House of the Dragon Season 2 finally brought back the characters we know and love as the eight episodes continued the story of the Targaryen civil war between Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and her half-brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), who both claim their father’s throne. Season 2 shows the beginning of an all-out war in Westeros, where no person or dragon is safe. Each side fights to gain an advantage over the other, leading to a tumultuous conflict, but there is still a long way to go before either claimant can claim victory. Season 3 is already assured, though there is no official information about it. Yet, the story is based on the Westerosi history documented in George R. R. Martin‘s novel Fire & Blood, meaning many fans know what’s next in the story and what may need to be changed. Season 2 certainly held some surprises, including the removal of two much-anticipated characters, Prince Daeron and Nettles. Daeron, Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) youngest child, gets several mentions throughout Season 2 and even a last-minute tease as his dragon Tessarion flies onto the screen, suggesting that the characters’ introduction, though delayed, will finally occur in Season 3, allowing his story to play out much like Fire & Blood. But Nettles is a different matter entirely.

Though a memorable character in Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon Season 2 sets Nettles up to be cut from the series while Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) takes her plot. Nettles’ introduction would have been a natural fit for Season 2, as she belongs with the dragonseed, who play a major role in Season 2, Episode 7, “The Red Sowing.” Like Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), Ulf the White (Tom Bennett), and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), Nettles becomes a dragonrider, but she is slightly different from the rest. Several things set Nettles apart: being a woman, her non-Valyrian features, and her unique way of claiming her dragon. Though she is a significant part of the story, there are some reasons House of the Dragon may have chosen to leave Nettles behind. Since the conclusion of Season 1, fans have speculated that she may be combined with Rhaena to give the character more to do, and House of the Dragon seems to have favored this option, but it disrupts the plot of both characters to turn them into one. Yet the show may not have wanted to use Nettles’ story as her presence impacts Rhaenyra and Daemon’s (Matt Smith) marriage. But, whatever the reason for replacing her may be, Nettles is a major character in the Dance of the Dragons, and if she really is absent from House of the Dragon, it will be a loss for the show.

The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.

Who Is Nettles in ‘Fire & Blood’?

Nettles joins the story by claiming a dragon despite her uncertain birth. While looking for new dragonriders, the Blacks allow Valyrian bastards, referred to as dragonseeds, to try to bond with the unclaimed dragons in an event called the Sowing of the Seeds. This is the introduction for four major characters as they succeed in becoming dragonriders and agree to fight for Rhaenyra, though only three appear in House of the Dragon. The key to Nettles’ importance is in her dragon, Sheepsteeler. Any dragonrider in the war has the ability to have a significant influence on events, and Nettles and Sheepsteeler fight many battles for the Blacks. In the Sowing of the Seeds, many tried to claim Sheepsteeler for their own and failed. Unlike the others, Sheepsteeler grew up with no rider, making him one of the more volatile dragons, hurting or killing most who attempted to ride him. But, at only sixteen, Nettles manages to claim the wild dragon, and she is the only dragonseed to do so. However, Nettles didn’t use conventional methods to claim her dragon. Little is known about the bond between a dragon and its rider, but House of the Dragon Season 1 shows the process when young Aemond (Leo Ashton) claims Vhagar. Like Aemond, many of the dragonseeds rush in to mount the dragons, and several people die in the attempt. But Nettles is more patient, spending days to earn Sheepsteeler’s trust by bringing him his favorite food. Only after the dragon is familiar with her does Nettles mount him, and that’s how she succeeds.

But her unconventional strategy for claiming her dragon isn’t the only thing that sets Nettles apart from her fellow dragonseed. Another distinction is that Nettles is the only female dragonseed to get a dragon, which seems like it should count for something in the show that has given specific focus to the women of the story.House of the Dragon‘s feminism is sometimes a bit heavy-handed, but the concept fits well as Rhaenyra fights to be the first ruling Queen. With the series intentionally giving extra development to female characters, such as Alicent and Baela (Bethany Antonia), cutting a significant and powerful woman is counter-intuitive. Nettles would be a great addition to this effort, offering more variety in the women of the show, as he defies the prim and proper stereotype for women. Nettles is described as being foul-mouthed and fierce, making her different from the Targaryen’s female dragonriders, who carry themselves with grace and poise. Nettles could help to round out the female representation with her different personality.

Nettles’ Story Would Allow ‘House of the Dragon’ To Explore Dragonlore

But a more notable difference in the character impacts everything we know about dragonriding. Nettles lacks any confirmed Targaryen ancestry or Valyrian features. Most of the successful dragonseed look like the Targaryens, like Ulf the White, who gets his name from his Targaryen hair, or they claim a particular ancestor, as Hugh Hammer claims to be Saera Targaryen’s son, but Nettles has no traceable connection to the family. Growing up as a homeless bastard and as a commoner, Nettles becoming a dragonrider is a surprise, but it explores what is really necessary for the ability. The exact requirements to become a dragonrider are not clear, but ancestry seems to play a role. Targaryens, or in the case of Laena (Nanna Blondell), Laenor (John MacMillan), and most of the dragonseed, their offspring are the only Westerosi citizens who ride dragons. This limitation could be an attempt to control their powerful resource, but dragonriding also accounts for the Targaryen practice of incest as they try to keep the dragonriding blood pure and the family’s common problem of miscarrying scaled infants.

However, the Targaryens were one of many families of dragonriders in Old Valyria, being unique as the only dragonrider family to survive the Doom. Nettles’ lack of Valyrian features is remarked upon too often for it to be insignificant. Because of this difference, Nettles raises questions about the requirements of a dragonrider. Some speculation ties her unique methods to ancient Valyrians, who were shepherds before they learned to bond with dragons. Yet other rumors in the book suggest she used magic. While Fire & Blood maintains the mystery, House of the Dragon has the chance to explore dragon lore deeper through Nettles, an opportunity sorely missed if she doesn’t appear. In a show that explores the dangers of Targaryen exceptionalism, the counterargument that Nettles represents is too important to ignore.

