Why House of the Dragon's major book change is so refreshing

Warning: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 7. Turn back now if you have not seen the latest episode of the Game of Thrones prequel…

Laenor Velaryon lives! In a change to the source material, the prince consort escapes Driftmark, setting sail for a life of freedom on the open sea with his lover Ser Qarl Correy. 

Laenor's book counterpart isn't so lucky. In George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, Qarl kills Laenor in a swordfight. While the exact motive for the murder isn't confirmed, one account says Laenor was slain on Daemon Targaryen's orders, presumably to clear the way for his marriage to his niece Rhaenyra Targaryen. House of the Dragon twists the tale: Daemon bribes Qarl into faking Laenor's death. Much like in the book, Qarl and Laenor engage in a swordfight, though the burned body discovered by Laenor's parents is that of a servant, with Laenor's distinctive white dreadlocks attached to the corpse in a speedy bit of hairdressing. Laenor and Qarl escape by boat to a waiting ship, finally free to be together, while Rhaenyra and Daemon are able to marry each other at last. (Though, since Fire and Blood is told by unreliable narrators, it's possible Laenor survived here, too, though the book gives no clues that he did.)

It makes for a refreshing change – not only because a Westerosi happily ever after is so rare, but also because it subverts the horrible "Bury Your Gays" trope, a prevalent cliché that sees LGBTQ+ characters frequently killed off. Game of Thrones did it; just think of poor Loras Tyrell, who not only lost his lover Renly Baratheon to a shadow assassin, but was then subjected to horrific conversion therapy before his brutal murder by Cersei Lannister. Worse yet, in the books, Loras is still alive. Then there was Oberyn Martell's incredibly brutal death at the head-crushing hands of the Mountain. Even House of the Dragon featured the violent murder of an LGBTQ+ character: Ser Joffrey Lonmouth, Laenor's partner, was savagely beaten to death at Rhaenyra and Laenor's wedding, which drew criticism online. Laenor's survival, then, is nothing short of a miracle – and it's not the only time the episode treats him with the care he deserves, either. 

After their betrothal, Laenor and Rhaenyra made an arrangement to marry for duty but keep lovers for themselves, and, although most of their marriage is off-screen due to mammoth time skips, it's clear the couple has happily stuck to their deal. Of course, it's painfully obvious that Rhaenyra's sons are bastards, but, when Laenor expresses frustration with himself and his queerness, Rhaenyra is quick to reassure him. "I hate the gods for making me as they did," Laenor says. She counters: "I do not." It's a simple, quiet exchange in the middle of a dramatic episode, but it's one of the most emotionally resonant and compassionate moments in the entire show, made all the more effective by Laenor's freedom. It's worlds away from the senseless cruelty Loras was subjected to. Because sure, in Westeros, a rigidly patriarchal society means anything that deviates from a subservient wife producing male heirs for her husband is forbidden, but do made up fantasy worlds really have to mirror real-life homophobia so exactly? 

This might not even be the last we see of Laenor. Minor book spoilers ahead, but Fire and Blood introduces a character called Addam Velaryon, thought to be a bastard fathered by either Laenor or Corlys Velaryon. Addam joins Team Black and rides Seasmoke, Laenor's dragon. It's not a massive stretch to think the show could switch things up and bring Laenor back under a new name. But, Addam is a youngster in the book, and he has a major storyline ahead of him, so it doesn't seem entirely likely. Still, the door is left open for Laenor to return – though maybe we're better off leaving him sailing to freedom, granting him one of those all too elusive happy endings. 

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