Warning: Contains spoilers for Fire & Blood, and so potential House of the Dragon spoilers.The Red Wedding is Game of Thrones' most infamous and shocking moment, so what will the equivalent be in House of the Dragon? The prequel show is the first in what HBO hopes will be many Game of Thrones spinoffs, and also the first new Westeros-set content since the parent show's controversial ending back in 2019. That means House of the Dragon, which begins around 200 years that series' events, will have to both build upon its legacy and win back viewers who were left disappointed by Game of Thrones season 8. House of the Dragon will be different, but there will nonetheless be certain similarities and comparison points, and that includes its own massive moments that will leave audiences stunned - just like the Red Wedding.
Coming towards the end of Game of Thrones season 3, the Red Wedding was a turning point for the show in more ways than one. Not only did it kill off several key characters and with them end long-running plot threads, but it was a real shift in terms of audience too. That's true for both cementing the idea that anyone could die - if Ned Stark's death in Game of Thrones season 1 hadn't already - and for the show going from a solid hint into a transcendent one. The series leaped from averaging just under five million viewers per episode in season 3 to almost seven million for season 4; the Red Wedding reverberated around the internet, becoming a shared cultural experience; TV itself was changed as other shows attempted to have their own version.
That will extend to House of the Dragon too, in a way. Wisely, House of the Dragon won't just be copying Game of Thrones, but there will be comparisons and that will include the question of when its Red Wedding will be. Given how shocking it was, then it makes sense to look at when a similar scene might happen in House of the Dragon, and the answer lies with two characters: Blood and Cheese. Early on in the Dance of the Dragons, Prince Lucerys Velaryon, son of Rhaenyra Targaryen, is killed in a dragon fight with his cousin, Aemond Targaryen (son of King Viserys and his second wife, Alicent Hightower). This inevitably necessitates revenge, with Daemon Targaryen declaring it must be "a son for a son." Blood, a butcher, and Cheese, a ratcatcher, are hired by Daemon to kill one of the sons of King Aegon II Targaryen, which they do in the most horrific fashion possible, including forcing Aegon's wife, Queen Helaena, to choose which son will die.
Blood & Cheese's Story In Fire & Blood Explained
As told in Martin's book Fire & Blood, Blood and Cheese sneak into the Red Keep and to the bedchamber of Alicent Hightower, who they bound and gag, knowing that Helaena will be coming with her three children: Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Jaehaera, and Prince Maelor. Blood and Cheese force Helaena to choose between her two sons - when she offers her own life instead, they refuse; when it runs on too long, they threaten to sexually assault her daughter - and, eventually, the Queen picks her youngest son, Maelor. Instead, Blood cuts off Jaehaerys' head, and the pair flee the Red Keep with it. It's a truly brutal, jaw-dropping moment not only for its graphic and disturbing content, but for its lingering impact, with Helaena never recovering from it and descending into "madness," as the book describes.
When Will House Of The Dragon's Red Wedding Happen?
Blood and Cheese happens relatively early in the Dance of the Dragons, though when exactly it will happen in House of the Dragon depends on how much they expand the story and how long they spend on the prelude. Based on what's been revealed so far, then it's very likely the Dance will just be starting by the end of House of the Dragon season 1; it would be reasonable to assume that will include the coronation of Aegon II in King's Landing and, if it wants to go out with a bang, the dragon battle between Aemond and Lucerys at Storm's End (which would make sense as a finale event). It's unlikely Blood and Cheese would be included in season 1 with all of that already happening, but it also can't come too long after because it's such an immediate response to it. That would mean House of the Dragon's Red Wedding equivalent coming early in season 2, perhaps similar to how Game of Thrones season 4 killed King Joffrey in episode 2.
How Will House Of The Dragon's Blood & Cheese Compare To GOT's Red Wedding?
It's one thing to create a moment as shocking and graphic as the Red Wedding, but it resonated in Game of Thrones not only because of that, but due to how viewers cared about the characters involved, and believed them to be central to the story. Killing off Jaehaerys doesn't change things in quite the same way Robb Stark's death did, because he's not a hero who is at war with the major villains, although it does very much help to escalate the war and increase just how far both sides will go. At the same time, of course, it is the death of a child - and one with lots of disturbing threat around it - which will position this as something akin to Shireen Baratheon being killed as well as the Red Wedding.
Much may also depend on how House of the Dragon develops Helaena; she isn't given as much room in Fire & Blood as many other characters, but the show could flesh her out a lot more (and, among those involved, she is one of the most decent). That could be a way to make viewers care more about Aegon's side of the civil war, and to lead to a much greater impact when Blood and Cheese happens. It will also be a question of just how much House of the Dragon will show. It's a pivotal event that would be difficult to entirely remove, but it may not show it in the same graphic level as Game of Thrones' Red Wedding, as it could be more suggestion or viewers hearing more than is seen. Either way, it's a cruel sequence that will likely be the most shocking House of the Dragon has to offer.