Nettles is a key character in the book

Just as you’re reeling from episode four of House of the Dragon, it turns out there’s a major book character missing from the show who could literally change everything.

House of the Dragon is finally getting into the Dance of Dragons and this season has been introducing  “dragonseeds,” who are illegitimate children of Targaryens and Velaryons who can potentially claim and ride dragons of their own. We’ve seen the introduction of Hugh Hammer, Addam of Hull and Ulf Wight but fans of the book have noticed that there’s still one major character missing who could change everything.

So who is Nettles, the key character missing from House of the Dragon season two?

Nettles is a key character in George R. R Martin’s prequel book Fire and Blood and she’s yet to appear on the show yet, and might not at all. Nettles is the only female dragonseed in Fire and Blood, and she’s actually the book’s only Black character. Because of this, she lacks the physical features shared by House Targaryen and Velaryon, and therefore didn’t meet the unspoken requirements of becoming a dragonrider. Nettles also creates a major divide in Daemon and Rhaenyra’s marriage as they become quite close and rumours of an affair take off.

The true nature of Nettles and Daemon’s relationship is put largely into question in the history of the war. Mushroom claims that Daemon began to fall in love with Nettles the more she accompanied him on dragonback and at Maidenpool. He allegedly took her as a bedmate and was unfaithful to Rhaenyra during their union. Yikes.

Via HBO

During the Dance of the Dragons, Jacaerys Velaryon began searching for riders as there were unclaimed dragons on Dragonstone. Loads tried and failed, but one of the few who succeeded was Nettles. She was described as being brown-skinned, had a slit on her nose from thieving, and was foul-mouthed. According to Mushroom, one of the major sources of Fire and Blood, she was born to a dockside sex worker and grew up in Spicetown and Hull on the island of Driftmark. At the age of 16, Nettles tamed the wild dragon Sheepstealer by bringing it a dead sheep every morning, and fought as bravely as any soldier for the Blacks. But as Rhaenyra endured more losses and betrayals, Nettles’ devotion to Rhaenyra was tested.

So will Nettles appear in House of the Dragon season two?

There have been lots of rumours online about Nettles being completely written out of the show, but this has not been confirmed. Showrunner Ryan Condal has been noncommittal about the character, telling Black Girl Nerds he wouldn’t comment on characters that haven’t appeared yet. “I would just say, ‘Stay tuned,’” he said, which means we may or may not get a Nettles appearance.

It Nettles is missing, fans have been theorising that the shoe could be combining her story with a single character, Rhaena Targaryen after the first season suggested she would have a bigger role in the second season due to her being one of the few Targaryens without a dragon.

Gonna need Nettles to come out in one of the last four episodes of the season, please.