House of the Dragon changes Battle of Tumbleton from book, including Ulf and Hugh’s betrayal

The Battle of Tumbleton is one of the biggest disasters for Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon, but if you have read George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, you will notice that the battle on screen is actually very different from the one in the book.

The show keeps the basic idea of Tumbleton becoming a major defeat for Rhaenyra’s side, but loads of the details have been changed. Some characters who are important in the book are missing, while others have been moved into the story. There are also completely new storylines involving Corlys, Gwayne and Ulf.

So, what actually happened at Tumbleton in the book, and how did House of the Dragon change it?

House of the Dragon completely changes who is attacking Tumbleton

In Fire and Blood, Rhaenyra’s forces are holding Tumbleton when Ormund Hightower arrives with his army to attack them. The battle is therefore about Ormund trying to take the town from Rhaenyra’s supporters.

The show does the opposite. By the time the Battle of Tumbleton takes place in season three, Ormund has already taken control of the town. Rhaenyra then has to decide whether she is willing to attack it.

That gives the show a very different conflict for Rhaenyra. She knows that attacking Tumbleton could mean hurting the very people she claims to be fighting for. At the same time, refusing to attack could make her look weak and allow Ormund to strengthen his position.

The show also uses the situation to make Ormund much more brutal than the version we get in Fire and Blood. His treatment of the people of Tumbleton and his decision to use children as human shields are show additions.

Daemon is at Tumbleton in the show, but not in the book

In House of the Dragon, Daemon is present for the Battle of Tumbleton. That makes sense for the television version because he has been one of the main characters since season one and is closely involved in Rhaenyra’s military campaign.

But in Fire and Blood, Daemon is nowhere near Tumbleton when the battle happens. Instead, the book has a number of other characters involved on Rhaenyra’s side, including Ser Garibald Grey and other figures who have not been given the same prominence in the show.

The series has done this quite a lot throughout the Dance of the Dragons. Rather than introducing loads of smaller characters from the book, it often gives their roles to characters viewers already know.

Daeron and Tessarion fight in the book

Daeron Targaryen also has a much more active role in the book. In Fire and Blood, Daeron takes part in the Battle of Tumbleton on Tessarion.

House of the Dragon takes a different approach. The show’s Daeron wants to fight, but Gwayne discourages him from taking part. Instead, the two are involved in the attempt to negotiate peace with Corlys.

That does not happen in Fire and Blood. The book does not have Gwayne and Corlys working together in this way because their circumstances are completely different. Gwayne is already dead by this point in the book, while Corlys is not being held prisoner at Tumbleton.

Ulf and Hugh have very different stories in the show

Ulf the White is already one of the more unpredictable characters in House of the Dragon, and the show gives him a memorable way of arriving at Tumbleton. Ormund needs Ulf for the battle, but Ulf has gone off drinking and ends up passed out in a privy.

That entire search for Ulf is not in Fire and Blood. In the book, Ulf is one of the two dragonriders who betray Rhaenyra during the Battle of Tumbleton. He and Hugh Hammer become known as the Two Betrayers after switching sides.

The show keeps Ulf’s betrayal as a possibility, but changes what happens around it. When Ulf realises that neither side will ever truly respect him, he turns on Ormund and kills him with dragonfire. That is very different from the book, where Ulf betrays Rhaenyra alongside Hugh and helps turn the battle into a disaster for the Blacks.

Hugh Hammer’s story has also been changed significantly. In Fire and Blood, Hugh joins Ulf in betraying Rhaenyra. The two men turn against the Blacks, and Hugh uses Vermithor during the destruction of Tumbleton. The book does not give one definite reason for their betrayal, although it suggests greed and cowardice as possible explanations.

House of the Dragon has taken Hugh in a completely different direction. Instead of portraying him as a brutal opportunist, the show has made him a family man trying to find his estranged wife, Kat. That is why he ends up at Tumbleton in the first place.

So while Ulf and Hugh are the infamous “Two Betrayers” in the book, the show has given them very different motivations and left Hugh’s eventual fate much less certain.

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Featured image credit: HBO