While the series has never been a faithful representation of the book, some changes have been better than others, and House of the Dragon Season 3 has once again put the show’s departures from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood under the microscope. The most controversial choice for the audience might be the conflation of Rhaena Targaryen and Nettles. The book presents two very different women, each with a story to tell. But the series has used up much of the material originally intended for Nettles on Rhaena.
This decision has been controversial since the second season, especially among those viewers who would like to see Nettles as an autonomous character. Maybe Season 3 will eventually explain how the show plans to address that missing piece of the story. There’s also a casual mention of a mysterious “wild girl” in the Vale, which may be the show’s method of safeguarding Nettles’ identity and reputation without adding another character to the story.
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The Vale’s “Wild Girl”
In Episode 7, “The Winter Dragon,” Daemon Targaryen travels to the Vale to meet with Lady Jeyne of House Arryn. He feels some concern for Rhaena, who remains in the Vale with Sheepstealer, the wild dragon she has been seeking to tame. Daemon wants to make sure Jeyne still wants to keep Rhaena safe, especially if Rhaenyra ever decides that the situation with Sheepstealer has grown dangerous enough to intervene. During their conversation, Jeyne makes an interesting observation: there is talk in the Vale about a mysterious “wild girl” living in the mountains.
Taken by itself, this statement might be dismissed as local gossip, but it has a very interesting connection to Fire & Blood. In Martin’s novel, Nettles, a young girl of humble origins, manages to claim Sheepstealer as her own, despite not having any Targaryen blood. Her method is surprisingly simple. Rather than forcing the dragon to accept her, she brings it sheep until the beast is eventually used to her presence. In the end, Sheepstealer lets her mount him, and Nettles becomes one of the most surprising dragonriders of the Dance of the Dragons.
Rhaena Picks Up Nettles’ Narrative
The story of Rhaena on the television show has been very reminiscent of that of Nettles. After her failed attempt to claim Vhagar, the massive dragon once ridden by her mother, Laena Velaryon, Rhaena is sent to the Vale to tend to the younger brood. Instead of passively accepting her designated role, she becomes increasingly determined to find Sheepstealer and prove herself as a dragonrider. Eventually, her journey takes her to the wild, where she begins to form an odd bond with the dragon much like Nettles does in the story.
That makes the “wild girl” comment particularly interesting. The series might suggest that Rhaena acquired that name among the Vale folk for her decision to disappear into the mountains and her increasing affection for Sheepstealer. If that is the goal, then the series has come up with a pretty clever way of acknowledging Nettles while keeping the option open to merge the two characters. Rhaena effectively steps into Nettles’ role for the show, and the reference keeps the legacy of the original character alive through an alternate storyline.
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Safeguarding the Literary Heritage in the Era of Contemporary Narratives
The change is even more stark when you consider who Nettles actually is in Fire & Blood. She’s not just any dragonrider; during the Dance, Nettles becomes one of Daemon’s most trusted confidantes and forms a bond with him that eventually causes Rhaenyra to suspect her. The book doesn’t take a stance on what their relationship is, but Rhaenyra’s doubts have serious consequences. In the end, Nettles is forced to flee with Sheepstealer, leaving her fate uncertain and her character wrapped in long-lasting mystery.
Rhaena’s arc is very different in the book. She never becomes Nettles. Her importance is mostly in her place in the Targaryen family tree and the political potential of the dynasty. The series, therefore, has made a bold choice in giving Rhaena the dragonrider storyline formerly given to Nettles. The reference to the “wild girl” might be the key that allows the series to keep some of Nettles’ essence without adding another major character this late in the game.
It is not clear whether the line was written intentionally as a reference to Nettles or is just a characterization of Rhaena. The show has never confirmed that the two characters have ever been merged in this specific way. But the allusion, and its connection to Rhaena’s Sheepstealer story, make it difficult for the book’s readers to dismiss. And if that’s the show’s resolution, it could give one of the adaptation’s most contentious changes a more cohesive narrative: Rhaena plays a larger role, while Nettles’ impact looms through the story she was originally supposed to have.