‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 7 Gives Laenor Velaryon a Much Happier Ending Than the Book
House of the Dragon episode 7 had some of its most staggering family drama yet. While the episode focuses on the Targaryens versus the Hightowers, the Velaryons suffered the most in last night’s episode. However, Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan) received a happy ending, surprising many viewers who knew his fate from the book.
What happens to Laenor Velaryon in episode 7 of ‘House of the Dragon’?
Episode 7 of House of the Dragon saw the whole family coming together for the funeral of Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell). After the ceremony, a conflict occurs after the kids fight, and Aemond (Leo Ashton) loses an eye. Insults were thrown at Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) kids over the truth of who their father is. Viewers know that Rhaenyra and Laenor’s marriage is a sham as Laenor is gay, and the two could not create a child together.
Rhaenyra becomes tired of this marriage and wants to strengthen her legitimacy by marrying Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). However, she can’t marry him unless Laenor is dead. The two form a plan to fake his death, allowing Laenor to escape with his lover, Ser Qarl (Arty Froushan). While the world believes Laenor to have died in a duel, he has somewhat of a happy ending, which differs from the book.
Laenor Velaryon has a different fate in ‘Fire & Blood’
Initially, it appears that Daemon offered Qarl a hefty reward to kill Laenor so that he could move in to marry Rhaenyra. In George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, that is what happens, but this show pulled a fast one on book readers by revealing Laenor to be alive. In the novel, it is described that Laenor was killed by Qarl while attending a fair in Spicetown. Here is an excerpt from the novel per Insider:
“Ser Laenor Velaryon, husband to the Princess Rhaenyra and the putative father of her children, was slain whilst attending a fair in Spicetown, stabbed to death by his friend and companion Ser Qarl Correy. The two men had been quarreling loudly before blades were drawn, merchants at the fair told Lord Velaryon when he came to collect his son’s body. Correy had fled by then, wounding several men who tried to hinder him. Some claimed a ship had been waiting for him offshore. He was never seen again.”
While Laenor’s fate fits the brutal and tragic world of Westeros, it would not have made sense in House of the Dragon. Rhaenyra does want more power, but she had a genuine fondness for Laenor, and killing him would have been out of character. Even Daemon would not have done something so cold.
‘House of the Dragon’ has made several changes from the book
House of the Dragon has followed many of the story beats from Fire & Blood but has changed specific ways events occurred. For example, Laena’s death in episode 5 was very different from the book. In the book, she and her child die due to childbirth complications, but she dies shortly after due to fever. In House of the Dragon, she died in her own way by ordering her dragon to burn her to death. While book readers may be surprised, several of these adaptations fit the series perfectly.
House of the Dragon episode 7 is streaming on HBO Max.
