers who consider her one of the most important smallfolk characters in the Dance of the Dragons. For many fans, she represents a perspective rarely seen in the story and serves as proof that greatness can come from outside noble families.
Whether the change ultimately strengthens or weakens the story is yet to be seen. What is certain is that House of the Dragon Season 3 seems ready to make one of its boldest adaptation choices yet, and fans will be watching closely to see how Rhaena’s encounter with Sheepstealer reshapes the future of her character and the show in general.
House of the Dragon Season 3 will premiere on HBO on June 21, 2026.
For more articles like this, follow Soapcentral.
Edited by Riddhee