Yet, the series does single out a new character for this role. Instead of Nettles, Addam of Hull raises similar questions. House of the Dragon follows the rumors of him being the son of Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) rather than Laenor, who has more recent Targaryen blood. Corlys is Valyrian, but his family does not ride dragons. The Velaryons and Targaryens have intermarried, but it has been several generations. And, though his mother’s ancestry is unconfirmed, Addam does not have the silver hair expected of a Valyrian, making it ambiguous how he is able to claim a dragon. Because of his Velaryon blood, Addam is less effective in this role than Nettles, who has no evidence of Targaryen ancestry. Plus, Nettles’ unusual method of claiming Sheepstealer provides more speculation about the situation that Addam and Seasmoke’s relationship does not.

Why Would ‘House of the Dragon’ Leave Out Nettles?

Perhaps the most likely reason that House of the Dragon would remove Nettles is her connection to Daemon. Though Fire & Blood mentions rumors that she is Daemon’s bastard daughter, there is little evidence. She may be close in age to his other children, but she doesn’t look like him, and in the series, at least, he was living in Pentos when she was born. However, the book itself discredits the theory by sharing details of the romantic relationship Nettles and Daemon shared. The two dragonriders grow close, traveling together on their hunt for Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), and some accounts include the fact that they often bathed together. As the story goes on, Rhaenyra gets suspicious of her husband’s relationship with the girl. Already mistrusting the dragonseed, having suffered multiple betrayals, and watching her children die, Rhaenyra sees Nettles as a threat and orders her death, causing Nettles to flee and disappear, never to be heard from again. After the relationship between Daemon and Rhaenyra became popular during Season 1, this bump in the road seemed like something the House of the Dragon would want to avoid as it puts a damper on the claim that Rhaenyra and Daemon are each other’s true loves. But Season 2 threw many complications into Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship, from their fight, a near betrayal, and even Rhaenyra developing a relationship with Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno). Daemon hasn’t been known as the most faithful husband, and with Rhaenyra poised to take her own lover, it isn’t of the question that House of the Dragon would include Daemon doing the same.

However, there is another implication of Daemon and Nettles’ romance. Nettles is described as being 16, while Daemon is nearing 50. House of the Dragon has shown similar age gaps before, like with Alicent and Viserys (Paddy Considine), but it’s not a good look for Daemon’s character, especially as it wouldn’t be the first time. Though marrying family is common for Targaryens, and the age gap is normal for the setting, Daemon’s treatment of young Rhaenyra garnered much controversy, especially when he snuck her out to a brothel to seduce her. Many fans have latched onto it, leading to some debate, but giving Daemon another relationship with a young girl might make it impossible to defend him. Nettles’ story could exist without an explicit relationship with Daemon, especially if they follow the rumor that they had a father-and-daughter relationship, but it would make things messy.

If Rhaena Takes Nettles’ Story, ‘House of the Dragon’ Will Lose Key Points

With the rest of the dragonseeds in the show already, Nettles’ absence is suspicious, and Rhaena’s storyline makes it more so. Fans have speculated that Nettles and Rhaena could be combined since the Season 1 finale when Daemon mentions the unclaimed dragons, and the camera cuts to Rhaena, implying that she would try to claim one. Since her introduction, Rhaena desperately wanted a dragon, and she is the most logical candidate to claim one with Targaryen blood on both sides of her family. But Season 2 turns that from a theory to a likelihood as Rhaena learns of a dragon living in the Vale and runs away from her companions to chase it down. The Season 2 finale leaves her in front of the dragon, seemingly moments away from claiming it for herself. Claiming a dragon is dangerous, and the series mentions that Rhaena has tried before, only to get rejected. With the story still unfolding, a lack of Nettles in Season 2 may mean nothing for Season 3. Though Rhaena is trying to claim the wild dragon, she has not accomplished that goal yet, leaving a sliver of a chance Nettles will still appear. But Season 2 leaves it looking likely that Nettles will be left behind entirely. Combining the characters would give Rhaena something to do throughout the war, as Fire & Blood doesn’t give her much. But, while this is an interesting story for Rhaena, mimicking Aemond, who was born without a dragon before claiming the largest and fiercest beast available, it presents issues.

Making Rhaena and Nettles the same person drastically changes both of their stories. Rhaena filling Nettles’ role would remove the mystery of her past and interfere with her ending. Rhaenyra has no reason to mistrust Rhaena, who is a trueborn Targaryen rather than a dragonseed and certainly not going to develop a relationship with her father. Baela escapes suspicion, so why would Rhaena be any different? Meanwhile, claiming a wild dragon rewrites Rhaena’s future. Though Rhaena remains in the Vale during the war, she does play a larger role later. Near the end of the conflict, Rhaena does get a dragon when an egg hatches, giving her the dragon Morning. This not only represents hope for the survival of dragons but it is seen as a sign of the Blacks’ legitimacy. Still, Morning survives because she is too small to fight until long after the Dance of the Dragons is over. Though it is possible, these two characters becoming one would require some significant rewrites and would require skipping over important storylines that would benefit the series.

If Rhaena does get Nettles’ story, it will represent a significant departure from Fire & Blood as it will rewrite the endings of two significant characters. House of the Dragon has had some success with their changes, but not every change is for the better. Nettles plays an important role in the Dance of the Dragons and opens up the chance to dive deeper into dragon lore, so if she truly is written out, the show will be worse for it.